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"Chappelle's Show" Reupped, Bitch!
Comedy Central is not letting Dave Chappelle get away.
The cable network, never averse to a little foul language or controversy, knows a hit when it has one on its hands. Chappelle's Show, which has had a successful run on the network for two seasons, has recently become one of the top-rated shows on cable television, averaging 3.1 million total viewers in its main Wednesday time slot. Chappelle's Show was also nominated for three Emmy Awards last month. Now the Viacom/MTV Networks-owned network has ordered up two fresh 13-episode seasons featuring Chappelle as the star and executive producer, effectively locking up the lanky funnyman until 2006. "Re-signing Dave Chappelle was a top priority and I am just so pleased that we were able to reach an agreement," said Lauren Corrao, Comedy Central's senior vice president of original programming.Comedy Central's move countered big-ticket offers by FX and NBC Universal, which were trying to lure away Chappelle.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Chappelle's new deal is worth about $50 million, making the 30-year-old one of cable TV's highest paid stars. Chappelle's new contract reportedly includes a movie deal, a TV production gig and a big slice of DVD sales. (A DVD set of the show's first season has sold 1.7 million copies, making it the most successful television DVD release of 2004.)
The Half-Baked star's show may have been slow to catch on with the general public, but ever since a certain Chappelle's Show skit aired in season two, the show went from cult hit to full-blown cultural phenomenon.
The bit that has kicked Chappelle's ratings into the stratosphere is a parody of the E! True Hollywood Story. Riffing off tales told to Chappelle's Show staffers by writer Charlie Murphy (Eddie Murphy's brother), the skit tracks the outlandish excess of Rick James in his 1980s heyday as a funk/R&B Super Freak. Chappelle's portrayal of James, and the skit's signature line--"I'm Rick James, bitch!"--has launched a T-shirt line and dozens of Web shrines.According to the Reporter, Chappelle's deal with Viacom sets up a Rick James biopic at Paramount that would star Chappelle.
Chappelle's production company is also working on a new show for Comedy Central.
The third season of Chappelle's Show will premiere in early 2005.
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