The “Weekend Update” anchor will star in and executive produce a sketch comedy series at HBO Max. The WarnerMedia-owned streaming service has ordered six episodes of the untitled show, which will tackle subjects including police brutality, unemployment and falling in love from a Black vantage point.
“I’m really excited to be working on this show with HBO Max,” said Che. “It’s a project I’ve been thinking about for a while and we have a lot of sketches we want to shoot, so please wear your masks so that we can go into production.”
Each episode of the show will tackle a theme or incident, using sketches or vignettes to illustrate what it feels like to experience that event as a Black person. It’s less about being “right” and more about being honest, even at the risk of being controversial.
“Michael brings a distinct comedic perspective as he illustrates the uncomfortable truths across multiple topics,” said Suzanna Makkos, executive vp original comedy and animation for HBO Max. “We look forward to sharing his unique vision and necessary point of view with our audiences.”
The series comes from SNL mastermind Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video and Universal Television. Che, Michaels and Erin Doyle are the executive producers.
“Che is an amazing talent and comic voice and, of course, another opportunity to collaborate with Broadway Video and my friend Lorne is an added benefit,” said Kevin Reilly, chief content officer at HBO Max and president TNT, TBS and TruTV.
The Che series is HBO Max’s first foray into sketch comedy. The streamer, which launched May 27, has stand-up comedy specials planned from Chelsea Handler, Tracy Morgan, John Early, Rose Matafeo and Ahir Shah. Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco will also produce five specials.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
