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Dave Chappelle Comeback? Fans Hoping ‘Saturday Night Live’ Appearance Leads To A New Comedy Show For Chappelle

By Nathan Francis
Published on: 14:46 PST, Nov 13, 2016

Dave Chappelle fans are hoping that the comedian’s wildly popular Saturday Night Live appearance could lead to a wider television comeback — and possibly a new sketch comedy show from Chappelle.

Chappelle happened to make his first-ever SNL hosting appearance at a time perfect for his brand of socially conscious comedy — just days after the shocking election of Donald Trump and the nationwide protests that followed. Chappelle delivered a heartfelt monologue about his views on racial progress in America and exactly what Trump’s victory means for him, and several other skits touched on the racial issues that came up through the election.

As the Washington Post noted, the Saturday Night Live appearance showed just how sorely Chappelle has been missed on the national stage.

“Chappelle has been out of the sketch-comedy game for awhile, and in an episode that felt nostalgic and cathartic to disappointed Americans, he mostly performed with an easygoing manner with a few outlandish characters thrown in between. No matter; America wanted to hear from Chappelle. The episode brought season-high ratings in preliminary overnight numbers, and early reports indicate it may match or surpass ratings from a controversial 2015 episode when Trump hosted.”

It has now been more than a decade since Dave Chappelle walked away from his wildly popular Chappelle’s Show midway through filming the third season. There were rumors of creative differences with Comedy Central and issues over his pay, but Chappelle would later say he felt the need to step out of the spotlight to protect his family.

“I never stopped being onstage. What I did was step off of the main stage,” he told People magazine in a 2014 interview. “That kind of attention wouldn’t have been conducive to raising a family.”

Many fans are now hoping that Dave Chappelle will reconsider — and make a comeback to television with a show of his own. The Saturday Night Live appearance led to a wave of fans taking to social media and sharing their hopes of a Chappelle comeback.

There was even a Reddit post calling on Netflix to give a chance on a Chappelle’s Show comeback, a post that users voted to the website’s front page on Sunday.

“I love his stand up but what he hated about working for a network could easily be solved by having netflix write him a blank check and give him full creative power over the show,” the post read. “It would be the biggest show on netflix.”

And Dave Chappelle may have dropped some hints that he is ready to return to a brighter spotlight. In his 2014 interview with People magazine, he described a return to stand-up comedy as a relief to him.

“It’s been wonderful. (Being back) has been a healing experience,” he said. “I couldn’t even tell people what it means to me. It’s sincerely a pleasure to entertain.”

If Dave Chappelle is going to make a television comeback, it could take a major change of heart for the comedian. While his Comedy Central show remains wildly popular with fans, that popularity has also been a double-edged sword, the Washington Post pointed out.

“The popularity of those ‘Chappelle’s Show’ bits have, in the past, derailed his stand-up performances. For years, Chappelle has dealt with hecklers at shows and in day-to-day life, who shout lines from his most iconic characters.”

That sentiment could have been the reason behind Chappelle’s Walking Dead spoof on Saturday Night Live, in which he appeared as characters from Chappelle’s Show — only to kill them off. But even with the beloved characters dead, fans are hoping that Dave Chappelle might reconsider reviving his own television career.

[Featured Image by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images]

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