Deep in the Heart of Texas

Instead of trying to preach to his audience or deliver a pristine, heavily rehearsed lecture, Dave Chappelle sits on a stool, lights up a cigarette, and works through his thoughts like a guy holding court at a late-night diner. This is a loose, conversational hour where the humor comes from the absurdity of his everyday interactions, from a stranger throwing a banana peel at him during a show in New Mexico to a snowball throw in Ohio that felt targeted. Filmed at the Moody Theater in Austin, Texas, in April 2015, the performance sat in Chappelle’s archives for two years before Netflix packaged it alongside another set, The Age of Spin, in 2017. The release marked his major return to the screen after a decade-long hiatus following his sudden departure from his Comedy Central sketch show. Because of the delay between the taping and its release, some of the pop culture references, such as the Ebola scare and the Ray Rice elevator tape, felt a bit dated by the time the public saw them. Yet, the material holds up because Chappelle filters national news through his personal perspective. The set also sees him stepping into domestic territory, discussing his marriage and his son Ibrahim’s financial requests, and balancing these anecdotes with a long, ridiculous bit imagining rapper Lil Wayne as a detective on CSI. Critics noted that the hour is less structured and more rambling than its companion special, while fans welcomed the return of his casual, conversational delivery.