A New Day
Netflix · 2024 · 40 min
An older, slightly calmer Ashy Larry tries on a suit.
Donnell Rawlings has spent decades known as Ashy Larry from Chappelle’s Show, but for his first solo Netflix special, he attempts to pivot from ashy to classy. Dressed in a blue suit and red socks, he trades his usual rapid-fire shouting for a slightly more measured pace, trying to transition into a more polished elder statesman of comedy while holding onto the chaotic energy that made him famous. The 40-minute special, recorded at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York City during the New York Comedy Festival, was actually Rawlings’ third attempt at filming this material; Dave Chappelle, who executive produced, reportedly scrapped earlier tapings because the jokes felt too dated or loosely structured. In the final cut, Rawlings covers the vocabulary of modern therapy, the logistics of co-parenting his young son, and his experience traveling to New Zealand, where he mocks the lack of diversity in Middle-earth and recounts being mistaken for Idris Elba. He also runs through viral pop-culture moments like the 2023 Alabama riverfront dock brawl. Critical response was mixed, with some reviewers noting that despite Chappelle’s quality control, the short set still feels slightly unpolished, but for audiences accustomed to Rawlings as a boisterous club comic, it offers a rare glimpse of him trying to slow down and let his jokes breathe.
The set list
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Feeling good and not being ashy anymore
Transitions from a country sunrise vignette set to Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good' to grabbing the mic at the Hard Rock Hotel to declare he's feeling good because he isn't ashy no more.
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Alabama dock fight
Brief observational commentary on the viral Alabama dock brawl from the previous summer.
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Feeling like Taylor Swift in toxic relationships
Reflects on an ex-partner calling him a narcissist, leading him to relate to Taylor Swift's song 'Anti-Hero'.
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Visiting New Zealand and impersonating Idris Elba
Jokes about the lack of Black people in New Zealand making him feel exotic enough to try to trick white women into thinking he is Idris Elba, until a woman identifies him as Ashy Larry.
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Dating younger women and age gaps
Acknowledges that he is older than his baby mother's mother and explains through act-outs why he cannot date women his own age.
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Gay Black men making the best potato salad
Claims based on first-hand experience tasting his older brother's dish.
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Being a 'trans-parent'
Quips that as an older dad co-parenting his 8-year-old son, he identifies as a mom, asking if that makes him 'trans-parent'.
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Sex as power in relationships
Connects sexual dynamics to power and arguments between couples, referencing Dr. Jacoby from Twin Peaks.
How it plays
- Tone
- Silly, punny, observational, self-deprecating, and forthright.
- On stage
- Buoyant, no-holds-barred, and self-assured with a boisterous voice and expressive eyes; dressed in an elegant blue suit, pocket square, red socks, and lotioned/moisturized ankles.
- Pace
- Brisk and buoyant energy across a 40-minute set.
- About
- toxic relationships, aging and getting older, traveling to New Zealand, co-parenting a young son, dating younger women, sex and power
What the critics said
Reviewed as a brisk, harmless, and straightforward 40-minute set that offers reliable laughs and personal reflections, though critics felt it was occasionally uneven, neither fully landing nor award-caliber.
In the room: Entertained room generating laughs and chuckles at the New York Comedy Festival.
Backstory
Part of the 'Chappelle's Home Team' series on Netflix executive produced by Dave Chappelle. Rawlings filmed this special during the New York Comedy Festival after two prior taping attempts.
Details
- Released
- Taped
- 2023, Hard Rock Hotel, New York City
- Runtime
- 40 min
- Where
- Netflix
- Director
- Stan Lathan
- Topics
More from Donnell Rawlings
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