Premium Blend: D.L. Hughley host (S7E1)

D.L. Hughley guides this showcase of early-2000s club comedy, maintaining a loose rhythm between four quick-fire sets. Filmed at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater in New York City and broadcast in November 2003, the taping caught Hughley at a busy point in his career, having recently wrapped his sitcom and made a guest appearance on Scrubs. Behind the scenes, Hughley famously struggled with his introductions during the tapings, which required multiple re-shoots and kept the theater audience loose. Legally blind African American comedian Victor Varnado turns his unique appearance into a series of self-aware punchlines, while Portland comic Rylee Newton, a runner-up in Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots competition, delivers a quiet set of self-effacing observations. Darrell Joyce and Chris McGuire round out the bill, delivering fast-paced club material tailored for a late-night cable audience.