Women and Black Dudes

Neal Brennan spent years as the co-creator and head writer of Chappelle’s Show before its abrupt end left him professionally unmoored. Women and Black Dudes is his debut hour, an effort to finally plant his own flag in front of the mic. He leans into standard observational fare about texting and dating, but the set finds its footing when he mines his strange career trajectory. He recounts taking grief from Barack Obama over the show’s cancellation, planning an absurdly elaborate funeral, and gaining an exclusive, six-person pass from his friends to use a certain racial slur.

Filmed at the Civic Theatre in New Orleans in 2014, the Comedy Central broadcast proves Brennan can hold a room on his own. The title is a literal nod to the only two demographics that consistently hire him. He is still dialing in his stage persona, sometimes carrying a nervous energy, but his joke-writing mechanics are airtight. Paste Magazine named the set one of the ten best specials of the year.