That Damn Michael Che

Comedian Michael Che and his new show on HBO Max

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Michael Che, comedian and the head writer of Saturday Night Live, recently started to drum up some buzz around the release of his new HBO Max sketch show, That Damn Michael Che, on his Instagram. He threatened to push back the May 6th release because there wasn’t enough “hoopla”. In all honesty, I get where he’s coming from because I had no idea that he was coming out with a new show. He then went on a hoopla tour where he started to make media appearances to promote the new show. It’s almost as if he threatened to push back the release to create hoopla. Hmmmm. I would show you the Instagram posts, but he uses Instagram like a combination of Twitter and Snapchat so the posts don’t stay up for long.

I’ve watched show twice now and love it. Each episode has a theme and is made up of sketches that are seamlessly stitched together. On top of the humor in the sketches, there is a down-to-Earth realness in relation to the themes that make them relatable without being condescending. This is a quality that Che has with his stand up as well.

I first remember watching Che’s Netflix stand up special, Michael Che Matters, a number of years ago (2016 or 2017) and thinking that it was an extremely underrated. A bit from this special resurfaced recently and went viral after the George Floyd incident last year.

That bit is hilarious and the special is filled with many more jokes that are just as funny and thoughtfully worked out.

I can’t recommend becoming a fan of Micheal Che enough. I’ve laughed at everything I’ve watched him on and wish more people knew him for his comedy, not just his work with SNL.

Here are some funny clips and interviews that Michael Che has done:

• The Breakfast Club

• Michael Che and Mark Normand on Legion of Skanks Podcast

• Micheal Che and Colin Jost Reviewing Rejected Sketch Ideas