HBO Max announced today, July 14th, that they ordered an untitled sketch comedy by Michael Che (Saturday Night Live, War) to series. The series will center around the black experience in America and will deal with topics such as falling in love, police brutality, and unemployment. Each episode will focus on one of these topics.
The show will be dedicated to being honest, not shying away from the controversial. Suzanna Makkos, Executive Vice President of Original Comedy and Animation for HBO Max, said of the Untitled Michael Che Project, “Michael brings a distinct comedic perspective as he illustrates the uncomfortable truths across multiple topics. We look forward to sharing his unique vision and necessary point of view with our audiences” (Warner Media Group). Michael Che has made many controversial comments in the past, both as a comedy writer and on his personal social media accounts, eliciting backlash from many who believe he takes things too far. Nevertheless, HBO Max is backing Che and giving him a platform to make these jokes, whether people like it or not.
The show will be exec produced by Che, Lorne Michaels (producer; Saturday Night Live; producer, 30 Rock), and Erin Doyle (Vlog; writer, Believe Her). Kevin Reilly, Chief Content Officer HBO Max and President TNT, TBS, and TruTV, is excited about Che’s and Michaels’ collaboration. He said, “Che is an amazing talent and comic voice and, of course, another opportunity to collaborate with Broadway Video and my friend Lorne is an added benefit” (Warner Media Group).
Che is looking forward to the production, but is apprehensive due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, saying, “It’s a project I’ve been thinking about for a while and we have a lot of sketches we want to shoot so please wear your masks so that we can go into production” (Warner Media Group). The project will be produced by Universal TV, a division of Universal Studio Group.