While going down a YouTube rabbit hole sometime last year, as one is wont to do, it occurred to me that while I’ve long been an enormous fan of Key & Peele – Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele’s master showcase of their bizarro-genius sketch comedy talents – I hadn’t actually seen every episode.
As something of a completist, and as someone prone to embarking on astonishingly insane projects to compile and rank creative works*, it seemed only best – nay, necessary – to both review and rank every single Key & Peele sketch in some kind of coherent order.
Some months later, I give you this piece, the product of my loving labors of what is one of the greatest comedy TV shows of all time.
Here’s some nerdy notes on how I compiled this 30,000+ word monster before we dive into the good stuff.
- I hope it’s obvious that a ranked list like is crazy subjective … overall, the intent here is to be a celebration of one of the truly great sketch comedy TV shows – in addition to flat out TV shows (see: The Best 100 TV Shows Ever) – of all time.
- I “attribute” character names in sketches whenever possible, but where it’s not provided, I simply go with Key, Peele, or “that guy” as appropriate.
- Likewise, I did the best I could with sketch titles. Some are obvious, some are tied to the title of the episode, and some I tried to have fun with. This is comedy, people, just run with it.
- Speaking of episode titles – this is the rare TV show where there’s inconsistency in terms of how some publications and Internet sources title Key & Peele eps. I went with what both Hulu and Wikipedia call them for what it’s worth.
- I’m aware that I’m a white dude covering comedy material that often touches on issues of race and inequality in the United States. I attempted to treat these issues with the respect they deserve. My political bias (left leaning) is also clear in the below. If that ain’t for you, there’s plenty of other places on the world wide web to spend your time.
A final note: rankings of any form of media or art are inherently subjective. Overall, this piece is intended to be a loving tribute to one of the greatest sketch comedy TV shows of all time.
All 351 Key & Peele Sketches Ranked (in painstakingly funny detail)
#1 – Aerobic Meltdown (S0409, “Aerobic Meltdown”)
“WE ARE LIVE! KEEP DANCING.” – Cue card
This one checks off all the boxes of an all timer K&P sketch: grainy/vintage 1980s era look and feel, K&P in full on gonzo cheesy dancing mode (Peele is Flash from The Body Shop in Hollywood, while Key is Lightning from The Skin Shop in Detroit, all in service to the 1987 Jazz Fit Championships), with a hilariously dark twist thrown in (oh, those cue cards just keeping coming and coming at Lightning, don’t they?). Just remember to KEEP DANCING, people. In a word: genius.
#2 – Mario’s Pizza (S0205, “Bone Thugs-n-Homeless”)
“You know what, let me gauge the room.” – Wendell Sanders
The very best comedy sketches start out hilariously and then ramp up another notch or two throughout (an example from another show: the iconic goddess of compensation sketch from Kids in the Hall). In this one, Wendell Sanders (Peele) is a heavyset dude ordering pizza over the phone from Carlos (Key), a pizza store manager. The first ingenious reveal is when we learn that Wendell’s massive order is all for him, and that he uses his geeky action figures around him as a proxy for the “party” he’s supposedly having (and to serve as a reason for the gargantuan amount of food he’s ordering). The next level: Wendell’s offhand reference to Claire (the action figure) intrigues Carlos, who suddenly imbues this name with all of the qualities he’s looking for in a romantic partner… but little did he know that that would put her (inanimate) life in peril. Straight up magnificent.
#3 – Respect! (It’s a pretty cool thing to do!) (S0306, “Cunnilingus Class”)
“A person’s hair is the artwork that they present to the heavens.” – Mr. T
The cheesy 1980s title card on this one alone gets me laughing, and anytime we get a grainy VHS-era production (with hideously amazing costumes to match) always makes for a K&P winner. And that’s before we get Mr. T (a scarily realistic rendition by way of Peele) popping in to let all the kids know that it’s important to “respect each other’s clothing choices!” Things only get weirder and funnier from there, but make sure you stick around the for the “H.A.I.R.” rap. Glorious.
#4 – Ho is Disrespectful, Yo (S0501, “Y’all Ready For This?”)
“‘Cause it’s ‘Yo Ho!’ but we don’t say ‘ho’, ‘cause ho is disrespectful, yo.” – Chorus
One part pirate musical with a strikingly feminist sensibility, two parts deep hilarity, and all kinds of amazing. Also: look out for the guest stars here, including Will Sasso and Rebecca Romijn as the Pirate Captain.
#5 – UWL (S0106, “Flash Mob”)
“Okay, he know we just talking here, right?” – Derek Johnson
It’s a UFC-style promo for a pay per view MMA event, and Peele is Derek Johnson (241 lbs, 14-0) while Key is Paulo Odbeus (163 lbs, 39-2). Johnson talks smack (“I’m gonna mercy kill this old man!”) while Odebus is soft spoken, calling Johnson a “very rude person.” Even still, he makes sure to add that he will torture Johnson’s body “so that his soul learns to be humble.” The verbal war escalates from there, and eventually Johnson gets genuinely disturbed by the chilling, sociopathic vibes that Odebus is laying down. A pitch perfect parody of “hype up” talk going way off the rails, and possibly the pound-for-pound K&P champion sketch that makes me laugh the hardest on average.
#6 – The Kings of Mouth Noise: Bobby McFerrin and Michael Winslow (S0107, “Bobby McFerrin vs. Michael Winslow”)
“I tell you though, we wouldn’t have this audience without Winslow. Lucky for you, huh?” – Backstage Guy
This one kind of writes itself, in the most hilarious way: Bobby McFerrin (Peele), the “Don’t Worry Be Happy” acapella singer of lore, is performing with Michael Winslow, the “funny noises guy from the Police Academy movies,” as The Kings of Mouth Noise, and let’s just say it ain’t going so well for the guy who should ostensibly not be worrying. This one is a masterclass in physical comedy.
#7 – The Annual East/West Bowl (S0202, “Dubstep”)
“Jackmerius Tacktheritrix, Michigan State University.” – Jackmerius Tacktheritrix
A college football showcase game is about to begin, so it’s time for the player introductions. And thus we get a brilliant dose of hilarity that’s entirely built on K&P, in alternating intros, taking on increasingly outlandish and even bizarre names. The key (pardon the pun) is that they start off relatively “normal” names but then slide relentlessly off the rails. But there’s some cogent satire here too: what is a “normal” name, especially in an increasingly multicultural society.
#8 – Weirdos On a Plane (S0501, “Y’all Ready For This?”)
“We gon’ be eatin’ like Diane Keaton.” – Peele
There’s so much to love about this one: K&P are in cahoots – with perhaps the most insane facial hair and wig games that the show has ever produced, which is saying something – on an airplane as guest star Malcolm Barrett does amazing work as the straight man utterly baffled by these two super weirdos on a plane. We also get god tier messing around with language: terrorists become terries for example, and by the time Key says, “We gon’ draxx him up,” we’re all just along for the ride.
#9 – Laff & A Haff (S0306, “Cunnilingus Class”)
“Make fun of the burns.” – Peele
Key is a stand-up comedian at Laff & A Haff (amazing venue name, by the way), and starts off by doing some light crowd work, playfully teasing one audience member for having large ears, for example. Things take a turn though as we see Peele, who has a hideously disfigured face. “You skipped me,” Peele calls out, using a device that he holds up to his throat to help him speak (the Internet tells me this is called an “electrolarynx”). The slide into deep and dark cringe comedy has only begun at this point. Be warned, or wildly enjoy, depending. (For the record: I say it’s a sketch comedy work of genius.)
#10 – East/West Bowl Rap (S0302, “East/West Bowl Rap”)
“Y’all know me, I’m Washingbeard, catch so many balls it’s a little weird.” – Beezer Twelve Washingbeard
With some sketches, you know they will be incredible from the jump, and this is one of them. As soon as we see the grainy VCR-era footage of Jadinkalage (Key) and L’Carpetron (Peele) greeting each other in a football locker room, the bonkers comedy level is already achieved. This set-up allows us to revisit some of the many characters we met in the iconic Annual East/West Bowl sketch, but this time it’s a horrifically hilarious Super Bowl Shuffle-style 1980s-style rap video. And that’s just the first half of the sketch. You are strongly advised to stick around for Dan Smith is all I’m saying.
#11 – Hall of Mirrors (S0406, “Scariest Movie Ever”)
“The games are just beginning, Detective.” – Peele
You can feel Jordan Peele’s skills as a future A List movie director refining themselves in this one, which expertly parodies the climactic scene in which a cop chases down a crazed serial killer. Except what if the crazed serial killer isn’t nearly as good at setting up his Hall of Mirrors trap as he had hoped?
#12 – Strike Force Eagle 3: The Reckoning (S0407, “Sex Detective”)
“Now it’s my turn to play.” – Cal Flavell as Jamison Teague
It works like a charm: any K&P sketch that opens with grainy ‘80s VHS-level production immediately gets me laughing. And after we see Cal Flavell as Jamison Teague (Key) – with wild feathered hair and super cheesy shades – take out some gun-strapped dude in Bogota, Columbia with an extremely signature neck snapping move, I was all the way the hell in on this one. And it only gets better from there.
#13 – Dicknanigans (S0410, “Sex Addict Wendell”)
“Dicknanigans.” – Art show presenter
I love when a sketch gets me laughing with a single word, and such is the case with Dicknanigans. The word is uttered by an art show presenter (the great Chelsea Peretti of Brooklyn Nine-Nine fame), followed by K&P performing a bizarro performance art piece that would surely make Dieter from Sprockets utter something to the effect of, “You have disturbed me almost to the point of insanity,” or “I’m as happy as a little girl,” (or both).
#14 – The Marble Trick (S0509, “The 420 Special”)
“They’re just so beautiful… I was just wondering what they would feel like in my mouth?” – Mr. Wise
Winslow Thachet (Peele) welcomes Mr. Wise (Key) to his first day of work as Arizona’s Assistant State Attorney, but the latter is much, much more interested in the beautiful bowl of marbles on his new boss’ desk. If you have marbles in your mouth while watching this one, I suggest you spit them out first because you will be laughing hard.
#15 – Mr. Garvey: Substitute Teacher (Chapter One) (S0204, “I’m Retired”)
“Insubordinate and churlish.” – Mr. Garvey
Mr. Garvey (Key) knows how to handle his substitute teaching gig: he explains to the class that he “taught school for 20 years in the inner city, so don’t even think about messing with me.” He then “takes roll” with his room full of white kids and start off with “Jay Quellen.” Thus begins a brilliant satire in which Mr. Garvey can’t pronounce the names the kids (and we) perceive to be “normal” (Jacquelin in this case), and gets angrier (and funnier) as he goes down the list. It’s both hilarious and makes us question why “we” get to decide what’s “normal” about our names and other aspects of our lives. Sidenote that Key’s wig game in this one is so substitute teacher-on-point.
#16 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #1 (S0101, “Bitch”)
“Because y’all motherf—-ers don’t listen!” – Luther
One of the best-known K&P bits of all time kicks off with a bang. President Obama (Peele doing an what’s arguably the very best impersonation of the 44th president of all time) announces that he’s hired Luther (Key) to be his “anger translator.” When Obama speaks, Luther gets to express what Obama’s “really” trying to convey. On top of the incredible impersonation, it’s a sensational comedic insight into the famously cool, reserved Obama and what it must be like to take on the massive pressures of being the president of the United States – and the first Black one at that! – while trying to keep one’s proverbial s— together. (I mean, just see how the guy who followed Obama handled things…). Bonus: There’s also an amazing call back to the “I Said Bitch” sketch that kicks off the episode this one is in.
#17 – Das Negros (S0103, “Das Negros”)
“He left the cat toy, man!” – Peele
Germany, 1942. Ty Burrell of Modern Family fame shows up at someone’s door and introduces himself as Colonel Hans Muller of the S.S. Much the same as Christoph Waltz’s brilliant portrayal as Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds, Burrell is all friendly and smiles as he explains that he and his Nazi fellas were “combing the area for Jews,” but then discovered “that two negroes have escaped.” The camera turns around, and K&P are done up in 1940s era costumes and clown-like white face. The visual plus reveal alone is hilarious, as are their reaction of, “Negros here? Hell no!” In fact, everything about this one is a crack up, down to Muller tinkling a collection of little spoons hanging on the wall. “Ooh, that’s fun!”
#18 – Sky Mall Magazine (S0306, “Cunnilingus Class”)
“Hot little biscuit though, name’s Claire. Body ten, face ten so pretty much hit that every night… sexually.” – Wendell Sanders
We get the return of Peele’s rotund character (Wendell Sanders) from the brilliant Mario’s Pizza sketch, and it’s a triumphant one. The set-up is similar this time around but no less funny: Wendell reports over the phone to a customer service guy (Riyaz, played by Key) that his Superman bed (which is both round and has a hilariously pathetic Fortress of Solitude-style barrier around it) arrived “broken,” though clearly Wendell’s carriage (to borrow the term from The Simpsons) is what caused the damage. The comedy goes up levels though based on K&P’s clear loving-meets-brutal skewering of nerd culture.
#19 – Going Steampunk (S0402, “Little Homie”)
“I live in a clock now – umbrellas and blimps.” – Peele
This one is on the more bizarre side of K&P’s comedic stylings, and I absolutely love it. Peele shows up (an hour and ten minutes late) to meet his friend (Cedrick, played by Key) under a bridge, and has decided (for “reasons,” we take it) to become a steampunk. The comedy comes in both Cedrick’s exasperated reactions (“Why the hell are you dressed like this, and what you do with your bike?”… “You’re wearing a top hat with a door in it!”) and from Peele’s ludicrous outfit, ornately outfitted bicycle, and entirely bizarro vibes.
#20 – Non-Stop Party (S0207, “Victory”)
“And the party don’t stop because it keeps on going non-stop.” – LMFAO
Key and Peele are the “party rocking” tandem LMFAO in a music video entitled, “Non-Stop Party.” They’re doing their thing at a wild club but… what happens if the party literally never stops, and you can’t escape even as you desperately try to claw your way out? Then you’re in hell. Best bit: the boys spelling out H-E-L-P using Jello shot cups. Brilliant.
#21 – Les Mis (S0301, “Les Mis”)
“Now where did this b—- come from?”—Key
France, 1817. Future Schmigadoon! star Key, his compadre Peele, and others show off their pretty stellar pipes in a Les Misérables-style musical number that delightfully parodies the way that modern musicals use ensemble numbers to allow multiple stories and musical throughlines to play out at the same time (if I’m mangling that explanation, musical theater people, my apologies). In short, I would totally go see this musical.
#22 – Inner-City Wizard School (S0206, “Michael Jackson Halloween”)
“Here’s a wand with a silencer on it.” – Lester, Head of Security
A title card tells us: “Recent cutbacks in education have hit America’s poorest public schools the hardest.” We then cut to kids in a school hallway blasting each other with magic wands, and learn that this is a documentary about Clortho Public School for Wizards, which has “the highest incidence of wizard-on-wizard violence in America.” In short, it’s a brilliant satire of urban school documentaries mashed together with (a very low budget) Hogwarts from Harry Potter lore.
#23 – Dueling Magical Negros (S0105, “Gay Marriage Legalized”)
“You need to find your own troubled white boy.” – Key
This one takes a tired (and racist) movie trope – the “magical negro” – and satirizes it in a deeply hysterical way. K&P portray competing elderly office maintenance workers who end up “dueling” to help out a white guy named Steve Campbell, Esq (Joe Hartzler). They start out exchanging cheesy platitudes like, “Sometimes things ain’t really broken. It’s the way we treat ‘em that needs to be fixed,” but things soon escalate into a full-on battle involving magical lasers of some sort. Oh, and there’s also an animated bird named Chesterfield in the mix as well.
#24 – That’s My Rocky (S0402, “Little Homie”)
“Why isn’t he coming, mommy?” – Brandon
This one is both super short and super funny. A mother and her little boy, Brandon, excitedly rush to the front door as the man of the house (Key) pulls up in a taxi, clearly just back from serving in the military. It’s a joyous scene as their dog Rocky is the first to run to Key to greet him. And then… the visual punchline hits as well as any I can recall.
#25 – Auction Block (S0103, “Das Negros”)
“I mean at a certain point, it’s like, do they even know what they’re looking for?” – Peele
Savannah, Georgia, 1848. K&P are on the slave auction block during slave times in the South. Peele is on block B, Key on block C, and the slave placed on block A keeps getting sold off quickly, with the increasingly baffled boys wondering why they’re not getting attention from the slave purchasers. Eventually, their initial stoicism yields to indignation of the “what’s wrong with us/what’s going on here?” variety. This is classic K&P, undercutting the searing tragedy of human bondage with absurd and hilarious satire.
#26 – I Said Bitch (S0101, “Bitch”)
“I said bitch…” – Key & Peele
An early K&P classic. The boys are old friends who go to extreme lengths to convince each other that they totally actually referred to their respective wives as a “bitch” when making a point, even though it’s entirely clear that neither have ever, ever referred to their wife as a “bitch” at any point. At least on this planet.
#27 – K&P Vice (S0304, “Boarding Group One”)
“Oh… I get it.” – Key
Key and Peele are Miami Vice-esque detectives and… well, this sketch is all about its commitment to a very 1980s action movie vision and Key’s ability to explode stuff. By yelling. Oh yeah, and: it’s hilarious.
#28 – Dungeons & Dragons (S0104, “The Branding”)
“Where the club at, Isildor, yo?” – Tyrell
A group of nerdy dudes are playing Dungeon & Dragons, but it’s obvious that the Dungeon Master’s (Key) cousin, Tyrell (Peele), is new to the role-playing adventure game. Tyrell demands to have his character be named Kanye, and he is to be a giant: “But I wanna be a giant yo… all big.” Tyrell quickly puts the game off its intended course by taking his and other characters (with the players controlling those characters suddenly on board) to a club within the game to get their drink on, and to quest for “bitches” instead of the Lance of Caldahar. The Dungeon Master finally hits his breaking point when “Kanye the Giant” wants to play his “demo CD” in his SUV that he and his new fantasy entourage have waiting outside the club.
#29 – The Power of Wings (S0311, “The Power of Wings”)
“No valley, no ocean, can stop my devotion!” – Wendell Sanders
Wendell Sanders (Peele), one of my all-time favorite recurring K&P characters, is back, this time in the form of a super cheesy music video for power ballad, “The Power of Wings,” (off of his Rise Above It LP, we’re told). It’s great stuff as is, but a weird countdown to a twist eventually reveals a Be Kind, Rewind-esque reveal, helping this sketch soar ever higher.
#30 – Doug Duggart’s Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (S0209, “Tackle & Grapple”)
“Take on multiple enemies.” – Doug Duggart
Whenever a K&P sketch starts off with a grainy 1980s-era VHS vibe, I start chuckling immediately. Key is spectacular here as Doug Duggart, who may be a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, but is certainly a white belt in the art of making a TV commercial. And that’s not even getting into the obscenely “wrong” demonstrations Duggart shows us, all involving him getting way too up close and personal with the young ladies he demonstrates his fighting moves with. Tackle and grapple!
#31 – Countdown to Kickoff (S0501, “Y’all Ready For This?”)
“Play this game like it’s the last game of your lives.” – Ducklings
It’s really fun when a K&P sketch feels like it’s going to have a natural endpoint, but then keeps going, morphing into something newer, stranger, and funnier than its initial premise. The Rhinos are amping themselves up before taking the field for The Big Game, with Ducklings (Peele) and Jammie-Jammie (Key) trading cliches (Let’s leave it all on the field today!) to help rev the team up. And then suddenly/somehow it’s something different completely: we’re at the end of a tense thriller, Jammie-Jammie with a samurai sword in the bowels of the stadium as the clock ticks down… and it’s just great.
#32 – Power Falcons (S0209, “Gangsta Standoff”)
“Are you talking to me, because I’m the Green Falcon.” – Green Falcon
The opening credit sequence of this Mighty Morphin Power Rangers spoof alone cracked me up. And that’s before the action focuses on Green Falcon (Peele) constantly getting confused by the other Falcons referring to him as Black Falcon (and the increasingly racist ways they try to chill him out when he gets upset). Bonus: guest stars in this one include Rob Huebel of Childrens Hospital and Human Giant fame, and Brenda Song.
#33 – Flicker (S0106, “Flash Mob”)
“No, there is no schmutz on my jammy-jam.” – Gabe
Ah, that old stupid game where one person pretends there’s something on the other’s shirt, and when the “victim” looks down, the instigator boops the other person’s nose, with a little “gotcha” move. Hilarious, right? When corporate dudes Terry (Peele) and Gabe (Key) go at it, though, it’s no laughing matter. The direction and acting on this one sell this as High Noon in a bathroom stall, and when the bit is over after a few fun misdirects, it’s funny and satisfying. Except it’s not over, not even close. This is Flicker, a title card announces. You think it’s over, but then things ratchet up even more over several subsequent scenes. Flicker turns out to be a harrowing psychological thriller, and a deeply hilarious one at that.
#34 – Nintendo Waaah (S0207, “Victory”)
“No look… look, he’s crying.” – Party goer
It’s a party, and everyone’s enjoying playing a Nintendo Wii-style game with hand controlled-sensors. Key is congratulated for doing so well in the game, and then he says, “Since Shelia left, I spent a lot of time playing the game.” Now bummed out, he then heads into another room… except everyone can see what he’s doing by way of his game avatar on the TV screen. Cringe comedy at its best ensues.
#35 – I Think We All Know Who We’re Talking About (S0203, “Puppy Dog Ice-T”)
“You hear the twang, and just assume that it’s racist.” – Key
K&P are new neighbors having a friendly chat. Key breaks out an acoustic guitar and sings a country song that trends racist pretty quickly, as Peele points out (sidenote: Key can actually play the guitar, dude is so [REDACTED] talented). Key doesn’t get what Peele is talking about at all, and the dynamic gets funnier with each song – but there’s incredible and biting satire here about how much intent matters with language.
#36 – An Honest Reading (S0207, “Victory”)
“I’m afraid of these feelings and what they might mean.” – Peele
Key is a high school student, quietly reading his book, when Peele and his friends roll up and start to harass him. When Key asks him, “Why you gotta do that?” the trope we’ve seen a million times goes loopy when Peele gives a bracingly honest take on his fears and even his sexual fantasies. Brilliant satire, and the melancholy classical music as backdrop is perfection. And that’s before Andre Royo, better known as Bubbles from The Wire, shows up as Peele’s pops.
#37 – The Loco One In The Gang (S0411, “Terrorist Meeting”)
“That’s more like zany or goofy.” – Eduardo
This essentially silly but very funny sketch shows off how strong K&P’s writing chops are. The premise is simple: Carlito (Peele) is miffed that an aspiring gang member aims to take the role as the “loco” one. It’s immediately clear that Carlito is decidedly un-loco and more like just a goofy weirdo, and the comedy comes from both the specificity of the writing (“I got nine punch cards from Froyo Universe… each with one stamp in it”), and from the Eduardo’s (Key) hilariously erudite critiques of his guy making a total fool of himself (“That’s just being cavalier with your finances instead of collecting your free dessert.”)
#38 – Dueling Affects (S0101, “Bitch”)
“Oh my God, Christian, I almost totally just got mugged right now.” – Peele
The very first sketch of the first season of K&P is as short as it is great. The premise is dead simple: Key is on a street corner, talking to his wife on the phone and engages in what seems like a super normal conversation. Peele then appears, also on his mobile phone, and immediately both men have conversations with affects that are far more street level/tough guy, I suppose you could say (in the intro to the live audience, the boys talk about how “you gotta dial it up a little bit” sometimes.) We learn immediately that this is a duo that enjoys toying with our expectations, with an under-the-hood theme of “don’t necessarily judge a book by its… voice.” Most importantly: it’s hilarious.
#39 – MC Mom (S0507, “MC Mom”)
“How many crispy socks she gonna find, son?” – Carl’s dormmate
This one unlocks not one but two K&P superpowers: conjuring a hyper-awkward and hilarious situation (“MC Mom” made a “rap video” for her son, Carl Stewart, played by Peele, which of course his dormmates discover and pop into the DVD player), and the duo’s exceptional musical talents (MC Mom segues from super cheese ‘80s rap to dropping tight bars when things get real). And then the topper is a call back to putting the… well, you know, on the chainwax.
#40 – Head Braces (S0402, “Little Homie”)
“I’m gonna see you on the dancefloor, girl.” – Key
There are some sketches where you start laughing immediately from the absurd premise. Case in point: Key walks into a bar wearing a flamboyant shirt with a dragon emblazoned on it, but more importantly he’s also wearing some kind of head brace that could double for a medieval torture device. It’s so dumb and so ridiculously funny before anyone says a word… or before Key tries to go for his wallet.
#41 – Battle Rap (S0301, “Les Mis”)
“I’m telling you, can you take it down a little bit?” – Diller Killer
It’s a battle rap competition, hosted by Big Peep-paroo. Rhino D is set to go up against Diller Killer (Key). Diller Killer performs first, with some decent battle rap-meets-roasts of his opponent. However, it soon becomes apparent that his hype man (Peele) becomes a little… well, overheated, what with his grunts and growls at his guy’s side. Okay, a lot overheated. There’s a really funny and really dark second half to this sketch too that I won’t dare spoil for you. Steinbeck, y’all.
#42 – Continental Breakfast (S0307, “Sexy Vampires”)
“Hello Greece, where the yogurt flows like water.” – Peele
While K&P often thrives in hilariously satirizing serious societal challenges, this one gloriously lampoons what many of us see as the most mundane of things: the mediocre continental breakfast – replete with paper plates and sporks (or, sorry, f-poons) which many hotels throw in gratis with an overnight stay. But to Peele, nay! It’s the most wonderful and opulent of offerings one could imagine. (And in a very real way, he’s sort of right, I’d say?). Bonus: don’t sleep on the nifty Shining nod at the end.
#43 – Noice! (S0304, “Boarding Group One”)
“I’m kind of the guy who says noice.” – Peele
There’s some wild breakdancing action going on, with a crowd cheering them on. “Noice!” Peele yells a few times, as it seems to be his thing, but it’s also Key’s thing too, it seems. Special credit in this one for the insane/outstanding costumes and wig work going on. But most of all, there’s a tremendous amount of comedy (and emotion, too?) pulled out of a single word.
#44 – Bloomfield State Penitentiary (S0504, “Severed Head Showcase”)
“It doesn’t seem like you understand what your job is.” – Peele
Key is the world’s most gullible prison corrections officer and everything he says and does in this one – including simply saying “oh okay” – is deeply hilarious.
#45 – (Racist) Zombie Apocalypse (S0206, “Michael Jackson Halloween”)
“These are some racist motherf—ing zombies!” – Key
It’s the zombie apocalypse, and K&P are terrified while trying to get to the sheriff’s station… until, wait a minute, the zombies are scared of them. A huge comedic payoff comes when zombies in a parked car lock their doors when the boys stroll by. Meanwhile, the party’s on for the survivors. So it’s a zombie paradise in the end, and a sublimely satirical one at that.
#46 – Dueling Hats (S0210, “Dueling Hats”)
“Anyway, guess I’ll catch you on the flip.” – Peele
This one is as simple as it is silly and delightful: Key and Peele bump into each other on the street multiple times in little vignettes, each time attempting to outdo the other’s hat game. And I mean outdo.
#47 – Gefilte Fresh and Dr. Dreidel (S0108, “Babysitting Forest Whitaker”)
“What’s up, Temple Beth Israel?” – Gefilte Fresh
It’s a bar mitzvah, and K&P are Gefilte Fresh and Dr. Dreidel, performers ready to rock this party of thirteen-year-old kids and their families right. “Is Daniel Rosenblum in the hizz-ouse?” alone got me chuckling, perhaps in part because I went to a bunch of these as a kid (one county over from Nassau, where this sketch is set!). And then add to that the mockumentary style, in which we get K&P discussing their trade while throwing in Yiddish words, and it’s all quite a riot – as is any sketch where we get to see the fellas dance. And then one Jewish dad notes, “Jews are like Black people, but we were Black people before there were Black people… um, I guess that’s not true.” Make sense?
#48 – Naked Presentation (S0105, “Gay Marriage Legalized”)
“Oh all right, you’re trying to get all them demographics up in here.” – Key
Peele is a corporate dude getting driven to a business meeting by Key, an older livery driver of some sort. Key asks Peele what he’s in town for, and the latter offers up super generic bunkum from the corporate world such as, “I’m offering market research interpreted with outside the box solutions.” Key sweetly offers back a few buzzwords that he’s just been told (oh, outside the box? Okay…), but then things take a turn. “I’m also thinking about doing the presentation naked,” Peele says. He then continues to crank things up as Key still seemingly bats back what he’s been told without really listening. But when Peele gets out of the car, the punchline comes, and it’s a smasher: “Oh, by the way, when you kill those people with your ass gun, make sure to use a serrated blade to cut their faces off.”
#49 – Obama College Years (S0201, “Obama College Years”)
“I’m totally stoked to the max about it.” – Barack Obama
Old school VCR footage dated March 15th, 1980 reveals a young Barack Obama (Peele) giving a talk to his fellow students. He tells them that the upcoming campus party might be the best the college has ever seen, and then takes a puff on a joint. “That’s some righteous bud,” he says. This one works on the power of its atmosphere, Peele riffing on college-y bro-out talk as a young Obama, and let’s face it, strong nostalgia for the Obama administration generally. Bonus: a follow-up segment gets even funnier.
#50 – It’s Happening (S0309, “Tackle & Grapple”)
“Gota pocket full of funky with a peppermint twist. She’s a cool, shifty mama blastin’ off on the flip.” – The K&P Funk Implosion
The visuals on this one alone are absolutely grand: K&P are part of a vintage late ‘70s funk band appearing on a Solid Gold-esque TV show called It’s Happening (which… amazing name). And as a massive fan of musical comedy acts, I could easily enjoy an entire show from these dudes on both hilarious and legit musical chops levels.
#51 – Best Bachelor Party Ever (S0204, “I’m Retired”)
“What’s the bup-bup-bup-bup?” – Key
It’s Key’s bachelor party, and Peele is the best man. The latter says they should “get a stripper,” and then goes on to use innuendo to suggest what they should do with the stripper… and the fun starts when no one can quite understand what he’s getting at. The key here is defining what the Seinfeld-ian “bup-bup-bup-bup” means. Well, there are other arguably easier codes to decipher, such as “Tinker toy it man… we go to town!” and “Baby elephant walk!” but you get what I mean. Bup-bup-bup-bup, right?
#52 – Sex Addict Wendell (S0410, “Sex Addict Wendell”)
“I invited her into my boudoir, a.k.a. The Stabbin’ Cabin.” – Wendell
I’ve come to realize that the heavyset Wendell Sanders (Peele) is one of my all-time favorite K&P characters both because of his hyper-odd shut-in gamer dude affect and that he’s a natural born pathological liar. Now, in the wrong hands this characterization would be super depressing, but somehow Jordan Peele elevates our Wendell into something closer to sublime – or at least hysterically funny. Anyway, here he’s chosen for “reasons” to participate in a sex addict support group, where he uses the analogy of tearing into a hot pizza as akin to sexual deeds involving a hot pizza delivery lady. Our guy is just a dirty dog, you see.
#53 – Bedtime Story (S0312, “East/West Bowl 2”)
“But I’m not gonna live forever because I’m only half alien?” – Key
This sketch works so well because it’s grounded in a very relatable situation: Key plays a little boy who has a nightmare in the wake of losing his mother, with Peele as his blue-collar father attempting to comfort him and get him to go to sleep. The outstanding comedy comes in when the son unwittingly but expertly paints his dad into corners based on pop’s good-natured mistake of assuring his son that “nothing is ever going to happen to me.”
#54 – Making It Rain (S0309, “Tackle & Grapple”)
“That’s what you call a booty investment.” – Key
In terms of gentlemen’s club patronage, Peele is no match for Key’s lavish applications of cash on Galaxy, an exotic dancer. There are multiple hard laughs in this one, including when Peele slowly and excruciatingly opens his Velcro wallet in seek of additional (making it) rainy day funds.
#55 – The Job Interview (S0506, “The Job Interview”)
“Is this a job interview or The Carol Burnett Show?” – Noah Sanders
There are so many things about this one that elevate it over an average comedy sketch. There’s the unnecessary and yet somehow integral groovy/cheesy 1970s setting, but then there’s also a vintage K&P move where the mood shifts from giddy over-the-top banter – Mr. Weinstein (Key) is absolutely in love with job interviewee Adam (Adam Pally from The Mindy Project and Happy Endings) while next-in-line Noah Sanders (Peele) looks on in increasing dismay – to comedically dramatic mode (Mr. Weinstein is so enthralled with Adam that he emotionally gifts him with the ship in a bottle that was a peace offering from his now deceased brother). That bitch ocean and ahoy matey, indeed.
#56 – Bald Brotherhood (S0204, “I’m Retired”)
“What’s up, homie? Nice haircut.” – Lewis Lawrence
Poppyridge Maximum Security Prison. “Lewis Lawrence is beginning his life sentence,” the voiceover guy tells us. “In order to survive, he must join a gang.” Lewis (Key) figures out that his “gang” is his fellow “bald brothers”… who happen to be bald members of the white supremacist gang. This one has a strong kinship to Dave Chappelle’s “white power” sketch in all the best kinds of ways, and it goes to the next level when Lewis believes that he’s been “jumped in” to the gang.
#57 – Breaking Math (S0208, “Manly Tears”)
“Oh, you mean count it, count it? That’s a good idea.” – Peele
Key and Peele are gangsters meeting another group of guys in the desert a la a scene out of Breaking Bad. And in fact, Dean Norris – Hank Schraeder himself – is there to do a deal with the boys, replete with a ridiculous mustachio and spouting an even more ludicrous Mexican accent to match. The problem – and by problem I mean the hilarious problem – reveals itself as K&P try to figure out how to count the enormous amount of cash in the briefcase that they’re set to receive in exchange for the drugs. A riff fest commences.
#58 – Torturing Assistant
“I’m sorry, where did we find you?” – Dravic
This one shows off the ability for everyday sounds – a squeaky door, removing a lollipop from its plastic wrapper – to bring big laughs when deployed skillfully. And Daquon (Peele) is the perfect delivery vehicle for this as Dravic’s (Key) incredibly annoying and aspiring “torturing assistant.” Bonus: Hayes MacArthur is fun as the guy who is in theory supposed to be getting tortured.
#59 – Da Struggle Is Real (S0204, “I’m Retired”)
“Preach from my ass, my farts is my sermon.” – Peele
Often, the strongest sketches are the ones where the concept becomes evident immediately, and this is one of them. It’s a music video that starts off with Da Struggle (Key), an erudite and dapper rapper conveying a social message: “Da Struggle in the house, using words and rhymes to get through hard times.” We then cut to the next verse and Peele, decked out in sports attire and bling, pipes in with, “Preach from my ass, my farts is my sermon,” before continuing with a wildly over the top satire of rappers who are mainly focused on women, partying, and getting paid, shall we say. Most of all, this sketch shows off boys’ immense musical skills on top of the super sharp satire on deck with this one.
#60 – Racist Dog (S0202, “Dubstep”)
“Miscegenation will not be tolerated!” – Dog (and member of the KKK, apparently)
It’s incredible how fast K&P can pivot from a normal-ish set-up (two Black dudes out taking a walk, when a dog starts barking at them, white owner apologizes and says the dog isn’t racist), and then smash cut to “one year earlier,” where we see the same dog dressed up in a Klan outfit in front of a burning cross. Super short sketch, super funny.
#61 – Flash Mob (S0105, “Flash Mob”)
“The flash mob is canceled.” – Key
K&P, dressed in black, both receive text messages at an outdoor public space that the flash mob is a go.” Key hits play on a portable stereo, and they and a group of seven assemble immediately and get down to a pretty awesome rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” when… well, a white dude jumps out and declares that “it’s a god damned race war!” All hell breaks loose as gun fire pops off all over, and Key reasonably declares, “The flash mob is canceled.” Short, funny, surprising, with a potent (if disturbing) little message tucked in there as bonus.
#62 – Doing It With My Bro (S0203, “Puppy Dog Ice-T”)
“Bro, lock ‘em. Lock ‘em!” – Peele
The premise: K&P appear to be, uh… in a lovemaking scenario involving a third person, with Peele getting far more into the camaraderie of the goings on versus Key. This one has a hilarious reveal at the end, so I’m just going to leave it (and any potential for a world record) there.
#63 – Economy Plus (S0510, “Meegan and Andre Break Up”)
“Economy Plus… for the discerning passenger.” – Peele
Peele’s traveler/businessman guy from Season 3’s Continental Breakfast is back. He’s instantly recognizable as the oddball who takes immense pleasure in the mundanities of modern day life that we (mostly) take for granted. Here, his unexpected upgrade to an Economy Plus seat on a flight out of Topeka becomes a cornucopia of decadent riches for our guy. I also must mention that the lounge music delightfully heightens the notes that this one hits. And likewise, as Continental Breakfast makes a hard pivot to The Shining in its final moment, here we get a shoutout to an iconic Twilight Zone episode.
#64 – Roommate Meeting (S0307, “Sexy Vampires”)
“Is that you, Monday?” – Gogo
This one is a horror-comedy tour de force that points directly to Jordan Peele’s future as an A List horror auteur. A quartet of super frat bros hold a roommate meeting to figure out what’s going on with strange things that have been going on in their apartment of late, as a creepy apparition meanwhile messes with the group mercilessly. The comedy is all in the performance and the direction – the latter of which takes on a very That ‘70s Show spin about the room.
#65 – The Southern Way of Life (S0201, “Obama College Years”)
“So don’t stop your speachin’ on our account.” – Key
A Confederate General (played by Mark Moses of Mad Men fame!) is rallying his troops, imparting upon them the importance of preserving their way of life, the Southern way of life if you can dig, when two slaves (K&P) show up. Oh, and it’s a reenactment, and K&P’s outrageously (and hilariously) over-the-top performance of racial stereotypes, let us say, gums up the works rather nicely.
#66 – A Killer Joke (S0108, “Babysitting Forest Whitaker”)
“It’s just that you shot him. That’s the whole thing!” – Key
Key and Peele are gangsters, and Peele cold-bloodedly shoots their captive, who is handcuffed to a chair. Key, running some ridiculous mustache game in this one, starts laughing… but like weirdly too much. This quickly descends into a bizarre and explosive conversation about what is funny.
#67 – Sex Detective (S0407, “Sex Detective”)
“Um, why do your revelations require masturbation?” – Det. Tom Samwell
In this silly CSI-ish spoof, Det. Chuck Vaughn (Peele) – “the greatest sex crime investigator in history” – uses his superior powers of deduction to find the bad guys. Oh, and let’s say he really doesn’t forget to enjoy himself at the same time. A lot. All over the place, in fact. Det. Tom Samwell’s (Key) reactions make this one particularly funny.
#68 – Playing Dead (S0402, “Little Homie”)
“I’m assuming you have a better Hitler story?” – Col. Hans Muller
This one is chockfull of callbacks and silly misdirects, all adding to the fun. Ty Burell returns as Colonel Hans Muller of the S.S., triumphant after capturing a town or some such in the midst of World War II. Peele is his subordinate, who tries to hang with the Commandant regaling the squad with a story, but there’s an American soldier lying on the ground (Key) who is clearly not as dead as he seems. Bonus points for Muller bringing back “insubordinate and churlish” a la Mr. Garvey, Substitute Teacher’s classic line.
#69 – Joey Blunts in the Morning (S0502, “Airplane Showdown”)
“Why y’all always clowning on Meatball?” – Meatball
A great parody of a ridiculously over-the-top “morning zoo”-style radio show quickly turns on its head when we see what the crew is up to during the commercial break. Example: Meatball (Peele) busts out his ship in a bottle project. A really short, really funny sketch that I wish could have gone on longer.
#70 – Weird Playlist (Online Exclusive)
“I’m beginning to see my reptilian self.” – Peele
I stumbled into this one accidentally on YouTube, and I’m glad that I did. K&P are on an all nighter of a road trip, and Peele hits shuffle on his playlist because, he boasts, all of his music is good. However, his “audio diary” starts playing accidentally, and it’s a cringey feast of delights that smacks of Seven and found footage horror influences. No sleep ‘till Brooklyn, I suppose.
#71 – Who You Gonna Call? (S0511, “The End”)
“When Armageddon is near, you better get out of here / Looking like a deep impact… I ain’t afraid of no ‘stroid.” – Ray Parker, Jr.
It’s way too much of an oversimplification to say that “some sketches write themselves,” but we can agree that some premises lend themselves to being hilarious right out of the gate. Such is the case here, where we have Ray Parker, Jr. (Peele), “writer and performer of the Academy Award-nominated hit single, ‘Ghostbusters,’ from the major motion picture, Ghostbusters,” who now presents us with “3 Volumes of Never Used Hits” from “other major motion picture theme songs.”
#72 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #2 (S0104, “The Branding”)
“Who killed Osama bin Laden?” – Luther
Obama (Peele) and Luther (Key) are back, and it’s the first time we’ve ever had a K&P recurring sketch. This time around, the duo is gearing up for election season. The cadence between the two is fantastic – Obama calmly extolling the accomplishments of his first administration, and Luther exulting about how taking out the guy behind 9/11 beats anything that the opposition (Mitt Romney, from the quainter time of 2012) could do or say.
#73 – Movie Theater Critics (S0103, “Das Negros”)
“I loved that shot the first time… when it was in Nosferatu!” – Peele
Key is in a movie theater by himself, and he’s sporting an enormous diamond ring. He’s talking very loudly at the screen, which upsets the (white) patrons around him. But what he’s saying isn’t your stereotypical talk-back-to-the-movie stuff. Example: “Do not go into a crane shot right now, you kidding me?!” Then we see that Peele is sitting several seats away, and doing the same thing: “This movie’s got an inconsistent visual language!” The writing is exquisite as the two trade highbrow movie critic-y lines. Bonus example: “It’s a visual medium, man – enough with this My Dinner With Andre bullshit!”
#74 – Otis Carmichael Acting Reel (S0313, “Pussy on the Chainwax”)
“I’ll shine your shoes blacker than my momma’s booty.” – Otis Carmichael
This sketch is powered by the hilarious yet very real premise that you should never reveal archival footage – or, anything , really – in public that you yourself have not vetted first. In this case, we have Joseph (Key) debuting an acting reel at his father’s funeral (Otis Carmichael, played by Peele), unearthed decades after the deceased had become a revered community leader. The black-and-white footage of Otis’ acting career features increasingly stereotypical characters – the only roles available to Black actors during the era – which is both hilarious (especially from the perspective of seeing the reactions of the shocked funeral attendees) as well as a nice reminder of the entertainment industry’s sordid past.
#75 – Slap-Ass (S0303, “Slap-Ass”)
“Guys, who cares how much I slap-ass?” – Rafi
The Rhinos baseball team is victorious, which means it’s time for Rafi (Peele) to initiate a vigorous round of “slap-ass.” Except Garcia (Key) and the team (including Eugene Cordero, a standout on shows like The Good Place and A Man on the Inside) have had enough. In fact, they’ve been counting how many times Rafi has been slapping ass (427), and they’ve reached a breaking point: this is an intervention, and a funny one.
#76 – Black Jeff (S0103, “Das Negros”)
“Actually you don’t have to ask us to leave… ‘cause we’re gonna see ourselves out, and we ain’t never comin’ back again!” – Jeff
Jeff (Key) is out at a nice dinner with a white woman (played by Emily Maya Mills). I mention the “white” part because she wonders where “Black Jeff” is after he’s overly polite, in her view, when a server is a bit snippy with him. When dating a biracial guy, she argues, she should get the best of “Black Jeff” versus “White Jeff,” depending on the situation. When a different server comes over and nicely asks if they’d like bottled or tap water, Jeff counters with, “How ‘bout I bottle your ass and kick it down the stairs, man?” The rest of the sketch has Jeff toggling wildly between his “white” and “black” personas. Not only does this one smartly and succinctly satire what being biracial means in the U.S., it’s also very funny thanks to Key’s dynamic performance.
#77 – Family Matters (S0404, “Slap-Ass: In Recovery”)
“Two weeks ago, Steve Urkel used his invisibility ray on Carl and I wasn’t even in the goddamned episode!” – Reginald VelJohnson
So first of all, it’s important to note that Peele does a phenomenal job looking the part in transforming into Reginald VelJohnson, the actor who played Carl Winslow on Family Matters (and who was also in the iconic movie, Die Hard, both cops). It seems Reggie is super pissed at the garbage story lines that the coke addled producer Gene (Key) is cooking up. The real power here of course, the dark power, lies with our old friend Urkel. Did I do that? If you have to ask.
#78 – Pet Shop Puppy (S0107, “Bobby McFerrin vs. Michael Winslow”)
“I feel like I have to wrap his face in a towel and then beat it with an iron.” – Key
K&P are Lady Key and Lady Peele in this one, and the two spy the cutest little puppy in a pet shop window. Their over-the-top expressions of cute overload quickly go off the rails. This is an improv riff fest that very much works (with a horror movie kicker).
#79 – Bloods and Crips (S0209, “Gangsta Standoff”)
“We are BFFs, MF.” – Key
Peele is a Blood and Key a Crip. It’s about to go down, but then the boys discover their shared passion for Twilight. It’s BFFs for life from there, which is both funny and surprisingly delightful.
#80 – Boarding Group One (S0304, “Boarding Group One”)
“Thank you so much for your service, god bless you.” – Key
Peele is a gate agent for South Northern Airlines Flight 34 to Grand Rapids. While Key is amped to board with a “Group One” designation on his ticket, he’s forced to stand by as first class, business class, Regal Alliance Elite Members, all passengers with children, uniformed military personnel, people in wheelchairs, and then priests, nuns, rabbis, imams, “old people in wheelchairs with babies,” “old religious people with military babies”… this sketch is incredibly relatable to anyone who has dealt with the small indignities of being a “regular” air traveler, and is pretty funny to boot. Bonus: check out the cameo from Jason Schwartzman, who literally is in a category all his own.
#81 – Gangster Meeting (S0303, “Slap-Ass”)
“Sometimes people sit in chairs.” – Key
Key and Peele (Carlito) are Latino gangsters, and it’s time for a gangster meeting, except Carlito doesn’t want to sit down. He’s too gangster to sit in a chair, which is confusing to Key and the other gang members. Things proceed from there in a way that has very Monty Python’s Flying Circus energy to it in the best kind of way.
#82 – East/West Bowl 2 (“East/West Bowl 2”)
“Bisquiten Trisket, University of Michigan.”
The East/West Bowl was so much fun the first time around, that we get a second round for 2013, served up by commentators Dave Sasson and Jeff Worthing. Basically, it’s an excuse for the boys to trot out another wave of increasingly bizarre names, introduced national football game style – with super fun/weird characters to match. It’s not quite as much fun as the first go round, but I’m in the camp of happily enjoying this kind of stuff all gameday long.
#83 – Make A Wish (S0406, “Scariest Movie Ever”)
“I wish to drown a man… in the bathtub.” – Liam
Peele excels at playing creepy characters, and here he’s a super evil vibed little boy named Liam in a cancer treatment ward or some such, with Dr. Gupta (Key) and Marion Glass (Lauren Lapkus) from the Make A Wish foundation learning that you should be careful when telling someone they can wish for anything they want.
#84 – The Bank Job (S0104, “The Branding”)
“Motherf—er, that’s called a job!” – Peele
Two dudes are plotting out what looks like a major heist. Key lays out the master plan – the longest of “long cons” if you will: get hired as bank tellers, work for twenty or thirty years, “they deposit the money into our bank accounts,” and then… just walk away, like nothing ever happened. Short. Sweet. Funny.
#85 – Jazz Off (S0310, “Black Ice”)
No quote because no dialog! – The author of this piece
Musical-related sketches always seem to bring out the best in K&P. It’s the 1950s or so, and we’re in an old school jazz club, shot in black and white. Our guys are dueling trumpet players, and it’s essentially a jazz version of the rap battle sequence from 8 Mile, except for the impressive feat that there’s zero dialog in this one. Bonus: it’s funny!
#86 – Brock Favors: Substitute Reporter-at-Large (S0205, “Bone Thugs-n-Homeless”)
“And I’m 100% safe, correct?” – Brock Favors
Local reporter Brock Favors (Key) is back, this time “filling in for Chad Armstrong.” He’s broadcasting live from the police K-9 training facility, and seeing Peele as a mustachioed, macho cop standing next to him immediately cracks me up. And that’s before Brock plays the “assailant” to show off the training the police dogs get to attack baddies on command. Hilarity ensues. Example: “He’s eating my junk, get ‘em off me!”
#87 – The Sit Down (S0404, “Slap-Ass: In Recovery”)
“Oh, that’s a permanent silly mustache… he can hardly wash that off!” – Peele
I’m a massive Martin Scorsese fan, and this is a delightfully silly parody of Marty’s style from his many gangster flicks, replete with mood appropriate lighting and needle drops.
#88 – An Overheard Conversation (S0311, “The Power of Wings”)
“I’m sorry, I don’t have any money, sir.” – Natasha Leggero
This one plays with the notion that while many stereotypes can be negative and hurtful, some can maybe be, you know, good – or at least good for The Cause, if you know what I’m saying? K&P overhear a conversation at a bar between two ladies (one played by Natasha Leggero) in which, let’s say, the fellas keep getting whipped back and forth between okay… and OKAY.
#89 – The Usual Suspect (S0305, “Obama Shutdown”)
“Hey Carter, you hang in there.” – Key
Finley (Peele) is a Keyser Soze-esque enigmatic weirdo a la The Usual Suspects, and Key is the cop interrogating him. Much like the movie in question, Finley leverages the stuff in Key’s office to embellish his lies or alibi and so forth, including a classic “Just Hangin’ In There” poster that features an adorable kitty. This one is fun enough, but then lays on a next level twist that shows off K&P’s writing genius and deep devotion to pop culture.
#90 – Pussy on the Chainwax (S0313, “Pussy on the Chainwax”)
“You’re trying to start a thing, aren’t you?” – Bodie
How does a saying become a “thing”? Off the hook, putting someone on blast or, for example, putting the pussy on the chainwax. Someone, somewhere has to make it up and put it out there for the first time. Herein we explore one such story, with hilarious results.
#91 – The Apartment (S0108, “Babysitting Forest Whitaker”)
“Anybody try and get up in here, I’ll murder them.” – The landlord
Peele and his wife, Keira, show up to look at an apartment in a neighborhood they believe to be “changing.” Key is the landlord who unintentionally helps the nice couple understand that this living situation might not be best for them, shall we say. Examples: Key’s potentially murderous cousin, Craig, and a bullet hole in the wall are two of the place’s features. Bonus: a fun twist at the end throws the entire thing on its (crack) head.
#92 – TeachingCenter (S0504, “Severed Head Showcase”)
“See what she did there? She’s bringing an introvert into the discussion, y’all. That’s a teacher of the year play right there.” — Boyd Maxwell
In this spot-on parody of ESPN’s SportsCenter, Perry Schmidt (Peele) and Boyd Maxwell (Key) cover education as though the nation is obsessed with every aspect of it. It’s both funny on its face – including “breaking news” that a teacher, Ruby Ruhf (who later appears in an tacked on fake BMW ad with tagline, Meet the new Teacher’s Pet) is “taking her talents back to New York City for $80 million guaranteed over six years” – and a fabulous satire designed to make us think about what our true priorities are as a society.
#93 – One Last Order (S0207, “Victory”)
“Shoot me in the head, you idiot!” – Commander Beaujoulais
There are skits where you’re not sure at first if there’s going to be some Deep Underlying Message or Major Satire going on, and then it turns out to be deeply silly. This, you won’t be surprised, is one of the latter. Key is Commander Beaujoulais, an African warlord who orders his underling, Jengo (Peele), to take his life before he can be captured by the enemy. Peele… let’s say doesn’t have a great read on the best way to accomplish that task. Also: dig his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles t-shirt.
#94 – Bring It In, Bring It In (S0401, “Alien Imposters”)
“What’s up fam? You know this!” – President Obama
Peele is back as President Obama, with the simple but hilarious premise that he handles greetings and handshakes with Black constituents a little bit more enthusiastically. Sidenote that from the perspective of the early days of Trump’s second administration, it’s painfully nostalgic to look back on an era where presidential satire is based on a person who is so clearly competent, good natured, and wise.
#95 – Late For The Hit (S0201, “Obama College Years”)
Not so slick hit men.
The first sketch of the second season of Key & Peele contains no dialog, which if nothing else lets the fellas show off that they are incredibly gifted physical performers. We hear operatic music as the boys, done up in fancy suits and carrying pistols with silencers, are about to get into whacking mode… until a series of obstacles get in Peele’s way. It’s classic sketch comedy stuff: take a solid, simple premise and push it to its limit. We also get a read on how gifted this show is in terms of film production and direction… which, we will learn, turns out Jordan Peele knows how to do pretty, pretty well.
#96 – Excessive Celebration (S0308, “High On Potenuse”)
“A third pump will draw a flag no matter what.” – Broadcast booth announcer
This is a perfect parody of the NFL’s weird rules around “excessive celebrations” after scoring a touchdown. Bonus I: we get K&P’s hilarious use of football player names here (Key is Hingle McCringleberry, who is having a career day… if only he can rein in his celebratory “pumps”). Bonus II: the broadcast booth’s use of the telestrator and slow-motion playback to highlight said “pumps.”
#97 – Mr. Garvey: Substitute Teacher (Chapter Two) (S0301, “Les Mis”)
“You about as Spanish as Ree-on Seacrest, with your big ass Fraggle Rock hair.” – Mr. Garvey
Mr. Garvey is back, taking the roll call once again. This time, the kids are used to and accepting of how Mr. Garvey, uh… rolls with his pronunciations: De-nice for Denise, Je-seeka for Jessica, and so on. In this edition, the famous A-Aron asks permission for some of the students involved in clubs to leave early so that they can take their yearbook photos. However, Mr. Garvey is convinced that the class wants to go to “the club,” even though no one is old enough to go to “the club.” This round is not nearly as funny as the original but is still fun.
#98 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #4 (S0203, “Puppy Dog Ice-T”)
“If I was a Siberian tiger, bet your ass you’ve been Roy!” – Luther
It’s important to note that Jordan Peele’s Barack Obama impression is extraordinary. There’s an alternate history where Peele joins Saturday Night Live and becomes Dana Carvey 2.0, but of course he’s having a completely singular and stellar career all his own. This fourth outing of the Luther (Key)/Obama team is relatively brief and comes in the wake of a recent (real world) Obama versus Mitt Romney presidential debate circa 2012. The best part comes at the end when Luther fires off a zinger, after which both say “Ohhhhh” in unison. “Oh indeed, America,” as Obama signs off with at the end.
#99 – The Interrogation (S0207, “Victory”)
“Come on man, what you gonna do with the straw?” – Key
Peele is a steely, silent guy in a suit across a table in a dark room from Peele, who anxiously attempts to explain his way through an interrogation. As Peele methodically assembles his bagged lunch a la Gustavo Fring in Breaking Bad as Key freaks the [REDACTED] out, it’s delightfully funny.
#100 – Previewing the Speech (S0308, “High On Potenuse”)
“All right? More like all white!” – Peele
James Livingston (Jerry Lambert) is a VP who brings in three employees to review a big speech with his team to make sure it’s not offensive. This set-up allows for a fantastic exploration of the weird tension that exists in the workplace around intent and political correctness. That being said, there’s a heaviness to the material too, I must relay, in watching this sketch at the dark outset of a new Trump administration (and the rollback of DEI policies across corporate America that’s come with it). Bonus: Crista Flanagan, who plays the amazing Lois Sadler in Mad Men, guest stars.
#101 – Raccoon Apocalypse (S0105, “Gay Marriage Legalized”)
“The zombies are raccoons, right?” – Key
The zombie apocalypse is raging, and K&P are two of the last survivors… oh, and there’s also Tommy. “Tommy’s been bit!” Key announces, dragging him to where they’re hiding out. Peele regretfully shoots him with a shotgun. Grisly, but then things get worse when Key reveals: “It wasn’t a zombie, it was a raccoon… the zombies are raccoons, right?” This one most impressed me for the way it was shot – it’s not that far off what a “real” zombie/horror show would feel like and reminds us that Jordan Peele would soon become an A List film director and horror auteur.
#102 – Dog in the House (S0405, “Quarterback Concussion”)
“You need to know that your dog ruined a ten-year marriage.” – Stanley
Sometimes you can be completely right and completely wrong at the same time. Such is the case when Stanley (Key) accuses his wife, Andrea (Danielle Nicolet), of “f—ing a dog behind my back.” This one is both weird and surprisingly funny, especially upon the reveal of what old Stanley was right about.
#103 – From Othello to Shafte (a sketch in three acts) (S0308, “High On Potenuse”)
“A Black man got it going on, and you shuffle off his mortal coil?” – Peele
It’s a production of Othello (“a tragedy in five acts by William Shakespeare,” as the signage says) back in Ye Olden Days, and K&P have a blast as two dudes going to the Globe Theater to catch the show, meshing Shakespearean English with a satire of (as they put it) Black theater – Othello is my shite! This person doth seem dope to me! Bonus: Henry Ian Cusick of Lost and Scandal fame pops up as The Bard himself (who gets in a very Game of Zones-ish line with, “Is that not Kanye of the West?”).
#104 – Little Homie (S0402, “Little Homie”)
“Hey man, I ain’t trying to talk to no puppet, man.” – Clive “Double Down” Ruggins
I was only kind of into this one, where we have Clive “Double Down” Ruggins (Key) being forced to talk to the puppet, the titular Little Homie, by his parole officer-meets-ventriloquist, Daniel Tate (Peele), until Little Homie pulls a very real gun on his puppet master while trying to force (extort?) Ruggins into smoking “that s— man or I’ll smoke that bitch right here.” The best sketches can propel a huge, shocking laugh out of the ether.
#105 – It’s Not That Bad (S0307, “Sexy Vampires”)
“You know, there’s kind of a positive in having no options.” – Key
Key and Peele are both tied up after getting tortured in a gruesome, Saw-like scene (related: Peele’s missing an arm). However, the fellas engage in a pleasant, philosophical conversation about how much worse it could have been. Bonus: the psycho clown who eventually shows up is truly and hilariously creepy.
#106 – Scariest Movie Ever (S0406, “Scariest Movie Ever”)
“How you gonna scare a couple of adults with a puddle?” – Peele
An excellent parody of two dudes leaving the horror movie talking about how stupid the flick was but actually being super freaked out and unnerved by it.
#107 – Brain Freeze (S0409, “Aerobics Meltdown”)
“It ain’t passing, it’s intensifying!” – Peele
We’re back at Menchie’s (where the Employee of the Year, Latiya, works… and enjoys the free product), and K&P are two dudes enjoying some froyo until Peele starts getting that brain freeze. I thought at first this would be a fun but typical K&P riff-fest, but it elevates to a very funny level, capped by a ridiculously great twist at the end.
#108 – The Lion King (S0508, “Hollywood Sequel Doctor”)
“It’s not a three animated hyenas situation.” – Pete
When Pete (Peele) finds himself in an intellectual conversation that’s way above his head during an attempt to charm an attractive woman Heresa (Tatyana Ali of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air fame and, more recently, Abbott Elementary), he stumbles into a Peter Sellers from Being There method to get in the door thanks to the Disney classic, The Lion King.
#109 – That Clever TSA (S0411, “Terrorist Meeting”)
“That is the genius of TSA, they foil us at every turn!” – ISIS guy
A group of ISIS members in a cave are astounded at the TSA’s “cunning and evil” ability to throttle their attempts to hijack another commercial airplane. The joke is that they are in awe of the annoying security policy minutiae of U.S. air travel that we all constantly wonder what’s the point of, what with a four-inch maximum limit on scissor sizes, or needing to take laptops out of their cases while going through security and so forth. A top-notch comedic concept well executed.
#110 – Final Days (S0405, “Quarterback Concussion”)
“Your request has been filed.” – Don
Don (Peele) is sitting bedside in the hospital with his dying wife (Rashida Jones). She has him make a series of promises (stay strong for their little girl, never forget about me, never look at porn, visit my mother daily…), some of which are easier to accept than others. I found this one funnier in its execution than in its concept, which is quite rare (which is to say it’s very funny). Also: in a wild coincidence, I happened to catch Rashida Jones in the gut-wrenching and outstanding Black Mirror episode, “Common People,” two days before I reviewed this sketch.
#111 – Black Ice (S0310, “Black Ice”)
“Gotta watch out for that black ice – it’s transparent and sneaky.” – Marcy Whitchurch
Oftentimes, a quality comedy sketch concept telegraphs what it’s doing right from the jump and then exploits the laughs from there. Here we get two white news anchors (Jamie Throneburg and Marcy Whitchurch), with the weatherman, Isaac Labuda, played by Key. When Labuda talks about the potential for black ice on a wintry Minnesota’s eve, the anchors riff on thinly veiled racist allusions about the “dangers” of “menacing, life-robbing black, black ice,” for example. This one is more than a one-noter though as Labuda, with help from field reporter Darren Hempner (Peele), “fight back” by reminding viewers about the “oppressive white snow” out on the streets. Stay safe, people.
#112 – Negrotown (S0511, “The End”)
“Follow me to a place I know, where there ain’t no pain, ain’t no sorrow…” – Wally
When Key gets harassed by a cop for no other reason than he’s Black, everything suddenly changes when a hobo named Wally (Peele) whisks them away to a magical utopia for Black people called Negrotown – which becomes a wide-ranging, cheerful, old school musical number to boot. But was it all just a dream? Well, yes. Yes, it was.
#113 – Escalating Text Messages (S0403, “Georgina and Esther and Satan”)
“Do you even want to hang out?” – Key
This one takes a relatable topic in our modern world – misconstruing text messages – and exquisitely plays out a scene in with K&P completely misunderstand each other with regard to meeting up at a bar later that night. Sentences like “You want to go right now?” and “First round’s mine” play out in wildly different contexts.
#114 – Mic Drop (S0102, “Black Hawk Up”)
“I’m the leader of the free world.” – President Obama
In this episode intro sketch, Key is rapping on the street with his boys and, in fact, he’s good! Things are going great and you’re wondering when something is going to happen to shake things up when… a limo rolls up, and President Obama (Peele) – who had only just been introduced in the inaugural Luther/anger translator sketch in the previous episode – gets out. The prez grabs the mic, says, “I’m the leader of the free world,” and then promptly drops said mic. Game over. Rap battle won.
#115 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #9 (S0305, “Obama Shutdown”)
“When was the last time we had sex, woman, election night?” – Luther
This ninth outing of President Obama (Peele) and his anger translator, Luther (Key), gets a new twist: Obama is attempting to have a romantic evening in the White House with Michelle (Keke Palmer), but the First Lady is tired and wants to go to bed. Therefore, it’s she who brings in the ever-ready Luther to help facilitate the marital conversation. Bonus: we also meet Michelle’s anger translator, Katendra (Nicole Randall Johnson), who does much to revitalize the premise.
#116 – Twigs (S0208, “Manly Tears”)
“Back in the day, we used to pretend the sofa cushions was a fort.” – Carvell
A bunch of tough dudes gather round in the wake of the body of their boy Twigs getting pulled out of river. Key asks a visibly shaken Carvell (Peele) to say a few words, and Carvell goes deep on his childhood memories with his now deceased friend. What I just described could have been played entirely as drama, but in the hands of K&P it turns into a funny and striking exploration of how dudes deal with and express their feelings. Oh! And you may want to stick around to the end, which ends with a bang.
#117 – Accent Work (S0311, “The Power of Wings”)
“What a great opportunity to play an American tough.” – Nigel
K&P are in a standoff, guns out, snow falling. “You sold me out son, now you gonna end up with a bullet in your head for it,” Peele proclaims, except it’s a movie scene, with Nigel (Key) – a British thespian doing an American accent – and Antoine (Peele), an actor who is actually a former gang member from Brooklyn. The director (guest star Colin Hanks) just isn’t feeling Antoine’s performance though, and things get funny from there.
#118 – Roll With Me (S0408, “Terrible Henchman”)
“That’s my jam right there!” – Key
K&P and are on a road trip, and when “Roll With Me” – a song that both proclaim to be their jam –comes on the radio – one turns out to know the lyrics way better than the other. As someone who loves music but is pretty awful at memorizing lyrics, I feel particularly seen with this one.
#119 – Browser History (S0301, “Les Mis”)
“I don’t know, maybe there’s something wrong with the computer, so…” – Peele
Peele’s wife innocently asks him why the browser history and cache is always every time she uses their shared computer, and that kicks off an ever escalating – and sweat-drenched – investigation into one man’s, shall we say, predilections. But funny!
#120 – Star 69 (S0509, “The 420 Special”)
“These new call scripts are really great.” – Colin Valenti
Getting annoyed at home by cold calling telemarketers – mostly an anachronism now in the age of smart phones – gets its script flipped, so to speak, when Colin Valenti (Peele) from Master Travel Incorporated has the temerity to hang up on Gavin (Key).
#121 – High On Potenuse (S0308, “High On Potenuse”)
“I wish I were high on potenuse.” – Mr. Jackson
Often a funny sketch works because it’s based on a simple, clever premise that’s pushed to its natural limit. Such is the case here as we have Mr. Morrison (Key) and Mr. Jackson (Peele) as students in math class, and when the teacher brings up the hypotenuse, Mr. Jackson whispers “I wish I were high on potenuse.” However, critically, when Mr. Morrison repeats the line for the entire class, they crack the [REDACTED] up. There’s a play on comedians and “stolen material” here (as emphasized by Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias eventually showing up) but mostly this is just about the feeling we can all relate to when we want to tell everyone, wait I said that!
#122 – Crime Scene Misread (S0505, “Killer Concept Album”)
“Tell that to his widow.” – Peele
K&P are CSI detectives at the scene of yet another brutal murder. When Key laments that they’re always going to be two steps behind and never going to find the guy who did this, he then also completely misreads Peele’s sarcastic rejoinder. Short, sweet, and dark. Delicious.
#123 – An Unwanted Visitor (S0312, “East/West Bowl 2”)
“Gerald, you tiny little bitch!” – Devon
I love when I can get hilariously surprised by a comedy sketch, and this one fully delivers on that score. When a rather pimped out landlord named Devon (Key) shows up at Peele’s apartment door, it seems like he’s just some super weirdo out on some kind of bizarre quest to find a diminutive, purple bearded, crack starved person called Gerald, until…
#124 – Baby Shield (S0209, “Gangsta Standoff”)
“I ain’t trying to fight nobody with a baby.” – Peele
Key is a loving father cooing back to his infant child (who is strapped to himself via baby harness) while walking around a public park. When he accidentally brushes by a taciturn basketball player (Peele), the latter says, “Yo watch where you’re going.” This happens within a few seconds and highlights how quickly and crisply K&P set up comedy sketches. Things rapidly flip against our expectations, however, when Peele, seeing the child, tries to deescalate the situation while Key insists on escalating. Well, sort of.
#125 – Pre-Fight Press Conference (S0304, “Boarding Group One”)
“We gonna spend our golden years together.” – Royson
It’s a pre-fight press conference that you might find being aired during the day on a 24-hour sports channel. Claudius Lewis (Key) delivers typical pre-fight aggressive banter (“When I get Andre in the ring, it’s gonna be cruel and quick”), while Andre Royson (Peele) takes it further. Much further. This one might rub some people the wrong way – it’s both funny and plays rope-a-dope with what’s acceptable behavior for men in sports, and in life.
#126 – French Cuisine (S0404, “Slap-Ass: In Recovery”)
“It’s been nice knowing you, have a lovely dinner.” – Peele
We’ve all been there. At least most of us have: feeling intimidated at an upscale restaurant when the waiter (Jean, in this case, played by Key, who shows off an exceptional ability to seem to non-French speakers that bro can spit some Français) whips off a blizzard of menu items in a language or vocabulary you can’t possibly understand. What’s our poor guy Peele, out with a lovely date, to do? Why, bail out of Dodge, of course.
#127 – Hitler Mustache (S05010, “Meegan and Andre Break Up”)
“Hitler ain’t the only one allowed to have this mustache.” – Key
Key insists to his buddy Peele that his new Hitler mustache has nothing to do with the evil 20th Century dictator, but that’s only the first thing about him that’s, shall we say, suspicious. Peele’s “nope” reactions here are particularly funny.
#128 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #3 (S0202, “Dubstep”)
“Ooh, I been waiting for this!” – Luther
Obama (Peele) does his thing with Luther (Key), this time with an upcoming debate between (the real) Barack Obama and Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential campaign. K&P are in top form, but two things become striking from a 2025 context: that 2012 was flat out tame in terms of politics then versus our current politics (in a great way!), and secondly, Obama and Luther tear up Romney’s core problem in going after Obama on his signature accomplish on health care with the following exchange: “I look forward to a fruitful and healthy debate on the Affordable Care Act,” Obama says, followed by this from Luther: “And since you already did it in Massachusetts, it’s gonna be real interesting to watch your flip-flopping ass argue me on that s— now!”
#129 – Blooper Reel (S0511, “The End”)
“My name’s Wendell, and I too am a sexual.” – Wendell
This isn’t a sketch as much of a montage of outtakes and bloopers from the entire Key & Peele series. It’s funny in of itself while highlighting the astonishing amount of outstanding hilarity and satire the boys produced over five seasons.
#130 – Wash & Dry (S0210, “Dueling Hats”)
“You need any more quarters?” – Uncle Ted
Keith (Key) visits Uncle Ted (Peele) at his place of business, a local laundromat. Things are pretty drab and boring, with the real action and excitement taking place across the street at the barbershop. The fun is in how this sketch is filmed as an old school, cheesy movie, and I started laughing when Keith notices that guest star Billy Dee Williams is laughing it up at the barbershop. “He’s Lando Calrissian,” Keith notes. “He runs Cloud City!”
#131 – Slow News Day (S0104, “The Branding”)
“That horse had a big old snake head!” – Key
It’s a slow news day, so a local TV reporter decides to walk up to a guy in front of his house and ask him if he’s seen a Pegasus that’s been reported in the area. The guy – Key, in particularly goofy mode – says, “Aw yeah, I seen a Pegasus!” Peele pops up, and they both corroborate that they’ve seen a Pegasus “every day.” Soon, it seems, everybody in the neighborhood has seen the Pegasus, argued about the Pegasus, is attempting to sell Pegasus t-shirts – or even looking to hunt down the Pegasus. Meanwhile, the news Chyron for Channel 6 reads PEGASUS SIGHTING. This one has a bit of a live action South Park sketch with a K&P spin.
#132 – Pour One Out (S0304, “Boarding Group One”)
“I mean, it just seems like a waste, right?” – Peele
“This goes out to all our fallen homies, yo,” Peele announces to his friends, as they prepare to “pour one out” of their malt liquor bottles. The comedy comes into play when it turns out that Peele is reticent to join in the activity, shall we say. A simple premise, and simply funny.
#133 – Alien Imposters (S0401, “Alien Imposters”)
“Redneck wants us to move into his community? Us?” – Peele
In the post-apocalyptic world that K&P exist in,these aliens are scary good at pretending to be humans, although they have one fatal flaw. This sketch does a great job at comedically posing the question of, “What if aliens with ill intent came to planet Earth but had zero clue what racism is all about?”
#134 – Deez Nuts (S0511, “The End”)
“These nuts passed away on your chin.” – Vince
Set in a super dramatic tone, this one is weird, sort of dark, and overall pretty funny (especially if you’re sort of aware of the way that some people – young dudes, more or less back in the day, I’d take it? – will use deez nuts as a joke. In any event, Vince (Peele) literally can’t stop turning everything into a deez nuts thing until tragedy strikes. Bonus I: Jordan Peele’s (kind of) dramatic acting chops are quite strong. Bonus II: look out for Charles Robinson (Mac from the original Night Court!) as Vince’s pops.
#135 – Two Old Boys (S0502, “Airplane Showdown”)
“You can’t deny the local customs!” – Gerald
Sometimes, a great sketch involves nothing more than K&P sitting and talking, aided of course by brilliant costumes, hair, makeup, and sets. Here we have the fellas (who might both be named Gerald?) as 19th Century British aristocrats, older gentlemen regaling their tales of adventures among the “less civilized” peoples of the world… which always seems to have involved some bizarre sexual “rituals” that they “grudgingly” became embroiled in.
#136 – Barack and Malia: Life in the Real World (S0108, “Babysitting Forest Whitaker”)
“This is called consequences, Malia.” – President Obama
In the first of a series of vignettes, President Obama (Peele) is teaching daughter Malia (Saba McGee) how to drive, and when she completely blows through a stop sign, a police cruiser lights up behind them. The cop, starstruck at seeing the president, offers to let them go on their way immediately, but Barack insists that they get treated like anyone else. Smash cut to the President of the United States getting slammed into the hood of the car, hands behind his back. Short, funny, biting. In the second, Barack and Malia learn what “getting treated like everyone else” means while trying to figure out the nuances of an ATM machine.
#137 – Church Choir Rehearsal (S0504, “Severed Head Showcase”)
“Not everything is about you, Gina.” – The entire church choir
Charles – a character we never end up meeting – is late for church choir practice, which is really just an excuse for what’s perhaps one of the most wholesome K&P sketches to ever air. This of course doesn’t prevent Key and Peele’s church choir members from getting into it during a song (lift up to the lord!) about who is hitting the right note (you’re going higher than your note!). Bigger laughs follow as the entire choir gets involved.
#138 – I’ll Be Your Brother (S0313, “Pussy on the Chainwax”)
You don’t give a grown man a wedgie! – Peele
Most of this sketch – in which Peele is lamenting the loss of his brother, with a comforting Key responding that he’ll be there for his dude – is played relatively straight, and it hits home how both K&P are at heart great actors and performers. When the ludicrous twist of sorts finally comes, that makes it all the funnier.
#139 – Rhinos Win Championship (S0102, “Obama College Years”)
“You can swim the Atlantic. You can jump real high and touch the moon!” – Charlie Sanders
A local TV reporter is in the locker room with the jubilant basketball team, the Rhinos, who have just won the championship. Key is the reporter interviewing star player Charlie Sanders (Peele), who scored 33 points (pretty good!). Sanders is ecstatic, and therefore segues from the cliché of “if you put your mind to it, you can do anything,” to literally advocating that kids watching should jump off their roofs to fly into the night sky. They just have to believe in themselves, you see. Things escalate from there, and then we smash cut to the apologetic press conference. End scene.
#140 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #7 (S0207, “Victory”)
“Take that s— back to the lab, Mitt, ‘cause you lost!” – Luther
This seventh outing of President Obama (Peele) and Luther (Key) is quite a time capsule as it falls just after the “real” Obama defeated Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. I’m writing these words during the early months of the Trump 2.0 era so you’ll excuse me if my sense of humor may be frazzled and scattered in reaction to this particular sketch. Nonetheless, you can feel the fellas’ joy at the victory shining through in this edition of the sketch, and I particularly enjoyed Luther (and Obama!) doing a celebratory “Hammer dance.”
#141 – The Getaway (S0401, “Alien Imposters”)
“We’re doing it at the same time is the problem.” – Key
On top of so many other outstanding qualities, K&P have the rangy ability to find comedic material in both the big picture and the minutiae of everyday life. We get a short, sweet look at the latter here in the form of that thing we’ve all gone through when someone is trying to unlock a car door just when someone else is trying to open the same door on the other side. Except here, they up the ante by way of a getaway car moments after a bank robbery.
#142 – Hoodie FTW (S0301, “Les Mis”)
Hiding in plain white.
Peele walks down a suburban street with a backpack on, and as he looks at the white kids and families that he passes, they only stare coldly and fearfully back at him in return. When a snarling cop rolls up, Peele wisely puts up his hoodie… which displays the profile of a white, blonde-haired guy. And the cop keeps rolling along. Short, cute, biting.
#143 – The Reverend Robert Jones (S0202, “Dubstep”)
“Dr King… actually covered a lot of what I wanted to say.” – Rev. Jones
This is the second time we’ve seen Peele as Martin Luther King. The first time he portrayed King as part of a sketch in which he was a community theater actor, but this time it’s the real deal. In fact, we see Peele in black and white footage of a relatively faithful attempt to recreate MLK’s iconic “free at last” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in D.C. We then cut to Key as “the Reverend Robert Jones,” who immediately puts his hand over the microphone and whispers, “How can I follow that?” From there we get an amusing riff on attempting to follow greatness. A few follow up segments push the concept a little further, but you get the drift.
#144 – President Obama Outwits The GOP (S0105, “Gay Marriage Legalized”)
“And nobody better throw me a cigarette.” – President Obama
President Obama (Peele) convenes members of the Republican party to focus on his hoped-for bipartisan agenda. When the all-white roundtable of Republicans (including guest star Paul F. Thompkins) instantly balk at the notion of working together, Obama proposes very (traditionally) Republican ideas: “No taxes for rich people,” for example. This causes the Republicans to instantly oppose it… because it came from Obama. “Okay,” Obama agrees pleasantly, “More taxes for the rich.” The process continues until the Republicans realize they’re doomed and one of them cuts his tongue off with a pair of scissors. The end.
#145 – The Surprise Party (S0302, “East/West Bowl Rap”)
“Surprise.” – Key
Key and Vinny (Peele) are two fellas (goodfellas if you like) with heavy Italian American accents, one of whom is wearing a track suit (if you know what I’m saying). Vinny reluctantly enters a dark house at Key’s behest, anticipating that he’s about to get whacked. From the doorway, Vinny unloads his automatic hand cannon, unleashing an orgy of violence upon a host of those waiting… to give him a lovely surprise birthday party as it turns out, as operatic music adorns the proceedings.
#146 – Severed Head Showcase (S0504, “Severed Head Showcase”)
“ARHHHHHH…. Hmm…” – Peele
In this dialog-free sketch, we see Peele vanquish a combatant during some kind of brutal tribal battle. After he chops his opponent’s head off with his sword, his fellow tribesmen howl in triumph. Now that he has a rapt crowd, Peele feels obliged to play to them by using the severed head as a prop in various comedic bits. But as any live performer and stand-up comic well knows, an audience’s attention span can be both short and mercurial.
#147 – Gay Wedding (S0401, “Alien Imposters”)
“When do we sing YMCA?” – Lance Reddick
Cousin Delroy, who happens to be gay, is getting married so Larry (Peele) brings in his gay co-worker Gary (Key) to take the Johnson family through the particulars. Poor Gary is put into a position of kindly but firmly explaining that a gay wedding is exactly like a “straight wedding,” even in the face of ever more baffling questions from the family – which features great guest stars, including Lance Reddick (it’s a shame he didn’t do more comedic work in his career!) and Romany Malco of Weeds fame) – such as “Where do you get the Euros to buy gay gifts?”
#148 – Employee of the Year (S0407, “Sex Detective”)
“Come on girl, it’s fat free!” – Latiya
Latiya (Key), who is very heavyset, is a manager at Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt and Peele her new female trainee. The comedy comes from Latiya’s glee over how you get free froyo as part of the gig, and it’s fat free! And then we learn that her boyfriend is about to arrive home from a year of being deployed overseas. In short: this is one where I feel like I really shouldn’t laugh but…
#149 – A Cappella Club (S0503, “A Cappella Club”)
“You think I’m gonna roll over for some falsetto ass motherf—er?” – Troy
This one reminds me that the essence of great comedy sketches isn’t always just great jokes and comedic performances – it’s in quickly and skillfully setting up conflict from which the comedy can spring from. Here we get Troy (Peele) as the “soulful” member of an otherwise all white a capella school club, but things get real when new member Troy (Key) – with his dazzling falsetto prowess – rolls up. As the ending title card advises us: stop Black on Black violence.
#150 – Astrophysicsplaining (S0509, “The 420 Special”)
“Whether I’m ready now or in 500 years, well, cosmically speaking the distinction is meaningless.”– Neil deGrasse Tyson
Peele clearly has fun as Neil deGrasse Tyson in this three-parter sketch, leveraging the scientist’s vast knowledge of astrophysics to talk his way through “reasons” why he couldn’t possibly walk the dog, get ready to go to Aunt Nelly’s funeral, or presumably anything else that he wants to get out of – including divorce?
#151 – Meet the Parents (S0506, “The Job Interview”)
“You should be ashamed of yourselves.” – Key
In what’s perhaps the clearest homage to The Twilight Zone that K&P ever produced (with Jordan Peele poised to go on to produce a reboot of the iconic anthology sci fi series in 2019), a woman (Melanie Lynskey, who is great in everything, but especially Togetherness) brings home a man (Key) to meet parents who are clearly offended by the color of his skin. However, there’s something else going on here. And by here, I mean there, and by there, I mean tail.
#152 – Airplane Showdown (S0502, “Airplane Showdown”)
“That’s not a word, that’s a tongue trick.” – Mark
Peele’s airline employee character is back (we find out his name is Mark), this time as a flight attendant who gets into a bizarre standoff with Key, who would very much like to go to the bathroom after the seat belt sign has turned on. While it’s funny, I struggle with this one a bit because the violent level of turbulence that this airplane experiences is actually super not funny.
#153 – Hollywood Sequel Doctor (S0508, “Hollywood Sequel Doctor”)
“The studio just brings me in to oversee things when they about to drop a deuce.” – Star Magic Jackson, Jr.
How do completely bonkers ideas make it into Hollywood sequels, especially during the particularly wacky late 1980s? Herein we get insight as Star Magic Jackson, Jr. (Peele), the Hollywood Sequel doctor – who might be modeled on the character Hollywood (Meshach Taylor) from Mannequin (and Mannequin Two: On the Move)? –bombards a creative meeting for Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
#154 – Drug Deal at the Park (S0308, “High On Potenuse”)
“What’s with the Robin Williams routine?” – Peele
K&P are so great at satirizing the roles we all constantly play in real life, shifting seamlessly between how we act at home versus work, with friends at the bar versus with a religious leader or in this case, when you’re trying to score some drugs at the local park. In this case, Key just can’t get with the program, to drug dealer Peele’s consternation.
#155 – Prayer Circle Miracle (S0502, “Airplane Showdown”)
“Just want to clarify… everything?” — Peele
This short and silly one plays around with the notion of what is a religious miracle versus what might be a supernatural haunting. In essence, things get real when God descends on a prayer group and demands that they sell their earthly possessions and “begin in service to the poor.”
#156 – The Doorway Dance (S0406, “Scariest Movie Ever”)
“There is a seat in this house with your name on it, girl.” – Key
A pleasant interaction/debate of the I just stopped by to say hello!-versus-I insist that you come inside for a visit! kind smash cuts to a bitingly funny horror-comedy twist.
#157 – Naan Sense at the Tailor (S0509, “The 420 Special”)
“Who goes there?” – Sal
There are those sketches where you’re pretty sure where it’s headed on early on, but it’s really going to a totally different place. Here we have Peele as a bro dude who has just eaten at a “trashy Indian place at a strip mall” (called Naan Sense, which, brilliant name) and has now arrived at the tailor, where poor older gentleman Sal (Key) is forced to have his face near Peele’s “lower half,” shall we say, to ply his trade. But who could guess that what’s really going on is that a demonic spirit has been conjured? From the eternal, from within.
#158 – Cunnilingus Class (S0306, “Cunnilingus Class”)
“Penises is easy, and vaginas is hard.” – Shaboots Michaels
Shaboots Michaels (Key) and T-Ray Tombstone (Peele) are garishly dressed pimp-like gents giving a class to a room full of men on… well, to quote Shaboots: “We’re here to tell you how to go down on bitches right.” This one is so ridiculous (even for K&P!) that you’re primed to think it won’t work, but the boys sell the concept so hard (and their stratagems on, uh… the topic) that you do indeed make it to the promised land. Of humor.
#159 – Gideon’s Kitchen (S0101, “Bitch”)
“This is not fit for human consumption. No, this should be eaten by a higher life form.” – Chef Gideon
Chef Gideon (Key) is a Gordon Ramsey stand-in on a reality TV cooking competition who with each turn of phrase keeps messing with Peele’s understanding of whether he is an amazing or terrible chef. It turns out… he is amazing (we think?), though sadly he may not live to ever cook again.
#160 – Lightning in a Bottle (S0505, “Killer Concept Album”)
“How do you know about Honkers?” – Levi
Levi (Peele) and Cedric (Key) are getting their smoke on, as dudes are wont to do, when Levi suggests that they should build an app together. Cedric blows this off, saying that’s like creating lightning in a bottle. But as it turns out, Levi actually has lightning in a bottle, and that’s not even getting to the goose that laid the golden egg.
#161 – Cloud City (S0310, “Black Ice”)
“Why you wearing a cape though, where you going to, the ice planet Hoth?” – Zeef Howdo
This one is funny, and gets funnier if you’re a deep level Star Wars nerd (and we’re talking the original trilogy here). We’re in Cloud City, and “carbonite room” employee Zeef Howdo is a little too excited about running into our guy Lando Calrissian (Key). If only there were a “mandroid” around to help him get out of the convo, you know?
#162 – The Not So Good Stuff (S0406, “Scariest Movie Ever”)
“But there’s gotta be a good part?” – Kumail Nanjiani
Key and a few buddies (one played by Kumail Nanjiani of Silicon Valley and lots of other things fame) break away from the party to smoke some weed, whereupon they stumble into a really creepy Peele. Our guy offers the boys “some of that god drug” before rattling off a bunch of other “street names” such as Cutty Cutty, Long Island Brain Slice, and Funt. The comedy stems from the fellas getting weirded out by Peele and that they hold zero interest in the trip he’s laying in front of them.
#163 – Sexy Vampires (S0307, “Sexy Vampires”)
“I mean, are you two even lesbians?” – Brother Tyrell
Peele, a sexy vampire, gathers his harem or collective of fellow sexy vampires or whatever, and says: “Tonight, a brother from our family will feast for the first time.” Things come to a screeching halt, however, when Peele realizes that Brother Tyrell (Key) isn’t dressed all sexy goth-bitey bitey time like the rest of them. And then it turns out that’s not the only way that Brother Tyrell will help this gang to keep it real.
#164 – Slap-Ass: In Recovery (S0404, “Slap-Ass: In Recovery”)
“We gonna need a bigger boat.” – Rafi
Herein we revisit the Rhinos baseball club one year out from the events of the original “Slap-Ass” sketch. Rafi (Peele) is back from “treatment” for his compulsion to slap that ass, baseball-style. All seems to be well, until a new player, Ruben – who boasts a rather large and inviting posterior – enters the fray. I could have lived without a Slap-Ass sequel but it’s still fun and silly enough.
#165 – People Park (S0313, “Pussy on the Chainwax”)
“Keep your person on a leash.” – Sign at People Park
What if people acted like dogs at the dog park, frolicking and sniffing one another and so on? This sketch allows the boundless improv and physical comedy talents of the fellas to be put on full display. Bonus: we get a nice number of cameos in this one, including Tom Lennon.
#166 – Love at First Sight? (S0511, “The End”)
“I just didn’t picture it happening this way.” – Key
When an attractive woman (K.D. Aubert) passes out on the street near Key, he’s frozen – not so much in fear of what to do, but by her striking beauty.
#167 – Money Trick (S0502, “Airplane Showdown”)
(Wacky old timey sound effect)
This delightfully strange sketch with a decidedly old timey look and feel includes zero dialog. Key is a kindly elder gent who clearly enjoys making little kids smile with his friendly ways and cute (old timey) where’d that quarter come from behind your ear? trick. But what if the little boy had real money pouring out of his ear, and we’re talking serious cash here…
#168 – The Heart Transplant (S0406, “Scariest Movie Ever”)
“This is an instance of Obamacare literally saving a life.” – Surgeon
Man, this one is a bit of a gut punch – and it’s all the more effective for it – from the perspective of the early days of Trump 2.0. In short: after a successful heart transplant, a surgeon (Key) tells his patient that his life was saved thanks to Obamacare, which causes the dude to cut off his nose to spite his face. Except replace “cut off his nose” with “rips out his own heart.”
#169 – Keith’s Engagement (S0411, “Terrorist Meeting”)
“People always underbid on her showcases, not the best presenter.” – Clive
While this is more of a middling K&P effort overall, the details at play here elevate it to a weirdly funny level. Keith (Key) is home to tell his parents and his super jealous, freeloading adult brother Clive (Peele) that he’s getting married. Peele’s bizarro wig game is on point with this one, and I love the tiny detail that he’s eating microwaved French bread pizza for dinner while everyone else eats a properly cooked meal.
#170 – Georgina and Esther and Satan (S0403, “Georgina and Esther and Satan”)
“I’m gonna cut the devil’s dick off and shove it up his ass… with my prayers.” – Georgina
Esther (Peele) and Georgina (Key) are two ladies attending church dressed up in their Sunday best. As the two gossip about family members who have been ensnared in the hands of the devil (by way of smoking the reefer and doing the hanky panky and such), each relaays increasingly wild ways in which they will violently defeat the devil… with their prayers, mind.
#171 – Brothers, Brothers, Brothers (S0309, “Tackle & Grapple”)
“As you were what, smart guy?” – Dude paying some young ‘uns to move his appliances
Peele is the cliched older gentleman who feels compelled to school the young ‘uns that they don’t need to go down the Bad Road as he did back in the day, except he’s having a rough time finding takers. The best part of this one Part I: a return cameo of Doug Duggart (Key), Brazilian Jiu Jitsu expert and… well, sexual predator of some sort (which obviously ain’t cool in a real world context but, you know, funny!).Part II: The Office alum Leslie David Baker shows up as an even older cliched gentleman.
#172 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #8 (S0301, “Les Mis”)
“I assure you, the country has gotten safer since the Bush era.” – President Obama
It’s a new season of K&P, the first year of President Obama’s second term, and the eighth outing of President Obama (Peele) with his trusty anger translator, Luther (Key), at his side. The topic has something to do with allegations that the Obama administration was illegally spying on people at the time, and I found myself quite distracted – from my current standpoint looking down the barrel of a second Trump administration – by trying to recall the political climate at what seems like very very Before Times. Even so, it’s a peppy and decently funny outing for the duo.
#173 – Menstruation Orientation (S0502, “Airplane Showdown”)
“Be nice to your bitches when they bleeding.” – Shaboots Michaels and T-Ray Tombstone (in unison)
Shaboots Michaels (Key) and T-Ray Tombstone (Peele) are back (see also: “Cunnilingus Class”), two pimpish-ly dressed hustlers-meets-TED Talk style speakers. This time around they’re here to make sure all the men out there are “sensitive to that s—” when it comes to the ladies having their time of the month. While I enjoy these characters well enough, I was cool with graduating after the first round with these two.
#174 – Congressman Peele (S0305, “Obama Shutdown”)
“I know what the future brings, and I cannot let any of you sign it!” – Congressman Peele
It’s the constitutional convention of the United States, and a bewigged Key reads aloud the words of the second amendment, the right to bear arms. “What if someone made a gun that could kill 50 people in 30 seconds?” Peele asks, and the rest of gathered representatives of the new United States laugh in a well that’s ridiculous kind of way. Then, well, things do get ridiculous, because this is a time travel spoof – one in which we learn that changing our nation’s thirst for guns ain’t so easy. Depressing and funny at the same time.
#175 – Gay Marriage Legalized (S0105, “Gay Marriage Legalized”)
“My name is LaShaun and this right here is my Sam-which.” – LaShaun
A local news reporter is covering an unnamed state becoming the seventh to legalize gay marriage. K&P are a happy couple helping to celebrate as part of a large, happy rally… but the problem is that Sam (Key) wasn’t aware that LaShaun (Peele) thinks that they are now going to get married. The improv skills and comedic chemistry between the two sells the simple premise, with Peele’s unbridled excitement and Key’s couple-y discomfort on display. My favorite part: LaShaun talking about how they’re going to have five little girls post-nuptials, named “Etnie, Carousel, Sequin, Abercrombie, and Phantom.”
#176 – Ancestry.com (S0101, “Bitch”)
“I was able to trace my family line all the way back to none other than the third president, Thomas Jefferson.” – Key
This commercial parody feels like it could be a real Ancestry.com ad until all of the African American characters proclaim that they can trace their lineage back to the same person: President Thomas Jefferson. It’s funny on the surface but also a potent reminder that the United States was founded by slave owners.
#177 – Last Second Interception Won Game (S0306, “Cunnilingus Class”)
“We wanted to do it play-by-play, give it 100%, execution-wise.” – Ozamataz Buckshank
It’s always fun to see characters pop up from the huge array of sketches that K&P has produced over time, and here we get Ozamataz Buckshank, the Rhinos’ Defensive End out of Stanford University, being interviewed on Channel 17 by Key. The comedy comes in when we quickly see that Buckshank has been coached a little too well in terms of staying on message with the media.
#178 – Tha Carter in the Slammer (S0101, “Bitch”)
“Young money.” – Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne (Peele) proclaims that he’s the baddest m-f-er at Riker’s… right up until the moment that Key’s fellow prisoner stabs him for his bling. We later see this sequence repeated out in the yard. By the time he makes it to the prison shower, Lil Wayne is far more cautious… until the soap gets dropped. Sidenote: K&P could have easily been standouts on SNL for their impersonation skills alone.
#179 – That Totally Reminds Me (S0206, “Michael Jackson Halloween”)
“Oh my God, Amy, I almost forgot to tell you…” – Peele
K&P are two ladies out for a stroll, which is an excuse for a riff fest involving that totally reminds me – stories about incredibly normal stuff that each character finds hellaciously crazy – …but then! An actual creeper dude invites the ladies into his van “to meet Channing Tatum” (because, reasons, you know) and of course they hop right in without so much as a blink.
#180 – The Flop (S0305, “Obama Shutdown”)
“Power Falcons win this match!” – Play-by-Play Guy
It’s a professional soccer match, and Peele flops during a routine play. However, this turns into a dialog-free operatic epic in which he dies, sees what looks like Nick Swardson playing god at the pearly gates, while meanwhile on Earth Key gets hit with a red card. It’s cute, but most of all shows off how next level K&P is in setting tone and telling a story through direction and performance.
#181 – Mr. Nostrand (S0208, “Manly Tears”)
“I don’t play.” – Mr. Nostrand
A rowdy class settles down as Mr. Nostrand (Peele), the substitute teacher, walks in. He writes his name of the chalkboard, announces that his name might as well be “Mr. No Nonsense,” and then accidentally drops his chalk. As he bends over to pick it up, he farts. Then there’s a long pause, and Mr. Nostrand picks up his bag and skedaddles out of the room as the class erupts in laughter. Sometimes in high school – as in life – there’s no escaping high school.
#182 – A Mel Gibsons Appreciation Sketch (S0306, “Cunnilingus Class”)
“Lethal Weapon 2, starring the racist-ass Melly Gibsons?” – Peele
Our parking attendant fellas are back for another go round of pluralizing celebrity names (it’s all Mel Gibsons and Liam Neesons for these boys) and riff-festing. My favorite line in this one, via Peele: “Remember when racist-ass Melly Gibson was Blue Man Group in Bravehearts?”
#183 – Dubstep Move (S0202, “Dubstep”)
“Dude, that’s the dubstep, man. That’s my jam.” – Peele
Peele is helping Key pack up his apartment and decides to play some dubstep to set the mood. When he hits play and the beat drops, things take a zany turn. This one is a little hard to explain, but there’s a lot in here that points to Jordan Peele’s future as an A List horror director.
#184 – Substitute Traffic Reporter (S0102, “Black Hawk Up”)
“But I gotta tell you guys, I am loving the view… arghhhh!” – Brock Favors
Brock Favors (Key) is coming at you “with traffic on the one’s” from a helicopter. The “substitute traffic reporter” professionally delivers the update, right up until the moment the helicopter starts spinning wildly. This causes Brock to lose his [REDACTED], and comedy ensues. It’s a one-note sketch as this pattern repeats, but Key sells it so well – particularly his increasing desire to end the traffic report and get off the flying death machine – that it mostly works.
#185 – Living Your Life To My Design (S0108, “Babysitting Forest Whitaker”)
“Thank you for doing what I told you to…” – Peele
K&P are two dudes enjoying watching a game on TV, but things take a quick turn: Peele has written a song about how the two are best friends. It starts off awkward for Wally (Key), and then takes a nosedive into the bizarre as the song is about how much Peele has guided his friend’s success in life. When Peele’s song turns up a notch (“Like the white wolf guides his cubs through the plains of the caribou…”), Key finally tells him to shut up and storms out. “My wolf cub is all grown up,” Peele concludes.
#186 – The Morgue (S0406, “Scariest Movie Ever”)
“It’s definitely not him.” – Peele
This one is so… let’s say out there, and filled with so many multiple misdirects that I’ll just say it starts out with a blind man (Peele) identifying a body at a morgue. And I’m just gonna go ahead and leave it there.
#187 – A Liam Neesons Appreciation Sketch (S0203, “Puppy Dog Ice-T”)
“But did you see that Liam Neesons movie with them wolves, though?” – Key
Key and Peele are valet parking attendants, but really this is a riff-fest entirely focused on getting way over-amped about the filmography of action star extraordinaire Liam Neeson (which they both consistently pluralize to Liam Neesons, adding to the fun).
#188 – ‘90s R&B Singers (S0102, “Black Hawk Up”)
“Open up your mind, I will open up your door!” – Peele
K&P are ‘90s R&B singers, in wildly flamboyant matching suits. They’re performing to an adoring crowd, and it’s important to note that if nothing else, these guys have really strong singing voices (see also: Key starring in the oddball comedy musical TV show, Schmigadoon!) Their sultry duet gets increasingly uncomfortable for Key as Peele’s lyrics express… a more than a friend vibe for his singing partner. While by no means homophobic, this is a somewhat one-note sketch that showcases the musical and performing talents more than the comedic pedigree of the fellas.
#189 – Cult Mass Suicide (S0312, “East/West Bowl 2”)
“Although I will say the term cult is a little judgmental… not knowing the full doctrine.” – Peele
Rick Nicklesby reports live from a “gruesome scene” in which cult members from QET (Quest for Eternal Truth) took their own lives by drinking “cyanide-laced cherry Kool-Aid” (having recently watched the hilarious first episode of Seth Rogen’s The Studio, my thought bubble at this line was OH YEAH!). The comedy comes in as Nicklesby interviews K&P, two obvious cult members (with amazing bowl haircuts) who clearly bailed out to save themselves at the last moment. Or did they?
#190 – A Little Too Handsy (S0508, “Hollywood Sequel Doctor”)
“I never intended to grab the dick.” – Quackadilly
This episode opening sketch touches on the world building that K&P conjured over five seasons. Here we have Rhinos’ teammates Quackadilly (Key) getting a little too handsy with Fudge (Peele), reminding us of both the glory of The Annual East/West Bowl as well as Rafi’s slap-assing misadventures.
#191 – Professional Basketball Mascot (S0103, “Das Negros”)
“Blip… blip blip.” – K&P
Just two dudes, hanging on the corner, catcalling women. “Why don’t you come on down here, ‘cause daddy want a snack!” Key shouts. “Brisket. Brisket-y,” Peele concurs. This goes on for a bit, but… it’s not what they thought it was. “And that is a professional basketball mascot,” one notes. “That is a man in an orange rhinoceros costume,” the other agrees. Punch line: “Hell, I’d f— that rhino.”
#192 – The Record Deal (S0104, “The Branding”)
“It fell through… it’s not happening.” – Craig
Craig (Peele) walks out of his building and says into his phone, “So it’s definitely happening, we’re making a record.” Key then nearly jumps him and says, “I heard about your record deal, dog.” This soon leads to everyone in the neighborhood knowing about the record deal, each with their own opinion about it – stay true to your roots, keep it real, and so on. As a parade like atmospheric gets going, Craig then gets another call: the deal’s off. He turns around to… an empty street.
#193 – Decker: First Tech, Part Two (S0506, “The Job Interview”)
“Ain’t my first rodeo.” – Decker
Decker (Peele) is back, and the grizzled Rambo-esque soldier brought back for One Last Mission in Afghanistan… except he gets very distracted by the high-tech 3D special effects that Key’s frustrated general uses to explain to him and Agent Jackson (Number Six from Battlestar Galactica) what the mission is. This is the rare case where the sequel is funnier than the original.
#194 – Outkast Reunion (S0507, “MC Mom”)
“I thought perchance you went missing.” – André 3000
When Big Boi (Peele) runs into André 3000 (Key) at a coffee shop in Atlanta in 2005, the former is none too enthused about getting the proverbial band back together. Key’s wildly bizarre and over the top André 3000 elevates this one. Hey ya, indeed.
#195 – Darius Rucker (sans The Blowfish) (S0208, “Manly Tears”)
“Hootie! Hootie!” – Crowd members
Peele is Darius Rucker of Hootie and the Blowfish fame, performing solo with an acoustic guitar before a lively crowd… except the lively crowd is there to hear Hootie songs. Things come to a screeching halt when Rucker has to explain to the audience that he’s not actually Hootie and there are no people actually called The Blowfish. Toad the Wet Sprocket and Hoobastank also get named dropped, so this one gets some points on the back of ‘90s musical time capsule stuff alone.
#196 – Human Centipede (S0206, “Michael Jackson Halloween”)
“I was in the middle, you were at the end…” – Peele
Key is having an upscale lunch with an attractive woman, who excuses herself to use the rest room. Peele then slides into the empty seat with a whole, “Remember me?” vibe. Key is clearly super uncomfortable and denial-y when Peele insists that they know each from a… human centipede (you’re on your own should you choose to look it up, my friends). Things escalate from there, you might say.
#197 – The Man Who Wouldn’t Laugh (S0405, “Quarterback Concussion”)
“You looked like a worm on crack.” – Key
This one reminds me of how great both K&P are at doing the move where they’re nervously dreading another character saying or doing something while they’re telling a story in a sketch. Key tells a funny story from back in the day to several buddies, including Laron (Peele), but Laron’s got a peculiar way of expressing that he thinks something is funny, you see.
#198 – Drive By (S0507, “MC Mom”)
“He’s fronting… ain’t no one here scared of you.” – Key
This short episode opener starts out feeling very Boyz n the Hood, with Peele (giving Ice Cube vibes) rolling up to a house with a gun hanging out the window. Except Peele’s “car” is cardboard, and he’s wearing a garbage bag for a shirt. Oh, and the gun? Twizzlers.
#199 – Bathroom Break (S0408, “Terrible Henchman”)
“Ooh momma!” – Key
This short – and I’m tempted to say “and pissy” – episode opener is about Key expressing his wild relief (joy? pain? euphoria?) at arriving at the urinal, right next to a non-plussed Peele.
#200 – A Game of Thrones Appreciation Sketch (S0509, “The 420 Special”)
“It’s cold blooded up in Westeros, dog.” – Peele
Key and Peele, valet parking attendants, are back doing their super improv-y thing going deep on the Ned Starks, Khaleesis, dragons straight roasting goats, Taiwan Lannisters, Da Dinkles, and so forth. You know nothing, Jon Snow.
#201 – Just Stay for the Night (S0208, “Manly Tears”)
“Please unlock this door…” – Peele
In an old timey movie called Just Stay for the Night, Peele is the dolled-up lady and Key the dapper gent playing out a musical satire of an old standard, “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” But in this satire, it becomes a satisfying revenge fantasy.
#202 – Front Hand, Back Hand (S0205, “Bone Thugs-n-Homeless”)
“I mean, you literally asked for it.” – Lawrence
Tyrell (Peele) approaches Lawrence (Key) and his friends, who are hanging out outside of a store. Lawrence proceeds to goad Tyrell into playing a fake game called Front Hand, Back Hand, which is really an excuse just to slap the unsuspecting participant across the face. Except… Tyrell wants to complete that game. He wants to win, see? This one messes around with the weird games and tricks that people play on one another, but mostly it’s just silly and fun.
#203 – Selfies or Bust (S0102, “Black Hawk Up”)
“Delete it, delete it!” – K&P
Key and Peele are both dolled up ladies – who are sort of early Instagram-obsessed Karens, I’d say – out having cocktails out at a swanky club, when suddenly armed robbers brandishing firearms storm in. The ladies are concerned, but also equally occupied with how their selfies look on social. As shotguns pop off and bodies drop, the gals tighten their focus on… deleting the pics that simply don’t capture them at their very best. It’s a cute idea that’s more amusing than funny.
#204 – Club Bumping (S0510, “Meegan and Andre Break Up”)
“You lucky my boy’s using his telekinetic powers to hold me back right now.” – Peele
This one plays off the idea that acting the tough guy at the club and being the tough guy at the club are two different things, depending on the (massive) size of one’s opponent. Also: I must note that this sketch stands on the shoulders of giants, namely The Kids in the Hall’s “exterminate with extreme prejudice” showdown.
#205 – Not Asleep Yet (S0309, “Tackle & Grapple”)
“I forgot to tell you… I talk in my sleep.” – Peele
In this short and sweet episode opener (plus quick interstitial later in the episode), it’s a rare sketch where K&P refer to each other by their real names. It plays into the comedy too as the pair portray friends (or do they?) who have gone camping and are settling down to sleep in their tent. Peele announces that he’s been known to talk in his sleep and… I’ll just leave it there.
#206 – A Batmans Appreciation Sketch (S0203, “East/West Bowl Rap”)
“Remember when Danny DeVitos tried it?” – Peele
K&P, valet parking attendants, are back. They’ve moved on from Liam Neeson(s) (mostly) and are now deeply involved with trying to figure out why anyone would try “messing with the Batmans.” Mostly, this is an excuse for K&P to go into full on improv/messing around mode, which is all good fun if not hilarious.
#207 – Who Thinks They Can Dance? (S0201, “Obama College Years”)
“Has he started yet?” – Panel member
I believe it was Steve Jobs who said regarding design: simple is hard. I’m reminded of that when the premise of this one nails that principle: a reality dance show called Who Thinks They Can Dance? allows us to see Joseph (Key), dressed up in a goofy “b boy” outfit, dancing before a panel of judges. Any sketch that gets the fellas dancing is good, but one in which they are dancing ridiculously is always instantly funny. Peele is one of the panel members, and for some reason he’s British and has a wig of wildly feathered hair. Joseph’s attempt to talk the panel into letting him advance on the show is less funny, but overall, it’s still fun.
#208 – The Negraph (S0104, “The Branding”)
“Uh oh. You just dropped the n-word, but you’re not an ‘n.’” – Key
A white guy casually drops the n-word at a party, and it’s a record scratch moment. Key, in a weird-looking sweater vest, then steps in front of the entire scene and says, “Uh oh, you just dropped the n-word, but you’re not an ‘n.’ Lucky for you, there’s a way to avoid these situations.” He then introduces a mobile app called The Negraph, which tells you “whether or not you can drop the n-word.” Sidenote that both Anders Holm of Workaholics fame and Rob Delaney both make cameos in what’s now a commercial (The Negraph tells them both that they “can’t say it.”)
#209 – Recruiting at the Club (S0107, “Bobby McFerrin vs. Michael Winslow”)
“How y’all doing?” – Sgt. Crandall
Sgt. Crandall (Key), United States Army Recruiter, is getting down at the dance club. We know his name and job because he announces it to his fellow dancers at the dance club. Peele is his “associate,” “Sergeant Graham Packs,” who notes, “In case you haven’t heard, we’re asking and you’re telling…” about your future in the U.S. military! And, ah yes, these boys are dancing with other boys, as it’s a gay club, and this sketch comes to us in the wake of the Obama era rescinding of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. This one is fun just to witness Key and Peele having such a good time on the dance floor.
#210 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #10 (S0308, “High On Potenuse”)
“That really cracked me up, and it cracked up the rest of America, too.” – President Obama
This tenth edition of the Obama/Luther franchise actually doesn’t feature Luther at all, instead leveraging Key to come back as Troy Morrison, the star of the “High on Potenuse” sketch from the same episode. It’s thankfully a short and sweet bit, wherein President Obama (Peele) presents Morrison with the Congressional Comedy Medal of Honor (for cracking the random joke in class that he did not actually come up with).
#211 – Scat Off (S0410, “Sex Addict Wendell”)
“Your breath smells like a butt…” – Rex “The Bone Daddy” Ronson
New York City, 1963. Rex “The Bone Daddy” Ronson (Peele) and Teddy “12 Combs” Lewis (Key) are jazz scatting vocal performers who get into a vocal duel (scat style of course, you dig?) over a woman they both desire. This one works much better on musical versus comedic levels.
#212 – Basic Training (S0401, “Alien Imposters”)
“I’ll probably end up homeless out in the dark, to get played onscreen by Marky Mark.” – Drill Sergeant
Key is a drill sergeant who enjoys doing those call-and-response military cadence-type songs with his troops, but they may not be totally down for where he’s headed.
#213 – Share An Opinion (S0504, “Severed Head Showcase”)
“I really feel like you’re an asshole who has nothing interesting to say.” – Key
A very typical conversation about pop culture among co-workers over lunch takes a very atypical turn when Key refuses to accept Peele and crew’s reaction to his hot take on Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise.
#214 – Jesus the Not Pimp (S0201, “Obama College Years”)
“I’m not a pimp, I’m a carpenter.” – Jesus
Mary Magdalene is washing Jesus’ (Peele) feet, when he tells her, “Stand and be forgiven for your sins.” The sketch is played like a cheesy historical reenactment until… Mary’s pimp (Key) shows up, saying, “Where you at, bitch?” It turns out the pimp’s name is Gali-Leroy. It’s now a blaxploitation bit in biblical times, and Gali-Leroy mistakes Jesus as a pimp who stole Mary away from him. In the end, all is well, and Gali-Leroy joins Jesus for a (last) supper. Amen.
#215 – Lessons at the Bar (S0106, “Flash Mob”)
“I’m sorry about everything.” – Inebriated woman
K&P are at a bar, having a chill, nerdy conversation about Game of Thrones (that I’d pay my life savings to participate in with those dudes, fictional or IRL), when a young, white, inebriated woman (Carla Gallo) interrupts while ordering “three kamikaze shots… or whatever” to hereby apologize for the plight of Black people and their experience living in the United States. Shortly thereafter, Ryan Hansen (of Party Down fame) also interrupts the boys, this time to herald the praises of the iconic rap group, A Tribe Called Quest. Now, the fellas are baffled. And then that’s before Ken Marino (also from Party Down!), in dreadlocks, gets into the theme of Amistad. “Bottom line? We cool,” he concludes. Punch line: the bartender then tells them, “If it makes you feel any better, Black people make me feel uncomfortable.”
#216 – Any Questions? (S0208, “Manly Tears”)
“There’s no dumb questions, okay guys?” – Key
A group of cops is about to storm into a house. Key, the team leader, really wants everyone to be on the same page, but when they finally go in, well… it turns out they weren’t, to say the least. A short/sweet opening sketch with a nice little silly payoff.
#217 – The Infiltration (S0107, “Bobby McFerrin vs. Michael Winslow”)
“You just got her number, huh?” – Key
K&P are at a bar, when they both spot an attractive woman across the way. Key expresses that she’s fine, Peele responds that she’s merely ahhight, before abruptly heading over and quickly picking up her digits. Then, the same exact thing happens again with another woman – this time with Peele moving with superhuman speed. To Key’s horror, Peele is all up over every aspect of his life… even when he looks in the bathroom mirror. This is cute horror/comedy shtick that previews the massive leap Jordan Peele will later take as a horror film auteur.
#218 – The Branding (S0104, “The Branding”)
“Omega Pi Omega!” – K&P
K&P are college bros with long dreadlocks. We join the action as Peele literally brands Key as part of some hideous rite of passage for fraternity Omega Pi Omega. Key then returns the favor, branding Peele right in the chest… however, it’s a little bit off center. Key keeps trying, but he’s not getting it quite right, so that branding iron gets all kinds of action up and down Peele’s body (and man, it truly looks hideous and painful). And finally, wouldn’t you know it, the branding/wounds look like… male genitalia. “That could be a rocket ship, or lighthouse,” Key tries to assure him, but then lays it out: “No man, you got a dick on your chest.”
#219 – Lunch With Greatness (S0102, “Black Hawk Up”)
“Brother Malcoln, is that really what you have to say at this point in our lunch?” – Martin Luther King
A community theater production called “Lunch With Greatness” stars (who else?) K&P as Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, respectively. On stage, the two have what is certainly a “scripted” exchange about civil rights… until Peel’s King gets more of a receptive reaction from the audience. “Malcolm X” then ups the ante with famous quotes (“Plymouth Rock landed on us!”), forcing “King” to fire back (“I have a dream!”), which eventually leads to Wesley Snipes quotes and wacky dance moves.
#220 – Sexual Things in the Workplace (S0312, “East/West Bowl 2”)
“Don’t you pre-judge me!” – Latrell
This one is difficult to write about simply due to how much cultural and sexual mores have shifted over the last decade or so. It’s not so much that Key plays a gay character, Latrell, as much as that Latrell projects every “gay stereotype” in an over-the-top way that one might conjure up. That said, the set-up with Latrell interrogating his officemate (Peele) about his feelings with regards to gay men and gay culture is smartly done, and I must admit I laughed pretty hard when Latrell blows a little penis whistle before yelling, “Homophobe alert!” Bonus: the “twist” at the end is very nicely handled.
#221 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #5 (S0205, “Bone Thugs-n-Homeless”)
“Hey, loosening up a little bit over here.” – Obama
This edition of the President Obama (Peele) and Luther (Key) pairing comes in the wake of an Obama vs. Mitt Romney debate during the 2012 president election season. It’s the fifth outing of Obama cooly opining with Luther translating/raging, and while it’s always fun, this one suffers a bit under the weight of expectations and the riffing off of specific things that went down during what I believe to be the final debate of the 2012 election season (I’m as big of a political nerd as anyone I know, and I don’t recall much about that one!).
#222 – Undercover Boss (S0507, “MC Mom”)
“I got a rare condition that make me unlikable.” – Joseph Carlisle
When Don Mofield (Peele), President of Mofield Floor Coverings, does his #BossReveal on this edition of Undercover Boss, Joseph Carlisle (Key), who works in shipping/receiving, is hopelessly hoping against hope to cash in on the rewards getting handed out.
#222-#243 – Key & Peele On the Road: Parts 1-22
“The jokes will write themselves, man.” – Peele
I know I’m not the only K&P superfan who deeply enjoys moments when it feels like the “real” Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele are chitchatting as they might in real life (IRL, as the kids say… a generation or two back, anyway). Here we get the boys on a road trip somewhere Out West in a series of interstitial scenes during Seasons 4 and 5 – 22 episodes in all – musing and pontificating about the existence of aliens, homophobia, country music (and electronica!), bip, bip, bipping (you know), and a ton of other topics on route to a very special final destination. At “The End,” they finally arrive at the spot. I said…
Editor’s note: I’m counting each episode that K&P On the Road interstitials appeared in as one extended sketch for ranking purposes.
#244 – Listen to How This White Dude is Talking to Black People (S0310, “Black Ice”)
“Get out of my face with your Tommy Bahama ass.” – White dude
This is a short episode-opening sketch that I wished was longer, because what we got was funny and compelling. First of all, when Peele, playing himself, tells Key, “I’ll tell you one thing, when The Unsullied make it to Westeros, they’re gonna annihilate people,” I would have been all in on his Game of Thrones takes. But quickly we move on to the fellas observing this one white dude who doesn’t use the same voice, shall we say, depending on who he’s talking to.
#245 – Let Me Hit That (S0305, “Obama Shutdown”)
“Hey, you know what? Let me hit that.” – Key
A short and sweet one in which the boys explore the pitfalls of short-term memory loss and smoking today’s stronger strands of weed.
#246 – Put Your Hands Up (S0403, “Georgina and Esther and Satan”)
“If you maintain an erection for 12 hours, put your hands up…” – DJ
This is a silly little one where K&P are at the club as the DJ shouts out various shoutouts to put your hands up along with the beat, and then things start getting a little bit weird.
#247 – Old School (S0106, “Flash Mob”)
“Hook a brother up with some of that old school.” – Peele
Peele saunters up to Key at a nightclub, the latter of whom is DJing for the establishment. “Hook a brother up with some of that old school,” Peele requests. Key kindly keeps trying to accommodate by suggesting names – Tupac, Biggie, Run-D.M.C., Sugar Hill Gang – but Peele isn’t having it. “I ain’t trying to tell you how to do your job,” he maintains, but insists that’s not old school enough for him. Finally, when Key storms off, Peele finds the LP that does the trick and throws it on: we hear the sounds of 1920s ragtime jazz, and the crowd hits the dance floor in earnest. More cute and clever than funny, this.
#248 – It Was Jimmy (S0410, “Sex Addict Wendell”)
“I’m Jimmy, I’m Jimmy, and I need attention!” – Mr. Williams
Whereas Key’s Mr. Garvey runs his classrooms by the book (and a very crazy book it is), Mr. Williams is all I don’t want to harsh your mellow, man laid back hippie, highlighted by his balding hair and long ponytail getup. As it turns out, a Mr. Garvey would have been a far more equal match for the unrepentant class clown that is Jimmy (Peele), though of course now it’s too late.
#249 – No Spoilers (S0502, “Airplane Showdown”)
“We got cheesecake.” – Peele
Wherein two couples (Regina Hall and Danielle Hall guest star as the significant others of K&P) have dinner and find the potential topics they can discuss increasingly limited by the possibility of spoiling an outcome of one kind or another. This one is more cute than funny, but does speak nicely to our perpetually online, voraciously content on demand culture.
#250 – Dropping Paint (S0312, “East/West Bowl 2”)
“Dude, my eyes are up here.” – Key
In this truly oddball episode opener, K&P are walking along, having a nice little chat about Star Wars, when paint falls on Key’s black shirt from some scaffolding above them. When Key tries to rub it off and it spreads all over his chest, Peele… uh, gets quite interested in what’s happening, I guess?
#251 – Adoption Meeting (S0210, “Dueling Hats”)
“We want this baby like yester-doodle.” – LaShaun
Samuel (Key) and LaShaun (Peele) are a gay couple meeting with a woman about adopting a child. LaShaun is, shall we say, the much more flamboyant one. It becomes clear right away that the couple isn’t on the same page regarding the realities of child rearing. I honestly wasn’t that into this one until LaShaun jumps on the notion of adopting a special needs child with, “Preferably one with white eyes and can tell the future.”
#252 – For Sales Associates Only (S0508, “Hollywood Sequel Doctor”)
“Ron, handle your bagels!” – Mr. Sheltie
There’s Chekov’s gun, and in this one we get Chekov’s bagels. Rob Riggle guest stars as Ron’s (Key) boss, Mr. Sheltie, a chummy sales bro set to give a sales presentation. But poor Ron must fend off an eager janitor (Peele) who is really keen on getting his paws on those bagels (if only he’d heed the For Sales Associates Only sign).
#253 – Slave Fight (S0303, “Slap-Ass”)
“Let me get you for a second, please?” – Key
It’s the Civil War-era South, and K&P are slaves forced to fight one another “to the death” before a roaring fireplace at the behest of their owners, Robert (Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock fame) and Mr. Jacob Dixon (Joshua Funk). The boys can’t figure out the best way to fake one of their deaths as egos comedically come into play, but thankfully, their lives (and the sketch) are saved by the end of the war.
#254 – Life Choices (S0408, “Terrible Henchman”)
“And then one day I got shot out of a catapult into the mouth of a dragon.” – Donnie Herrera
There’s scared straight and there’s real talk when trying to get through to youngsters about the consequences – and we hear a lot about con… se… quences in this one – of their actions, but what if the narrator is not, shall we say, a reliable one?
#255 – Thriller at the Halloween Party (S0206, “Michael Jackson Halloween”)
“You’ve been touched by a smooth criminal.” – Key
Peele is hosting a Halloween Party. He’s dressed as a vampire and greets his guests with fun little vampire-y puns before welcoming them in. Cut to Key, dressed as a Thriller-era Michael Jackson, arriving. This party guest won’t stop riffing on all manner of vintage MJ dance moves and catch phrases, until finally Peele yells at him. The best part: Key doing a sad and slow moon walk away when he learns (three years too late) that the King of Pop has, in fact, gone to the great beyond.
#256 – Going Deep (With Dookie) (S0202, “Dubstep”)
“Dolphins swim with my dookie?” – Peele
K&P are on their front stoop, enjoying a joint or two in the evening time. So naturally, their conversation will take on the influence of… what they’re under the influence of. Peele begins with, “Hey man, where my dookie go?” and pushes (pardon the pun) that conversation as far as he can into but where it go after that? territory. This is one of the gentler sketches in the K&P canon – it’s not hilarious but it’s very well acted and puts you in a pleasant and mellow state, if you will.
#257 – Hillbilly Bar Chatter (S0401, “Alien Imposters”)
“They worked their asses off, and they got strong family values.” – Peele
K&P are two super hillbilly-looking dudes – Peele sporting a Confederate flag hat – at a country bar who talk about various racial groups in the U.S. in a surprisingly fact-based, supportive, and positive manner. While the joke here is clear and cleverly executed, it reminds us from the vantage point of the mid-2020s that Trump saw a shocking surge in support in 2024 across an array of minority groups versus how he performed in 2016 and 2020.
#258 – Traffic Stop (S0209, “Gangsta Standoff”)
“Man, you sure got a lot of colors.” – Key
Peele is pulled over by Key, playing a white cop. Things quickly take a strange turn, as Key keeps finding seemingly planted items in the trunk and on Peele, but then vamps into Key doing magic tricks (such as a bag of drugs turning “magically” into a bouquet of flowers). The sly satire at work here is that police in these situations (and drop in other “situations” involving race if you like) hold all the power and can play magician with other people’s lives.
#259 – Morning Photo / Nighttime Fantasy (S0107, “Bobby McFerrin vs. Michael Winslow”)
“Delete the picture, motherf—er.” – Peele’s girlfriend
This is a play in two quick acts. In the first, Peele makes the wrong choice when he thinks he’s being a little silly by taking a photo of his sleeping girlfriend (Michelle Buteau). And in the second, his wife attempts to apologize by encouraging him to reveal his wildest fantasy, and he says the really wrong thing.
#260 – Black Shining (S0206, “Michael Jackson Halloween”)
“You never shined with another Black person before?” – Dick
Key is starting a new corporate job and is being shown around, when he’s introduced to Dick (Peele), who throws him a creepy smile and starts talking to him… with his mind. “What’s up dude? Glad to see there’s another brother in this stuffy place,” he says/thinks at him. Dick then quickly fills him on the fact that “all Black people have the shining.” And then it turns out that all Black people can hear each other’s thoughts in real time, including the likes of Lil Jon, Denzel Washington, Kobe Bryant, and President Obama himself. This one plays out more like a short horror film versus hilarious sketch comedy, but it’s kind of cute.
#261 – The Undoing (S0210, “Dueling Hats”)
“There’s gotta be another human being out there… somewhere.” – Peele
It’s the apocalypse, and Peele walks alone through a wasteland (which looks really waste-y when considering this is a sketch comedy show). “It’s been 173 days since The Undoing,” we learn. The loneliness is oppressive, until he stumbles upon a ridiculous-looking Key, who is blasting the LMFAO and partying it up I Am Legend-style, Bonkers Edition. And then… well, let’s just say there’s a loud and sudden conclusion.
#262 – The Morty Jebsen Show (S0510, “Meegan and Andre Break Up”)
“You want clarification? Interview’s over.” – Young Bidness
On a talk show clearly modeled on CNN’s long running Larry King Live, Morty Jebsen’s (Key) interview with “unbelievable mega superstar” Young Bidness (Peele) goes awry when the host tries to get into the musician’s recent breakup, but then mostly becomes about Bidness’ immense struggle to take off his microphone so that he can storm off the set. This one is more cute than funny, though I enjoyed when Jebsen casually calls Young Bidness Youthful Commerce.
#263 – High Five (S0409, “Aerobics Meltdown”)
“Scott Caan is the star of Hawaii Five-0, so…” – Key
We all use different means to remember where we parked – some weirder than others – and this one, featuring K&P maneuvering through a parking garage, goes deep on that score. Sidenote that this concept, while relatable, doesn’t have quite as much punch these days as it’s so easy to take a quick smartphone pic of one’s parking spot.
#264 – Dunk the Vote (S0205, “Bone Thugs-n-Homeless”)
“You’re telling me our votes don’t matter?” – Peele
A commercial designed to get basketball-loving young voters to get out and make their voices heard quickly goes awry when Key gets tangled up in trying to explain the Electoral College. From the perspective of the mid-2020s, this feels relevant. Too relevant if you can dig.
#265 – Two Dudes at the Park (S0210, “Dueling Hats”)
“I don’t even understand what I’m seeing.” – Peele
Key is dressed as a super ‘90s dude while Peele is more ‘80s prep. They’re in a park checking out an attractive woman in a bikini and bantering about how hot she is, but it becomes clear that Peele literally doesn’t know what he’s looking at when he says things like, “What do I see here?” And then things end on quite a twist, you might say.
#266 – Don’t Fall Asleep (S0404, “Slap-Ass: In Recovery”)
“Well, it was fun being a dentist.” – Dr. Key
In this short and dark episode opening sketch, Tim (Peele) experiences his (and ALL of our) worst nightmare that could in theory happen at the dentist. Let’s just say he wakes up from sedation way too early. Or, you could argue, right on time.
#267 – Omnicose (S0408, “Terrible Henchman”)
The sound of Peele switching over to sugar for his coffee.
This dialog-free sketch is equal parts short and dark. Peele is sitting at a café table on a sunny day. He opens a packet of Omnicose, which we assume is a sugar substitute, when boom.
#268 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #11 (S0407, “Sex Detective”)
“I’m a president, not a king!” – Luther
In this sole outing of President Obama (Peele) and his anger translator Luther (Key) during Season 4 and its eleventh edition overall, the execution benefits from having taken a bit of a break. Even still, we get the more or less expected dynamic between the two along with an update of sorts in terms of what’s been going on in terms of Obama’s relationship with Congress and both political parties, plus a Star Wars/drone strikes gag at the end.
#269 – Killer Concept Album (S0505, “Killer Concept Album”)
“The name of the album is I Killed Darnell Simmons!” – The Detective
It’s hard to tell if this one is a silly parody of police procedurals or has something deeper to say, but it lands more in the cute but not funny range as a frustrated Detective (Key) has overwhelming yet (seemingly?) circumstantial evidence that a multi-platinum selling rapper named Gun Rack (Peele) killed Darnell Simmons… which includes an entire album of Gun Rack boasting about how he very specifically killed Darnell Simmons.
#270 – I’m Not Gonna Be There Waiting (S0506, “The Job Interview”)
“This is the fifth and last time…” – Key
K&P are two lady friends out at a bar, with the set-up that as Key relays all of her many thoughts on how she treats her man’s potentially cheating ways, Peele only says okay in many different tones and shades in reaction. This one feels a little more improv exercise with two talented performers versus polished comedy sketch.
#271 – The Move (S0508, “Hollywood Sequel Doctor”)
“I would love to help you move – that’s what boyfriends do.” – Key
Wherein Key will do whatever it takes to not help his girlfriend (Jasika Nicole, Astrid Farnsworth from Fringe) move this weekend.
#272 – The Meaning of Words (S0308, “High On Potenuse”)
“I’m a-leg-ted to marijuana.” – Levi
Wherein Key slowly uncovers that his friend Levi (Peele) somehow confuses the meanings of the words “leg” and “dick” for one another in every possible context. It’s a silly notion that does get us pondering about questions such as, “Why does this word mean this thing and not that thing?” Especially while enjoying a certain substance, perhaps.
#273 – An Annie Hathaways Appreciation Sketch (S0313, “Pussy on the Chainwax”)
“They straight hating on Annie Hathaways!” – Key
In this fourth outing as pop culture-obsessed valet parking attendants who enjoy pluralizing celebrities’ names, K&P take on the media teardown of one Anne Hathaway, star of The Devil Wears Prada, The Princess Diaries, WeCrashed, and lots of other stuff. This bit is more fun and energetic than laugh out loud funny, especially at this point.
#274 – Benjamin Buttons (S0408, “Terrible Henchman”)
“You don’t ever touch a grown man on the face.” – Peele
This sketch consists solely of K&P eating together at a restaurant. It starts off quite strangely before morphing into a puzzle box of sorts, followed by a surprising reveal that makes sense based on everything leading up to it. Overall, it’s more intriguing/interesting than funny.
#275 – Graveside Visit (S0505, “Killer Concept Album”)
“You didn’t have to bring me flowers, man.” – Stuart Furfle (1978 – 2007)
Wherein social awkwardness extends past this mortal plane.
#276 – Terrier-ists (S0302, “East/West Bowl Rap”)
“Another terrier attack is imminent.” – Rasheed
Rasheed (Key) is strung up at a CIA Black Site in an “undisclosed location,” and Peele is his interrogator. We quickly learn that this is a massive case of faulty intel though: Rasheed and his people aren’t terrorists, they’re terrier-ists. This one is more smile worthy versus a laugh riot, though there’s a nice twist at the end.
#277 – New Partner (S0310, “Black Ice”)
“Jimenez always shot straight from the dick.” – Detective Hobbs
It’s Joshua Taye’s (Key) first day being partnered up with the grizzled Detective Hobbs (Peele), and things aren’t going very well. You see, in Hobbs’ view, there are very large shoes to fill in replacing Detective Jimenez (“a good man, better cop”), shoes perhaps that only Jimenez himself could only hope to fill.
#278 – New Dad (S0409, “Aerobics Meltdown”)
“I will respect you Charles, if you play your role.” – Zachary
Both K&P love playing evil little kids, and Zachary (Key) is up there on the evil scale. There’s a vague thread to a deeper theme of abuse playing out into the next generation here, but honestly this sketch is a bit too one-note (slap?) to get there.
#279 – The Donation (S0403, “Georgina and Esther and Satan”)
“Sir, I have another dollar!” – Key
Where do those donations go when you hand over cash to someone representing a charity outside of a supermarket or mall? This sketch plays with the idea that “just one donation” of a single dollar could literally save a child’s life.
#280 – Two Hustlers (S0507, “MC Mom”)
“I too have multiple IDs, crescendo-ing in this.” – Peele
Wherein K&P – just two guys who both happened to have their respective cars breakdown about a mile away and just need a few bucks for gas – attempt to out-hustle one another.
#281 – Caught? (S0313, “Pussy on the Chainwax”)
“Okay buddy, do not move a muscle!” – Key
A cop (Key) catches a perp dead to rights (Peele) in an alley, except that a delicate dance of sorts begins as soon as the cop tells him to put his hands up. The premise is cute and well executed but isn’t all that funny.
#282 – Hits Countdown Live (S0401, “Alien Imposters”)
“Miracle, next question!” – Mother Majesty
It’s a TRL-style MTV-ish show set in Hollywood, with host Scratch Jackson (Peele) interviewing Mother Majesty (Key, in multi-colored purple wig and pink tutu). While Mother Majesty is all about girl power and female empowerment, the message of owning one’s sexuality doesn’t necessarily translate to her Girl Army of preteen superfans. This one has a real message and is well produced, but the comedy gets a little lost in translation.
#283 – Senatorial Scandal (S0505, “Killer Concept Album”)
“I may have sent one photo of my genitalia.” – The Senator
I found this one more shocking than funny – shocking only because this sketch was made in a far more innocent time, before Donald Trump introduced the term “fake news” into the lexicon, a time when mainstream, national news organizations held a certain default degree of respect by a reasonable percentage of the public, and a time when even the most heinous politicians had some degree of shame about their screwups (even if it was fake shame!). Anyway, the bit here is that a Senator (Key) continuously gets caught out for being an Anthony Weiner-esque dick pic guy.
#284 – Decker: Part One (S0204, “I’m Retired”)
“I guess I could come out of retirement.” – Decker
Peele is Decker, an old dude with long gray hair and beard who returns to his cabin in the woods. When Key is waiting there in a military outfit and beret, and tells him “it wasn’t easy tracking you down,” we know we’re in for some kind of Rambo parody scenario. Decker might grudgingly be convinced to join the time sensitive, urgent mission… but the general just wanted to see if Decker could recommend someone else for the job. This one is cute more than funny.
#285 – A Robert Downeys Juniors Appreciation Sketch (S0506, “The Job Interview”)
“Yo, my man’s got a glowing heart in that one.” – Peele
Key and Peele, valet parking attendants, are back. This time around, Robert Downeys Juniors is the subject of their (pluralized) admiration(s). Beyond RD-squared, Valley Kilmers also gets some love in this one as well.
#286 – 1-888-Beards-4-Kids (S0503, “A Cappella Club”)
“What if I told you that all it took was just one beard?” – Peele
This one takes a particularly dark premise – children getting abducted in a war-torn African country – and tries to turn it silly with the notion that charitable donations will protect kids by disguising them with costume beards, canes, and walkers. Upside: we get a particularly sad and forlorn Peele performance.
#287 – Color Aware Cop (S0501, “Y’all Ready For This?”)
“Anyway, the last seven came out of nowhere.” – Key
Key is a white cop who happens to run into people with guns everywhere. Well, all the people just happen to be Black, but…
#288 – Mr. Mahina (S0313, “Pussy on the Chainwax”)
“I’ll have that end of year report for you by ten.” – Jake
This silly office-based sketch – in which Kenny (Key) is a remarkably fleshed out super nerd – plays around with the credibility of getting told by a co-worker, “Well, the boss said it, so…” The upshot and twist feel a little underbaked, but most important is that we understand that bossman Mr. Mahina is a real, real person.
#289 – Jordan Meets His Father (S0210, “Dueling Hats”)
“That’s genes right there.” – Earl Peele
Jordan knocks on a trailer park door and meets his father, Earl Peele (Key), for the very first time. Earl gruffy sits Jordan down and tells him he’s not his father, “but that’s the situation, brother.” Jordan tries to convince him by how alike they are and with other evidence to no avail, until he drops that he’s the star of a TV show.
#290 – Roll Up Or Roll Home? (S0103, “Das Negros”)
“Don’t judge.” – Peele
A car cuts its lights and rolls into an alley. “You ready, homie?” “Hellz yeah.” K&P cock their guns, ready to hop out and smoke someone, but then Peele hesitates… “Hold on, we gotta go back. I just pooped my pants.” An argument ensues about whether or not that would happen to “a real gangster,” and whether or not a real friend would “make such a big deal out of it,” and so on. They get carried away, until those that might have gotten dropped get the drop on them. This one is more cute (if scatologically cute is a thing?) versus funny.
#291 – One on One With Mia Mondez (S0304, “Boarding Group One”)
“Deal with me, dog!” – Adversity Johnson
It’s an interview show with all-star shooting guard Charlie Sanders (Peele). Mia Mondez asks him about dealing with adversity, and he gives a thoughtful, sober response. She then turns to Adversity Johnson (Key), who swings into the camera frame wearing a lunatic-flashy outfit, and says, “I don’t know, I just like f—ing with him.” It’s a little bit like Luther the Anger Translator, except one who constantly messes with you and gives you “titty twisters”?
#292 – LaShaun and Sammy Get Joint Health Insurance (S0310, “Black Ice”)
“I’m going to get my voice loudened!” – LaShaun
Gay couple LaShaun (Peele) and Sammy (Key) is back, and Sammy discovers that now that they’re married, they are officially on the same health insurance for the first time. Sammy, true to form, is pleased that “We’re finally not going to be treated like second class citizens,” while LaShaun predictably is far more ambitious.
#293 – The Art of the Compliment (S0505, “Killer Concept Album”)
“You gotta be subtle.” – Key
K&P are field workers of some sort in an old timey setting (a harmonica playing helps clue us in on this, along with the costumes and dialects). While Key is eloquent and charming with the young ladies who pass by – if decidedly over the top by our modern standards – Peele has subzero game.
#294 – Just Looking For A Jacket (S0305, “Obama Shutdown”)
“I didn’t expect to see you all undulating here.” – Peele
This one consists solely of a Peele monologue, with his character attempting to find his jacket at the end of a party and who instead stumbles on a full on orgy that’s in progress.
#295 – Judge Jessie (S0506, “The Job Interview”)
“As a crack ho, he learned to go days without sleep.” – Judge Jessie doing voiceover on Judge Jessie
Judge Jessie (Key) is a daytime television judge who brings a lot of experience into the courtroom. I mean, just ask Judge Jessie.
#296 – Ankle Cleavage (S0208, “Manly Tears”)
“Dude, did you see the bridge on that nose?” – Jahari
Jahari (Key) and Kareen (Peele) are just two dudes in what seems to be the Middle East checking out the ladies… who are covered head to toe in burkas and other religious Muslim garb. But these, uh, amorous fellas will take what they can get. “Holy garbanzo beans!” as they might say. While this one gets dinged a bit for not aging all that well, the final kicker is a great shout out to Monty Python’s legendary nudge nudge wink wink sketch.
#297 – Mama Sugabanks (S0107, “Bobby McFerrin vs. Michael Winslow”)
“Donkey teeth… straight out a donkey’s mouth.” – Peele
Key and Peele are in a soul food restaurant together, and while ordering, slide into an escalating competition to “out soul food” one another. Peele starts off reasonably enough (Chicken Fried Steak With Gravy and a Cola) while Key opts for the Baked Beef Short Ribs with Collard Greens and Cornbread. However, things go off the rails from there, with the boys opting for things as… let’s say as far out there as four pounds of grits and a Dixie cup of lard. Oh, and don’t forget the human foot.
#298 – Go Ahead (S0303, “Slap-Ass”)
“Are you talking right now?” – Key
K&P are pals having a video chat, or at least they’re trying to. It’s possible that this sketch feels very different in a not great way after having lived through the Covid years.
#299 – The Tea Party Candidate (S0107, “Bobby McFerrin vs. Michael Winslow”)
“Show off your gun again!” – Press conference attendee
K&P, two regular dudes, lament their tax situation, when Key says the wrong thing at the wrong time: “Look at how much I lost in taxes. Might as well join the Tea Party.” Cut to Rob Delaney whisking him off into a whirlwind of press coverage and adulation as the “Tea Party candidate” and next President of the United States. There are cute and clever ideas at play here and it’s well executed, but a lot of the edge comes off this one from the vantage point of the Trump 2.0 era.
#300 – Apple Product Launch (S0203, “Puppy Dog Ice-T”)
“Please stop comparing me to Steve Jobs!” – Tim Cook
It’s been a year since Steve Jobs passed away, and Tim Cook (Key) is nervous before giving one of those TED Talk-like Apple product launch presentations. However, when he gets on stage, he T.O.T.S. (throws out the script) and gives more of a WWF-style presentation (think smashy smashy) to show how different he is from the Apple co-founder and icon. This one is more silly than funny.
#301 – The (Super NC-17) Exorcist (S0206, “Michael Jackson Halloween”)
“Could you please clear the room?” – Key
A very short bit with one big laugh. Key is a priest in what’s clearly a parody of The Exorcist, and after going through the famous repetition of, “The power of Christ compels you!” a few times, the possessed child changes tack and uh… well, I’ll let you watch for yourself to check out the rest.
#302 – Crossing the Street (S0209, “Tackle & Grapple”)
“Couldn’t hurt to press it again.” – Peele
K&P are two corporate dudes waiting to cross the street at an intersection. When Peele moves to press the button to get the Walk sign to come on, Key lets him know that he’s pressed it already. And… well, that’s pretty much it. Almost.
#303 – It’s Already Funny (S0403, “Georgina and Esther and Satan”)
“I’m gonna speed it up.” – Brody
Everyone loves when they make others laugh at their jokes, but what if your audience howls uproariously at everything but the actual joke? Brody (Peele) experiences this miserable dynamic when he bumps into his co-worker, Mike (Key).
#304 – The Original Free Runner (S0205, “Bone Thugs-n-Homeless”)
“Then hike up your britches, and follow me to freedom!” – Harriet Tubman
The year: 1852. Key and a group of escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad meet up with Harriet Tubman (Peele). She gives an inspirational speech and tells the group to follow her, but it turns out that this version of Tubman is more of a parkour/free runner than the group can handle. It’s a cute idea that plays with the tropes of movies meant to teach/preach and inspire us about the Black experience, but the sketch doesn’t quite work.
#305 – Opposite of High Noon (S0302, “East/West Bowl Rap”)
“You’re talkin’ now, and that’s all you’re doing.” – Jay-quellan
Two women – Jay-quelan (Peele) and De-nice (Key), names that shoutout to Mr. Garvey, Substitute Teacher – get into some static outside the club. As the taunts to actually fight ratchet up, each goes to more outlandish lengths to prepare for battle in terms of taking off accessories, jewelry, and… it turns out that De-nice is actually two little girls in a human suit. Okay, sure?
#306 – Bone Thugs-n-Homeless (S0205, “Bone Thugs-n-Homeless”)
“We so hungry, we eat a bone.” – Key
This one is a Bone Thugs-n-Harmony parody that uses the word play of Bone Thugs-n-Homeless to pose the crew as homeless dudes who have fantastic harmony while expressing their unhoused plight. The sketch works much more on a musical level versus a comedy one, however.
#307 – Medical Marijuana (S0101, “Bitch”)
“Does your face hurt, Mr. Washington?” – Dr. Johnson
Based on Matt Jones’ (Brandon “Badger” Mayhew from Breaking Bad and El Camino) recommendation, Mr. Washington (Peele) tells increasingly outlandish lies to Dr. Johnson (Key) in an attempt to get a prescription to buy legal weed. The joke here is kind of one note, and the skit is smartly short in recognizing that. The rapid pace of marijuana legalization also makes this one feel slightly dated.
#308 – The Color of Parts (S0204, “I’m Retired”)
“My penis is white.” – Peele
K&P are in high school, and the sketch features two scenes in front of their lockers. The crux of it is that Peele is nervous about potentially “hitting it” with his girlfriend because, as he says, “My penis is white.” This one is a smile at best versus a laugher.
#309 – Obama: Success or Failure? (S0411, “Terrorist Meeting”)
“I’d like to apologize for this programming mistake.” – Key
K&P are talking heads on a 24 hour news cable show called Diametrically Opposed, which plays into the joke in this short sketch, when both pundit blowhards eventually say at exactly the same time: “The only conclusion is that Obama is a disaster.” This one is more cute than funny, and far less cute when viewed during the miserable early days of Trump 2.0.
#310 – Ankle Knot (S0311, “The Power of Wings”)
“What I wouldn’t do for six seconds with her.” – Jahari
Jahari (Key) and Rajim (Peele), two dudes of vaguely South Asian or maybe Middle Eastern descent, are two wild and crazy guys-esque fellas who are ostensibly at the gym to work out but really it’s a riff fest featuring how horned up they are.
#311 – Jaden Pinkett Smith (S0105, “Gay Marriage Legalized”)
“Oh yeah, a supermarket’s like a mansion, but it’s full of food and anyone can go there.”
This one strikes as slightly odd in retrospect, given Will Smith’s “slap heard ‘round the world” during the Academy Awards ceremony in 2022. Basically, the bit is that Jaden Pinkett Smith (Peele) is a wildly spoiled rich kid/child actor who has zero concept of how things work in the real world. His bedroom is a modern palace, filled with an entire wall of sneakers and weird futuristic toys, for example. The sketch involves Jaden talking to his power agent (Key) on the phone, the latter of whom is forced to break down the concept for a screenplay called Street Ball in ways that a wildly spoiled rich kid could understand.
#312 – Chris Brown & Rihanna: 2gether
“So tonight I’m gonna hit that…” – Chris Brown
Peele is Chris Brown and Key is… a very tall Rihanna in a music video that features lots of auto tune and lots of innuendo about Chris Brown’s real world domestic abuse of his one-time girlfriend. Thankfully, Rihanna tases Chris Brown in the skit, which is a minor if fictional comeuppance for the abuser.
#313 – Backyard Barbeque (S0106, “Flash Mob”)
“100%, grass-fed Japanese Kobe beef, $35 a pound.” – Key
Peele is manning the barbeque at a backyard party, and Key arrives with some good-looking meat to cook up. What starts as friendly banter from Key about how Peele should handle his grill – “I ain’t trying to park my Bentley next to your Toyota,” he says with regard to cooking Kobe beef next to “frozen patties” – soon takes a turn to the crazy. Things escalate quickly, but it’s the rare K&P bit that never really catches fire.
#314 – What If Names Were Farts? (S0209, “Gangsta Standoff”)
“So this is the infamous [Farts] and [Farts].” – [Farts]
The title of this sketch says it all. It’s a classy looking suburban party, with the twist that a… well, a fart noise is inserted whenever someone refers to somebody else. I’d put this more on the [farts] end of the comedy spectrum versus [farts]. But the noises you make for this one are yours alone to emit. Oh: [farts] from Catastrophe fame guest stars.
#315 – Going in the Wrong Way (S0107, “Bobby McFerrin vs. Michael Winslow”)
“I’m a lefty, so…” – Peele
K&P say goodbye to a few friends, each doing a different version of the dudes who are good friends farewell move. They then go in for each other… but each picks the “wrong side,” and things get awkward. A super quick episode opener bit that’s more clever than funny.
#316 – Pawn Shop (S0311, “The Power of Wings”)
“You got something else that’s explosive that I can tape the end of an arrow?” – Key
Peele is a pawn shop proprietor and Key a strange looking dude – I kept getting distracted by his bizarre wig and beard get-up in this one – who is way too interested in items that could potentially be used in a heist of some kind.
#316 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #12 (S0501, “Y’all Ready For This?”)
“I pretended to like you for seven years.” – Luther
In this twelfth outing of President Obama (Peele) and his anger translator, Luther (Key), we get the twist of having the pair run into Hillary Clinton (Kate Burton, who I know best as Vice President Sally Langston on Scandal) and her anger translator, Savannah (Stephanie Weir). I wasn’t finding this iteration of the sketch particularly funny, and then just got flat out bummed out when Obama says, “I got a feeling that come 2016, you and Bill will be back in the White House.”
#317 – Stan Lee Visits The Office (S0409, “Aerobic Meltdown”)
“This ain’t my first rodeo, sonny boy.” – Stan Lee
Comic book legend Stan Lee (Peele) visits an in progress Marvel Comics Headquarters meeting led by Key, and pitches an array of new superhero characters that are all based on the concerns of old people. Example: Hey Day “lives perpetually in 1982. His nemesis is the evil writer’s block.” I’m not sure if it’s because I kept thinking about how Lee passed away in 2018 while watching this one, but I am sure that I didn’t really laugh.
#318 – Papard Mattress Liquidators (S0403, “Georgina and Esther and Satan”)
“Do you mind if I try it?” – Peele
This is a strange one that ends on a kind of dark and slightly disturbing note, but I suppose you could say it’s basically about a guy buying a mattress?
#319 – Straight Hitting the Bricks (S0503, “A Cappella Club”)
“You know a musician named Drink?” – Walden
Walden (Key) and Otis (Peele) are two older gentlemen enjoying a night out together at a bar, whereupon their evening is interrupted when a younger man (Titus Makin Jr., who played Jackson West on The Rookie) inquires if they’re into Drake. If you’re into K&P doing some old dude riffing, you might enjoy this one, but otherwise it’s pretty meh.
#320 – Fender Bender (S0507, “MC Mom”)
“This is a Walgreens receipt.” – Key
This one plays off the anxiety we all would naturally have that the driver involved with you in a minor accident flees the scene before exchanging insurance information. The set-up is solid but the joke – Peele’s bro dude insists on annoyingly messing with Key’s straight man – never quite lands.
#321 – The Massage (S0405, “Quarterback Concussion”)
“Also not uncommon is the release of gas.” – Peele
In this short and foul(?) episode opening sketch, it’s Key’s first time getting a massage, and a long haired, Yin Yang necklace-wearing Peele guides his client on what to expect. It’s a one-note sketch, if you feel me. And by feel I mean… well, you get it.
#322 – Baby Prudence (S0105, “Gay Marriage Legalized”)
“What’s that, they found her? She’s fine!?” – Rex Chambers
In a super short sketch, local news anchor Rex Chambers reports live on the massive search for “Baby Prudence,” but… it turns out “she’s fine.” Rex should be happy but… he’s clearly not in a way that would be the clip of the year for John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight “And Now This” segment.
#323 – Lunge Bump (S0307, “Sexy Vampires”)
“You want me to say GRAHH?” – Peele
It’s Peele’s first day as an extra, doing zombie work on a Walking Dead-style TV show, and he’s immediately chosen to get the prized opportunity – as veteran extra Steve (Key) relays – to get a “lunge bump,” which is a spotlighted little moment on camera. The comedy hinges on Peele repeatedly being the single worst actor of all time, which for me doesn’t quite GRAHH, you know?
#324 – New Black Panther Party (S0210, “Dueling Hats”)
“We will not be silent.” – Reggie Lee Quivers
Reggie Lee Quivers (Key) gives a press conference on behalf of the New Black Panther Party. While he talks about the oppression of Black people in the U.S., Peele mean mugs the camera at increasingly weird angles. And that’s basically it.
#325 – Operation: Food Truck Infiltration (S0503, “A Cappella Club”)
“Did you say $9 for one – pretty good margins.” – Brother Mustafa
Key and Satya Bhabha (Matthew Patel from the iconic Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) are sleeper cell agents who have fallen into the embrace of Western capitalism by way of raking it in from the “bottomless pit of money” that is their fusion burger food truck operation. Brother Mustafa (Peele) calls the boys out on forgetting their real mission, before going all if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
#326 – Quarterback Concussion (S0405, “Quarterback Concussion”)
“Who is that over there, Cartoon Squirrel?” – Exquisite T
It’s a rainy, dramatic scene with the Rhinos football team on offense near the end of the Big Game. After Exquisite T (Key) gets sacked, his big rallying pep talk to his teammates goes a little sideways. This one loses a little of its comedic juice from the perspective of an era that understands just how devastating CTE can be for athletes.
#327 – Ratatouille (S0302, “East/West Bowl Rap”)
“Hey Ratatouille, go make my man a sandwich.” – Levi
Levi (Peele) offers to have his pet rat, Ratatouille, make his dude Key a sandwich (yes, Key explains that the main character in the movie is named Remy, to no avail). When the meal is presented with bite marks and other weird rat markings aplenty, Levi calmly explains: “Any good chef has to taste his creation.” That’s really it, though there are other weirdo things going on, such as that Ratatouille looks like he lives in one of those ghost catcher devices from Ghostbusters, kind of?
#328 – Tallahassee Black Republicans (S0303, “Slap-Ass”)
“We’re not a monolith.” – Peele
It’s the fifth annual meeting of the Tallahassee Black Republicans, and Peele relays from the podium how miffed he is that President Obama has been reelected with help from the vast majority of Black voters. The joke here is that the Black Republicanmembers at the meeting are near look-alikes (Key and the entire audience are dressed, look, and sound very similar), but this sketch reads completely differently in the wake of Donald Trump getting elected to a second term circa 2024.
#329 – Celebrity Name Game (S0205, “Bone Thugs-n-Homeless”)
“I’m not a Latin pop star.” – Peele
K&P and their respective ladies play a game where you have to name a celebrity based on clues (that doesn’t involve the celeb’s actual name). The fellas, who are teamed up, go on a little run of correct answers, and then Key throws out a clue about a celeb who pretends he’s straight. Peele blurts out, “Me!” Awkwardness ensues… for cast and audience a bit here. This is one that doesn’t play nearly as well today as it might have in the early 2010s.
#330 – Kebapi (S0405, “Quarterback Concussion”)
“You cannot get kebapi from the café across the street!” – Key
A couple visits a restaurant run by K&P, who are two Macedonian gentlemen. When the topic of kebapi comes up (which the Internet tells us is a Balkan dish consisting of small, grilled minced meat sausages), conflict emerges. This is a rare K&P meal I found to be not all that interesting.
#331 – Luther, Obama’s Anger Translator #6 (S0206, “Michael Jackson Halloween”)
“This is it, Armageddon!” – Luther
In this sixth and relatively short edition of Peele as President Obama and Luther (Key) as his anger translator, there’s not much new that’s added to the mix. The most memorable bit might be Obama agreeing with Luther that parents should “just wash they ass,” referring to babies that get handed to him to hug while out on the presidential campaign trail.
#332-#336 – The Saga of Meegan and Andre
The bickering couple that comprises the vapid, manipulative Meegan (Peele) and the clueless, vacant Andre (Key) spanned five sketches over Seasons 2-5. Your mileage will vary with these two wacky kids, but I found them both to be intensely annoying. While the final edition (Meegan and Andre Break Up) is by far its best outing, perhaps that’s because Andre is finally trying (if not succeeding) to break up with Meegan so that the slow motion trainwreck of their relationship can finally reach its final destination.
#337-#344 – Metta World News: Parts 1-8
“In sports: I’d rather eat my hand than have my penis cut off.” – Metta World Peace
Former NBA star Ron Artest, who changed his name (for real) to Metta World Peace, guest stars as an SNL Weekend Update-style news anchor helming a program called Metta World News. The typical set-up is that Metta offers a bizarre non-sequitur and then quickly signs off. Short is good, better would have been to retire the only K&P sketch in the series’ history to not include Key nor Peele after an outing or two.
#345 – Tallahassee Black Democrats (S0407, “Sex Detective”)
“Nothing we love better than those federal programs.” – Peele
K&P’s Tallahassee Black Republicans are back (see Season 3’s sketch of the same name), this time working “undercover” to prevent a van full of Tallahassee Black Democrats from getting to the polling station on time. Like its original incarnation, this sketch is a bit one-note, and because its one note is a reminder that voter suppression is a very real thing from the vantage point of the mid-2020s, it’s not all that effective, comedy-wise.
#346 – The Snitch (S0508, “Hollywood Sequel Doctor”)
“Nobody gonna say nothing about how Big Earl shot up that liquor store.” – J-Rock
Key and Rockwell (Mekhi Phifer, Future from Eight Mile) agree that J-Rock (Peele) would never snitch on them, until… well, you know. This one falls into the rare pocket of K&P sketches that are silly yet predictable.
#347 – Violence As Sport (S0402, “Little Homie”)
“Well, that’s it for sports.” – Cooper Hurtsmith
In this super short episode opener, Cooper Hurtsmith (Key) is a news anchor detailing a few horrific stories about men assaulting women, before we understand that this is a “sports” segment. This misdirect tying to the many stories of domestic abuse of women by professional athletes is cute but in more of a painful cute than funny cute way, if you can dig.
#348 – Babysitting Forest Whitaker (S0108, “Babysitting Forest Whitaker”)
“Have a good cry.” – Forest Whitaker
Key is a babysitter, and Mrs. Whitaker soon heads out for the evening. Baby Forest… Forest Whitaker that is, comes into the room, except it’s a bizarre baby with Peele’s head doing a Forest Whitaker-like accent, saying goo-goo ga-ga in a deeply creepy way. Baby Forest then demands momma’s milk, and his Lego’s. Oh, Baby Forest also has incredible strength and soon is throwing Key about the room when his demands aren’t met. It’s just… uh, weird, this one (and it doesn’t help that I’ve just never found babies talking as adults all that funny).
#349 – Welcome to Democracy (S0410, “Sex Addict Wendell”)
“Operation Golden Eagle is a go… Welcome to democracy.” – U.S. ambassador
Richard Schiff of The West Wing fame is a U.S. ambassador visiting a group of politicians (including K&P) from an African nation. The ambassador says financial aid is a no go, right up until he finds out about the newly discovered oil reserves. From the perspective of the early days of Trump 2.0 and the abdication of the United States’ role on the international stage, this one particularly stings in the non-funny way.
#350 – Prison Visit (S0209, “Gangsta Standoff”)
“Yes… I definitely know Seven Inch.” – Peele
Key visits Peele in prison, and tells him across the plexiglass divide, “Everyone on the outside know you didn’t talk. We got mad respect for you, dog.” Soon it becomes obvious that Peele isn’t nearly as tough as Key assumes he is, with lots of allusions to how Peele is, uh, handled in jail. I wasn’t really feeling this one overall – it has not aged well, and I wouldn’t be surprised if K&P agreed.
#351 – Puppy Dog Ice-T (S0203, “Puppy Dog Ice-T”)
“F—you, I ain’t your entertainment, b—-!” – Ice-T’s former dog
Key is a super suburban dude, replete with sweater vest. He surprises his wife with a rescue dog that he has adopted, and she’s delighted. However, he warns that dogs often take on the personality of their owner, and this dog had previously been owned by “rapper Ice-T.” Cut to the dog, who has Jordan Peele’s face, speaks English (with a pretty solid Ice-T-like voice), and likes to curse a lot. This one has a similar premise/execution as the Babysitting Forest Whitaker sketch, and similarly I’m just not a fan.