Key & Peele: Season 1
User Score
6.0 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 36 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 36
  3. Negative: 10 out of 36

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  1. jstrickler872
    Mar 1, 2012
    9
    Key and Peele know comedy. Some sketches have been dull, but most of them have been anywhere from funny to hilarious. It's the new chappelle show. I love it i have to watch the new episodes when they come on and i like watching the re-runs.
  2. SoGayGames
    Oct 24, 2012
    9
    Key & Peele is a really good show that's getting even better in the new season. Usually with a comedy duo, there's one person who's just a whole lot funnier than the other, but both Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are on equally high footing. They're also really smart - and not within the genre of shows by black comedians - but rather in the context of Comedy Central shows, which often trend on the dumb side (Brickleberry, South Park). In addition to being actually rather funny, the sketches are almost always armed with plenty of subtext that make them worth a follow-up conversation (the civil war re-enactment gets crashed by slave re-enactors), and there's also just some silly material that's just comedically creative (the self-unaware racist country singer, the hula-hoop double-team). Despite the comparisons, it's actually less Chapelle's Show than it is Colbert Report, in that it's seething, complex and laugh-out-loud funny. The sketches are as unusual and the are unpredictable - ranging from two valets discussing their love of Liam Neeson films to Barack Obama's alleged years as college party-planner and stoner. And because themes involving race do appear regularly, it's not unreasonable for Comedy Central to think that they've at last replaced the cash-cow that was Chapelle's Show - but the truth is they kind of have something better on their hands with Key and Peele. Time has been a bit cruel on the former title, and looking back it's supporting cast had a lot to do with why that show was good; whereas Key & Peele are the main reason their show is consistently good. Also, Chapelle's Show was kind of counter-productive in ways that Key & Peele manages to pretty much avoid. The biggest surprise, however, comes in the dialogues between sketches... that actually prove to be as funny as the sketches themselves (as opposed to weak introductions). While they are almost certainly rehearsed, they feel really comfortably loose and contribute to the show's quality instead of just serving as filler that strings the sketches together. Actually, both SNL and MadTV's monologues are almost always terrible so Key & Peele is already entering the gate at an advantage.… Expand
  3. CaptDope
    Feb 15, 2012
    10
    Key & Peele will go down in history as one of the best sketch shows of all time. After 3 episodes they have already changed the way sketch comedy is written, directed and performed. Reggie Watts on the opening song! This show rules school.
  4. Famoustoker
    Mar 9, 2012
    10
    don't hate on this show, compare it to chapelle show that's racist, because there both black comedian hosted shows, there is other sketch comedies, MAD TV hello,anyone who doesn't rate this a ten you know what i say to you?, I say,..........................Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttcccc########, no outside beverages in the theatre..

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 11 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Salon
    Reviewed by: Roger Catlin
    Jan 31, 2012
    80
    There's great energy and real laughs, and with any support at all from the network, this could mint as many new catchphrases as Chappelle.
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  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Brian Lowry
    Jan 31, 2012
    50
    All told, it's a respectable niche addition but won't make anyone old enough to remember "In Living Color" apt to forget it.
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  3. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Sarah Rodman
    Jan 31, 2012
    70
    Like all comedy, whether the duo always sticks the landing will depend on the viewer.
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