The current season of Comedy Central’s “Key & Peele” will be the show’s last.
“The duo impersonates a wide world of black men, from nerds to thugs, sports icons to buppies,” the judges wrote. “They tackle racially charged issues and ideas like no one else on television.”
The judges cited one of the duo’s most popular ongoing bits, in which Jordan Peele plays President Obama and Key plays Luther, his “anger translator.”
At this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, Peele was replaced with the president himself — making everyone wonder just how spot-on Luther’s outbursts are to how Obama really feels.
Key and Peele have a knack for getting it right, after all.
They once described their comedic approach to Time magazine: “Sure, sometimes at Key & Peele, we swim in the shallow waters of pratfalls, airplane observations and simple old-school punnery. But what we strive for — and what we think more people should strive for — is deeper: to make fun of everything.”
There was the family that didn’t know how to act at a cousin’s gay wedding, the substitute teacher who couldn’t pronounce the names of suburban white kids, the married guys who stand up to their wives but only in front of each other.
At a time when TV comedy is judged by how viral it goes, “Key & Peele” consistently invaded our newsfeeds. And now, there are only eight episodes left.
Now we all get to see our destination. Thanks for the ride everyone. #KeyandPeele
— Keegan-Michael Key (@KeeganMKey) July 26, 2015
Don't miss the last 8 episodes!
— Jordan Peele (@JordanPeele) July 25, 2015
Although the collective heart of Twitter is breaking, the pair has been quick to assure everyone that this doesn’t mean they won’t keep us laughing.
“It was just time for us to explore other things, together and apart,” Key told TheWrap. “I compare it to Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. We might make a movie and then do our own thing for three years and then come back and do another movie.”
Their first film endeavor is in the works. “Keanu” will hit theaters April 22. The movie is about two guys who pose as drug dealers to rescue their stolen cat, named Keanu. Former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Will Forte and Nia Long (Lisa from “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”) also are on board.
They will be producing a remake of the “Police Academy” series, but they told Entertainment Weekly they don’t know whether they will star in it. In the same interview, Key introduced the possibility of a movie based on the substitute-teacher sketch.
“We’re in negotiations at Paramount to make a ‘Substitute Teacher’ movie,” he said. “Two of our writers are penning it. Well, they’re not penning it as we speak — it’s getting there.”
They will also be working on projects apart.
Peele signed on with Kevin Hart for a 2017 “Captain Underpants” movie, according to TheWrap. He is part of “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp,” a star-packed Netflix series (based on the 2001 film) that debuts July 31.
Key is involved with a number of films in various stages of production, including “Angry Birds,” “Hotel Transylvania 2,” “Kitchen Sink” with Vanessa Hudgens, and “Vacation,” the National Lampoon movie that hits theaters Tuesday. He’s also expected to appear in the second season of Hulu’s “Real Housewives” parody, “Hotwives of Las Vegas.”
If none of this sounds as good as the “Key & Peele” magic on Comedy Central, don’t fret too much. Key told TheWrap that there is a TV Show “in the works” for the network, too.
Catch the last episodes of “Key & Peele” at 10 p.m. (Eastern) on Comedy Central.
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