Netflix
- Dave Chappelle has his first new comedy special out on Netflix in two years, "The Dreamer."
- He covers an array of topics but doesn't let up on trans jokes that have caused uproar.
- Netflix has put out other "anti-woke" comedy specials lately, including Ricky Gervais and Matt Rife.
Dave Chappelle has another stand-up special out on Netflix, and he hasn't backed down from "punching down" jokes that caused blowback for him — and Netflix — in recent years.
In "The Dreamer," which dropped December 31, he takes shots at the trans and gay communities as well as disabled people. "Tonight, I'm doing all handicapped jokes," he says. "They're not as organized as the gays, and I love punching down."
Chappelle doesn't waste time, targeting trans people in the first 12 minutes of the hourlong special, his seventh exclusive for Netflix, despite saying he wasn't "doing trans jokes no more."
He also touches on Will Smith's slapping Chris Rock onstage in 2022 and the time he was tackled himself at the Hollywood Bowl that same year.
"The Dreamer" builds on Chappelle's controversial 2021 special "The Closer" and 2019's "Sticks and Stones" when Chappelle joked about trans people, Michael Jackson's accusers, and #MeToo, among other topics.
Netflix employees walked out in 2021 after Chappelle's "The Closer," but the blowback didn't seem to have much impact.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos initially defended Chappelle's specials, citing artistic freedom, but later acknowledged he "screwed up" in not acknowledging the pain they caused some employees.
The question of whether comedians should "punch down" — that is, make jokes about less privileged or marginalized groups — has become a hot topic in the cultural discourse. Netflix has found a lane with other "anti-woke" comedy specials lately, including those of Ricky Gervais and Matt Rife.
And while media coverage criticized "The Dreamer" as lazy, the audience seems to be eating it up. Two days in, "The Dreamer" has an 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, in the neighborhood of his other recent specials.
Gervais and Rife haven't fared as well, scoring 61% and 18% with audiences, respectively.