A Black Lady Sketch Show Improves Upon Key & Peele In One Important Way

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HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show is poised to cement its legacy as an essential entry into the pantheons of both comedy and Black culture, even improving upon Key & Peele in one important way. Much like its spiritual predecessor, Key & Peele, ABLSS combines absurdist humor with experiences unique to the Black community. As A Black Sketch Show enters season 3, the show remains a trailblazer as a showcase for Black women in sketch comedy. The brainchild of Robin Thede, who cut her teeth as the head writer for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and the host of her own BET late-night show, ABLSS was created to fill an emptiness that Thede perceived: representation of Black women in sketch comedy.

While traditional Black American sitcoms like Living Single and Girlfriends centered on Black women and their experiences, most variety comedy shows were written by and primarily starred white comedians—more often than not, white men. There were, of course, a handful of sketch/variety shows that heavily featured Black people, like The Chris Rock Show, The Chappelle Show, and Key & Peele. However, these shows were created by Black men, so the content mostly centered around their experiences and didn’t actively promote Black women’s presence. Though women like Issa Rae and the 2 Dope Queens made noteworthy contributions to the comedy scene in the past decade, their work didn’t fall into the traditional sketch experience. So, Thede—along with fellow comedians Quinta Brunson, Ashley Nicole Black, and Gabrielle Dennis—created A Black Lady Sketch Show to bridge that gap.

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At first glance, A Black Lady Sketch Show appears to be a woman’s take on Comedy Central’s