close menu

In-Depth Look Into the Comedy of KEY & PEELE

Comedy Central brought audiences some of the most hilarious sketch work ever produced with its five seasons of Key & Peele. What’s more is that the brand of comedy that Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele created usually managed to say something on a deeper level that made us think as much as it made us laugh. A recent video essay by the folks over at Wisecrack aimed to explain this a bit further.

Overanalyzing any form of comedy can sometimes steal away some of the laughs but with Key & Peele, it somehow manages to heighten the experience. Wisecrack’s Jared goes into great detail as to why the show and the comedy duo’s other work hits a special part of our funny bones by breaking down a few sketches and shedding light on the sort of comedic formula you can expect in each of them.

Though applying math to comedy seems like a death sentence for laughter, the one above tends to work with a lot of what Key & Peele create. In most cases, their sketches spend a lot of time setting the rules for a primary joke and hitting on it a few times. If we were given just that then K&P would still be hilarious but the duo almost always go for a final punchline that specifically subverts the world they’ve built. Additionally, that final punch either legitimizes the absurdity they’ve created or is an honest commentary on something wrong/weird/off in the real world. When it’s both, the entire sketch and why we initially thought it was funny can take on a whole new meaning.

What’s your favorite Key & Peele sketch? Does it fit Wisecrack‘s formula? Let’s discuss in the comments below!

Images: Comedy Central, Wisecrack

What is Wrong with MAD MAX’s War Boys?

What is Wrong with MAD MAX’s War Boys?

article
Hundreds of Real Doctors Have Famous Fictional Doctor Names

Hundreds of Real Doctors Have Famous Fictional Doctor Names

article
The Mysterious Medical Condition That Gives People Dragon Faces

The Mysterious Medical Condition That Gives People Dragon Faces

article