Network suspends ”Chapelle” production

Sat., May 7, 2005

From wire reports

Production of the popular Comedy Central series “Chappelle’s Show” has been suspended and its third season’s premiere indefinitely delayed.

The network issued a statement this week saying: “All parties are optimistic that production will resume in the near future.”

The season will not start May 31 as originally scheduled, the statement added.

The sketch-comedy series with a raw, satirical edge has become a critical and popular hit. Last season the show was nominated for three Emmys, including outstanding comedy series, and its first-season DVD has sold more than 2 million copies.

Meanwhile, Comedy Central hopes to build on Jon Stewart’s “Daily Show” momentum by adding three new series for late night, a key time slot for the cable channel’s core audience of young men.

The trio of talk-show hybrids:

• “The Colbert Report,” starring lead “Daily Show” correspondent Stephen Colbert, who will play “a very well intentioned but poorly informed” and opinionated conservative talk host.

• An untitled topical talk show starring Adam Carolla (who co-hosted Comedy Central’s beer-and-babes “Man Show” with Jimmy Kimmel until 2002), focusing on pop culture and sports, with a viewer call-in segment.

• “Weekends at the DL,” a looser talk show starring standup comic D.L. Hughley, with man-on-the-street interviews, a live band, comedy segments and a panel of guests.

Hughley’s show will premiere July 29, airing Fridays through Sundays at 11 p.m., when “The Daily Show” is on its weekend break. “Colbert” likely will premiere in late August or September, following Stewart on Monday through Thursday. Carolla’s show is due soon after, either airing at midnight or rotating with “Colbert.”

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.