# That Damn Michael Che

That Damn Michael Che is an American sketch comedy television series created by and starring Michael Che that premiered on HBO Max on May 6, 2021. In July 2021, the series was renewed for a second season.

## Premise

Each episode follows a theme or incident (police brutality, unemployment, falling in love, etc.) and uses sketches and vignettes to illustrate what it feels like to experience this from a black vantage point.

## Cast
### Main

* Michael Che

### Guest

* Cecily Strong
* Heidi Gardner
* Colin Quinn
* Ellen Cleghorne
* Colin Jost
* Omari Hardwick
* Geoffrey Owens
* Godfrey
* Billy Porter
* Method Man
* Chris Distefano
* Anna Drezen
* Ziwe Fumudoh
* Wayne Brady
* David Allen Grier
* Tim Meadows
* Kenan Thompson

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| 1 | 6 | 6 | May 6, 2021 (2021-05-06) | May 6, 2021 (2021-05-06) |
| 2 | 6 | 6 | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |

### Season 1 (2021)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Policin'" | Oz Rodriguez | May 6, 2021 (2021-05-06) |
| 2 | 2 | "Bourbon & Water" | Oz Rodriguez | May 6, 2021 (2021-05-06) |
| 3 | 3 | "Dudley Gets Shot" | Oz Rodriguez | May 6, 2021 (2021-05-06) |
| 4 | 4 | "Sex Worker" | Oz Rodriguez | May 6, 2021 (2021-05-06) |
| 5 | 5 | "Well Played, Crackers" | Oz Rodriguez | May 6, 2021 (2021-05-06) |
| 6 | 6 | "Only Built 4 Leather Suits" | Oz Rodriguez | May 6, 2021 (2021-05-06) |

### Season 2 (2022)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Original release date |
| 7 | 1 | "Join The Club" | Alice Mathias & Gary Richardson | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
| 8 | 2 | "Intervention" | Alice Mathias & Gary Richardson | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
| 9 | 3 | "Black Mediocrity" | Alice Mathias & Gary Richardson | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
| 10 | 4 | "Higher Power" | Alice Mathias & Gary Richardson | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
| 11 | 5 | "Your Past, Your Present" | Alice Mathias & Gary Richardson | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |
| 12 | 6 | "Ballad of a Thin Man" | Alice Mathias & Gary Richardson | May 26, 2022 (2022-05-26) |

## Production
### Development

On July 14, 2020, HBO Max gave the then-untitled project a series order consisting of 6 half-hour episodes. The series is created by Michael Che, who also executive produces alongside Lorne Michaels and Erin Doyle. Che, speaking about the project, said: "I'm really excited to be working on this show with HBO Max. It's a project I've been thinking about for a while and we have a lot of sketches we want to shoot so please wear your masks so that we can go into production." On April 19, 2021, it was announced that the series was to be titled That Damn Michael Che and would premiere on May 6, 2021. On July 22, 2021, HBO Max renewed the series for a second season.

### Casting

Alongside the initial series order announcement, Che was announced to star in the series. On April 19, 2021, it was announced that Cecily Strong, Heidi Gardner, Colin Quinn, Ellen Cleghorne, and Colin Jost had joined the main cast, with Omari Hardwick, Geoffrey Owens, Godfrey, Billy Porter, and Method Man set to guest star.

### Filming

The first season was shot throughout New York, with filming commencing on November 9, 2020, and wrapping on February 1, 2021.

## Music

The theme song for season 1 was "You Can't Stop Us Now" from Nas's untitled album. In season 2, the theme song was "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" from Funkadelic's album Maggot Brain.