# Key & Peele

Key & Peele (abbreviated to K&P) is an American sketch comedy television series that ran from 2012 to 2015. It was created by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele for Comedy Central, who had previously worked on Mad TV.
Each episode of the show consists mainly of several pre-taped skits starring the two actors, performing as a double act. The sketches cover a variety of societal topics, often with a focus on American popular culture, ethnic stereotypes, social awkwardness, and race relations. Key & Peele premiered on January 31, 2012 and ended on September 9, 2015, with a total of 53 episodes, over the course of five seasons. A special titled "Key & Peele's Super Bowl Special" aired on January 30, 2015.
Key & Peele won a Peabody Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards and has been nominated for various other awards, including Writers Guild Award, NAACP Image Award and 16 additional Primetime Emmy Awards in various categories.
Comedy Central also maintains an official YouTube channel for the series, which currently has over 5.8 million subscribers and 2.5 billion views, as of August 28, 2024.

## Format

In the first three seasons, an episode would consist of a cold open, with a short sketch. After the intro plays, the two hosts introduce themselves to a studio audience and explain a possible situation, with the following sketch having a tangentially similar situation. The show then follows this pattern, with a number of sketches, each varying in length. However, not all the segments are introduced by a studio segment nor are they necessarily on a similar or connected theme. Many of the show's sketches follow a similar comedic form, specifically taking a comedic premise, situation, or turn of phrase, and repeat it in a more extreme fashion, thereby 'upping the ante' of comedic absurdity as the sketch unfolds. As an example, in popular sketch "Consequences", a guest speaker is brought to a school assembly to warn students about the consequences of their youthful misadventures. The speaker starts by telling a story of pattern of youthful misbehaviors and minor substance-use, such as smoking cigarettes and "hanging out on the street late at night" leading to misdemeanors and petty crime, through to "real crimes" which resulted in "being shot out of a catapult into the mouth of a dragon", and later being "sucked into a wormhole, consequences!". Additionally, Key and Peele's sketches often poke fun at aspects of race relations in the modern-day United States, as well as Black American culture writ large.
In the last two seasons, the show eschewed a studio audience in favor of a pre-shot narrative, featuring the duo discussing a concept during a car ride through the Mojave Desert, as the introduction to their sketches. In the last episode, it is revealed that the car ride is an extension of the "I Said Bitch" sketch from the first episode, their first primary sketch, as they finally stop the car in the middle of the road, look around, and utter "Bitch!" to one another.

## Production

The series was first announced in June 2011 by Comedy Central. In anticipation of the show, Key and Peele launched a web series in support of the program. The series premiered in January 2012 on Comedy Central in the U.S. and on The Comedy Network in Canada. The first episode drew 2.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched Comedy Central launch since 2009.
The series was renewed for four more seasons, beginning in September 2012, September 2013, September 2014, and July 2015. The last episode aired in September 2015.

## Episodes

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 8 | 8 | January 31, 2012 (2012-1-31) | March 20, 2012 (2012-3-20) |
| 2 | 10 | 10 | September 26, 2012 (2012-9-26) | November 28, 2012 (2012-11-28) |
| 3 | 13 | 13 | September 18, 2013 (2013-9-18) | December 18, 2013 (2013-12-18) |
| 4 | 11 | 11 | September 24, 2014 (2014-9-24) | December 10, 2014 (2014-12-10) |
| Special | Special | Special | January 30, 2015 (2015-1-30) | January 30, 2015 (2015-1-30) |
| 5 | 11 | 11 | July 8, 2015 (2015-7-8) | September 9, 2015 (2015-9-9) |

## Recurring characters and sketches
### Barack Obama and Luther

The 44th President of the United States, impersonated by Peele, often has difficulty expressing his true feelings. President Barack Obama's "anger translator" Luther, played by Key, works to interpret the President's low-key statements into raging tirades. One sketch reveals that Obama's wife and daughters each have their own anger translators as well, whom they request help from to speak with each other.
Key appeared briefly in-character as Luther at the Annual White House Correspondents Dinner as an anger translator for the real Barack Obama in early 2015. On January 5, 2017, Key debuted an "Obama-Luther" sketch on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.
In 2024, a sketch from Key & Peele gained public attention when the real Barack Obama was filmed at USA Basketball’s 50th anniversary party in Las Vegas acting in a similar manner to Peele's Obama in one of the sketches. At the USA Basketball party, Obama was filmed shaking the hands of white athletes but giving hugs to black athletes. This was noted as similar to a 2014 Key & Peele sketch where Peele's Obama is shown at a political event where he greets white guests by shaking their hands but greets black guests by hugging them.

### Wendell Sanders

Played by Peele, Wendell is a nerdy, morbidly obese, friendless man who loves sci-fi and fantasy. He often comes up with elaborate stories to convince others (especially over the phone) that he is not a stereotypical nerd, and that he is calling on the behalf of people other than himself. This includes a very attractive woman named "Claire", with whom he claims to have a relationship, and the 15-year-old son named "Stimpy" they have. (He was put on the spot when questioned about his nonexistent son, and he was close to a plush doll of the character from The Ren & Stimpy Show.) Though his stories are obvious lies, they are elaborate enough that he usually manages to convince the person on the other end of the phone line (usually a gullible man played by Key) that the people in his stories exist. When asked to speak with his fabricated friends and family, Wendell makes up an abrupt event on the spot (usually involving the fabricated person in question being killed) to prevent the person he is talking to from piecing together that his stories are lies, and to end the conversation.

### Mr. Garvey

Played by Key, Mr. Garvey is an ill-tempered and distrustful substitute teacher with 20 years of experience in urban schools. Mr. Garvey habitually butchers the names of the students in his mostly white suburban class, especially when taking attendance. However, he vigorously defends his errors - mispronouncing Jacqueline as "Jay-Quellin", Blake as "Balakay", Denise as "Dee-Nice" and Aaron as "A. A. Ron". The implication is that Mr. Garvey has trouble pronouncing "white" names, similar to how a white person would struggle to pronounce African-American names. Mr. Garvey feels disrespected by the students' corrections, causing him to progressively become more enraged and threatening. He proclaims that he has his eye on Jacqueline, asks Blake if he wants to go to war, and breaks a clipboard in front of Denise - forcing her to use the incorrect pronunciation of her name. Mr. Garvey eventually snaps at Aaron, sending him to Principal O'Shaughnessy's office - whose name he mispronounces as "O'Shag-Hennessy" - for insubordination. The only student Mr. Garvey seems to trust is an African American boy at the back of the class named Timothy (accent on the "o"), who is played by Peele. Timothy does not correct Mr. Garvey when his name is mispronounced.
In Substitute Teacher Part 2, Mr. Garvey's class - including a new student named Jessica (mispronounced "Ja-Seeca") - seem to have gotten used to their names being mangled. During role-call, Aaron informs Mr. Garvey that some students need to leave class early, so that they can meet up with their clubs for yearbook photos. Mr. Garvey misinterprets this as a fabricated excuse to ditch class and meet up at a social club, despite his students' young ages. Jacqueline nonetheless confirms that Aaron was referring to the students' school clubs, but Mr. Garvey continues to disallow their early exit. Instead, Mr. Garvey calls his students' club activities into question, including Jacqueline's involvement in Future Leaders of America, Blake's involvement in the Spanish club, and Denise's involvement in the chess club. When Mr. Garvey learns that Aaron is the president of the glee club, he becomes shocked and loses his temper. For deceiving him into backing a club dedicated to a TV show, Mr. Garvey sends Aaron to Principal O'Shaughnessy's office out of rage and spite. Mr. Garvey also ignores an intercom announcement from O'Shaughnessy, for he thinks it is fake. Despite all of this, Mr. Garvey excuses Timothy so he can pick up his daughter.
In November 2022, Key reprised the role in an advertisement for Paramount+, in which he teaches a mountaineering class consisting of various children's show characters. These students include "Blah-Zay" (Blaze from Blaze and the Monster Machines), "B. Louie" (Blue from Blue's Clues), Peppa Pig, "Naughty" (Nate from Big Nate), "K. Room" (Krumm from Aaahh!!! Real Monsters), "Doh-Rah" (Dora the Explorer), and "Bum-blee-bay" (Bumblebee). Unlike the original sketches, "A. A. Ron" (Aaron Donald) plays the Timothy role in the commercial and is not sent to the principal’s office.

### Meegan

Played by Peele, Meegan is a young woman angry at her boyfriend, André, who always pursues her from a club. Meegan won't let André near enough to make up. The distance they cover in their pursuit becomes extreme. Meegan is shown to be extremely selfish and unintelligent, and does not seem to acknowledge social norms. She herself rarely ever receives any sort of comeuppance for the flagrant disrespect she shows to others. When not with André, Meegan is often seen with another woman who acts exactly like her (played by Key), and they often gossip between one other about being shocked by people doing normal acts, and calling them "crazy". They also take numerous selfies but delete the majority of them because they don't like how they look in them, notably including a picture that had already just been classified as evidence of a crime that they witnessed.

### André

Played by Key, André is Meegan's equally loud, but far more intelligent and polite boyfriend who tends to take the fall for the conflicts she starts with others. In the final sketch, André attempts to return Meegan's jacket, with her constantly quipping "No!" and walking away from him. The two continue to walk for an exorbitant amount of time before ending up in a desert where they both collapse from exhaustion. Just before André drops, he sees the skeletal remains of other couples in similar situations.

### DeVon

Played by Key, DeVon is the shady and weird landlord who's often suspicious of what goes on in his tenants' apartments.

### Rafi Benitez

Played by Peele, Rafi is a baseball player who makes all his teammates uncomfortable in the locker room, because of his "slap-ass" addiction.

### Brock Favors

Played by Key, Brock Favors is a news reporter who's always ill-prepared for his assignments such as helicopter traffic reports and reporting on police dog training. He always responds to unexpected and sudden events with loud, excited swearing.

### Col. Hans Muller

Hans is a Nazi colonel who is ignorant to the truth. He uses "very scientific" methods to find black people (offering them beets, measuring their heads, jingling cat toys). He is played by recurring guest star Ty Burrell.

### Levi and Cedric

Levi and Cedric are two inner-city friends who often get in rifts because of Levi (Peele) constantly joining new trends such as going steam-punk or getting his own Ratatouille. Most sketches end with Cedric (Key) getting fed up with Levi and calling off their friendship.

### Carlito

Played by Peele, Carlito is a Mexican gangster who believes that very normal or minor acts (including sitting in chairs) are "for pussies", and believes himself to be above doing such acts. He believes himself to be "the crazy one" of the gang, which he will go to embarrassing lengths to prove.

### The Valets

Played by Key and Peele, the two valets from the Berkshire Restaurant (who always use unnecessary plurals in names of people, places, or things) love discussing their favorite movie stars and characters. Despite this, the valets mangle their names and films – such as "Liam Neesons" from Tooken, "Peter Dinkels" (who plays "Taiwan Lannister"), "Bruce Willies," "Michelle Pa-feiffers," "Timothy Elephants" and "Racist-Ass Melly Gibsons". They end the sketch by saying that something related to the star in question is "MY SHIT!", then disappearing, by ways such as flying into the air like a rocket or exploding.
In February 2014, a sponsored sketch with the valets titled "What About Non-Stop?" – in which "Liam Neesons" himself shows up to collect his car – was used to promote the film Non-Stop.
Key and Peele also appeared in a parody of "The Valets" in one of the teaser trailers for Toy Story 4.

### Karim and Jahar

Karim and Jahar are two lecherous Middle Eastern men on the lookout for beautiful women. Though they claim to dislike gay people, they often act in a flagrantly homoerotic manner.

### LaShawn and Samuel

LeShawn and Samuel are couple with very differing personalities and views on marriage. Samuel (Key) is very intelligent and well-mannered and exercises restraint when making important decisions. LaShawn (Peele) is very loud and extremely flamboyant and is constantly thinking up often nonsensical and impossible ideas for their future.

### East/West Bowl football players

The East/West Bowl features college football stars whose names become increasingly ridiculous as the team introductions proceed. Most are played by either Key or Peele, including "Javaris Jamar Javarison-Lamar" of the University of Middle Tennessee, "Hingle McCringleberry" of Pennsylvania State University, "Donkey Teeth" of Boise State University, "Huka'lakanaka Hakanakaheekalucka'hukahakafaka" of the University of Hawaii, "Squeeeeeeeps" of Santa Monica College, and "Firstname Lastname" of "College University". In addition, some West Team players come from non-university organizations, such as "Torque (Construction Noise) Lewith" of "Nevada State Penitentiary", "Morse Code" of "Army/Navy Surplus Store", "Wingdings" of "Online Classes", and the home-schooled "God". The West Team’s introductions are always finalized by a white player with a more conventional name played by neither Key or Peele - such as "Dan Smith" of Brigham Young University.
In the third edition of this sketch, the fictional athletes were joined by actual players with unusual names, such as Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Ishmaa'ily Kitchen, and D'Brickashaw Ferguson - whose name was the original inspiration of the skit. The last West Team player was "A. A. Ron Rodgers", in reference to the Mr. Garvey sketches.

### Metta World News

NBA player Metta World Peace (played by himself) delivers the "news," which usually takes the form of presenting bizarre hypothetical scenarios to the audience and his imagined approach to them. These are the only sketches that star neither Key nor Peele, though the segments occasionally overlap with other sketches that do feature them.

### The Black Republicans

The Black Republicans are a group of self-described outside-of-the-box thinking black men (one member is played by recurring guest star Malcolm-Jamal Warner) who try to convert other black voters to join the Republican party. Though they often strive to show how black Republicans are "very diverse", they are all shown to be similarly dressed in outdated fashion styles such as leather jackets, braided belts, dad jeans, and wire-rimmed glasses, in addition to all being married to white women. The sketches involve members standing up to give speeches to each other, which only reinforce their uniformity as they all nod and clap at everything said, in the exact same manner. Their catchphrase is "I am pissed, ROYALLY pissed!"

### Joseph

Played by Key, Joseph is a crude con man who fabricates facetious hardships so he can deceive others into helping him out.

### Dr. Rajeev Gupta

Played by Key, Dr. Gupta is an Indian-American doctor who works at a large hospital.

### The Continental

Played by Peele, the Continental is a strange, eccentric man who opulently and hedonistically indulges in his hotel's free continental breakfast as well as flying Economy Plus.

### Rhinos

The Rhinos is the name of several sports teams of varying sport, often bearing unusually odd-acting team members. Rafi is a member of the baseball team Rhinos, and Hingle McCringleberry (played by Key) appears as a member of the football team Rhinos.

#### Power Falcons

The Power Falcons are often portrayed as a rival to the Rhinos. The Power Falcons is also the name of a fictional team of superheroes in an implied reference to Power Rangers, two members of which are played by Key and Peele.

## Guest stars

* Tatyana Ali
* Utkarsh Ambudkar
* K. D. Aubert
* Sarah Baker
* Malcolm Barrett
* Bonnie Bartlett
* Tone Bell
* Matt Besser
* Jordan Black
* Wayne Brady
* Paget Brewster
* Bo Burnham
* Ty Burrell
* Kate Burton
* Michelle Buteau
* Anna Camp
* Heather Anne Campbell
* Larry Joe Campbell
* Eugene Cordero
* Mekia Cox
* Rob Delaney
* Julia Duffy
* EpicLLOYD
* Neil Flynn
* Daniele Gaither
* David Giuntoli
* Fiona Gubelmann
* Regina Hall
* Colin Hanks
* Ryan Hansen
* Tricia Helfer
* Justin Hires
* Meagan Holder
* James Hong
* Anna Maria Horsford
* Clint Howard
* Ernie Hudson
* Rob Huebel
* Gabriel Iglesias
* Nicole Randall Johnson
* Matt Jones
* Rashida Jones
* King Bach
* Art LaFleur
* Lauren Lapkus
* Natasha Leggero
* Tiny Lister
* Kristanna Loken
* Melanie Lynskey
* Hayes MacArthur
* Romany Malco
* Ken Marino
* Alphonso McAuley
* Jack McBrayer
* Kate Micucci
* Jerry Minor
* Mark Moses
* Arden Myrin
* Danielle Nicolet
* Dean Norris
* Adam Pally
* Keke Palmer
* Metta World Peace
* Mekhi Phifer
* Lance Reddick
* Retta
* Kim Rhodes
* Rob Riggle
* Jason Ritter
* Charlie Robinson
* Rebecca Romijn
* Andre Royo
* Will Sasso
* Richard Schiff
* Jason Schwartzman
* Brenda Song
* Kevin Sorbo
* Paul F. Tompkins
* Janet Varney
* Malcolm-Jamal Warner
* Michaela Watkins
* Vernee Watson
* Alie Ward
* Stephnie Weir
* Billy Dee Williams
* Gary Anthony Williams
* Tyler James Williams
* Cedric Yarbrough
* Carlson Young

## Reception
### Critical reception

The first two seasons of Key & Peele received positive reviews, maintaining a score 74 of 100 by the review aggregator site Metacritic. The third season of Key & Peele received critical acclaim, receiving a score of 82 on Metacritic. The series won a Peabody Award in 2013 "for its stars and their creative team's inspired satirical riffs on our racially divided and racially conjoined culture". On April 24, 2012, during an interview on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, President Barack Obama told the story of how he had watched the Key & Peele sketch featuring himself with "Luther, his Anger Translator", saying that "It's pretty good stuff – it's good stuff." Additionally, on April 25, 2015, during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Key reprised the role of Luther, President Obama's anger translator during the event. Dave Chappelle has accused the show of copying the format he established years prior for Chappelle's Show, but states that he is still a fan of the show.

### Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2013 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) Series | Rebecca Drysdale, Colton Dunn, Keegan-Michael Key, Jay Martel, Jordan Peele, Ian Roberts, Alex Rubens, Charlie Sanders, and Rich Talarico | Nominated |
| 2013 | 65th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) | Scott Wheeler, Suzanne Diaz | Nominated |
| 2014 | Peabody Award | Entertainment honoree | Key & Peele | Won |
| 2014 | 66th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | Episode: "Substitute Teacher #3; Joshua Funk, Rebecca Drysdale for "Les Mis" | Nominated |
| 2014 | 66th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Jay Martel, Ian Roberts, Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Alex Rubens, Rebecca Drysdale, Colton Dunn, Rich Talarico, Charlie Sanders | Nominated |
| 2014 | 66th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) | Episode: "East/West Bowl Rap | Nominated |
| 2014 | 66th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special | Episode: "Substitute Teacher #3" | Nominated |
| 2015 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Sketch Comedy Series | Comedy Central | Nominated |
| 2015 | 67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Variety Sketch Series | Comedy Central | Nominated |
| 2015 | 67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Keegan-Michael Key | Nominated |
| 2015 | 67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Rebecca Drysdale, Colton Dunn, Keegan-Michael Key, Jay Martel, Jordan Peele, Ian Roberts, Alex Rubens, Charlie Sanders, and Rich Talarico | Nominated |
| 2015 | 67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special | Brendan Hunt, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, and Rich Talarico for Key & Peele's Super Bowl Special | Nominated |
| 2015 | 67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming | Phil Davis, Christian Hoffman, and Rich LaBrie (Segment: "Scariest Movie Ever") | Nominated |
| 2015 | 67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special | Episode: "Aerobics Meltdown" | Nominated |
| 2015 | 67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) | Episode: "Episode 406" | Nominated |
| 2015 | 67th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program | Key & Peele Presents Van and Mike: The Ascension | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Variety Sketch Series | Comedy Central | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | Keegan-Michael Key | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Comedy Central | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special | Episode: "Y'all Ready for This?" | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Make-up for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic) | Episode: "Y'all Ready for This?" | Won |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming | Rich LaBrie, Neil Mahoney, Nicholas Monsour, and Stephen Waichulis for Episode: "The End" | Nominated |
| 2016 | 68th Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction, Reality, or Reality-Competition Series | Episodes: "Y'all Ready For This?"; "The End" | Nominated |

## Related media
### Vandaveon and Mike

Key & Peele have also created a YouTube commentary of their episodes under their alter-egos Vandaveon Huggins and Mike Taylor. Vandaveon and Mike analyze an episode, and suggest that low brow humor would make it funnier. These videos were also added to On Demand offerings of Key & Peele episodes. On March 12, 2014, Comedy Central announced the network was developing an animated spinoff starring Vandaveon and Mike as 12-year-old hall monitors, in association with Key and Peele.

### Other film and television

Key and Peele have appeared as a comedic duo, usually in tribute to the show, in various film and television series. This includes the following:
* In the final three episodes of the first season of Fargo (2014), Key and Peele play wisecracking FBI agents Bill Budge and Webb Pepper, who seek vengeance against main antagonist Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) after he takes advantage of their distraction from their conversation to commit a rampage.
* Key and Peele dueled in two episodes of Epic Rap Battles of History. The first involved Mahatma Gandhi (Key) vs. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Peele), while the second involved Muhammad Ali (Peele) vs. Michael Jordan (Key).
* In the film Keanu, Key and Peele play cousins Clarence Goobril and Rell Williams, who infiltrate a gang to retrieve a stolen kitten, as well as Smoke and Oil Dresden, the dreaded Allentown Brothers. Both also served as producers, with Peele contributing to the script.
* In the animated film Toy Story 4, Key and Peele voice carnival toys Ducky and Bunny, who assist Buzz Lightyear throughout the film.
* In the animated film Wendell & Wild, Key and Peele play the titular demons. Peele also co-wrote and co-produced the film.

## Home media

On September 25, 2012, Comedy Central and Paramount Home Entertainment released "Key and Peele – Season 1" on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Both formats feature bloopers, outtakes, a "Poolside Interview," audio commentary with Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, "Backstage," "Split Their Pants," Key & Peele live at the South Beach Comedy Festival, and an easter egg of the show's theme song.

## Broadcast

The show generally aired on international localized versions of Comedy Central. It premiered in Australia on The Comedy Channel on August 9, 2012.