I'm going to try to not get emotional as I type this.
"Key & Peele" is over. Done. Finito.
It's doing what so few shows seem to know how to do: end with grace. Much like "30 Rock,"
"Key & Peele" is bowing out while it's on top. And in a way, we should be thankful. After all, for its five season run, hasn't doing the unexpected been the modus operandi?
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have pulled the plug on their ingenious brainchild to pursue other projects, and to them I say:
How dare you?
Your show was revolutionary. Groundbreaking. You both tackled major social issues head-on with the grace of Baryshnikov and the comic sensibilities of Ernie Kovacs, and now you're leaving us? Major network stars fought Congress in the '70s for the right to preserve the integrity of the medium, and now you two can't even put your movie careers on hold for a few more seasons to save us all from its mediocrity?
Your leaving TV is an especially unwelcome change considering the recent issues which seem to hang over our country like a storm cloud. Police brutality against minorities, the Confederate flag debacle, the extreme (and somehow increasing) divisiveness of politics, all have created a tense national atmosphere which you two have always managed to deftly diffuse through your own style of socially conscious comedy.
Gentlemen, I honestly don't know if you're aware of this or not but you reinvented the wheel. Your ability to blend comedy, a message, and make the finished product viral-worthy is, for lack of a better word, genius. Your appeal was (is) undeniable and immense; my own grandmother would email me your skits. You have left a hole in TV and our hearts that will undoubtedly be filled with the standard just-add-water-and-stir instant comedy that is so prevalent in this day and age.
Key, Peele, I wish you all the best. I hope that your movie careers make leaving your fans to languish in the hellish mire of TV worth it. I hope that you both win enough Academy Awards to ease the guilt that you both should be feeling right now. But above all else, I hope that you both come back to the small screen, and quickly.
In "honor" of your decision to leave us, here is my pick for best skit from each season.
1. Movie Hecklers
2. East/West College Bowl
3. Dad's Hollywood Secret
4. Georgina and Esther and Satan
(NSFW)
