HBO declined Michael Che’s idea to name new show ‘That Black-Ass Michael Che’

Che's new show, 'That Damn Michael Che', will drop on HBO Max in early May

Apr 28, 2021

According to a recent interview, HBO allegedly declined Michael Che’s idea to name his new show, “That Black-Ass Michael Che”.

Known for his hilarious takes on Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update”, Che is one of the biggest stars in the current cast of the popular sketch series. His latest show for HBO Max, That Damn Michael Che, is described as using, “sketches and vignettes to illustrate what it feels like to experience various everyday situations including racial profiling, unemployment, falling in love and more, from Che’s perspective.”

In a recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, however, Che revealed that he had a different title in mind when first working on the series for HBO.

Michael Che thegrio.com — Michael Che appears on stage during Scleroderma Research Foundation’s Cool Comedy – Hot Cuisine New York 2018 at Caroline’s on Broadway on December 11, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for The Scleroderma Research Foundation)

While discussing the title of the new series, Fallon shared that he was a big fan of it. He told Che, “It’s called ‘That Damn Michael Che,’ which is so funny even just saying that title because the audience is like, ‘Why would you say that about Michael Che?’”

Che loved this answer and immediately responded, sharing, “That’s why I like it because it could go either way,” he joked. “It could be like, ‘Man, that damn Michael Che is funny’ or ‘That damn Michael Che.’ I like the kind of weight of it.”

Then, Che revealed he had another title entirely in mind that he pitched to HBO. He told Fallon, “I wanted to call it ‘That Black-ass Michael Che,’ but HBO said, ‘No.’” Fallon immediately laughed at Che’s joke, before introducing a sneak preview of the series. Che also opened up about Elon Musk‘s upcoming SNL appearance, joking that he hopes the billionaire will uphold the SNL tradition of hosts giving “a couple million dollars” to each cast member.

Che described the six-episode series as “just fun” to Fallon, explaining that it mostly consists of loose jokes and sketches. According to Deadline, the series is set to feature some major celebrity guest appearances as well. Omari Hardwick, Geoffrey Owens, Godfrey, Billy Porter, and Method Man are set to appear, as well as SNL cast members Cecily Strong, Heidi Gardner, and his Weekend Update partner, Colin Jost.

That Damn Michael Che premieres May 6 on HBO Max. Check out the brand new trailer for the series below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbtNbtWqrx4

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