Dave Chappelle kicked off a three-day set at the Hollywood Palladium last night, starting the run for an upcoming Netflix special. The shows sit inside the Netflix is a Joke Comedy Festival 2026, and the production team went in without knowing what material he would use.
Hollywood Palladium Run
Sources said no one, including Stan Lathan, knew Chappelle’s material in advance. That left producers operating blindfolded heading into Thursday’s set, with only the start times for Chappelle and familiarity with Killer Mike’s opening act set.
Chappelle has been working on the material across several rooms: he did two to three sets every night this week at the Laugh Factory, the Comedy Store and the new Comedy Chateau in North Hollywood. Last week, he tested material at pop-ups in New York, after earlier runs in Chicago.
Lauryn Hill And Erykah Badu
Producers scrambled to fly in Lauryn Hill for a surprise appearance at one of the shows, but as of Friday morning her slot was still described as “to-be-determined.” Erykah Badu was said to be locked in for an after-show, where the plan was for her to do both stand-up and sing.
A source on hand during rehearsals said Chappelle had been “indefatigable” in the run-up to the shows and added, “He’s really proud of these specials, so he wants to get the stuff right.” That preparation also included a Sunday dry-run at the Comedy Store in West Hollywood, where he brought Kanye West onstage and West drew a standing ovation.
Kanye West In West Hollywood
Chappelle’s Sunday dry-run carried a second layer of context because his 2022 Saturday Night Live monologue included a lengthy discussion on Kanye West. The West Hollywood appearance showed how much of this project is being built in real time, with the surprise guest list and the set itself both moving targets for the people staging the special.
For viewers, the immediate takeaway is simple: the Palladium run is not just a taping, it is a controlled live test with room for last-minute changes. Anyone watching the special later will be seeing the version that emerged from a week of constant stand-up runs, surprise guests and a production team that had to adapt as the shows unfolded.
