Are you ready for it? Today Comedy Central made the announcement that THE NEW NEGROES with BARON VAUGGHN and OPEN MIKE EAGLE will debut Friday, April 19th on Comedy Central. Each episode will feature stand-up performances from three comedians and close with an original music video featuring Open Mike Eagle and a guest recording artist (with guest-actors thrown in for good measure). The upcoming series is based on the long-running live show (which will continue to put on performances every fourth Sunday at LA speakeasy, The Virgil). Per Vaughn and Eagle,
“Our series gets its title and its mission from a book named ‘The New Negro’ by Alain Locke…That book was a collection of essays, poetry, fiction, and music from a generation of emerging artists credited with launching the Harlem Renaissance. In other words, it was a place where black people shared their lives, their perspectives, and their ideals. It was a place where black people could define themselves instead of being defined by others. Our show aspires to do the same with stand-up comedy, music, and music videos. We’re paying homage to that original movement by inviting comedians and musicians to do what they do best: speak.”
The premiere episode of the series will include a guest appearance by Hannibal Buress and just some of the stand-up talent you can look forward to includes Chris Redd, Donnell Rawlings, Lil Rel Howery, Sasheer Zamata, Dulcé Sloan, George Wallace, Sam Jay, and more. Also look forward to music from Method Man, MF Doom, Danny Brown, Phonte, Lizzo, Father, and Sammus. Expect music videos and songs to be released gigitally with each episode, as well as clips and exclusive extended stand-up sets on the Comedy Central Stand-Up YouTube channel, Comedy Central Stand-Up social-media accounts, and the CC App. Full episodes of The New Negroes with Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle will be available the day after the premiere on the Comedy Central App, cc.com, on-demand, and download-to-own platforms. Wave goodbye to the old guard and feast your eyes on all the glorious content coming your way:
Mentions: The eight-episode series premieres on Comedy Central with Simulcast on BET Friday, April 19 at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. Follow the New Negroes conversation on Twitter via @StandUp and Instagram via @ccstandup. Catch the next live show this Sunday, March 24 at The Virgil at 7:30pm. Eagle, Vaughn, Rob Anderson, Lance Bangs, Funny Or Die’s Mike Farah, and Gary Sanchez Productions’ Betsy Koch are Executive Producers for the series.