When Comedy Central first announced their upcoming fake newsmagazine show, Chocolate News, I began to think Comedy Central was trying to stake their claim as an actual news network.
After all, we in the 18 to 20-something demographic supposedly get more of our news from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert than we do from the "real" newscasters.
Chocolate News is a magazine-style show, but the pieces the series presents to you are done with the biting style that made In Living Color (and many of it's alumni, including Grier) famous. So far, the series is blending the two formats together, achieving so-so results.
The series' first episode is a hodgepodge. Beginning with a great rant from Grier about the decline of hip-hop and its true social message, the pilot episode takes a look at the first-ever African-American presidential candidate (not Sen. Obama), as well a peace treaty over the usage of the "n word." These bits are certainly worth your time.
Grier is superb here, playing up the part of newscaster as far as it will go, with all the various stares, glares and head jerks of a Tom Brokaw or a Brian Williams. Also, in the first episode, Grier does something I didn't think was allowed to be done; he makes fun of Maya Angelou, using the bit to skewer both John McCain and Barack Obama.
Like many pilots, Chocolate News is unsure of itself. Will the series be a fine complement to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, or are we getting a vanilla (pun intended) version of great sketch shows, like the aforementioned Color and Chappelle's Show? However, as a fan of Grier, I have confidence that whichever route Chocolate News takes, it will not only be decided sooner, rather than later, but it will also be damn hysterical.
As a side note, if Comedy Central does decide to launch it's own faux news network, count me in!
Be the first to comment on this article!