Last year, sketch team Astronomy Club debuted a digital series on Comedy Central that we called the network’s best yet, and at least one person agreed, because now the ensemble is heading to Netflix with the launch of their very own sketch-comedy show. Ordered back in July, Astronomy Club features Keisha Zollar, James III, Monique Moses, Jerah Milligan, Caroline Martin, Ray Cordova, Jon Braylock, and Shawtane Bowen in a series of sketches covering “an array of topics ranging from pop culture and social issues to the black experience,†and both Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson EP Daniel Powell are behind the show as executive producers.
Netflix released a very promising sneak peek from the series today titled “Magical Negro Rehab,†in which the cast plays characters from a bunch of films — like Ghost’s Oda Mae Brown, Bagger Vance, Driving Miss Daisy’s Hoke Colburn, and The Green Mile’s John Coffey — who head to a rehab session at “Dignity and Ambition for Magical Negroes,†a.k.a. DAMN: “We help Magical Negroes from classic films go from supporting to lead!†Of course, breaking old habits is tough, and the characters tend to relapse as quickly as they seem to reach breakthroughs, but congratulations to John Coffey on managing to run across the room without hugging the sickness out of a single white person. Recovery isn’t easy, and you’ve got to celebrate the small wins as they come.
Astronomy Club debuts on Netflix on Friday, December 6.