The newest episode of Saturday Night Live featured a Chappelle's Show and House of the Dragon mashup. On Saturday night, Dave Chappelle returned to host the show for the third time, kicking off the night with a 15-minute opening monologue. But as a House of the Dragon fan, Chappelle also set up another parody sketch by telling viewers how he wants to see some changes with the show's representation of Black characters heading into season 2.
"I am the biggest Game of Thrones fan, I love their new show, and I've got to tell you, I love that they're including Black characters, but to be honest, the Black characters take me out of it a little bit," Chappelle said, introducing a "sneak peek" of season 2 with new Black characters added to the cast that Chappelle's Show fans will recognize.
You can watch the parody below.
The skit features appearances of Chappelle's Silky Johnson, Tyrone Biggums, and Rick James characters as played on Chappelle's Show. Original cast member Donnell Rawlings also appears while even Ice-T pops up in the skit. Characters from House of the Dragon portrayed include Chloe Fineman as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Michael Longfellow as Daemon Targaryen, Kenan Thompson as Lord Corlys Velaryon, and James Austin Johnson as King Viserys Targaryen.
Dave Chappelle Tackled House of the Dragon's Diversity Criticism
The sketch was a response to complaints there have been over the representation of the Black characters in House of the Dragon. Steve Toussaint, whose character was spoofed by Kenan Thompson in the sketch, previously spoke out about the situation. He questioned why people can get hung up on these things while discussing a fictional fantasy universe with flying, fire-breathing dragons.
"It seems to be very hard for people to swallow," Toussaint told Men's Health. "They are happy with a dragon flying. They're happy with white hair and violet-colored eyes, but a rich black guy? That's beyond the pale."
The criticism isn't coming from the majority of the fans. Toussaint stressed that the response has been mostly positive, despite the complaints some trolls may have had about the casting on social media.
"What has been wonderful is for every toxic person that has somehow found their way into my timeline, there have been so many others who have been so supportive and been like, 'Oh my god, I can't wait, this is going to be great!' Even when we were doing certain scenes, there would be supporting artists who would come up and go, 'It's great to have this representation," Toussaint said.
You can stream the new episode of Saturday Night Live featuring Chappelle as host on Peacock. On the new episode, it was also announced that Keke Palmer will be hosting the next new episode, which will air on Dec. 3, 2022. SZA will also appear as the musical guest.