It’s hard to break into the sketch comedy scene, and even harder to become successful in it. Key & Peele is definitely one of the best sketch comedy shows to ever exist on television, and it ran for five seasons from 2012 to 2015 on Comedy Central. Not only that, but Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have built wildly successful careers off it. However, fans have wondered why the two don’t seem as close anymore, and the Playing With Fire actor has decided to shed some light on their current relationship.
After previously mentioning they, unfortunately, don’t see each other much anymore, the Jingle Jangle actor recently clarified the nature of their relationship these days, telling People it more so has to do with the distance:
Whenever we have an opportunity to see each other, we do. Whenever we have an opportunity. I certainly enjoy spending time with him, so when my travels take me to Los Angeles, he’s usually one of the first calls that I make. I land, and I go, ‘Hey buddy, we’re in town,’ and often we get to have dinner.
Man, I miss seeing these two comedic geniuses collaborate on Key & Peele. The comedic chemistry they share is off the charts, and it was what made their Comedy Central sketch comedy show so successful. Some of Key and Peele’s funniest sketches were when it was just the two of them smoothly playing off each other, like Luther, “Obama’s Anger Translator” and “I Said Bitch.” So it doesn’t surprise me when the Migration actor says they carry that energy in their real-life friendship.
Continuing to talk about where their relationship stands these days, Key explained:
Our relationship is like a good friend’s relationship, where you pick up where you left off, or the little things that you shared in the past, you just go right back into it again. I look forward to seeing him in 2025.
Could Key be hinting at a possible upcoming project between the two? It’s not impossible, as the pair have worked together in recent years on Toy Story 4 and Wendell & Wild. However, it’s been almost a decade since we’ve actually seen the friends appear together in the flesh for an on-screen project. If no one has said it, let me be the first: that’s too long!
Upon the conclusion of their sketch comedy series, the comedian duo remained close, starring in the 2016 action-comedy Keanu together before choosing to focus on other individual pursuits.
Peele’s career took a 180 into the thriller/horror genre and has earned quite a respected reputation because of movies like Get Out and Nope.
Key’s catalog on the other hand has stayed more or less in the musical/comedy scene, with recent roles in Schmigadoon! and Wonka.
However, their diverging career paths clearly don’t mean they had a falling out. And now that it’s been made clear where they stand in each other’s lives, fans can save some hope they will collaborate again. I’m waiting for the Friends From College actor to pop up in another Peele thriller flick. Or perhaps one of these days the Candyman producer will drop a Key & Peele easter egg into one of his scripts just like his buddy’s movie Transformers One.
If I’m being honest though, I would love to see them do some sketch comedy again for old-time’s sake, even if it’s just for a Super Bowl commercial, alla Suits style. The Us director has admitted he hates being boxed into a specific genre or type of film, and I have a feeling he’s got a lot more he wants to explore. Maybe one of those paths will lead back to Key…