6 /10 1 Votes6
5.8/10 TV Written by Peter Tolan Final episode date 3 April 1996 | 6.4/10 IMDb Genre Sitcom Theme music composer Derrick Perkins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Created by Carmen FinestraDavid McFadzeanMatt Williams Directed by Paul LazarusJohn PasquinAndrew Tsao Starring Dave ChappelleChristopher GartinTanya WrightRichard Roundtree Network American Broadcasting Company Cast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Buddies is the name of a sitcom starring Dave Chappelle that aired on ABC in 1996.
Contents
Home Improvement connection
Comedians Dave Chappelle and Jim Breuer attracted the attention of TV network executives with their guest appearance in the March 14, 1995 episode of ABC's highly rated sitcom Home Improvement. The storyline had Chappelle and Breuer play a duo of friends who appear on Tool Time to ask Tim Taylor advice on their girlfriends. The characters' single outing on the episode proved so popular that ABC decided to give Chappelle and Breuer their own half-hour sitcom.
Cast changes
After subsequent rehearsals, Jim Breuer was replaced with Christopher Gartin as Dave Chappelle's "buddy". The unique comic timing and chemistry that Chappelle had with Breuer, his real-life friend, was not present with Gartin, and Breuer's abrupt firing exacerbated ill will. This prevented Chappelle and Gartin from developing the rapport and comedic chemistry necessary for the characters' believability and likeability.
Cancellation
Buddies premiered on Tuesday, March 5, 1996. The show garnered disappointing ratings. Buddies cancelled on April 3 after airing only five episodes out of the 13 that were produced. Dave Chappelle himself was not proud of his involvement with Buddies in retrospect:
Cast
DVD release
For a limited time in 2005, Best Buy had an exclusive DVD available that contained 10 episodes of Buddies, including all 8 unaired episodes. The DVD was originally released on May 15, 2005 but seems to have been discontinued as Best Buy currently lists the item as "backordered." It is unclear why the DVD did not include all 13 episodes or if the remaining 3 episodes will ever receive a home video release.