Is 'The Closer' Dave Chappelle's Final Netflix Special?

Dave Chappelle's latest comedy special The Closer is now airing on Netflix.

He gave his fans little warning of his impending show, which was announced on October 4, with a hilarious trailer which confirmed that it was arriving "tomorrow." Well, tomorrow is now today and Chappelle's sixth comedy show is available to watch on the streaming service.

This is Chappelle's final stand up special for a while, and with a title like The Closer, it could imply he's bringing his deal with Netflix to an end.

Is The Closer Chappelle's final Netflix show?

Performed in Detroit, Chappelle opened The Closer with an announcement for the audience at the venue. He said: "This is gonna be my last special for a minute."

The comedian admitted he chose Detroit because he "talked so much shit" about the city in his first Netflix special that he might as well end it there.

The trailer for the new special features Chappelle driving in his car, deep in thought -- or at least that's what his passenger tells us. The camera pans back and we see Freeman is driving with Chappelle who starts shouting at him to shut up.

Morgan Freeman has provided voiceovers for Chappelle's Netflix specials in the past and he does so again in the recent trailer. Reflecting on the past specials, Freeman says "Five specials in as many years, how do you close a body of work that profound?"

This implies that this upcoming sixth special could be closing out Chappelle's time on Netflix specifically.

In comedy terms, the closer is usually the headline act who performs last, bringing the show to a close. This could also suggest that The Closer is Chappelle's big finale.

On Netflix, The Closer is described as follows: "As he closes out his slate of comedy specials, Dave takes the stage to try and set the record straight -- and get a few things of his chest."

What was Chappelle's deal with Netflix?

In 2016 Chappelle signed a huge deal with Netflix. The initial contract signed Chappelle up for three specials, each of which he got paid $20 million for.

In 2017 he released The Age of Spin and Deep In The Heart of Texas, both of which he'd already recorded previously. He also released two more specials, Equanimity and The Bird Revelation. Two years later in 2019 Sticks & Stones dropped on Netflix.

There has yet to be an announcement on Chappelle's deal with Netflix for his current special The Closer but he's also yet to confirm that he's finished working with Netflix.

The Closer tribute to Norm Macdonald

The final credits of The Closer on Netflix features Chappelle hanging out with a number of notable people over the years including David Letterman, Black Thought, Chris Tucker, Bill Murray and Bill Burr.

Towards the end of the montage we see a quote from James Baldwin, images from Black Lives Matter protests, and a picture of George Floyd. Finally he thanks, "as always" his wife Elaine.

The final image is a recent picture of Chappelle and the late comedian Norm MacDonald who died last month. The picture appears to be taken in The Belly Room at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles. The words on screen read "For Norm."