In 2023 comedian and producer Elle Key, and comedian, actor, and writer Keegan-Michael Key, came out with a book called “The History of Sketch Comedy.” This book is part history of sketch comedy, part personal history of Keegan-Michael Key’s life and career, and part textbook discussing the styles, approaches and techniques of sketch comedy. It also happens to be the first book I’ve ever reviewed for my Substack. I might make this a semi-regular thing.

The first thing I need to say is that the first time I saw the book, it was eye-catching. But I declined buying it because I thought it was a bit too much of a now famous comedian riding their own coattails to hastily put out a book they know will sell based on their celebrity. As a serious scholar, and someone who has no celebrity, I was both annoyed and, I’ll just say it, jealous. I am happy to report that someone smarter than me got the book for me as a late Christmas gift and it turned out to be a wonderful read. I can honestly say that if you like comedy and sketch comedy, or even if you just like Keegan-Michael Key, then you will enjoy this book. Full stop.

The hardcover book is very well done. Good paper stock, well-designed cover, strong binding, and care went into the layout of the book. Kudos to the editor and creative team at Chronicle Books. It’s visually interesting without being overbearing. It has a nice thematic development that helps the reader along. The book has 10 chapters. The range of topics related to sketch is broad and never goes too deep into any one area. For those wanting to learn about sketch, who may not know about it as a subject matter, as is the case with me, this is a pleasant, thorough, and thoroughly engaging introduction.

For example, Mr. Key intersperses his discussion of medieval forms of sketch comedy in chapter two with his own experience, so there’s a nice anchoring of content in his more relatable history. The history isn’t simply a discussion of what happened and when, but also a discussion of how some of the techniques work both historically and how they are seen today. I can imagine several of the chapters of the book finding a comfortable home in any class teaching people about sketch comedy. He provides enough discussion of techniques like sketch structure, or “game,” or “premise, escalation, button” that anyone who might want to begin writing sketches, could easily use this as a guide for starting out. I felt myself wanting to try my hand at sketch writing.

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The book also has little vignettes where a famous comedian, sketch performer, writer, or actor talks about their influences, or what they love, etc. If I had one minor criticism of the text it would be these. They are all fine and interesting, but they sometimes break up the reading in ways that are not particularly helpful. They weren’t so problematic that I didn’t finish the book or find it less enjoyable. They just felt a bridge too far at times.

There are two final elements to discuss. The first is Mr. Key’s voice in the writing. It’s very much the same as his presence as seen in his show Key and Peele. There are times when he’s serious and focused. But you also feel when he code-switches to excitable Mr. Key. You can almost hear the volume raise and his prosody change. It keeps the reader engaged and also provides an example of how to write with humor—a difficult thing to accomplish. The final element are the sketches provided by Elle Key. They are lovely sketches that gives the book a more personal feel. It’s not simply graphical elements there to draw the eye. They’re drawn with care.

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I encourage you, if you’ve any interest in sketch comedy or Keegan-Michael Key, to get the book. You will enjoy it.

It might not need to mentioned, but I received no compensation for this post. I am far too small a fish to be spared any bait. ;-)