Hardwick. This was followed by writing jobs for the game show Bzzz! in 1996, the sketch comedy-variety show All That from 1996 to 1997, and the teen sitcom Kenan & Kel in 1997. In 1997, Brennan and Dave Chappelle collaborated for the first time on the screenplay for the film Half Baked. The film was released in January 1998 and starred Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams, and Guillermo Díaz. Half Baked was a commercial failure and received mainly negative reviews but has become a cult classic. In a 2006 interview, Brennan referred to the period of the film's release as "probably the worst year of my life, creatively and personally." In an interview that same year on Inside the Actors Studio, Chappelle recounted how he and Brennan lost touch with each other after the release of Half Baked, saying that it was "like leaving a crime scene". Chappelle's Show Brennan and Chappelle came together to co-create, co-write, and co-executive produce the eponymous sketch comedy Chappelle's Show which premiered in January 2003. Brennan said that he and Chappelle read the book Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live (2002), by Tom Shales when they started writing sketches for the show, and found the book very helpful. The duo wrote the show's sketches with minimal outside help and agreed never to divulge who was responsible for writing which sketch. Brennan directed some sketches in the show's second season, including the sketch featuring Chappelle as musician Rick James. Brennan was nominated for three Emmy Awards in 2004 for his work on the show as a director, writer and producer. By the end of its second season Chappelle's Show was Comedy Central's highest-rated program. Members of the musical group the Roots worked as music directors on the second and third seasons of the show. Brennan later recommended the band to Jimmy Fallon as his house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Chappelle's Show was doing well and Chappelle had signed a $50 million deal in 2004 to produce two more seasons, but he abruptly left the show in April 2005 prior to the premiere of the show's third season. He left without warning Brennan or others of the show's crew. As a result, the premiere of season three was delayed; Brennan compiled the remaining sketches and aired them in July 2006 as the "lost episodes." The Champs Podcast In