Substitute Teacher

Substitute Teacher is a viral sketch from Comedy Central's Key & Peele (Season 2, Episode 4), first aired October 17, 2012. Keegan-Michael Key plays Mr. Garvey, a volatile former inner-city teacher of 20 years who is now a substitute for a predominantly white biology class. As he takes attendance, he mispronounces every student's name — Jacqueline becomes 'Jay Quellin', Blake becomes 'Balakay', Denise becomes 'Dee-Nice', and Aaron becomes 'A-A-Ron' — and grows increasingly furious when students dare to correct him. After sending Aaron to 'Principal O'Shag-Hennessy's office', he reaches Timothy (Jordan Peele), the only black student, who wisely answers 'PRE-sent' in kind. The sketch has amassed over 230 million YouTube views, making it one of the most-watched comedy sketches of all time.

Originally aired October 17, 2012 as part of the episode 'I'm Retired' (Season 2, Episode 4). The sketch was directed by Peter Atencio and written by the full Key & Peele writers' room. Key modeled Mr. Garvey on an aggressive guidance counselor from his predominantly Black Catholic elementary school. The name 'Aaron' (A-A-Ron) and 'Blake' were drawn from Jordan Peele's childhood friends. The line 'insubordinate and churlish' was improvised by Key. The sketch spawned a sequel in Season 3 and has inspired a planned Paramount Pictures feature film. As of April 2026, it has over 230 million YouTube views, making it one of the most-watched comedy sketches in internet history. Zack Pearlman (Aaron) wore goggles in the sketch due to a real-life case of pink eye.