[1] The Closer is Chappelle's sixth and final special under his 2016 deal with Netflix, with the other five being Deep in the Heart of Texas, The Age of Spin, Equanimity, The Bird Revelation and Sticks & Stones.

Chappelle shares his idea for a movie plot, about aliens claiming the earth as they were an ancient civilization who inhabited the earth once, then managed to explore space but after a long period things went terrible for them and they decided to go back and claim the earth... he calls it "space jews" Chappelle jokes that he has written a series of children's books, similar to Clifford the Big Red Dog, except it is about a Black man who is shot by police in each installment.

[8] Chappelle jokes about controversy concerning DaBaby, and wonders aloud why the rapper was "canceled" for making disparaging remarks about the LGBTQ community but not for killing a man in a Huntersville, North Carolina Walmart.

[8] Chappelle talks about his narrative with the transgender community, and voices his opposition to bills aimed at regulating trans bathroom use.

[8] Chappelle then talks about Twitter, declaring it "not a real place", before finishing with a story about Daphne Dorman, a transgender comedian he had a role in mentoring.

[11] The other shows were Deep in the Heart of Texas, The Age of Spin, Equanimity, The Bird Revelation, and Sticks & Stones.

[16][17] The Closer ranked in seventh place for original content in streaming audience measurements from Nielsen ratings for the week of October 4–10, 2021.

[22] Some reviewers pointed out that while the special received poor ratings from professional critics,[23][24][25][26] The Closer had a 96% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

"[28] Craig Jenkins of Vulture gave it a mixed review, and wrote: "This time, [Chapelle]’s going for the predictable jabs and rehashing takes that were old hat five years ago … He needs new ideas.."[29] Helen Lewis of The Atlantic in a mixed review wrote that "The emotion that defines The Closer is not laughter, but anger.

Chappelle once delivered his most offensive jokes with a goofy, quizzical, little-lost-boy smile, removing some of their sting, but here the humor feels sour and curdled.

"[23] Jordan Ruimy of World of Reel in a positive review wrote that "amidst all the brouhaha that has happened this last week over Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix special, “The Closer,” there lies a total and utter artistic act of subversive trolling from the comedian.

"[30] Jim Schembri in a positive review wrote "Chappelle presents himself as an unfiltered, unflinching free thinker, fully aware of the controversy he creates and totally unapologetic about it.

"[32] David Johns, the executive director of the National Black Justice Coalition, published a statement saying "[p]erpetuating transphobia perpetuates violence" and asked Netflix to remove The Closer from its service.

"[37] Following Sarandos' statement, the trans employee resource group at Netflix announced they would be staging a walkout on October 20.

and that "[w]hile some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on screen doesn't directly translate to real-world harm".

[42] Before the planned walkout, Netflix issued a company statement encouraging employees to attend the protest without repercussions.

On October 21, a representative for Chappelle reached out to TMZ saying: "Dave stands by his art: No more jokes about transgenders until we can all laugh together.

"[49] In the special, Chappelle discussed his friendship with Daphne Dorman, who was an American transgender comedian, actress, and software engineer based in San Francisco.

[57] Bloomberg News reported that Chappelle's content "prompted leaks unprecedented in the company's history" by employees and insiders.

[58] On October 15, Netflix fired employee B. Pagels-Minor[59] for leaking nonpublic financial information to Bloomberg News.