Larry Wilmore was put in kind of an unenviable situation by Comedy Central, being asked to replace Stephen Colbert in the 11:30 p.m. ET time slot after The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I say “kind of unenviable,” however, because Wilmore now has his own show on Comedy Central. As Wilmore said in last Monday’s (Jan. 19) debut episode, “Brother finally gets a show on late-night TV.”
With probably the best lead-in the network has and the stamp of approval that comes with Stewart being an executive producer, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore doesn’t have as steep an uphill climb toward prosperity as it might initially appear.
For one thing, Wilmore has the advantage of being in a spot that The Colbert Report established as a success. Prior to Colbert getting his own solo gig, Comedy Central had difficulty filling the time slot after The Daily Show (though Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn had a two-year run). That’s no longer a problem. People will tune in for more “fake news,” satire and intelligent discussion of current events.
Additionally, Wilmore is already familiar to Stewart’s audience, with a recurring role as The Daily Show‘s “senior black correspondent” for the past eight years. Comedy fans likely also knew Wilmore from his work on The PJs, The Bernie Mac Show and The Office as a writer and producer. Whether or not Wilmore is funny isn’t the question.
But will fans and viewers accustomed to Colbert’s exaggerated right-wing character and the laughs that came with his satirical punditry have to adjust to Wilmore’s more understated, straight-man approach? That’s possible, though Comedy Central’s late-night audiences are smart enough to know that Colbert and his character left with The Colbert Report and would surely reject any attempt to serve up the same thing with a different host.
Stewart is smarter than that too, which is why he tabbed Wilmore to replace Colbert and helped develop the idea of centering The Nightly Show around a regular panel discussion, rather than the news-commentary-interview format of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report.
Judging from the first week’s four programs, it also appears that each episode of The Nightly Show will follow a theme. In the debut episode, for example, the central premise was “The State of Black Protest.” Wilmore begins by commenting on recent news reports and cable news segments on the increasingly trivial matters which stoked outrage and prompted people to organize. That built up to the big punchline, which was Al Sharpton protesting the lack of black nominees for the 2015 Academy Awards.
“Al, you don’t have to respond to every black emergency,” said Wilmore. “You’re not Black Batman.”
The next night, Wilmore took on Bill Cosby, making it absolutely clear that he thought Cosby was guilty of the multiple drugging and rape allegations leveled against him. But this wasn’t just a sharp attack on Cosby, tearing down someone who’s held himself up as a pillar of the black community. The theme of the evening was “Why aren’t people listening to these women?”
After Wilmore has said his piece, the show turns it over to a four-person panel. Living up to the standard that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report set, the foursome is a mix of people who can actually lend insight to the topic at hand, crack some smart jokes about the situation, and most importantly, present voices and viewpoints not regularly seen on TV. For the first night’s discussion about black protest, the panel was made up of New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, hip hop artist Talib Kweli, comedian Bill Burr and show contributor Shenaz Treasury.
Wilmore’s panels are akin to those typically featured on Real Time with Bill Maher, which are a streamlined, more intelligent version of the groupings Maher had on Politically Incorrect. No empty-headed celebrities here. Be smart, be funny. And above all, do not bullshit.
That leads in to the most entertaining part of the panel discussion, which is when Wilmore does a Q&A called “Keep it 100” — or keep it 100 percent real — during the second segment. Each panelist gets a question that he or she is expected to answer truthfully. Anything seen as wishy-washy or politically correct is greeted with audience boos and the panelist getting a tea bag for “weak tea.”
Burr, who has a black wife, was asked whether or not he preferred his child to be black or white. Burr answered white, and got a “Keep it 100” sticker. On another night, when the State of the Union — and more specifically, the State of Obama — was the topic, New Yorker editor David Remnick was asked if he ever thought that the President was an asshole when interviewing him. Former CNN host Soledad O’Brien was on a panel discussing trade relations with Cuba and asked if she had to choose, would she prefer being perceived as black or Latino.
It’s fun to watch the panelists squirm in their seats if the question is uncomfortable, and both Wilmore and the audience are ready to pounce when they sense bullshit is coming. Those who get weak tea don’t enjoy being called out for trying to be diplomatic and perhaps less than truthful either.
Of course, it’s difficult — and unfair — to render a verdict on The Nightly Show after only one week and four episodes. Any show needs some time to settle in and figure out what it really is. But there is major promise here. Wilmore is a sharp commentator, as demonstrated by the themes chosen for each night’s show and his news segments early in the program. He also “keeps it 100” when taking a personal view of the evening’s topic, such as when he admitted he voted for President Obama because he’s black and continues to support him for the same reason, even if he doesn’t entirely approve of Obama’s job performance.
I’m intrigued to see if The Nightly Show’s format will continue to follow one theme every night as the show develops. For the first week, it was a smart decision, giving Wilmore and the program a solid foundation to work from while trying to find their voice. That was especially true during a slow news week, in which all media outlets seem to be concerned with the New England Patriots and #Ballghazi. Yet as interesting as the Cuba theme was, it felt weak compared to the topics of the previous three nights.
Will the show be agile and adaptable enough to respond to the news of the day? That could determine whether or not The Nightly Show resonates in the culture, becomes must-watch TV and provokes thought the way its nightly predecessor does.
