A new way to look at late-night television.
“The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore,” premieres on Monday, January 19 at 11:30 p.m. on Comedy Central. The show stars former “Daily Show with Jon Stewart” correspondent Larry Wilmore and will replace “The Colbert Report.” On Friday, January 16, we attended breakfast meet and greet with Larry and some of the people behind the making of the show. Larry said in his introduction that Jon Stewart pitched the show to him and he graciously accepted the opportunity.
The show will focus on major issues in politics, society and pop culture. A panel will have a mixture of a serious and comical discussions about the topics at hand. According to Larry, this show would be described as “a hybrid if ‘The Daily Show’ and ‘Politically Incorrect’ had a kid.” The show will not only feature an array of comedians on the panel but will also have regular people who have things to say about certain topics even if they don’t have a background in comedy.
During the introduction, it was revealed that an episode coming up in the future would feature one of President Obama’s former speech writers. And what is interesting about this show is that the writers for this show aren’t necessarily famous in the sense that they come from a colorful writing background, but rather that they are sharp, witty and knowledgeable, coming from all walks of life, and above all, know how to write a good joke.
“The Nightly Show’s” main focus is to have the discussion about major issues that people have been wanting to have for many, many years, and with Larry being a genius, politically, socially, and comedically, these conversations are sure to be something that people who are watching will talk about the next day. The show will air Monday at 11:30 p.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Larry disclosed that this episode would most likely reflect on 2014 and what happened in terms of race and protests in particular. Be sure to check it out and see how daring and funny this show is going to be.
Read our exclusive interview with Larry Wilmore:
Q: With this being your own show, you are going to be front and center. How are you preparing for it?
A: By getting no sleep at all. There’s so much to do because I’m producing it and starring in it so there are just so many details and it is hard to put all those details together … making sure everything is working and just working, staying as calm as possible.
Q: And you are filling in for Colbert’s spot, are you nervous about filling in those shoes?
A: Eh, not really. He should be nervous because he has to replace Letterman. No, because I’m going to be doing my own thing. I already said, replacing Steven is impossible, I can only do my own thing and hope people come to my party
Q: And lastly, how did this whole panel idea come up?
A: It was Jon Stewart’s idea!
Interview with Robin Thede (Head Writer)
Q: So how did you get involved? Did Larry approach you and say, ‘I want you!’?
A: Oh, I wish. I heard that Larry was doing the show and I had just left “The Queen Latifah Show” and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh I want to be a part of this show!’ But it wasn’t for a few months … there was a three month break and then I got the call to come in and meet with them for head writer and I prepared for three weeks and brought in a huge packet of ideas and just didn’t want to leave any stone unturned. I think I was able to win them over…obviously.
Q: And how’s the dynamic like in the writer’s room?
A: It’s so much fun.
Q: And compared to the “Queen Latifah Show”?
A: “The Queen Latifah Show” was just different. It was daytime. This is late-night; we get to really push the limits. It’s hard in daytime network. You try to push the limits as much as you can. I had great writers over there too, but I have more writers over here. I have a staff of ten and they’re, just like we said, from all walks of life and they are just so enthusiastic. Every one of them is like, ‘This is a dream come true!’ and they don’t want to squander the opportunity. So it’s a room full of people who are grateful but also supremely talented. There is a good mix of women, of diverse people, of different ages; it’s the most diverse writing staff.
Q: For sure with comedy, it doesn’t have any limits. You can be any person and succeed as long as you are funny…
A: That’s exactly right; I wish more people knew that.
Q: And how do you think this show is going to be different from all the other late-night shows? Because obviously people are going to make the comparison to other shows especially Colbert’s show…how do you think it’s going to be different? How do you think it’s going to set itself apart?
A: Well I think Larry’s point of view is going to give a strong foundation to start from. He’s just such a smart, smart dude and he’s contrary to what some people might think on some issues. So he’s not always going to think the way you think he is going to think, so I think people are going to tune into that and be like, ‘Oh, what’s Larry going to say about this?’ He is a little bit of a wild card, you are never going to know what he is going to say. I want people to see that.
“The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore” will be on at 11:30pm from Monday to Thursday on Comedy Central. Cory Booker, rapper Talib Kweli and comedian Bill Burr will appear on Monday’s episode. Other guests during the month of January include John Leguizamo, Jon Lovett, Kathleen Madigan, Soledad O’Brien, David Remnick, Frank Rich, Ilyasah Shabazz, Matt Taibbi, Baratunde Thurston and Ali Wentworth.
-Vinesh Vora
