Late Friday (May 9) afternoon, Comedy Central announced that Larry Wilmore has landed the coveted post-“Daily Show” time slot starting in January 2015.
With tongue-in-cheek very pointedly, Comedy Central promises that “The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore” will be “a comedic look at news, current events and pop culture from unique perspectives not typically on display in late night television.” Underlining that point, Comedy Central teases that the show will “feature a diverse panel of voices currently underrepresented in comedy and television.”
Long the “Senior Black Correspondent” on “The Daily Show,” Wilmore won an Emmy for his work on “The Bernie Mac Show,” which he co-created. He also co-created “The PJs” and has written for “In Living Color,” “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and more. He's also the executive producer and showrunner on ABC's newly ordered “Black-ish.”
As an actor, his credits include “Dinner with Schmucks,” “Happy Endings” and “The Office.”
“The Minority Report” was created by Jon Stewart, who will executive produce along with Wilmore.
“While Larry Wilmore is a brilliant comic and showrunner, this is all just a complicated ruse to get him to move to New York and turn him into a Knicks fan,” Stewart blurbs.
Wilmore counter-blurbs, “I”m beyond excited to have this chance to continue my relationships with Comedy Central and the brilliant Jon Stewart. I love the city of New York and promise to only wear my Laker t-shirts when I”m layering.”
A final statement comes from Comedy Central President Michele Ganeless, who observes, “We are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with Jon Stewart and Busboy Productions, and are looking forward to the world getting to know Larry Wilmore even better. He”s a spectacular talent in front of and behind the camera. ‘The Minority Report with Larry Wilmore” follows in the Comedy Central tradition – bringing new perspectives to the day”s events and breaking ground in the world of late night television.”
Wilmore will, of course, be taking the place of another former “Daily Show” veteran in the nightly 11:30 p.m. slot. It was announced last month that Stephen Colbert would be replacing David Letterman as host of “The Late Show” at some point in 2015. “The Colbert Report” premiered post-“Daily Show” in 2005 and earned 27 Emmy nominations, peaking with a 2013 win for Outstanding Variety Series.
“The Minority Report” answers one of the two big remaining questions in late night TV. Just weeks after CBS moved quickly to fill “The Last Show” desk, Craig Ferguson announced that he was leaving “The Late Late Show,” leaving that seat vacant.
Stay tuned…
Do you like the idea of Larry Wilmore in the 11:30 Comedy Central slot?