The Hollywood Reporter just announced that Larry Wilmore’s nightly show has been cancelled and will end its run on Thursday.
Advertisement
“The Nightly Show” was pulling a dismal 0.2 rating among viewers under 50 and 776,000 total viewers this year, and it never created much buzz. (Wilmore had always been a strong presence on The Daily Show with John Stewart.) Wilmore’s last episode will air Thursday. “But unfortunately, it hasn’t been resonating with our audience; it’s been struggling for quite a while as far as connecting with our audience”.
Per THR, one former Comedy Central stalwart who won’t be taking the slot is Jessica Williams, who was a favorite to take over The Daily Show after Stewart’s departure. “But I’m also saddened and surprised we won’t be covering this insane election or “The Unblackening” as we’ve coined it”, Wilmore said in a statement obtained by Deadline.com.
“They really have been doing great work in terms of creating a stable of contributors who fill the show with comedy bits and takes on what’s going on- all driven by Larry’s very strong and unique point of view”, Alterman said.
The Nightly Show premiered in 2015 amidst the rise of Black Lives Matter and established itself as an important platform for issues involving race in America.
As for what will permanently follow ‘The Daily Show, ‘ Alterman said the network would be in no hurry to launch a replacement.
Alterman also said he remains committed to Trevor Noah as host of The Daily Show despite its less-than-stellar ratings.
Advertisement
And in response to past criticism aimed at Comedy Central, as with other networks that have largely stuck with men in hosting roles, Alterman said women, too, would be considered to headline the new show.
