The TV Column

In late show, Wilmore looks for toes to stomp on

Larry Wilmore brings a welcome black perspective to late night on Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore.
Larry Wilmore brings a welcome black perspective to late night on Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore.

I knew I was going to like Larry Wilmore's new panel talk show the minute he opened his mouth on the Jan. 19 premiere of The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore.

"We talk Selma, Ferguson, and Eric Garner," Wilmore quipped. "It's Comedy Central's worst nightmare -- a brother finally gets a show in late night TV, but of course he's gotta work on Martin Luther King Day."

Zing.

Last week, the 53-year-old Wilmore, who previously served as "The Daily Show senior black correspondent," eased effortlessly into the Monday through Thursday 10:30 p.m. time slot vacated Dec. 18 by Stephen Colbert's The Colbert Report.

In the grand tradition of late night on Comedy Central, Wilmore is not afraid to step on toes. In fact, he looks for toes upon which to stomp.

"I am so excited to be here," Wilmore said opening night. "There's so much to talk about -- especially if I had the show a year ago. All of the good bad-race stuff happened already. Seriously, there's nothing left. We're done."

In lampooning the recent lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations, Wilmore wished for a black Hollywood expert who could step up to voice concerns.

A news clip of Al Sharpton then ran in which Sharpton calls for "possible action around the Academy Awards."

Wilmore weighed in: "Sharpton ... again? I mean, no one else can represent? Al, slow down, man! You don't have to respond to every black emergency. You're not black Batman!"

Provocative? Sure. But that's why night owls and insomniacs turn to Comedy Central at this hour instead of David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel.

Just because he's black, don't expect Wilmore to overlook racial sacred cows. But he'll also use the sharp sword of satire to skewer racist attitudes in society.

Another best director Oscar example: "A very powerful motion picture was snubbed," Wilmore opines. "This motion picture's message is as poignant today as it would have been when I was a kid."

He's referring to the Martin Luther King Jr. bio-pic Selma, right? Nope. A clip from The Lego Movie runs.

"Oh," Wilmore says feigning surprise. "Black people didn't get nominated for an Oscar?" He then yawns, shrugs and says, "Eh. Yeah, I'm mad, I guess."

About Selma star David Oyelowo not getting a best actor nod, Wilmore joked, "He's a British brother. I don't really care about them."

On night two, Wilmore took on the Bill Cosby allegations. Did Cosby do it? Wilmore says, "Yes."

"The current tally stands at 35 women," Wilmore notes. "How many more do we need? Thirty-five. Let's put this in perspective. That's as if Bill Cosby drugged and raped every single U.S. president from George Washington to John F. Kennedy."

Bazinga.

All of this irreverence makes Wilmore's show the perfect companion to The Daily Show With Jon Stewart. Stewart created The Nightly Show and serves, along with Wilmore, as executive producer. Wilmore is also a welcome successor to Colbert, who takes over for Letterman in September.

A native of Illinois, Wilmore grew up in the Los Angeles suburbs, where his father was a doctor. The Emmy-winning Wilmore has earned his writing credentials with a number of programs. He was on the writing staffs of Into the Night With Rick Dees, In Living Color and Sister, Sister.

He was also a writer and producer for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Jamie Foxx Show, and was the creator and producer of The Bernie Mac Show (2001-2006), and a consulting producer for The Office. Wilmore began appearing regularly on The Daily Show in 2006.

Pink Slip. I keep getting emails, so in case you missed the official notice, USA has canceled Benched after one season. The lawyer comedy starred Eliza Coupe and Jay Harrington, and managed only 720,000 viewers at the end.

Burn off. The Fox fall drama Red Band Society was highly anticipated because it starred Oscar winner Octavia Spencer. Proof that even an Oscar can't save a bad show is that RBS lasted only 10 episodes before being canned.

Bottom line: The series lost a full quarter of its audience (4.1 million viewers to 3.0 million) during that time.

Fox will burn off the remaining three episodes at 8 p.m. Saturday, and at 7 and 8 p.m. Feb. 7.

Arnett series. Netflix has ordered a new comedy starring Will Arnett (BoJack Horseman, Arrested Development). Flaked follows a Venice, Calif., guru who becomes tangled in his own half truths. Look for it next year.

The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:

mstorey@arkansasonline.com

Weekend on 01/29/2015

Upcoming Events