The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore is an American late-night panel talk show hosted by Larry Wilmore that aired on Comedy Central from January 19, 2015, to August 18, 2016. The show was a spin-off of The Daily Show, which featured Wilmore as a recurring contributor. It aired Monday through Thursday at 11:30 PM (ET) following The Daily Show. It served as a replacement for The Colbert Report, which aired in the same time-slot from October 2005 to December 2014.
"Keep it 100" redirects here. For a definition of the slang phrase "keep it one hundred", see the Wiktionary entry keep it one hundred.The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
Andre Allen
United States
English
2
259 (list of episodes)
Larry Wilmore
Jon Stewart
Rory Albanese
Nick Mougis
Duncan Pettigrew
Amanda Sprecher
22 minutes
January 19, 2015 –
August 18, 2016
The show has been described as a combination of The Daily Show and Politically Incorrect. It featured Wilmore's scripted take on the news, followed by a panel discussion and later in most episodes a game with his guests. The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore received a generally positive reception from critics, but ratings fell after Jon Stewart left The Daily Show.[1]
The show was canceled on August 15, 2016, due to poor ratings performance.[2]
Writers and contributors[edit]
Jon Stewart was the creator and served as executive producer with Larry Wilmore. Robin Thede served as head writer for the first season and a half of the show, the first black woman to hold that position on a late-night talk show.[24] Beginning with episode 233, Michael Pielocik served as the head writer. He was one of the writers before that. The other 14 writers of the show were Rory Albanese (also Executive Producer), Jordan Carlos, Lee H. Ellenberg (episodes 213–259), Bobby Gaylor, Jack Helmuth, Franchesca Ramsey (episodes 169–259), Tim Siedell, Owen Smith (episodes 244–259), Wayne Stamps (episodes 225–259), Sasha Stewart, Robin Thede (also former head writer: episodes 1–159), Jeremy Weiner (episodes 213–259), Colleen Werthmann, Matt Whitaker (episodes 117–259) and Larry Wilmore (also Executive Producer). Former writers: Cord Jefferson (episodes 1–196), Amy Ozols (episodes 1–236; also former co-executive producer), and Holly Walker (episodes 1–218). Tom Ruprecht is a former writer (episodes 1–159) and head writer (episodes 160–232).
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore featured a cast of contributors to help add different perspectives to the show and aid in comedy bits.[25][26] The contributors included Robin Thede, Rory Albanese, Holly Walker, Felonious Munk, Jordan Carlos, Ricky Velez,[26] Mike Yard,[26] Grace Parra[27] and Franchesca Ramsey.[28] Shenaz Treasury was a contributor between January and May 2015.
Reception[edit]
Initial reviews[edit]
Upon its debut, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore received generally positive reviews. On Metacritic the first season currently holds a 69 out 100 rating, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[31] Brian Lowry of Variety wrote that the show's premiere "showed promise," commenting, "Wilmore exhibited a quickness and light touch about sensitive topics, yet struggled to bring much coherence or flow to the overpopulated discussion that took up most of the premiere."[32] David Kallison of The A.V. Club concurred with this sentiment, remarking, "He is more traffic cop than travel guide in this first episode, but his inherent wit and quickness shines through regardless," deeming the debut a "triumph."[33] USA Today's Robert Bianco opined that "Wilmore already seemed completely comfortable as the show's host, as well he should be," calling it a "solid start."[34] Don Kaplan of the Daily News said the program was a "welcome addition" to late-night television, summarizing, "While the program as a whole has room to grow, Wilmore's comedy is sharp, solid and filled with keen observations and strong enough to have earned him the distinction of being the only high-profile black voice in late night television."[35]
The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman wrote that the show's premiere was "predictably strong" and that "the slight nitpicking should not obscure the fact that overall Wilmore was funny; his show was smart and thoughtful, has a bright future and seems an excellent fit with Stewart and the Comedy Central brand."[36]
Wilmore paid a special tribute to Colbert during the closing of the first episode by thanking him for "making 11:30 special." Following the debut of the first episode Stephen Colbert praised The Nightly Show on Twitter, saying he was impressed, and using the hashtag "keepingit100."[37]
Ratings[edit]
The debut episode was watched by 963,000 viewers in its original broadcast in the United States.[38][39] The show averaged 417,000 viewers a night in the key demographic of viewers ages 18 to 49 within its first three months. In March, the show's total viewings were down 38% from the average total of 1.24 million viewers received by The Colbert Report.[40][41]
By June 2015, the show's total 676,000 viewers average was down 45% from the average total of 1.24 million viewers received by The Colbert Report.[42] The show's average 230,000 viewers in the key demographic of ages 18 to 49 a night was down 45% from the 417,000 viewers its first 3 months averaged.[42][43]
In August, International Business Times reported that Nightly's ratings were in a "freefall" due to losing its Daily Show lead-in audience (Daily had gone on a seven-week hiatus before Trevor Noah's debut as host) and lacking online viral hits.[1] Nielsen showed Wilmore's ratings down 40% since Stewart's departure as Daily Show host.[1]
Average live viewers: [44]