美国国家公共电台 NPR Why Didn't 'Nightly Show' Connect With More Viewers? Larry Wilmore's Not Sure

Why Didn't 'Nightly Show' Connect With More Viewers? Larry Wilmore's Not Sure

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Late-night TV is dominated by hosts who are white and male. There are a few exceptions, but the landscape will get even less diverse after this week. That's because cable channel Comedy Central has canceled "The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore," its multi-cultural news and political satire program. NPR TV critic Eric Deggans says the move is mostly about Wilmore's struggle to appeal to millennials.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE: When I talked to Larry Wilmore about "The Nightly Show" before it debuted in January 2015, he said the most revolutionary part of the program might involve showcasing a black late-night host talking about issues that had little to do with race.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

LARRY WILMORE: I may be talking about, you know, Obama's boring budget speech, you know? But now, I get to talk about that, which makes our show important in that way.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DEGGANS: But the show he created actually spoke very powerfully about race and society. He quizzed young black men in a Baltimore diner about friction with local police.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE NIGHTLY SHOW WITH LARRY WILMORE")

WILMORE: Where do you guys think the anger in the community comes from?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: You see this corner on this menu right here? This is a corner, all right? It's only so far back into this corner that you can push me before I have to push back.

DEGGANS: He lampooned Al Sharpton's protest over the lack of non-white Oscar nominees.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE NIGHTLY SHOW WITH LARRY WILMORE")

WILMORE: Al, slow down, man. You don't have to respond to every black emergency. You're not black Batman.

(LAUGHTER)

DEGGANS: And there's this coverage of this year's election, which also ends the term of America's first black president.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE NIGHTLY SHOW WITH LARRY WILMORE")

WILMORE: Let's check in with the ongoing attempt to denegrofy (ph) the White House. You guys, what's happening with the unblackening (ph)?

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DEGGANS: Wilmore released a statement Monday, thanking Comedy Central and former "Daily Show" host, Jon Stewart. Wilmore was "The Daily Show's" senior black correspondent before Stewart asked him to host "The Nightly Show." Stewart first thought up "The Nightly Show" as a replacement for Stephen Colbert, who left Comedy Central to host CBS's "The Late Show." Comedy Central president Kent Alterman spoke to NPR on the record about the cancellation, but asked that we not use audio of his voice. Alterman cited low ratings and a lack of viral appeal as reasons for the show's cancellation. He said Wilmore, 54, and "The Nightly Show" didn't resonate well enough with Comedy Central's millennial-aged target audience. New "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah, who's biracial, replaced Jon Stewart last year, forcing Comedy Central to handle two big transitions at once. "Nightly Show" cast member and writer Robin Thede, who also served for a time as "The Nightly Show's" head writer, said she and other staffers thought the show's bold take on racial issues was working well.

ROBIN THEDE: We covered those issues head-on on our show to, you know, show the world that it could be done. And I thought we were doing it, to be honest. I have to say, like, I've been on plenty of other shows that got cancelled, but this was shocking.

DEGGANS: "The Nightly Show" often struggled to be consistent. At a time when Black Lives Matter and race relations are at the top of every newscast, they never quite managed to become an essential part of the conversation. "The Nightly Show's" final episode airs Thursday. Alterman says the channel hopes to debut a new late night program in early 2017. But as yet, they have no idea what kind of show or host will fill that timeslot permanently. I'm Eric Deggans.