We knew that after “The Nightly Show’s” cancellation on Comedy Central, it wouldn’t be the last we saw of Larry Wilmore. Now the political satirist and producer is returning to air, just in a different format.
The Ringer Podcast Network announced Tuesday that Wilmore will be joining its ranks with “Larry Wilmore: Black on Air,” a podcast that will feature guests such as presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and Neil deGrasse Tyson. The first episode is set to debut on Thursday, May 11.
“Larry is one of a kind — not just one of the best thinkers and fearless voices we have, but someone who can talk to anyone about anything,” said Bill Simmons, CEO of The Ringer, in a statement. “He will land a steady flow of fascinating guests, too. I think it makes perfect sense for Larry to become the 22,354,919th human being with a podcast.”
The ubiquity of podcasts wasn’t lost on Wilmore either.
“I’m very excited to be working with Bill Simmons and The Ringer for my new podcast, Wilmore said. “Even as a kid, casting pods was something I could only dream of and now it’s here.”
Wilmore was a correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” before landing his own gig at “The Nightly Show,” which managed to bluntly tackle issues the “Daily Show” wasn’t known for, such as race. It aired for less than two years.
Since then Wilmore co-created Issa Rae’s HBO series “Insecure.” Before that, he helped ABC to launch the acclaimed family sitcom “Black-ish.”
The podcast is already off to a better start than his Comedy Central show, which was originally called “The Minority Report,” but had to be retitled to the less interesting “Nightly Show.” “Black on Air,” as a title, fills the void left by such a show title being thrown away.