Finally, Larry Wilmore has his very own TV show. And, as he noted at the top of "The Nightly Show," it's about time.
"I feel like there's so much to talk about, you know -- especially if I had this show a year ago," said the man whose show replaces Stephen Colbert's."Man, all of the good/bad race stuff happened already. Seriously, there's none left. We're done. Happy MLK Day everybody."
Of course, the "good/bad race stuff" never ends. And the success of shows like "Chapelle's Show" (still miss that one) and "Key and Peele" prove there is a market for this particular brand of humor.
On his debut, Wilmore -- formerly the "senior black correspondent" for "The Daily Show" -- took up the Ferguson/Eric Garner protests, the Oscar nominations and, most notably, Al Sharpton. Yes, all of those things are actually linked together under the umbrella of "the state of the black protest."
On Sharpton, Wilmoretapped into the familiar theme of Sharpton as the Number One Race Man.
"Sharpton? Again? I mean, no one else can represent us? Look, Al, slow down, man. You don't have to respond to every black emergency. You're not black Batman. A racial fire chief," he said plaintively. "I mean look at yourself Al Sharpton. I appreciate your efforts but you are literally stretching yourself thin. Take a break, man, no seriously. They are worried about you. Al, you need to eat food. Not just airtime."
The timing on Sharpton is interesting. A new pollshows most New Yorkers see him as a negative forcein that city, and a new Monmouth University poll shows African Americans say 49-35 that they need new leaders, beyond civil-rights-era spokesmen.
As for his new show,Wilmore borrows from "Meet the Press" with a panel at the end and a comedic riff at the top, with both segments about the same topic. It's a deep dive, much like what John Oliver has popularizedon "Last Week Tonight."
Expect to see comedians, politicians and artists; Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), rapper Talib Kweli and comedians Bill Burr and Shenaz Treasury, who will be a regular, were on the first show.
Nia-Malika Henderson is a political reporter for The Fix.
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The Fix: Larry Wilmore takes on Al Sharpton: Take a break, man seriously