The typical late night host is a funny, likable white man in a suit, but with such little diversity minorities feel left out of the joke.
There are many great hosts on the air, but not many minorities have had their own show. The few late night minority hosts on television, such as Arsenio Hall and George Lopez, had short-lived shows that were only on cable.
However, recently the industry has taken steps in the right direction by hiring Larry Wilmore, an African American comedian, to replace Stephen Colbert in the time slot after The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. In Wilmore’s words, “It’s Comedy Central’s worst nightmare. A brother finally gets a show on late night TV!”
Wilmore served as The Daily Show’s Senior Black Correspondent for many years and has had long career in comedy, which includes co-writing and producing The Bernie Mac Show. Wilmore will bring a new, long-overdue diversity to comedy, being the first African American in history to host a late night show.
The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, his new program, is one of the few shows that attempts to reach out to African American viewers. The surprising decision to stray from the industry’s tendency to avoid risks has worked out for them, with Wilmore bringing in almost a million viewers each night. Despite Wilmore’s popular appearances on The Daily Show, some were afraid that white viewers would not like the changeup. Wilmore’s success could encourage more channels to give new, diverse hosts a try.
Comedy is all about trying new things, because even the best jokes lose their laughs if they are told too many times. The entertainment industry should learn from the past: Family Guy was cancelled, Fox rejected the show South Park, and Chevy Chase left Saturday Night Live after the first season because he thought it had no future. All these shows have gone on to be extremely successful, pushing boundaries and defying the norm. The people in the entertainment industry don’t understand comedy, they understand business, which leads them to value profit over creativity.
By excluding minorities from late night comedy, a part of the population is ignored. The fact that it took this long to have an African American host highlights an underlying problem in this country, one that should have been addressed long before now. Wilmore providing a breath of fresh air will hopefully mark the beginning of a new era of comedy.