Larry Wilmore, The Daily Show’s senior black correspondent since 2006, took over Comedy Central’s former Colbert Report time slot with The Nightly Show. The new late night series premiered Jan. 19 at 11:30 p.m. The following are reviews from TV critics around the web, compiled by B&C.
“Wilmore’s maiden quartet featured Sen. Cory Booker, hip-hop artist Talib Kweli, comic Bill Burr and Shenaz Treasury, billed as a regular contributor. But there was no continuity to the conversation, which amounted to Wilmore lobbing disjointed questions at his guests in the first segment, and switching to a kind of lightning round in the second.”
—Brian Lowry,Variety
“It is impossible to call Wilmore’s debut anything but a triumph. He has impossibly large, monumental shoes to fill and he does his best in his first fitting. ”
—David Kallison, AV Club
“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. ”
—Don Kaplan,NY Daily News
“The most successful segment was the closing 'Keep it 100', in which Wilmore peppered his guests with Yes/No questions, shouting them down when they obfuscated and, in the case of Booker, pelting him with tea bags when he denied he wanted to be President.”
—Jonathan Bernstein ,The Telegraph
“Larry Wilmorekicked off his hosting duties for The Nightly Show on Comedy Central Monday with a predictably strong first effort (he's a proven funny guy, what did you expect?) but — reality alert — a definite first effort.”
—Tim Goodman,The Hollywood Reporter
