Pasadena -- Comedian Larry Wilmore said he will not shy away from any controversial topics as part of his new Comedy Central late night series The Nightly Show, which will feature a mix of scripted content and panel discussions.
Wilmore, who spoke during Comedy Central’s Television Critics Association Winter tour presentation Saturday, said that all topics are fair game on his show, although some subjects have to be addressed more carefully than others.
“In my mind there are never any taboo subjects but you have to be respectful of certain things that maybe tough to talk about and how you talk about them,” he said. “It not the subject itself that would be off limits but the manner by which we approach and talk about it.”
The Nightly Show, which will take over timeslot vacated by The Colbert Show begining Jan. 19, will feature scripted content and panel-based segments, according to Wilmore. The first part of the show will be a scripted comedy format where Wilmore will discuss the events of the day, followed by a panel session with guests.
“So it will have a nice balance of both of those types of things, the scripted element and unscripted element,” he said.
Wilmore also said he changed the name of the series from The Minority Report With Larry Wilmore because it conflicted with a Fox pilot pickup based on the 2002 film The Minority Report.
“The Minority Report … we loved that title. It’s very provocative and it starts getting you thinking about things. That can work for you or against you,” he said. “Sometimes you have to undefine what that is already meaning to people, and that can be a hurdle. The Nightly Show doesn’t really cause that problem. The show gets to define what it is.”
