You Should be Watching The Nightly Show

Let's keep it 100, there's two black people on late night and that's it. Trevor Noah who hosts The Daily Show and Larry Wilmore who hosts The Nightly Show. But, that isn't why you should be watching. Okay, that was weak tea. You should be watching because it is the blackest show on late night television, and that's a good thing.

In my life I can only remember one other television show that aired more than once a week, discussing issues from a black perspective. That was Don't Sleep! which aired on BET and was hosted by T.J. Holmes. Sadly it didn't last long. The Nightly Show has stepped in and filled a void that has been empty for a long time. With MSNBC removing Melissa Harris Perry from air, there is no one left but Larry Wilmore and The Nightly Show contributors.

While I'm focusing on black issues, it would be unfair of me if I didn't point out that the show provides a wide range of viewpoints. The number of men and women on the show is almost equal and it isn't out of the ordinary for one of the panel discussions to feature only women. Which is good, because sometimes as men we just don't know what we're talking about, or need to be quiet and let women speak. There's Latino contributors Grace Parra and Ricky Velez making sure that voices from the Latino community are heard as well. This all makes sense when you consider the original name of the show was going to be The Minority Report.

Sadly, there's constant claims that the show is: Race baiting, playing to the gay agenda, promoting left wing propaganda, demonstrating radical feminism, advocating for illegal immigration and so so much more. What people fail to realize is that The Nightly Show provides a voice to people who would usually be overlooked by late night shows or even the 24/7 news cycles that other networks are so keen on providing. It truly has become the voice for the voiceless.

While I've said all these things, at its core The Nightly Show is still a comedy show, and it's funny. The show features comedians young and old that will leave you in stitches. One of my favorite segments lately has been Pardon The Integration with Mike Yard and Rory Albanese debating a topic then swapping positions to demonstrate how silly talking heads can be. Even if you just want some crude humor, there's dick jokes and even jokes about deez titties.

I have no doubt that the complaints will continue but I hope The Nightly Show continues even longer. There's always going to be people comparing Stephen Colbert to Larry Wilmore, disregarding the fact that The Colbert Report and The Nightly Show are two different kinds of show. As long as The Nightly Show keeps broadcasting a voice to those who are overlooked, I'll keep watching.

You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
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