Larry Wilmore Is Heading to ABC Following 'Nightly Show' Cancellation

Larry Wilmore just inked a "multi-year pact" with ABC Studios. Take that, Comedy Central.

November 28, 2016

Comedy Central really fucked up when they gave the Nightly Show team an early departure. Larry Wilmore's take on the exhaustion of the daily news cycle, a take we need now more than ever, offered a fresh perspective amid a late-night lineup that largely consists of dudes named Jimmy. But that wasn't enough to keep the network stoked about the show's future, as they unceremoniously canceled it back in August. Now, three months later, Wilmore has announced his first post-Nightly Show move: a huge overall deal with ABC Studios.

"I'm excited beyond words to be back at ABC and look forward to this creative partnership," Wilmore toldVariety Monday. "Disney took a chance on me as a young writer years ago and so I’m thrilled to return to the Mouse House. I hope my room still looks the same." The deal, described as a "multi-year pact," will see Wilmore developing his own series and projects with ABC Studios. Additionally, Wilmore will work alongside studio executives to track down emerging talent.

"We worked closely with Larry while we were developing Black-ish and are looking forward to what's coming next from this incredibly talented writer/producer," Patrick Moran, the boss at ABC Studios, said of the new deal. Wilmore previously created the super underrated The Bernie Mac Show, co-created the stop-motion comedy The PJs alongside Steve Tompkins and Eddie Murphy, and co-created HBO's Insecure with Issa Rae.

Wilmore, as he so often does, kept it very 💯 with Stephen Colbert about the sudden Nightly Show cancellation during a Late Show chat back in September. "I am very disappointed about it," Wilmore said at the time. "I thought we'd be on through the election. You never know what's gonna happen. It's real tough when you're doing a TV show because you're thankful that you're doing a TV show but, you know, we hadn't talked to them for awhile. So it's almost like you're in a relationship but you're the one who didn't know it was over."