Larry Wilmore on Diving Back into the ‘Endlessly Fascinating’ World of Politics with WILMORE

More than four years after THE NIGHTLY SHOW WITH LARRY WILMORE ended, Larry Wilmore is back with a new series, WILMORE, streaming on Peacock.

WILMORE, which premieres on Friday, September 18, will be a weekly show where the comedian/writer talks about hot button issues with different guests. (The first episode’s lineup includes soccer superstar Megan Rapinoe and Democratic Congressional Candidate Cori Bush, as well as upcoming Peacock host/LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS MVP Amber Ruffin.)

Wilmore, admits THE NIGHTLY SHOW being canceled prior to the 2016 election still stings. “I felt like I got cheated the last time during the last election,” he told reporters during a virtual press conference in August. “So it’ll be fun to cover that, and just weigh-in on the important issues in the culture right now.”

“I think politics probably interests me the most out of all of the things, because it’s just endlessly fascinating,” he continued. “You can always talk about everything from culture to behavior to even race, and…politics kind of has all of that. I’ve always kind of been interested in that since I was a kid…But many issues are important to me. On my [prior] show, we covered a lot of them. I like to cover issues that involve an underdog and that kind of thing; stories that maybe we’re not covering or where there’s an underdog element to it.”

Though there is an abundance of shows—and comedians—tackling current events, Wilmore is banking on his unique perspective. “I don’t know if this is a fault of mine or something good, but I see the humor in almost everything,” Wilmore acknowledged. “And there have been times when that’s really gotten me in trouble. Maybe I’m kind of the realistic optimist, I guess you could say. I’m not a pessimist, but I like to hope for the best but expect the worst. And I also expect the audience to be smarter than I am. I don’t expect to have to explain things to the audience…If anything, we’re trying to catch up to the audience all the time, especially with all the information out there, but people are smart. People know what’s going on…I really enjoy and try to have fun with what I’m doing.”

Of course, launching a new show in the midst of a pandemic, with strict production protocols in effect is its own challenge.

“Normally, [a month prior to launch], we’re just getting into some offices,” Wilmore said. “We’re getting to know each other, joking around, spending a lot of time with each other figuring out the show through a lot of conversations. And now with it all remotely and on Zoom or whatever, it’s just a little bizarre. You’re a little more detached, so it takes a little more focus and concentration which, as a comedian, it’s not always the easiest thing for us to do, you know.” 

And because of restrictions, “I am going to be on a simple stage. We’re going to do the guests remotely. So, we’re figuring out how to do that look-wise and everything. We’re trying to carve out a method of how to work in this new environment, because it feels like we’re going to be in this environment for a while. So, right now all of it feels completely different except for the content part.”

WILMORE, Series Premiere, Friday, September 18, Peacock

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