Larry Wilmore: ‘Senior Black Correspondent’ Takes Over Stephen Colbert Time Slot

Larry Wilmore, who is currently the “Senior Black Correspondent” on The Daily Show, will take over the 11:30 time slot on Comedy Central, once the current occupant, The Colbert Report ends on December 17 when host Stephen Colbert leaves to prepare his move to CBS.

Colbert, of course, will take over The Late Show from broadcasting legend David Letterman when Letterman retires next year after 22 years hosting that program, and another 11 before that as host of NBC’s Late Night.

Larry Wilmore will host a new show — which like both The Colbert Report and The Daily Show will feature a satirical take on current news events — to be titled The Minority Report With Larry Wilmore. But the new show will also feature a different format than either Colbert’s show or The Daily Show hosted by Jon Stewart. Both of those programs loosely mimic the format of a traditional news broadcast.

But reportedly at the suggestion of Stewart himself, the new Larry Wilmore show will be presented in panel discussion format, with Wilmore as the moderator. The new program will give exposure to “underrepresented voices in comedy and media,” the Comedy Central network said in a press release.

Other panelists on the show have yet to be determined. The network said that the show will not focus solely on minority issues, but will take on any news event or topic — but from the viewpoint of Wilmore and the other commentators.

The 52-year-old Wilmore will relocate from Los Angeles to New York City to take over the show. Larry Wilmore has already built a sucessful career as a television comedy writer and actor. He created The Bernie Mac Show and has also written for The Office, In Living Color and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air among many others.

“I’m beyond excited to have this chance to continue my relationships with Comedy Central and the brilliant Jon Stewart,” said Wilmore. “I love the city of New York and promise to only wear my Laker T-shirts when I’m layering.”

Before accepting the new job hosting the former Stephen Colbert time slot, Larry Wilmore was set to act as executive producer on a new ABC comedy series, Black-ish. He gives up that job to start The Minority Report With Larry Wilmore, which debuts in January, 2015.

If you are not familiar with Larry Wilmore, below is a recent Daily Show segment in which he satirizes a Fox News commentary on Abraham Lincoln.