ICYMI: Robin Thede to Host Late-Night Show on BET

By Sameer Rao Apr 28, 2017

Comedian and former "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore" head writer Robin Thede will return to late-night television this fall with her own weekly half-hour news satire show, "The Rundown with Robin Thede." 

The Hollywood Reporter (THR) reported Wednesday (April 26) that BET ordered 24 episodes of Thede’s show, which mixes sociopolitical commentary with sketches and field correspondence segments. As Thede explained to THR, "The Rundown" will cover contemporary racial justice issues within a broader constellation of topics:

We’re on Black Entertainment Television, this is going to be a show that is absolutely geared to a Black audience and told from a Black, female perspective. Does that limit it to only race issues? Absolutely not. It’s going to be things that matter to the community, but it’s also a recap of politics and pop culture from the week. It’s things that matter to my audience and to people who care what I think about things that happen during the week. If Bill O’Reilly calls a woman "hot chocolate," this is definitely going to be a show you want to tune in to hear what we have to say about it. When that stuff happens and other shows comment on it, it’s always as an observer, not as a witness. As a Black woman, I can tell you how that would make me feel and tell you the jokes that would make sense to me and the community that BET serves. Race will be a part of it because of who I am and where we are [as a country], but I didn’t set out to make a show about race.

Thede’s "Nightly Show" gig, which also incorporated on-air correspondent and panelist bits, made her the first Black woman to lead the writers’ room for a late-night comedy show. THR notes that she also worked as head writer for Wilmore’s 2016 speech at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

"The Rundown" will be BET’s first late-night talk show since "The Mo’Nique Show" ended in 2010. Thede will executive produce with Chris Rock, who previously produced his own eponymous HBO show and FX’s "Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell." Jax Media ("Full Frontal with Samantha Bee") and Genevieve Aniello ("Younger") also serve as executive producers.

No premiere date has been announced for "The Rundown."