*Three months after Comedy Central cancelled “The Nightly Show,” host Larry Wilmore has signed a multiyear overall deal with ABC Studios, where he continues to executive produce the hit series “Black-ish.”
The new pact calls for Wilmore to develop material for his own projects as well as supervise others and work with ABC Studios in targeting upcoming talent for the studio, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Wilmore originally was set to serve as showrunner on ABC Studios’ “Black-ish,” which he developed alongside creator Kenya Barris. He had to exit the comedy when Comedy Central greenlighted “The Nightly Show.”
“I’m excited beyond words to be back at ABC and look forward to this creative partnership. 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,” Wilmore said Monday in a statement.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Larry Wilmore back to ABC Studios. 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,” said ABC Studios president Patrick Moran.
In addition to “Black-ish,” Wilmore also co-created and exec produces HBO’s Issa Rae critical darling “Insecure,” which just wrapped its first season Sunday night and was recently renewed for a second season.
In an interview with THR in August, days after his “Nightly Show” exit, Wilmore spoke about his interest in returning to the scripted landscape and signing an overall deal at a studio. “When I talk about scripted, that’s what I mean, half-hour and getting back into that world. I really love storytelling. It’s really something that I miss. As much as I love doing this, I really love storytelling as well. I’ll probably be doing something like that more immediately,” he said. “I’d love to set up shop somewhere and develop projects — film, TV, digital — would be a fun thing to do. And I love mentoring people, too, and working with Kenya Barris [on Black-ish] and then being able to go somewhere else again.”
