Having scored critical and commercial hits in the drama, comedy, and animation genres, FX is clearly set on expanding its growing dominion into the realm of late-night talk shows. This summer’s Strangely Uplifting will give Russell Brand a weekly half-hour in which to filter the day’s news through his foppish grandiosity, and today the network has announced another late-night series: an untitled half-hour show starring stand-up comedian W. Kamau Bell. Known for his critically acclaimed solo show The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism In About An Hour (and in some circles, The Field Negro Guide To Arts And Culture podcast, which answers the eternal question, “What is Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid up to?”), Bell is a rising star in the world of sociopolitical satire, whose comedy has been compared to that of Dave Chappelle and Richard Pryor, plus some people who are not go-to black comedian comparisons like Lenny Bruce and Mort Sahl.
He’s also often been mentioned in the same breath as Chris Rock, so it’s fitting that Bell’s program will also mark Rock’s return to late-night as an executive producer, as he oversees a weekly half-hour dissection of “politics, pop culture, race, religion, the media, and sex” that Laughspin likens to The Daily Show crossed with more traditional chat-fests. Oddly, no one has yet mentioned The Chris Rock Show, so we’ll do that. It sounds like it could be similar to The Chris Rock Show. Please be similar to The Chris Rock Show.