Guess what, early mornings? Charlamagne Tha God is heading to late night! According to recent reports, the radio personality is teaming up with CBS’ Late Show host Stephen Colbert to bring his own late night talk show to an eager audience every Friday night.
And Black Jesus just may come calling.
As TheGrio previously reported, Charlamagne inked a deal with iHeartMedia in late 2020, fulfilling his dream of establishing “a Black podcast network.” It appears he now has set his sights on late night, with Comedy Central as the official home for his upcoming series.
According to Deadline, Colbert is set to executive produce Tha God’s Honest Truth with Lenard ‘Charlamagne’ McKelvey, which will reportedly feature “The Breakfast Club host’s take on social issues with deep dives, sketches and social experiments.”
Rachael Edwards of Wild ‘N’ Out has been set as its official showrunner.
Charlamagne expressed his excitement in a statement, contending, “This is one of those moments where I can show you better than I can tell you.” He went along to call his “South Carolina brethren Stephen Colbert … the ultimate cosign in the late night space, and he wouldn’t cosign no bulls–t.”
Colbert’s inclusion in the project marks his return to Comedy Central, the home of his debut solo series, The Colbert Report, which followed his stint as the longest-running correspondent on The Daily Show. Along with the new series announcement, Colbert said, “For too long, the town of Moncks Corner, South Carolina has been underrepresented in late-night. I look forward to all the ways in which the fearless, peerless Charlamagne is going to change the game.”
Also tapped in to executive produce is Aaron McGruder, who, for years, drew and wrote the comic strip The Boondocks before bringing it to life in hilarious, biting animation over four memorable seasons on Cartoon Network. His hit Adult Swim comedy series, Black Jesus, starred comedian Slink Johnson, plus late comic actors Charlie Murphy and John Witherspoon.
While currently working on the reboot of The Boondocks for HBO Max, McGruder had his say about the late-night effort.
“Charlamagne knows exactly what he wants to do with this show – which is smack the audience upside the head every week and make sure they’re paying attention to the world around them,” shared McGruder. “He is keenly aware of the power of his voice and always looking to use it to maximum effect, which requires both talent and courage. I’m very excited to be a part of this project.”
As TheGrio previously reported, when signing his iHeart Radio deal, Charlamagne Tha God expressed how Blackness is valuable and should be represented and appreciated as such, especially in media.
“Blackness has an immediate, culture-shifting effect on everything,” he said. “Blackness controls the cool. Blackness is the culture, but Black Voices are not monolithic. The only way to appreciate the diversity of thought and experiences in Black culture is to build a platform for those voices to be heard.”
Tha God’s Honest Truth with Lenard ‘Charlamagne’ McKelvey premieres on Comedy Central on Friday, Sept. 17, at 10pm.
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