Is Late-Night Finally Putting Ratings Over Diversity Quotas?
Roy Wood, Jr. couldn’t wait any longer.
The “Daily Show” correspondent parted ways with the long-running program after eight years, leaving a tiny crack open for a possible reunion.
He’ll return if Comedy Central christens him the new “Daily Show” host following Trevor Noah's 2022 departure. That doesn’t seem to be the plan, and the “Confess, Fletch” co-star thinks he knows why.
He shared all the "correct" opinions over the years and even delivered a decidedly hard-Left performance at this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner.
US President Joe Biden, left, shakes hands with comedian Roy Wood Jr. during the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, April 29, 2023. The annual dinner raises money for WHCA scholarships and honors the recipients of the organization's journalism awards. Photographer: Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Wood took a diplomatic approach to the decision, careful not to set any bridges ablaze. Liberal NPR still squeezed a curious quote from the 44-year-old comic, one that speaks to both late-night television and Hollywood in general.
And Wood remains concerned that, as the genre contracts, people of color are stuck in a "last hired, first fired" position.
"I don't believe diversity to be the paramount priority ," Wood told NPR.
He could be right.
Exaggerating For Comedic Effect
After all, fellow guest host/applicant Hasan Minhaj seemed to have the gig in the bag until a New Yorker expose blasted him as a serial fabricator. Yes, comedians routinely exaggerate for comic effect, but Minhaj took it a few steps further. Plus, some of his false stories found their way into his press interviews, far from any stand-up stage.
The relentlessly progressive Comedy Central knew that could make its fake news show look even worse, so it restarted the search committee process.
Why would the cable channel turn down not one but two comedians of color, even one with a track record as wobbly as Minhaj’s?
For uber-woke Hollywood, it's suddenly show business again.
The Biden economy is pummeling Hollywood on many levels, from streaming platforms hemorrhaging cash and subscribers to can’t miss movies like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” missing by a country mile.
Woke TV shows like “Willow” and “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” got pink slips in record time. Four Hollywood diversity executives also found themselves unemployed earlier this year.
Roy Wood Plays Into The Narrative
Wood’s parting shot played into a popular left-wing narrative, one echoed in the press. Reporters have been aghast at the lack of “diversity” on late night TV.
Kimmel. Oliver. Meyers. Maher. Fallon. Colbert. All those white men!
Plus, performers of color like Noah, Showtime's Desus & Mero and Minhaj all found themselves show-less over the past few years for various reasons. (Never mind that white comics like James Corden and Samantha Bee also left the stage during that period, or that the late-night landscape completely ignores Red State USA).
Wood played into that narrative, quietly but with little doubt as to his rationale. We’re watching you, Comedy Central. Do the right thing.
It’s likely a ratings issue. Wood isn’t a draw in any traditional sense, and Minhaj’s first gig as a late-night style host, Netflix’s “Patriot Act,” flamed out in less than two years.
Wood served as one of the many “Daily Show” guest hosts applying for the job over the past year, at least prior to the writers strike. NPR spins his tryout's impact, saying he snagged the second-best ratings of the first 11 guest hosts. NPR doesn’t say if subsequent hosts lapped Wood’s numbers.
That’s still a modest flex.
“The Daily Show” under Trevor Noah” scored consistently poor ratings, far below his competition. Noah’s replacements hardly struck fear in the minds of NBC, ABC or HBO suits.
Comedy Central wouldn't mind that, and it might grab a host from any background to make it happen.