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'Nightly Show' host says he'll be himself

Larry Wilmore says that his new "Nightly Show" launching on Comedy Central later this month will be like a hybrid of "The Daily Show" and "Politically Incorrect," combining comic observations and a topical panel discussion.

Wilmore's half-hour show, which will air at 11:30 p.m. on weeknights following Jon Stewart's "Daily Show," is replacing "The Colbert Report" with Stephen Colbert headed to CBS. Unlike the star of "The Colbert Report," Wilmore will be himself, and not play a character.

"It may be comic, it may be provocative," Wilmore told reporters at a television conference on Saturday. "Who knows? It will go where it goes."

Celebrities will be part of the mix, "but they won't be hawking books and movies," he said. He'll begin test shows next week in anticipation of a Jan. 19 premiere.

Wilmore, 53, is a comic veteran with extensive experience both onstage and behind the scenes, most recently developing the ABC comedy "black-ish." He's known to Comedy Central viewers as the "senior black correspondent" on "The Daily Show." He jumped at the chance for the new show when Stewart suggested it, somewhat surprised at his age to be getting the opportunity.

Starting his show on Martin Luther King Day, Wilmore joked that "I had a dream that a brother needed to work on that day." Truthfully, he said there was no special significance to the launch date, just that it made sense to begin on a Monday when "The Daily Show" has a fresh show preceding it.

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Meanwhile, CBS says that Colbert will begin as host of the "Late Show" on Sept. 8.

The network's entertainment chief, Nina Tassler, on Monday announced Colbert's debut. Last month CBS said that David Letterman's last show before his retirement will be broadcast on May 20.

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