Larry Wilmore (Gage Skidmore/Flickr)
Months after Comedy Central canceled “The Nightly Show,” Larry Wilmore is set to come back to TV with ABC Studios.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wilmore signed on to create content for the company in a multiyear general contract. Additionally, the deal will lead him to work with ABC Studios to recruit talent for upcoming projects.
The move marks Wilmore’s return to the organization after he left his showrunner role on ABC’s “black-ish,” to host “Nightly.” Now, in addition to his role as executive producer for the hit sitcom, Wilmore will get the chance to work in a managing capacity with ABC Studios.
“I’m excited beyond words to be back at ABC and look forward to this creative partnership,” he said in a statement. “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.”
Aside from his work on “black-ish,” which he launched with creator Kenya Barris, Wilmore co-created HBO’s newly renewed series “Insecure” with star Issa Rae. However, his work in television goes back even farther.
As a writer, Wilmore worked on “In Living Color” and “Sister, Sister” in the 1990s. During that same decade, he held various producing credits on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” “The Jamie Foxx Show” and “The PJs,” the latter of which he co-created in 1999. Then, in the 2000s, Wilmore served as creator, writer, director and executive producer of “The Bernie Mac Show.” From 2005-2007, the comedian worked as a consulting producer and writer on NBC’s “The Office,” according to Internet Movie Database.
Because of his extensive television work, Wilmore had hoped to find his way back to the development aspect of TV once “Nightly” ended.
“I really love storytelling,” he told THR. “It’s really something that I miss. I’ll probably be doing something like that more immediately. I’d love to set up shop somewhere and develop projects. Film, TV, digital would be [fun things] to do. And I love mentoring people, too.”
