Charlamagne Tha God is heading to late night with a show co-produced by respected funny-man and host of CBS’ Late Show Stephen Colbert. The show will air weekly, on Friday evenings.
Charlamagne, a radio personality who is both beloved and controversial at times, inked a deal with iHeartMedia in late 2020, establishing “a Black podcast network.” His new show, Tha God’s Honest Truth with Lenard ‘Charlamagne’ McKelvey, will air late nights on Comedy Central.
Colbert,according to Deadline, will serve as executive producer of the show which will reportedly feature “The Breakfast Club host’s take on social issues with deep dives, sketches and social experiments.”
“This is one of those moments where I can show you better than I can tell you,” said Charlamagne, who called his “South Carolina brethren Stephen Colbert … the ultimate cosign in the late night space, and he wouldn’t cosign no bulls–t.”
Colbert has a long history with Comedy Central, where he starred in his series, The Colbert Report after his time as the longest-running correspondent on The Daily Show.
In true Colbert fashion, he 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 coming on as an executive producer is none other than Aaron McGruder, who, for years, drew and wrote the comic strip The Boondocks before bringing it to life for four seasons on Cartoon Network. McGruder also captained the hit Adult Swim comedy series, Black Jesus, which starred comedian Slink Johnson, plus late comic icons/actors Charlie Murphy and John Witherspoon.
“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, who is currently working on a Boondocks reboot for HBO Max. “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.”
“Blackness has an immediate, culture-shifting effect on everything,” Charlamagne 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.