Today, Showtime announced the cancellation of the talk show Ziwe, hosted by the talented writer and actress Ziwerekoru “Ziwe” Fumudoh.
The show’s Season 2 finale aired this past Christmas, and is now the series finale due to the current news. Since its debut in 2021, Ziwe featured interviews with public figures, musical segments, and carefully constructed sketches, making it one of the most unique variety shows on televisions. Notable guests on the show included, Eboni K. Williams, Lil Rel Howery, Stacey Abrams, Charlamagne Tha God, Amandla Stenberg, Nicole Byer, Hannibal Burress, Michael Che, Deray McKesson, Blake Griffin, Wayne Brady, and more.
With the cancellation of Ziwe, Showtime no longer has any late night talk show programming as it’s other popular late night series Desus & Mero ended last summer. It also makes Peacock’s Amber Ruffin late-night’s only female host. According to Deadline, The Amber Ruffin Show will continue as a series of specials, rather than weekly episodes.
Ziwe began her career as a summer intern at Comedy Central during her junior year of college, working on shows including The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. During her senior year, she interned as a writer for The Onion prior to becoming a screenwriter on The Rundown with Robin Thede. In 2017, Fumudoh created Baited with Ziwe, a show on YouTube that laid the foundation for the Showtime variety series. After years writing, acting, and hosting, the Massachusetts-born entertainer got her show Ziwe greenlit, raising her to national prominence.
The Nigerian has previous experience as a journalist, writing for publications including The Riveter Magazine; Reductress; The Daily Dot, Into The Gloss,Vulture, where she wrote TV recaps; and The New Yorker; and she will have her upcoming book Black Friend published on October 24, 2023.