Marc Lamont Hill Snags Late Night Talk Show

Marc Lamont Hill

Congrats to Marc Lamont Hill. The CNN commentator has snagged a live weekly late-night talk show on VH1, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The show will be called VH1 Live and produced by Embassy Row. Reportedly, the show will cover pop culture, entertainment news and gossip. The site reports,

The VH1 show will see the Ivy League educated host infuse his opinions and wit with what’s billed as a “raw street savvy ” approach to the subject matter. The audience and social media will also play a role in the conversation, with Hill poised to be joined by some of VH1’s biggest stars to get exclusive, behind-the-scenes buzz on the cable network’s top-rated shows.

The series comes as the cabler has continued to post gains under new president Chris McCarthy, with nine of the top 20 reality shows among viewers 18-34 and 18-49. Among VH1’s latest additions is a weekly talk show featuring Amber Rose and exec produced by Dr. Phil. The network has been doubling down on content of late, reviving America’s Next Top Model and handing out a straight-to-series order based on Star Jones’ saga at The View starring Vanessa Williams in addition to ordering original film The Breaks as an ongoing scripted drama series.

VH1 Live comes as the late-night landscape continues to be a space where cable networks have had trouble breaking into. Bravo has found success with Andy Cohen’s Watch What Happens Live, while Comedy Central’s The Daily Show has struggled since John Stewart’s departure. VH1 corporate sibling MTV most recently attempted to enter the late-night space in 2013 with Nikki & Sara Live, which was canceled after two seasons. Other short-lived late-night series include FXX’s Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell, dropped after two seasons (including one on flagship FX), and Comedy Central axing its Anthony Jeselnik-fronted topical show The Jeselnik Offensive — also after two seasons. Netflix, meanwhile, entered the space with its Chelsea Handler talk show, which has been met with poor reviews.

The show airs Sunday, July 17 at 10 p.m.

Marc Lamont Hill is a journalist, author, activist, and television personality. He is distinguished professor of African American Studies at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the original host of the television show Our World with Black Enterprise and hosts the online Internet-based HuffPost Live. He was also a BET News correspondent and a CNN political commentator.

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