One and a half years after Comedy Central debuted "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore," network executives announced Monday the decision to cancel the show.
The news satire will air its final episode on Thursday.
Executives announced the cancellation just months before voters head to the polls to choose the next U.S. president, a fact Wilmore highlighted in a statement released Monday.
"I'm really grateful to Comedy Central, Jon Stewart, and our fans to have had this opportunity, but I'm also saddened and surprised we won't be covering this crazy election, or 'The Unblackening' as we've coined it," Wilmore said. "And keeping it 100, I guess I hadn't counted on 'The Unblackening' happening to my time slot as well."
The decision to end the show came in response to tepid public interest and upcoming contract expirations, Comedy Central President Kent Alterman told The New York Times.
"Even though we've given it a year and a half, we've been hoping against hope that it would start to click with our audience, but it hasn't happened and we've haven't seen evidence of it happening," Alterman told the newspaper.
"Nightly Show" executive producer Rory Albanese thanked staff, cast and crew while announcing the news Monday on Twitter.
"I'm very proud to have been a part of a show that has been funny, diverse (and) extremely necessary," he wrote.
"The Nightly Show" debuted in January 2015 after comedian Stephen Colbert left Comedy Central, ending his popular "The Colbert Report" to become host of "The Late Show." The 11:30 p.m. programming slot went to Wilmore, who regularly appeared as the "senior black correspondent" on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show."
The show debuted to generally positive reviews, but ratings fell dramatically after Stewart left "The Daily Show" in August 2015.
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