Ziwe: Late-Night Is Having A “Renaissance” As Showtime Sets Premiere

Ziwe has lifted the lid on her eponymous Showtime sketch comedy series as the ViacomCBS network has set a May premiere for the show.

The network will launch Ziwe on Sunday May 8 at 11pm.

The six-part series, which scored a straight-to-series order in October, will feature interviews, musical numbers, guest stars, sketches, fake commercials and field pieces.

Ziwe Fumudoh, speaking at Showtime’s virtual press tour, says the show is a culmination of her refining her voice over the years, through stand up, writing for shows like Desus & Mero and Dickinson and a breakout Instagram Live series.

She also said that the main difference between her IG show and the Showtime series was that this was a “fully-fledged” production. It will feature Search Party and At Home with Amy Sedaris star Cole Escola, who Ziwe said was also a writer on the show, as well as guest appearances from the likes of Jane Krakowski and Christin Milioti.

Ziwe joins a booming late night scene, which features her former bosses Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, Lilly Singh, Amber Ruffin and Sam Jay.

“I’m excited for the landscape shift because it means I have a television show,” she told Deadline. “I think it’s a really exciting time to make television and an exciting time to be alive, exciting is a double-edged sword because of the pandemic and cultural war but when you get around that, what an exciting time to document humanity. It’s a privilege to be on the same air as Desus & Mero and Sam Jay and Amber Ruffin. These are all people I admire and have collaborated.”

“I actually think we’re in a renaissance, but don’t write that because I’m saving it for my book,” she joked.

Ziwe is produced by A24 and exec produces alongside Jamund Washington and Hunter Speese.