Watch Jon Stewart’s funny yet touching appearance on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore‘s TV series finale on Comedy Central. Wilmore only learned of his show’s cancellation, early this week. After having received potent potables from Samantha Bee and Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah sent Wilmore some (woefully non-alcoholic) pastries. John Oliver softened that blow by sending a magnum of Champagne, which Stewart tried to nick.
“What did I miss? What’s going on?” Stewart asked. When Wilmore admitted his old boss missed a lot, Stewart added, “What are we doing, next week?” After Wilmore informed him it was the last show, Stewart cracked, “Oh my God, what did you do — piss off Peter Thiel?” which is a reference to the demise of Gawker. He also told Wilmore he loves him, shared his own cancellation experiences, and passed on words of wisdom from David Letterman.
Stewart told Wilmore, “I have been in situations — in what we call show business… uh television — where my name has been on the show and they have… locked the door and told me, and uh this was a Paramount executive: ‘Get your sh*t and get out’. And a very wise man said to me, ‘Do not confuse cancellation with failure’.” Deadline reports that Letterman is the source of the sage advice.
“And I took that to heart. So I will say this to you: What you, my friend, were tasked to do — you have done — and done beautifully. You gave voice to under-served voices in the media arena. And you did it. It was a show that was raw and poignant, and funny, and smart, all of those things. And you did it, from scratch.”
The exchange continued, with Stewart shouting out to cast and crew members, and crediting Wilmore and his staff with starting a new conversation that is still in its infancy. He predicted it that over the years, it will grow in ways that Wilmore cannot yet anticipate.
Of course, because it’s these two, it ended on a laugh. Watch it, below. Stewart appears at about the 5:40 mark.
What do you think? Did you watch The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore TV series finale? What would you like to see Wilmore do, next? Tell us.