Desus and Mero Split, Announce End to Show
Desus Nice and Kid Mero are saying goodbye to their late-night talk show. On Monday, Showtime announced that Desus and Mero will no longer return to the network for a fifth season after the pair of comedians decided to go their separate ways for solo careers.
“The illustrious @desusnice and @THEKIDMERO will be pursuing separate creative endeavors moving forward,” read a tweet from the show’s official account, breaking the news. “#DESUSandMERO will not be returning to SHOWTIME. It’s been a good run, fam.”
The show, which launched on Showtime in 2019 after a 300-episode run on Viceland, consisted of the two bantering and bullshitting about the week’s biggest news stories, often welcoming big-name guests. “They have been brilliant hosts, and we wish them the best, along with the team at JAX Media and the incredible crew,” a spokesperson from Showtime said in a statement to IndieLand.
shouts to showtime & shouts to the hive, thanks for being part of the journey. proud of the show my staff made every episode. Big tings soon come…. https://t.co/bKKezHz5qS
— Desus Nice (@desusnice) July 18, 2022
Reposting the show’s tweet, Desus wrote, “Shouts to Showtime & shouts to the hive, thanks for being part of the journey. Proud of the show my staff made every episode. Big tings soon come.”
Head writer and executive producer Josh Gondelman acknowledged the show’s end in a long Twitter thread, thanking the many crew members who worked on Desus and Mero throughout the years. “I’m sad not to get to help make this show anymore,” he wrote,” but on top of that, I’m grateful for the experience of working with this amazing team, which was incredible across the whole office!!!”
The two also hosted a podcast named Bodega Boys, and the pair had not released a new episode since November. Three days ago, Desus replied “I tried y’all” to a tweet of a screenshot from Reddit where Mero commented, “It’s a wrap brody… podcast done enjoy the back catalog my pals.”
Desus and Mero aired for 180 episodes on Showtime. They last hosted NY Yankees’ Derek Jeter, and featured the likes of Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, musicians including Missy Elliott, and actors such as Denzel Washington and Charlize Theron, on their show throughout the years.
“When you say changes, people get nervous,” Mero told IndieLand ahead of their Showtime debut in 2019. “This is just the original show with — what’s that shit called, an annex? Like when you build a separate wing of your house where you can play Nintendo high?”
The comedians — who met in the Bronx as teens — bonded over Yankees talk radio and Nineties hip-hop growing up. Early on, they both worked boring jobs, they told IndieLand (Mero was a teaching assistant and Desus wrote for a Black entrepreneurship website) before blowing up online. They went from funny tweets to a podcast to their iconic TV show. They even wrote a book in 2020, titled God-Level Knowledge Darts: Life Lessons from the Bronx.
