HBO greenlights twist on late-night satire

MIPCOM: US premium cablenet HBO has greenlit a 10-part comedy documentary series from UK prodco Avalon Television fronted by comedian and writer Wyatt Cenac.

Wyatt Cenac

The as-yet untitled show will twist the current trend for late-night political and current affairs satire by having Cenac travelling around to address and understand issues rather than sitting behind a desk in a studio.

The show is scheduled to premiere on HBO in the spring, the channel’s executive VP of programming Nina Rosenstein announced today.

John Oliver, best known as the host of HBO’s Last Week Tonight, which is also produced by Avalon, is an executive producer on the new 10×30’ series.

Other executive producers include Cenac, Ezra Edelman (OJ: Made in America) and Hallie Haglund (The Daily Show). Haglund will also be the head writer. Diane Fitzgerald, also of Last Week Tonight, will co-executive produce the show.

From 2008 to 2012, Cenac was a writer and correspondent on the late-night series The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Rosenstein said: “We’re thrilled to give Wyatt this opportunity to showcase his bold take on today’s social issues. His ability to tackle tough topics with humour and insight makes this show a perfect addition to our late-night line-up.”