When the call came, Michele Ganeless didn’t want to pick up the phone. Stephen Colbert was on the line, and the Comedy Central president had a feeling it was bad news. “There was a moment of, ‘I don’t know that I want to have this conversation because I’m afraid of what it’s going to be,’” she recalls. Sure enough, the star of the network’s longtime hit The Colbert Report told her he was leaving to take David Letterman’s coveted late-night slot on CBS. After hearing the news, “there was maybe a moment of perspiration,” she says with a laugh. Colbert’s departure will be a big test for Ganeless, who has worked at Comedy Central on and off since the channel’s birth in the early ’90s and was appointed president in 2007. In May, she announced Colbert’s replacement: Daily Show correspondent Larry Wilmore, whose satirical news-commentary show, The Minority Report With Larry Wilmore, will debut early next year.
Fortunately, Colbert is hardly the only bright spot in Comedy Central’s lineup. The network has assembled a remarkably strong slate, including established brands like The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, South Park, and Tosh.0, along with emerging favorites like Inside Amy Schumer, Key & Peele, and @midnight. Such programming has attracted a devoted, engaged community of viewers, and Comedy Central is especially popular with the important 18-to-34 male demographic. We talked to Ganeless about developing talent and where Comedy Central goes from here.
Fast Company: As the person who’s ultimately responsible for the success of the network, what goes through your head when you get the news that one of your signature stars is quitting?
Ganeless: Well, there’s some mild panic. But it was going to happen at some point, right? Nothing goes on forever. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for Stephen. I’m so proud of him and happy for him. I took a deep breath and thought, Okay, we have probably the broadest, most diverse portfolio of talent that we have ever had, many of whom have multiple ideas in their heads. We couldn’t be better positioned. We sat down with our development team, and a short while later, Jon [Stewart] brought us an idea that he wants to bring to life with Larry Wilmore.
Fast Company: How did you know Larry was the right person to take on such a high-profile slot?
Ganeless: Never bet against Jon Stewart. I have learned that. The talent that Jon has brought to light on The Daily Show is a mile long: Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Ed Helms, Rob Riggle, Rob Corddry. Larry is a brilliant performer but also a brilliant producer and showrunner and writer. There aren’t many people who can helm a show like that. And he has a point of view, as an African-American male, that is not on the air in late night.
Full Interview: Fast Company.
Michele Ganeless on Stephen Colbert's Departure
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