Jon Stewart Bids Larry Wilmore a Fond Farewell on Final ‘Nightly Show’

The final episode of The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore aired Thursday night, and the show’s creator, Jon Stewart, stopped by to bid his friend and colleague a fond farewell and share some words of encouragement. “What you, my friend, were tasked to do, you have done and done beautifully,” said Stewart. “You gave voice to underserved voices in the media arena. It was a show that was raw, and poignant, and funny, and smart, and all of those things.”

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Wilmore was hired to fill the void that Stephen Colbert left when he moved from Comedy Central to host CBS’s Late Show. Unfortunately, ratings for Wilmore’s show were nowhere near what Comedy Central had hoped for, and ultimately the network decided to cancel it.

While the show lasted just a little over a year and a half, Stewart did point out that it succeeded in ways they ratings can’t measure. “You started a conversation that was not on television when you began and you worked with a group of people who you invited to that conversation to collaborate with you, to sharpen that conversation,” Stewart told Wilmore. “When you walk out of this room, that conversation doesn’t end.”

See all the gift Larry’s friends sent him:

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