photo by Matthias Clamer, courtesy of FX.
 

If you blinked, you may have missed it. Yesterday, lost amongst inane hipster listicles with titles like “Australian Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Australian” and “10 Llamas Who Wish They Were Models,” Buzzfeed published an essay by comedian W. Kamau Bell titled “The Unbearable Whiteness Of Late Night.” It’s a poigniant, well-researched piece by someone who I personally wanted to snag one of the many late-night host openings this year. You may have missed Bell’s late-night run on cable television, too.

I didn’t. When it aired in 2012 on FX and in 2013 on FXX, I watched the Chris Rock-produced show Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, which had a similar format to a late-night show, but better: opening monologue, sketches, street interviews, celebrity interviews, musical guests, stand-up comedy performances. The only difference was that it was edgy, and its cast was diverse. It had a black man, an asian woman, an asian man, a gay man, a lesbian, an androgynous person—basically all the diversity the world of late-night television currently lacks. 

Unfortunately, it was cancelled in late 2013 due to low ratings. But, fortunately for those of us in Sactown, Bell performs stand-up comedy tonight at Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub (2708 J Street). Tickets are $15-$18 and the show starts at 7 p.m. Don’t miss this one.