Some big shake-ups in the world of late-night comedy—and, even more specifically, the world of late-night comedian Lilly Singh—today, as Deadline reports that Singh’s NBC series A Little Late has now been canceled at the network. It’s not all doom and gloom, though: Singh is reportedly already on her way to a potential network/streamer hop, as it’s also being reported that she and Kenya Barris are narrowing in on a deal for a new show at Netflix.
A Little Late operated for two seasons at NBC, filling the 1:30 a.m. timeslot that was occupied once upon a time by Carson Daly. NBC is now apparently abandoning that spot on its schedule for good, though, on the logic that, as it turns out, not many people are watching TV at 1:30 in the morning. Singh was notable for being the only woman hosting a late-night talk show on any of the major networks, even if that operated under a definition of “late night” that would be more accurately described as “early morning.” Her series, like most of the evening talk shows, was affected pretty heavily by the COVID-19 shutdowns, taking a long gap in between seasons and swapping out the studio for a more formal arrangement. Now, A Little Late will air its final episode on June 3.
But! News has also broken that Singh has been attached to star in a new show at Netflix, created by Barris, who made his own (very lucrative) move from network to streaming a couple of years back. Singh issued a statement about her future plans earlier today:
Two years ago, I embarked on the wild journey of late night TV. I knew this show was about more than me, and I will be forever grateful for the opportunity and support. Today, I write to you from a similar place of deep gratitude to share some news. I’m going to focus on the slate of projects my company Unicorn Island Productions is developing, and we’re saying goodbye to A Little Late with Lilly Singh. I have a desire to make longer form content telling underrepresented stories, which is difficult to execute on a nightly show. This is just the beginning; I can’t wait to share more with you but this is all I can tease for now. I’m beyond grateful for your support past, present and future. And to the Late With Lilly crew, I’m so proud of the progress we made in diversifying late night. We’ve given 21 people their late night debut this season. That’s pretty incredible and it’s been a true honour.