Viceland has set the debut date for its first foray into late night starring a pair Rolling Stone* described as "Comedy's Hottest Duo:" DESUS & MERO - Monday October 17 at 11:00pm ET. The show will air Mondays-Thursdays on the new network from VICE Media. Check out a promo below:
For the hundreds of thousands that know and love the "Bodega Boys" podcast, which is consistently in the top 50 of iTunes comedy chart, "Desus & Mero" picks up where the podcast ends, featuring the Bronx-bred pals Desus Nice (@desusnice) and The Kid Mero (@THEKIDMERO) sounding off on the issues of the day, covering news, pop culture and day to day life.
To get things started a little early, Desus & Mero will live tweet the eagerly awaited First Presidential Debate tonight on the Viceland twitter handle (@viceland).
The pair, who met during high school in the Bronx, reconnected online after they began amassing Twitter followers based on tweets covering their mutual dissatisfaction for their jobs (Desus was writing dry articles on things like tax codes for a magazine targeted to black entrepreneurs and Mero was slogging through a job as a teachers' aide at a public middle school). Their social media complaints, dotted with funny pop culture commentary drew a crowd and eventually became the starting point for a web video series for Complex Magazine ("Desus Vs. Mero,"), a brief stint with MTV and their current hit podcast "The Bodega Boys."
On their new show, Desus Nice commented: "We're wild excited for our new late night show to premiere, because we told a bunch of people about it and we're starting to look like we were lying about it." Added The Kid Mero: "Yo, I am extremely excited to get this show poppin' on a network that let me say 'dilate ya butthole' in a promo. End quote. LOL, that makes it look mad official."
The decision to bring "Desus & Mero" to Viceland was a no-brainer according to Nick Weidenfeld, President of Programming for the fledgling network: "Desus and Mero are two of the funniest, most insightful people on the planet. The fact they don't already have their own show is criminal. Bringing them to Viceland is the easiest decision I've ever made."
The production team behind "Desus & Mero" is led by Emmy Award-winning executive producer Erik Rydholm (who also oversees ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption," "Around the Horn," and "Highly Questionable") and will originate from VICE's Brooklyn headquarters.
About Viceland Most TV channels are just a collection of shows - Viceland is a collection of personal points-of-view. Everything at Viceland has a reason to exist and a strong perspective. Our mission is to examine the world we live in, and explore the things that confuse us, make us curious, make us laugh, or awaken our sense of wonder. Viceland features series examining all things culture, including music, food, technology, sex, fashion and more. The channel is overseen by Oscar-winning writer/director SPIKE Jonze, a long-time VICE partner and creative director for the company, and features series hosted by VICE newcomers like Ellen Page, Ian Daniel, Michael K Williams and Hailey Gates, as well as longtime VICE hosts like Action Bronson, Thomas Morton and Eddie Huang.
About VICE MEDIA VICE is the world's preeminent youth media company and content creation studio. Launched in 1994, VICE now operates in over 30 countries and distributes its programming to viewers across digital, linear, mobile, film and socials. VICE includes an international network of digital channels; a television and feature film production studio; a magazine; a record label; an in-house creative services agency; a book-publishing division; and a newly launched U.S and Canadian TV network, VICELAND. VICE's award-winning programming has been recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Peabody Awards, Sundance Film Festival, PEN Center, Cannes Lions, FRONTLINE Club, Knight Foundation, American Society of Magazine Editors, LA Press Club, James Beard awards, and Webby Awards, among others.
