Talk shows with a Black host, especially late night shows, are as rare as Black quarterbacks used to be. Thus Bomani Jones, host of the new Game Theory on HBO, has entered a unique realm. Jones—a longtime commentator for ESPN, where he also hosts a podcast, The Right Time With Bomani Jones—kicked off his late-night duties this past Sunday night. It was a return to the roots on display in his SiriusXM show, The Morning Jones, and his low-key podcast, The Evening Jones.
Among many, Jones, who’s better known by his first name, or simply “Bo,” has been a cutting Black voice throughout the sports world, known for his clarity of insight and thought, often seeing the angles others do not. His brilliance shines through whatever screen or microphone he’s on, and it seems Jones, 41, is finally getting a chance to stretch his legs on HBO, as one of the few Black hosts of a show on late-night TV.
I still vividly recall The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran from 1989 to 1994, with the signature “whoop whoop” and fist wave etched into my mind as a young child. In my childhood memories, the primetime sketch show In Living Color, exists right near Hall’s late night hour.
There have been other Black late-night shows since Hall, but not many. Wanda Sykes had The Wanda Sykes Show on Fox, a panel show covering topical events. The Chris Rock Show on HBO was, in many ways, a precursor to (Dave) Chappelle Show. And in turn, The Chappelle Show, while not precisely late-night, has left its own massive cultural legacy on comedy, sketch, and Black-led primetime shows. Perhaps the best of The Chappelle Show can be found in Game Theory—without the transphobia.
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