Bodega closed: Desus and Mero break up to pursue "separate creative endeavors"

The self-proclaimed “greatest show in late night history” Desus And Mero is ending its run. As confirmed on Twitter today, the Bodega Boys, better known as Desus Nice and the Kid Mero (Daniel Baker and Joel Martinez), will not be back for season five. Per their statement, the pair will pursue reviewing chopped cheeses and conducting legendary interviews with Denzel Washington separately.

Following much speculation on the future of Desus and Mero’s Bodega Boys podcast on the /r/bodegaboys subreddit, the show’s verified Twitter account posted a statement about the breakup. “Bodega Hive: The illustrious @desusnice and @THEKIDMERO will be pursuing separate creative endeavors moving forward. #DESUSandMERO will not be returning to SHOWTIME. It’s been a good run, fam.”

The separation has been the subject of fan concerns since the beginning of the year. In June, Desus tweeted, “Bodegahive you think I abandoned y’all but the art is coming back. Plz believe in me, I love y’all.” However, last week, responding to a post on the subreddit, Mero posted:

NAH IT’S A WRAP BRODY, SOMEBODY MENTIONED DUDE TWEETING THAT FROM SOME COUNTRY AT LIKE 3AM. I TOURED WITH DUDE FOR YEARS HE WAS FUBAR AND IN HIS BAG. PODCAST DONE ENJOY THE BACK CATALOG MY PALS

Desus responded to the post with another tweet: “the hive deserved better than this ending. Reddit can slander my name but when the truth comes out…..actually just wait.”

The long, winding road of Desus & Mero begins and ends online. The pair were early Twitter standouts before launching a podcast on Complex called Desus Vs. Mero and, later, launching a show of their own, Bodega Boys, in 2015. In 2016, they made the jump to TV, with Vice’s Desus & Mero, before jumping, yet again, to premium TV, with a new Desus & Mero on Showtime. The now-final episode of Desus & Mero aired on June 23.

The Brand is dead. Long live The Brand.