Ziwe is canceled (at Showtime)

Problematic celebrities everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief as Showtime announces the cancellation of the late-night comedy show, Ziwe. After wrapping its second season in December 2022, Showtime has turned down a third season from creator Ziwe Fumudoh.

Fumudoh rose to fame over the course of the pandemic when she hosted a series of hot-button Q&As with previously “canceled” celebrities such as Caroline Calloway, Alison Roman, and Rose McGowan. The comedian brought the same biting style to the talk show, pressing an array of guests on race issues and other touchy subjects.

Others who popped in for a chat with Fumudoh include Drew Barrymore, Fran Leibowitz, Phoebe Bridgers, Amber Riley, Charlamagne Tha God, Chet Hanks, Emily Ratajkowski, Ilana Glazer, Hannibal Buress, Nicole Byer, Mia Khalifa, Adam Pally, and the anonymous gossip blogger Deux Moi.

Ziwe is just one of the shows canceled as Paramount+ With Showtime prepares for a rebranding following its merger earlier this year. Per THR, under Chris McCarthy’s purview, the company is looking to focus on new programming in the thread of “franchises, diverse cultures, and antiheroes.” Other recently nixed shows include Let the Right One In, American Gigolo, and The L Word: Generation Q, with Ripley, Three Women, and King Shaka shipped off to other networks.

With the cancellation of Ziwe, Showtime is officially out of the late-night space. Its reach into the comedy space remains limited, comprising of the newly greenlit comedy series Seasoned and Vanessa Bayer’s I Love That for You.

Showtime is using its production resources two years too late and is instead hoping to capitalize on the cinematic universe phase of programming with spinoffs of Billions, Dexter, and Yellowjackets. Bye-bye original content, make way for an endless stream of reboots and IP-draining spinoffs.