USA TODAY International Edition
Cenac’s show tackles ‘Problem Areas’
NEW YORK – Wyatt Cenac wants to have a conversation.
The former Daily Show correspondent brings his dry comic sensibilities and laid-back attitude to Wyatt Cenac’s Problem Areas, an HBO late-night show premiering Friday (11:30 ET/PT) that hopes to start a dialogue about policing in America.
The series subverts late-night conventions: there’s no monologue, no studio audience and — in a test episode screened for journalists — no mention of President Trump or politics. Instead, the 10 half-hour episodes begin by delving into topical and offbeat subjects, ranging from the implications of Elon Musk launching a Tesla into space to how cow poop can be used as fuel.
The show’s second half consists of remote segments as Cenac travels around the country to explore the effects of police on society: how officers are hired and trained and the ways they interact with transgender and homeless populations.
Cenac, 41, chats with USA TODAY: Question: Do you feel that policing is a subject that hasn’t been explored at this length before in TV and film?
Wyatt Cenac: I’m sure you can find a variety of documentaries that focus on certain aspects, but (the format) gives us a way to look at it from a bunch of different angles. We’ve been having a national conversation about gender equality and sexual harassment and abuse. Is there a Me Too conversation when it comes to policing? (How does) it affect certain minority groups or the disabled?
Q: You said at the beginning of the test episode that you don’t plan to talk about politics. Could that change?
Cenac: Yeah, if we find a way in. The reality is, there are so many shows right now doing great front-page comedy, and I feel like there’s the challenge of, “OK, how do you get into what’s already a pretty full space?”
Q: The set is very homey and you spend most of the time standing, shot in tight close-up. What kind of vibe do you hope to create?
Cenac: The thought was to make something that felt comfortable . ... For me, part of the show was trying to come at it from a more curious perspective. This feels more like my living room, and hopefully a place that when you see it, it’s like, “I could sit in that room and have a drink and talk about some (stuff).” We might not find answers, but hopefully we have a good, meaningful conversation and walk away from it like, “The world’s not so scary.”
Q: What did you learn from your field segments on The Daily Show?
Cenac: (At The Daily Show), we kind of went out knowing the story we needed to come back with. But here, a lot of it has been going out thinking we know the story, and what we come back with may alter and change that.
Q: Aside from you, Trevor Noah is the only black man hosting a latenight show right now. Why do you think late-night in particular continues to struggle with diversity?
Cenac: Historically, when people have this conversation, sometimes I wonder how much of it is not focusing on those shows when they do exist. There was overlap between Trevor and (Comedy Central’s The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore). Prior to that, George Lopez had a show. Wanda Sykes had a show. Chelsea Handler had a show. What’s interesting to me is, having worked on The Daily Show, we’d do stuff and the next day, people would write, “Jon (Stewart) eviscerates soand-so.” And I never saw that same attention and coverage for anything that Larry might’ve done or what George did.