New York, NY – July 21, 2021 – Comedy Central has revealed that multi-media mogul, Lenard “Charlamagne Tha God” McKelvey, is teaming up with late night virtuoso Stephen Colbert – making his epic return to Comedy Central for the first time since The Colbert Report ended in 2014 – to create and produce Tha God’s Honest Truth with Lenard ‘Charlamagne’ McKelvey. This weekly half hour late-night series features Charlamagne’s culturally fluent take on social issues in a variety of deep dives, sketches, and social experiments that deftly unpacks the most pressing topics permeating politics and culture. Redemptively comedic, refreshingly unfiltered, and unapologetically Black, nothing is off limits. Lenard “Charlamagne” McKelvey is bringing his influential, opinionated, thought-provoking perspective to late night. Tha God’s Honest Truth will film in New York City and debut Friday, September 17 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.
Conversation sparked on social media with this tease of Colbert’s return to Comedy Central. Today’s follow-up video features the two collaborators who are both natives of the Palmetto state and have a long-standing relationship with Charlamagne appearing as a frequent guest on The Late Show.
“This is one of those moments where I can show you better than I can tell you,” said Charlamagne. “This is the third talk show Chris McCarthy has done with me and those shows prepared me for this opportunity. My South Carolina brethren Stephen Colbert is the ultimate cosign in the late night space and he wouldn’t cosign no bullshit! We are going to win an Emmy next year for best lighting direction I can feel it!!!”
“For too long, the town of Moncks Corner, South Carolina has been underrepresented in late night,” said Colbert. “I look forward to all the ways in which the fearless, peerless Charlamagne is going to change the game.”
“Charlamagne knows exactly what he wants to do with this show – which is smack the audience upside the head every week and make sure they’re paying attention to the world around them,” said executive producer, Aaron McGruder. “He is keenly aware of the power of his voice and always looking to use it to maximum effect, which requires both talent and courage. I’m very excited to be a part of this project.“
“Charlamagne is one of the most culturally significant voices of our time,” said Chris McCarthy, President and CEO, MTV Entertainment Group. “His thought provoking and uninhibited observations both get under peoples skin and open their minds which is why we are thrilled to be doing this show with him and equally thrilled to welcome back the Dean of Late Night to Comedy Central, Mr. Stephen Colbert.”
Born and raised as Lenard (Larry) McKelvey in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, Charlamagne started his journey to becoming a world-renowned media personality when he worked as a radio intern while attending night school. After various stints on-air in South Carolina, he landed a life-changing opportunity to become second mic to legendary radio icon Wendy Williams. Then in 2010, Charlamagne helped establish The Breakfast Club, the most successful hip hop show in radio history recently inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Universally recognized as the key driver behind the morning show, alongside co-hosts Angela Yee and DJ Envy, Charlamagne’s relentless effort to unveil truth by asking the uninhibited questions audiences most wanted to hear helped propel The Breakfast Club’s meteoric rise to success.
A groundbreaking philanthropist, Radio Hall of Fame inductee, bestselling author, and highly sought-after cultural architect, Charlamagne is committed to building an inclusive empire designed to inspire, empower, and elevate the next generation of culture-shifting Black creatives. He is the author of The New York Times bestseller Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It—which was also Audible.com’s best-selling book of the year—and the globally embraced Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me, which helped Charlamagne become one of the world’s leading voices in the mental health discussion. With a deeply personal vision to help address the unmet and underserved emotional needs of Black people worldwide, Charlamagne founded the Mental Wealth Alliance (MWA), which supports state-of-the-art mental health services to Black people in need while building a long-term system of generational support for Black communities.
In November 2020, Charlamagne announced the launch of Black Privilege Publishing, his new partnership with Atria Books at Simon & Schuster. In October 2020, Charlamagne announced his partnership with comedian, actor, and writer Kevin Hart and Audible Inc., igniting a global multi-year, multi-project development, production, and audio licensing deal. In September 2020, Charlamagne and iHeartMedia announced the establishment of the Black Effect Podcast Network, a historic first-of-its-kind joint podcast publishing venture developed to amplify Black voices, celebrate Black creators, and invest in the Black community, with culturally relevant content across a variety of genres.
As a keynote speaker and humanitarian, Charlamagne presented a $250,000 scholarship award to the South Carolina State University Alumni Association for student scholarships that will provide funds for African American women who major in English or communications. The university conferred an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters upon Charlamagne at their Spring Commencement ceremony in May 2021.
Lenard “Charlamagne” McKelvey, Stephen Colbert, Rachael Edwards (who also serves as Showrunner), Aaron McGruder, Karen Kinney, James Dixon, Chris Licht and Norm Aladjem are the Executive Producers of Tha God’s Honest Truth. Ari Pearce and Kristyn Deignan are Executive Producers for MTV Entertainment Studios.
