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Vice’s New CEO Claims Desus and Mero’s Show Won’t Work On Showtime: Audience Doesn’t Pay For Content

Vice’s New CEO Claims Desus and Mero’s Show Won’t Work On Showtime: Audience Doesn’t Pay For Content

Written by Dana Sanchez

Dec 19, 2018

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Nancy Dubuc, the new CEO of Vice Media, doesn’t seem to have much faith in the future of the “Desus & Mero” show, whose departure to Showtime is a blow to the brand.

“They’re going to a platform that their audience doesn’t pay for,” Dubuc told Elle contributor Carrie Battan. “I told them, ‘You can always come back.'”


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To watch Viceland, you need a cable package, but you can watch Showtime online thanks to live TV streaming.

“Desus & Mero” was one of Viceland’s most popular shows. Debuting in October 2016 on Viceland, it was a fresh take on current events, the culture at large and day-to-day life through the eyes of two friends with immigrant backgrounds, born and raised in the Bronx.

Daniel “Desus” Baker is the son of Jamaican parents. Joel “Mero” Martinez’s parents are from the Dominican Republic. Initially, the duo earned internet fame in 2013 with a podcast, The Bodega Boys, and web series “Desus vs. Mero”. They leveraged those successes into roles on MTV’s “Guy Code,” and then Vice poached them in 2016 for the late-night talk series.

Desus, left, and The Kid Mero, of Desus & Mero, arrive at the NBA Awards at Basketball City at Pier 36 on Monday, June 26, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

 

The Vice TV network hasn’t had a breakout hit, according to Hollywood Reporter. Twitter users appear to disagree. Many say “Desus & Mero” was the only reason they watched Vice, and now that the show has a new home at Showtime, they’ll be sure to follow.

Dubuc is trying to fill up airtime on Vice’s TV channel with high-quality content, Elle reported. An announcement is expected soon to introduce a two-hour nightly live broadcast in place of the former talk show hosted by Desus and Mero.

Desus and The Kid Mero hosted their daily late-night talk show on Viceland for two seasons, end their run on June 28.

Their new show, set to begin in 2019, will be produced by Showtime in New York, and executive produced by Desus, Mero, and Victor Lopez.

“We have waited a long time to enter the talk-show space, and we were only going to do it if we felt like we had the next big thing,” Showtime Networks President and CEO David Nevins said. “Desus and Mero feel like exactly that.”

“Desus & Mero” was filmed daily from Brooklyn. The hosts talked about news, pop culture, and everyday life, attracting A-List guests such as actress Rashida Jones, Jesse Williams, Anthony Anderson, Aubrey Plaza, Whoopi Goldberg, Larry Wilmore, Al Sharpton, Issa Rae, Danny McBride, Walton Goggins, and Terry Crews.

Showtime’s first weekly late-night show starring Desus and Mero is a half-hour program set to debut in the fall of 2019, according to Deadline. It will feature Desus and Mero speaking “highly off the cuff and chatting with guests at the intersection of pop culture, sports, music, politics and more.”

Viceland tried to Desus and Mero onboard with a new deal but they got an opportunity they couldn’t refuse, Deadline reported.

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