The second episode of Larry Wilmore’s new show was entirely about the rape allegations against Bill Cosby, with Wilmore saying right off the top that he thinks Cosby did behave in a manner largely consistent with what his accusers claim. Wilmore is definitely not going to play it safe and this might be the distinctive feature of his show, where people can go to hear frank discussions of major topics, leavened with humor, and by people who are not the usual suspects one sees on such shows.

As I missed first time I watched but Trickster Goddess pointed out, the backdrop of the globe shows the world with the South Pole on top. The clocks on the wall of the set are also backward, suggesting that his goal is to bring an unconventional perspective to the news.

This time, after his monologue, he had on Mike Yard to discuss how Bill Cosby should handle hecklers at his shows, and Yard was pretty funny.

Wilmore then had on a panel, again of people I have not heard of before, to discuss the Cosby issue and why, even after so many women have come forward (up to 35 now), so many of the public still don’t believe them.

(These clips aired on January 20, 2015. To get suggestions on how to view clips of The Daily Show and The Nightly Show outside the US, please see this earlier post. If the videos autoplay, please see here for a diagnosis and possible solutions.)