| Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
Comedy Satire |
| Written by |
W. Kamau Bell Ethan T. Berlin Chuck Sklar Frank Conniff Janine Brito Hari Kondabolu Danny Vermont Kevin Avery Kevin Kataoka Louis Katz Dwayne Kennedy Aparna Nancherla Eliza Skinner Guy Branum Brian McCann |
| Starring | W. Kamau Bell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 64 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
Chris Rock Ethan T. Berlin Chuck Sklar Keri Smith Esgula |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies |
CR Enterprises FX Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network |
FX (2012–13) FXX (2013) |
| Release | August 9, 2012 – November 14, 2013 |
Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell is an American stand up comedy television series that premiered on FX on August 9, 2012, starring comedian W. Kamau Bell. On stage, Bell did mostly observational comedy on recent news stories and current events. After an opening PowerPoint monologue, the program usually cut to a segment filmed outside of the studio. Additionally, since all of the show's writers were stand-up comedians, many often appeared as correspondents who performed monologues. As the last segment of the program, Bell interviewed a celebrity guest. In order to ensure the show's topicality, most of the show was taped on the day that it was broadcast. In the first episode, Bell interviewed Chris Rock, who was also an executive producer of the show.
It was announced on November 13, 2013, that Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell had been canceled, [1] and that the final episode would be broadcast the next day. [2]
Episodes
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
| 1 | 26 | August 9, 2012 | June 20, 2013 | FX | |
| 2 | 38 | September 4, 2013 | November 14, 2013 | FXX | |
Season 1 (2012–13)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Guest(s) | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Chris Rock | August 9, 2012 |
| 2 | 2 | Rachel Maddow | August 16, 2012 |
| 3 | 3 | Alex Wagner | August 23, 2012 |
| 4 | 4 | Kevin Powell | August 30, 2012 |
| 5 | 5 | Issa Rae | September 13, 2012 |
| 6 | 6 | Janeane Garofalo | September 20, 2012 |
| 7 | 7 | Tom Morello | October 11, 2012 |
| 8 | 8 | David Webb | October 18, 2012 |
| 9 | 9 | Neil deGrasse Tyson | October 25, 2012 |
| 10 | 10 | Chris Hayes & Ted Alexandro | November 1, 2012 |
| 11 | 11 | Lewis Black | November 8, 2012 |
| 12 | 12 | Wanda Sykes & Hannibal Buress | November 16, 2012 |
| 13 | 13 | John Oliver | November 29, 2012 |
| 14 | 14 | Matt Taibbi | January 17, 2013 |
| 15 | 15 | George Takei | January 24, 2013 |
| 16 | 16 | Dave Zirin & Reggie Watts | January 31, 2013 |
| 17 | 17 | David Alan Grier & Reggie Watts | February 7, 2013 |
| 18 | 18 | Hannibal Buress, Rob Cantrell, Nikki Glaser, and Sara Schaefer | February 14, 2013 |
| 19 | 19 | Don Cheadle | February 21, 2013 |
| 20 | 20 | Melissa Harris-Perry | May 9, 2013 |
| 21 | 21 | Aisha Tyler | May 16, 2013 |
| 22 | 22 | Wyatt Cenac & George Takei | May 23, 2013 |
| 23 | 23 | Jim Norton, Lindy West, Doug Benson, and Mike Lawrence | May 30, 2013 |
| 24 | 24 | Doug Benson, Unlocking the Truth, and Vernon Reid | June 6, 2013 |
| 25 | 25 | Trevor Noah and Eddie Pepitone | June 13, 2013 |
| 26 | 26 | Billy Porter and Zach "MC Mr. Napkins" Sherwin | June 20, 2013 |
Season 2 (2013)
| No. overall |
No. in season |
Guest(s) | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | 1 | Jim Gaffigan | September 4, 2013 | |
| 28 | 2 | Tracy Morgan | September 5, 2013 | |
| 29 | 3 | Chris Rock | September 9, 2013 | |
| 30 | 4 | Jamie Kilstein and John Fugelsang | September 10, 2013 | |
| 31 | 5 | Laverne Cox | September 11, 2013 | |
| 32 | 6 | Sarah Silverman | September 12, 2013 | |
| 33 | 7 | Kristina Wong | September 16, 2013 | |
| 34 | 8 | Gilbert Gottfried | September 17, 2013 | |
| 35 | 9 | Michelle Buteau | September 18, 2013 | |
| In lieu of an Interview comedian Michelle Buteau performed stand up at the end of the show. | ||||
| 36 | 10 | Dave Zirin | September 19, 2013 | |
| 37 | 11 | Jeffrey Wright | September 24, 2013 | |
| 38 | 12 | Tim Wise | September 24, 2013 | |
| 39 | 13 | Van Jones | September 25, 2013 | |
| 40 | 14 | Big Freedia | September 26, 2013 | |
| 41 | 15 | Edward Wyckoff Williams and Aton Edwards | September 30, 2013 | |
| 42 | 16 | Jesse Ventura | October 1, 2013 | |
| 43 | 17 | Hannibal Buress | October 2, 2013 | |
| 44 | 18 | Calise Hawkins | October 3, 2013 | |
| 45 | 19 | Stephen Rannazzisi | October 14, 2013 | |
| 46 | 20 | Alison Stewart | October 15, 2013 | |
| 47 | 21 | Colin Quinn | October 16, 2013 | |
| 48 | 22 | Death | October 17, 2013 | |
| 49 | 23 | Jay Smooth | October 21, 2013 | |
| 50 | 24 | Keith Knight | October 22, 2013 | |
| 51 | 25 | Henry Louis Gates | October 23, 2013 | |
| 52 | 26 | Josh Gondleman | October 24, 2013 | |
| 53 | 27 | Judy Gold | October 28, 2013 | |
| 54 | 28 | Alex Wagner | October 29, 2013 | |
| 55 | 29 | Penn Jillette | October 30, 2013 | |
| 56 | 30 | Touré | October 31, 2013 | |
| 57 | 31 | Soledad O'Brien | November 4, 2013 | |
| 58 | 32 | Gregg Deal and Andy Thundercloud | November 5, 2013 | |
| 59 | 33 | Bill Burr | November 6, 2013 | |
| 60 | 34 | Maria Bamford | November 7, 2013 | |
| 61 | 35 | Baratunde Thurston | November 11, 2013 | |
| 62 | 36 | Kathleen Hanna | November 12, 2013 | |
| 63 | 37 | Yaba Blay | November 13, 2013 | |
| 64 | 38 | Jim Norton | November 14, 2013 | |
Production
On September 18, 2012, FX ordered an additional seven episodes of Totally Biased that premiered on October 11, 2012, at 11:30 PM ET. [3] Episode 12 ended up airing at 12:00 AM ET on November 16, 2012, because Brand X with Russell Brand had been extended to an hour. On November 27, FX announced the series would have an additional 13 episodes in the first season beginning on January 17, 2013. [4] After a short break during the 2013 portion of season 1, episodes resumed on May 9, 2013, and continued until the season 1 finale on June 20, 2013. With the launch of FXX, the show would air daily at 11:00 PM ET and began its second season on September 4, 2013. [5]
Reception
The premiere episode received mixed reviews. The A.V. Club gave it a B+ and called it "a much better version of Chocolate News, which drops the sketch comedy bent for more explicit social commentary that blends The Daily Show with what Russell Brand wishes he could get on Brand X". [6] The Los Angeles Times also compared Bell and the show favorably to Brand X, saying that "there is a voluble sweetness to his manner that should prove a tonally better companion" [7] to preceding programs. The San Francisco Chronicle applauded the show's edginess, saying that "it makes The Daily Show look like something your dad watches." [8] Newsday gave the show a B− and was more critical, saying that "Rock may want to light a fire under this act sooner than later." [9] The A.V. Club reviewed the first cycle of season one, giving it a B and stating that it has "positive progress to build on going forward. I's certainly in better shape than Brand X, especially when it just lets Bell do his thing in the opening segment. But the longevity of the show will depend on the star finding a way to shape the out-of-studio segments into something more compelling and growing as an interviewer." [10]
See also
References
- ^ Sara Bibel (2013-11-13). "'Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell' Canceled by FXX". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13.
- ^ Nellie Andreeva, (2013-11-13). "FXX’s ‘Totally Biased’ Cancelled, Last Show To Air Tomorrow". Deadline.com.
- ^ Sean O'Neal (2012-09-18). "FX orders more Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell | Newswire". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
- ^ Sara Bibel (2012-11-27). "'Brand X With Russell Brand' and 'Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell' Renewed by FX". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2012-11-27. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
- ^ "About the show". FX Networks. Archived from the original on 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
- ^ Kevin McFarland (2012-08-10). "Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
- ^ Robert Lloyd (2012-08-11). "Review: W. Kamau Bell is a friendly late-night face". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
- ^ David Wiegand (2012-08-11). "'Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell' review". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
- ^ Verne Gay (2012-08-06). "'Totally Biased' review: W. Kamau Bell does late night". Newsday. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
- ^ Kevin McFarland (2012-09-21). "Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell - Season One". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
External links
- 2012 American television series debuts
- 2013 American television series endings
- 2010s American black television series
- 2010s American late-night television series
- 2010s American stand-up comedy television series
- American English-language television shows
- FX Networks original programming
- FXX original programming