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Stephen Colbert’s Comedy Central replacement has an opportunity to compile a memorable report of his own with “The Nightly Show.”

When Stephen Colbert left "The Daily Show" to start "The Colbert Report" in 2005, he didn’t have the burden of replacing a comedy legend as he set out to turn his moderately known pompous newsman character into a superstar conservative blowhard commentator.

Now Colbert faces the daunting prospect of succeeding David Letterman on CBS’ “Late Show.” But Colbert's Comedy Central time-slot heir – Larry Wilmore – is tackling a perhaps more formidable challenge.

Wilmore, whose "The Nightly Show" debuts Monday at 11:30 p.m., is charged with following a one-of-a-kind phenomenon by starting a show from scratch. He's also in the toughest time slot in late night TV comedy, going up against Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O'Brien, Letterman and, later this year, Colbert.

But amid the ongoing tremors from the late night landscape shift that began last year, Larry Wilmore may be the one to watch.

During occasional appearances on "The Daily Show" as the program's "Senior Black Correspondent" over the last 8 1/2 years, Wilmore offered smart, pointed comic takes on race in America.

Talking about Black History Month in 2007, he mocked “making up for centuries of oppression with 28 days of trivia,” adding, “I’d rather we got casinos.” More recently, he weighed in on Marvel’s introduction of a black Captain America: “You know he’s just to spend all his time answering questions about why he always seems to show up at crime scenes.”

Wilmore’s long career as a behind-the-scenes player with some top comedy shows – from "In Living Color" to "Black-ish" – bodes well for him keeping up the quality through the daily grind. His witty promos playing off his lack of name recognition represent a humorous wink and nod at what he's up against – as well as a subtle sign of confidence in his ability to succeed.

"The Nightly Show" originally was supposed to be called "The Minority Report," an echo of Colbert's old title and a sardonic reference to Wilmore's position as the only African-American late night TV host in an all-white, male field. The name reportedly had to be changed because the folks at Fox have plans for a TV version of the movie, “Minority Report.”

The title switch, in the end, could be a hidden blessing for “The Nightly Show.” It’s up to Wilmore make a name for himself as a late night comedy force as he brings his comedic voice to a report all his own.

Jere Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multimedia NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter.

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