Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell

Last updated
Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell
Totally Biased Poster.jpg
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
StarringW. Kamau Bell
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes64
Production
Executive producers Chris Rock
Ethan T. Berlin
Chuck Sklar
Keri Smith Esgula
Running time22 minutes
Production companies CR Enterprises
FX Productions
Original release
Network FX (2012–13)
FXX (2013)
ReleaseAugust 9, 2012 (2012-08-09) 
November 14, 2013 (2013-11-14)

Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bellis 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.

Contents

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

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
1 26August 9, 2012 (2012-08-09)June 20, 2013 (2013-06-20) FX
2 38September 4, 2013 (2013-09-04)November 14, 2013 (2013-11-14) FXX

Season 1 (2012–13)

Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell season 1 episodes
No.
overall
No. in
season
Guest(s)Original air date
11 Chris Rock August 9, 2012 (2012-08-09)
22 Rachel Maddow August 16, 2012 (2012-08-16)
33 Alex Wagner August 23, 2012 (2012-08-23)
44 Kevin Powell August 30, 2012 (2012-08-30)
55 Issa Rae September 13, 2012 (2012-09-13)
66 Janeane Garofalo September 20, 2012 (2012-09-20)
77 Tom Morello October 11, 2012 (2012-10-11)
88David WebbOctober 18, 2012 (2012-10-18)
99 Neil deGrasse Tyson October 25, 2012 (2012-10-25)
1010 Chris Hayes & Ted Alexandro November 1, 2012 (2012-11-01)
1111 Lewis Black November 8, 2012 (2012-11-08)
1212 Wanda Sykes & Hannibal Buress November 16, 2012 (2012-11-16)
1313 John Oliver November 29, 2012 (2012-11-29)
1414 Matt Taibbi January 17, 2013 (2013-01-17)
1515 George Takei January 24, 2013 (2013-01-24)
1616 Dave Zirin & Reggie Watts January 31, 2013 (2013-01-31)
1717 David Alan Grier & Reggie Watts February 7, 2013 (2013-02-07)
1818 Hannibal Buress, Rob Cantrell, Nikki Glaser, and Sara Schaefer February 14, 2013 (2013-02-14)
1919 Don Cheadle February 21, 2013 (2013-02-21)
2020 Melissa Harris-Perry May 9, 2013 (2013-05-09)
2121 Aisha Tyler May 16, 2013 (2013-05-16)
2222 Wyatt Cenac & George Takei May 23, 2013 (2013-05-23)
2323 Jim Norton, Lindy West, Doug Benson, and Mike Lawrence May 30, 2013 (2013-05-30)
2424 Doug Benson, Unlocking the Truth, and Vernon Reid June 6, 2013 (2013-06-06)
2525 Trevor Noah and Eddie Pepitone June 13, 2013 (2013-06-13)
2626 Billy Porter and Zach "MC Mr. Napkins" Sherwin June 20, 2013 (2013-06-20)

Season 2 (2013)

Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell season 2 episodes
No.
overall
No. in
season
Guest(s)Original air date
271 Jim Gaffigan September 4, 2013 (2013-09-04)
282 Tracy Morgan September 5, 2013 (2013-09-05)
293 Chris Rock September 9, 2013 (2013-09-09)
304 Jamie Kilstein and John Fugelsang September 10, 2013 (2013-09-10)
315 Laverne Cox September 11, 2013 (2013-09-11)
326 Sarah Silverman September 12, 2013 (2013-09-12)
337 Kristina Wong September 16, 2013 (2013-09-16)
348 Gilbert Gottfried September 17, 2013 (2013-09-17)
359Michelle ButeauSeptember 18, 2013 (2013-09-18)
In lieu of an Interview comedian Michelle Buteau performed stand up at the end of the show.
3610 Dave Zirin September 19, 2013 (2013-09-19)
3711 Jeffrey Wright September 24, 2013 (2013-09-24)
3812 Tim Wise September 24, 2013 (2013-09-24)
3913 Van Jones September 25, 2013 (2013-09-25)
4014 Big Freedia September 26, 2013 (2013-09-26)
4115 Edward Wyckoff Williams and Aton Edwards September 30, 2013 (2013-09-30)
4216 Jesse Ventura October 1, 2013 (2013-10-01)
4317 Hannibal Buress October 2, 2013 (2013-10-02)
4418Calise HawkinsOctober 3, 2013 (2013-10-03)
4519 Stephen Rannazzisi October 14, 2013 (2013-10-14)
4620 Alison Stewart October 15, 2013 (2013-10-15)
4721 Colin Quinn October 16, 2013 (2013-10-16)
4822 Death October 17, 2013 (2013-10-17)
4923 Jay Smooth October 21, 2013 (2013-10-21)
5024 Keith Knight October 22, 2013 (2013-10-22)
5125 Henry Louis Gates October 23, 2013 (2013-10-23)
5226Josh GondlemanOctober 24, 2013 (2013-10-24)
5327 Judy Gold October 28, 2013 (2013-10-28)
5428 Alex Wagner October 29, 2013 (2013-10-29)
5529 Penn Jillette October 30, 2013 (2013-10-30)
5630 Touré October 31, 2013 (2013-10-31)
5731 Soledad O'Brien November 4, 2013 (2013-11-04)
5832 Gregg Deal and Andy ThundercloudNovember 5, 2013 (2013-11-05)
5933 Bill Burr November 6, 2013 (2013-11-06)
6034 Maria Bamford November 7, 2013 (2013-11-07)
6135 Baratunde Thurston November 11, 2013 (2013-11-11)
6236 Kathleen Hanna November 12, 2013 (2013-11-12)
6337Yaba BlayNovember 13, 2013 (2013-11-13)
6438 Jim Norton November 14, 2013 (2013-11-14)

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

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References

  1. 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.
  2. Nellie Andreeva, (2013-11-13). "FXX’s ‘Totally Biased’ Cancelled, Last Show To Air Tomorrow". Deadline.com.
  3. Sean O'Neal (2012-09-18). "FX orders more Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell | Newswire". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  4. 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.
  5. "About the show". FX Networks. Archived from the original on 2013-04-23. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
  6. Kevin McFarland (2012-08-10). "Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  7. Robert Lloyd (2012-08-11). "Review: W. Kamau Bell is a friendly late-night face". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  8. David Wiegand (2012-08-11). "'Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell' review". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  9. Verne Gay (2012-08-06). "'Totally Biased' review: W. Kamau Bell does late night". Newsday. Retrieved 2012-08-27.
  10. Kevin McFarland (2012-09-21). "Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell - Season One". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-11-17.