Earlier this year, rumors began circulating claiming Showtime’s Desus & Mero late-night talk show was coming to an end. The program’s official Twitter account confirmed the cancelation in July.
“Bodega Hive: The illustrious @desusnice and @THEKIDMERO will be pursuing separate creative endeavors moving forward. #DESUSandMERO will not be returning to SHOWTIME. It’s been a good run, fam,” read a tweet posted by @SHODesusAndMero.
Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez later stated that he and Daniel “Desus Nice” Baker began “pursuing separate interests” a year before Desus & Mero ended. Mero further addressed the split during an interview with Blackbird Spyplane.
“Creative disagreements? Nah. There were people we thought could have helped us turn the show back to what it was at Vice, where it felt fresh and way more edgy — genuinely different and good,” explained The Kid Mero.
He continued, “And Showtime was not trying to do that. That was the beginning of the end. It was giving me mad anxiety, but I’m a first-generation immigrant kid, like, you never quit your job before you have a new one. But I think Desus was like, ‘F### it.’ And that was the end of the podcast, too.”
Before beginning a run on Showtime in 2019, Desus & Mero aired on Viceland for two seasons. The pair also worked together on the Desus vs. Mero web series, the Uncommon Sense with Charlamagne television show, and the Bodega Boys podcast.
When asked if he could see himself and Desus Nice being “cool” again in the future, The Kid Mero responded, “I don’t know, man. I feel like — maybe? Never say never. Right now I think we’re on different trajectories as far as what we wanna do.”