Desus & Mero are calling it quits.
It comes after the pair returned for the fourth season of their Showtime series in March. However, the fourth season saw the duo cut their on-screen time in half, going weekly rather than twice a week. It comes after there was much speculation on social media that the pair had fallen out.
The final episode of their show aired on June 23.
“Desus Nice and The Kid Mero will be pursuing separate creative endeavors moving forward. Showtime’s late-night talk show Desus & Merowill not be returning for a fifth season,” a Showtime spokeswoman said.
“Desus Nice and The Kid Mero have made a name for themselves in comedy and in the late-night space as quick-witted cultural commentators. Throughout its run, the series won a WGA Award, received Critics’ Choice nominations and scored interviews with President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, Derek Jeter, Missy Elliott, Denzel Washington, Charlize Theron, David Letterman, Yo-Yo Ma and many more. They have been brilliant hosts, and we wish them the best, along with the team at Jax Media and the incredible crew.”
They also returned with their first official showrunner – J.D. Amato, exec producer of The Chris Gethard Show, and senior field producer of The Problem with Jon Stewart.
The pair had recently returned to the studio after spending much of the pandemic shooting from their own homes – shows that had received a lot of buzz and saw them tipped to score a late-night Emmy nomination (although that did not end up happening).
Desus, otherwise known as Daniel Baker, and The Kid Mero, otherwise known as Joel Martinez, launched the Showtime series in 2019 and have made over 170 episodes. They have scored guests including President Barack Obama, Joe Biden (before he was President), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and David Letterman, who called them “the future of late-night”.
The Showtime version is their third series having previously hosted a show on Complex TV starting in 2014 and on Viceland starting in 2016. They also produced over 250 episodes of their Bodega Boys podcast.
In July 2020, just after the Paramount Global-owned network moved their late-night show from Mondays to Sunday nights, they talked up their relationship.
Mero told Deadline, “We have a soul connection. We could finish each other’s sentences. Like, if he’s on Mars and I’m on Jupiter, but we have a strong Wi-Fi connection, it doesn’t matter. The physical closeness helps with physical comedy, but like, jokes hit no matter what.”
