Marc Lamont Hill is returning the small screen with a talk show for BET.
Shadow and Act reports Hill will host the 30-minute talk show Black Coffee. Arriving on June 3, the series will “will keep viewers up to speed on Black Twitter’s buzziest conversations” and will dip and out of topics about music, politics, race, social justice and entertainment. Hill will also chat with the biggest names in music, sports and social media stars.
“We are excited to have Marc host our new irreverent digital series. Marc is one of the nation’s leading voices on culture, entertainment, sports, and politics, with equal parts unfiltered wit and raw street savvy,” said David A. Wilson, co-founder of TheGrio and currently the Senior Vice President of Digital Content of Studios. “Powered by Viacom Digital Studios, Black Coffee, is an example of the forward-thinking content and engaging programming we plan to deliver our audience across BET’s digital properties.”
“BET Networks has been home to me for many years, and I am proud to expand our partnership with this innovative series,” Hill also said in a statement. “I look forward to galvanizing the Black community on our platforms and encouraging dialogue that moves the culture forward.”
Excitement is warranted for Hill but BET has had a history of critically-acclaimed talk shows having a very short life span. Mo’Nique’s late-night series The Mo’Nique Show ran for two seasons, BET Nightly News with Michelle Miller and Jacque Reid lasted four years and TJ Homles’ series Don’t Sleep proved to be ahead of its time but was dropped just after eight months. Recently Robin Theade’s The Rundown sadly only lasted one season.
With Lamont having a lengthy resume (Huff Post, CNN and previous BET specials) and a strong presence in today’s news and culture conversations, he might be able to break their unfavorable streak.