Culture

Why Desus And Mero, The Funniest Late Night Hosts On TV, Are Breaking Up

Fans reckon Anna Kendrick is involved.

by Reena Gupta  21 July 2022

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Desus & Mero, one of the few shining lights amid the mostly monotonous landscape that is American late night TV, are sadly calling it quits.

The news about the show came on Monday after whispers among fans that the two men — both from the NYC neighbourhood the Bronx — were in a spat. A spat that may or may not involve actor Anna Kendrick.

Allow us to explain.

Is Desus & Mero Definitely No More?

Yep, it looks like it. A spokesperson for US network Showtime confirmed the news to Vanity Fair on Monday, confirming that the show’s final episode aired on Tuesday, June 23. That’s right, no warning! No farewell! Just an abrupt Irish exit; a terse French goodbye.

Fans are pretty shocked by the news, especially considering that it felt like the two were just getting started — with Desus & Mero only launching on SHOWTIME in 2019. Since then, they’ve interviewed a spate of illustrious guests, including Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Hasan Minhaj, Bill Hader, Keanu Reeves, Anthony Fauci, Michelle Yeoh, Quinta Brunson, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Penn Badgley, Jordan Peele, Denzel Washington, and so many more.

“Desus Nice and The Kid Mero will be pursuing separate creative endeavours moving forward,” the network said in a statement, reports Deadline. “Showtime’s late-night talk show Desus & Mero will not be returning for a fifth season.”

Daniel “Desus Nice” Baker confirmed the statement in a tweet, where he thanked Showtime and his fans. Notably, Desus makes no mention his long-time comedic partner Joel “The Kid Mero” Martinez.

Is There Beef? 

Almost definitely. Rumours of an “internal dispute” are circulating and oh my god, our babies are fighting. The duo’s podcast, The Bodega Boys, continued to air even after the success of their show on Showtime but the pair stopped recording episodes in November 2021. This brought about rumours among their fervent fanbase — The Bodega Hive — that the two were falling out.

If that wasn’t enough, Desus recently tweeted: “the hive deserved better than this ending. Reddit can slander my name but when the truth comes out…..actually just wait.” Sorry, but what on earth is going on? What TRUTH, Desus? The mystique! The unnecessary mystique!

To top things off, there is even speculation afoot that Anna Kendrick is somehow involved.

Sorry, Anna Kendrick?

Fans think that actor Anna Kendrick and Desus could be dating — they were photographed looking kind of cosy in Iceland back in April, and in Paris a couple of weeks ago. Ah, rich people have resumed visiting Europe multiple times a year! Nature is healing!

Other reports say she’s dating Bill Hader, though, so who even knows? And why would Desus having a relationship with Anna mean the end of Desus & Mero, anyway? This could just be some sexism of the Yoko Ono variety, friends — after all, they’ve got a very male-dominated fanbase.

What’s Next For The Bodega Boys?

All we know is that the two are going their separate ways, which — and we cannot stress this enough — is horrifying. We also hear that Desus will be hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! at as part of a line-up of guest hosting spots happening later this year. But honestly, Desus without Mero? Why would they do this to me personally?

 

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A post shared by Desus Nice (@desusnice)

Anyway, we’re going to have to go away and take all of this in. But in the meantime, please enjoy Mero describing his relationship with Desus to Deadline, during what must have been a much happier time: “We have a soul connection. We could finish each other’s sentences,” he said.

“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.”

Alright, I’m gonna go cry.