One joke changed the arc of Wilmore's career

As an actor, writer and comedian, Larry Wilmore has either created or had a hand in shaping many iconic shows, from "The PJs" to "The Bernie Mac Show" to "The Office" to "Insecure" to "Black-ish." He is currently an executive producer on the Hulu legal drama "Reasonable Doubt."

How did his involvement with the show come about? "I had a producer deal at ABC Studios a few years ago, after I did 'The Nightly Show' [on Comedy Central], and I got together with Kerry Washington's production company, which was developing a project based on Shawn Holley, the lawyer. It was going to be for network television, and they asked if I wanted to help on the project."

That version of the show didn't get picked up, but a year later, the studio reimagined it for streaming and made the lead character a lot messier and more of an antihero.

Wilmore also has a career in front of the camera, including a stint on "The Daily Show," where he had the tongue-in-cheek title of Senior Black Correspondent. It came close to not happening.

"This was kind of a transition in my career at the time. I was taking a bet on myself to do something different," he said.

He worked as a writer on "The Bernie Mac Show" and then "The Office," where he was pushed into service as an actor.

"I did a cameo on 'The Office' as Mr. Brown, and once I did it I realized, oh, maybe I should start performing again."

"He said, 'This sounds great, let's try it.' So my audition was going to be on the air! Very nerve-racking.

"So first we do the rehearsal," he continued. "And let me tell you something: There was not one laugh. It was the death of comedy."

Stewart called Wilmore into his office. He was certain it was so he could be fired, but instead, Stewart offered to help him rewrite the bit.

"Jon is brilliant at this, cutting out the fat. But also we were able to kind of ad-lib back and forth and have more fun with it, and it became a little more conversational, rather than written.

"So we finish, and I'm still not feeling good. Like, what if this bombs in front of the audience? I could be committing to a parachute jump without a parachute."

His first joke on the show got a laugh, and he was off and running. "Here's the thing: Once I get a laugh, now my instincts as a comedian kick in and I go, 'Oh, I got a laugh!' And now I'm just hitting it as hard as I can, and I ended up killing.