I think my biggest problem with the "Keep it 100" segment is that guests are actually encouraged to play against audience expectation and surprise them. Playing to the audience seems like the exact opposite of keeping it 100.
As it stands, my larger problem with the panelists is that they'll have one, MAYBE two voices that actually have something interesting and insightful to say on a subject, and then Wilmore fills out the panel with a couple of his comedian friends. In the Cuba episode, for instance, hearing John Leguizamo boil things down to "Mexicans want cars," while some comedian who has clearly never been to Cuba starts extolling the virtues of the presence of Americans, like once we show up as tourists THEN suddenly the Cubans are going to be interested in democracy (and the look on his face when it was pointed out to him that Germans and Canadians go there every year.) Wouldn't it have made more sense to knock that wanna-be correspondent from the at-the-desk segment, let the guy who could ACTUALLY give some insight into America's history with Cuba sit at the desk, and then let three comedians and, I guess, Soledad O'Brien guess about Cuba. That episode was incredibly disappointing.
And it's just one example.
I guess I'm of the opinion that if you're going to have a panel show, you might, I don't know, get panelists who have something on the subject to actually say (like the crazy anti-vaxxer lady... though, honestly, the panel on that episode was just another friendly circle-jerk.) and then let them actually say it. Why keep jumping in? If you don't want your panelists at each other's throats, why do you have them sitting at a table where, ostensibly, you're about keeping it real while discussing politically charged subjects that people get passionate about? Why is this show here if it isn't going to take any kind of risks?
Basically, I want to like this show, but Wilmore's tendency to shy away from controversial viewpoints- a problem I had with him back when he was just a correspondent on the Daily Show- and avoid conflict just reinforces my earlier thought that they should have just given the show to Jessica Williams. Or hell, Sam Bee. A View style parody show with Sam Bee drinking wine and doing one-woman-shows about morning news shows? I'd be down. Shit, at least Jason Jones will call somebody an asshole to their face.