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Welcome to the 2023 Late Night TV thread! This is the place to chat about late night shows on the broadcast networks and the Daily Show over on Comedy Central. HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and (urg) Real Time with Bill Maher have their own, separate threads. I don't even know if a fully-exclusive streaming show like The Problem with Jon Stewart counts as "late night" but I guess you can talk about that too here since I don't see another place to discuss it. Many just watch the clips online but here at the Home for the Internet Elderly we still consume media the old-fashioned way: Linearly while typing far, far too many words at each other about it. We're coming out the other side of an historic 5-month writer's strike, which shut down late night TV (among many other things) from May 2 until tonight, October 2. Suffice to say, the AMPTP thought they would starve them out, but in the end they came to their senses and made a loving deal. As this marks the end to the longest absence of any new late night programming in recent history--the 1987 and 2007-08 strikes, while lasting 150 and 100 days respectively, saw shows returning without writers much sooner than their strike's end--and as such serves a natural break point to get a new thread up and running. It was a good thread, with a joyous OP that celebrated Craig Ferguson, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, and was precipitated by the turnover of NBC's two weeknight franchises. Since then, a lot has stayed the same but also, some stuff has changed since that thread first went up 9.5 years ago in February 2014 (and here is a handy link to said thread). Let's do a quick rundown of where we were and how we got here. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 11:34:30/10:34:30c, NBC; streaming on Peacock Jimmy Fallon was promoted from Late Night, where he had carved out his niche in the field as a fun, lightly-experimental installment of the franchise that had previously been home to groundbreaking comedy from David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, to the big time as the sixth* (seventh if you count Leno twice ) permanent host of Tonight on February 17 2014. The excitement for this new era of Tonight, which marked its first permanent return to New York (and historic Studio 6B) after Johnny flew west in 1972, soon faded, as Fallon quickly supplanted Late Night's weird sketches and occasional filmed parodies with endless celebrity games. A turning point came in September 2016; less than two months before the presidential election, Fallon, in a characteristically-toothless interview with candidate Donald Trump, gave his hair the tussle heard around the world. In the dark years that followed, his show would steer away from the heavy political bent that others would take and be more (though definitely not completely) politically-neutral, which may partially explain the show's decline in ratings and its endless parade of showrunner teams. While executive producers come and go on any show, this exceptionally-high turnover rate has led to a discordant viewing experience. For example, in 2019, then-showrunner Jim Bell eliminated the opening montage entirely, though that experiment ended after just a couple months (this was part of a larger trend in the industry, with networks pressuring shows to get to the first joke as fast as possible). Currently (or at least, the year or so prior to the 2023 WGA strike) the show's "monologue" is really comprised of micro-bits, designed to be sliced up and posted to social media, interspersed with Fallon's usual trad mono jokes. Personal take: I've seen every episode of this dumb show and the main reason is because I've seen every episode of this dumb show. I was a fan of his Late Night and was overjoyed at the return to New York. After 2016 and the long wait for the new show to gel became evident in its futility, I should have quit the show but I guess I'm ride or die for this goofy rear end in a top hat. He's crap at improvisation and cannot do his job without segment producers mapping out every move for him, but his sheer enthusiasm and love for what he does carries it just enough to stick around. He's the only one of the four network hosts to have filmed his own "coming back" promo, because of course he couldn't pass up the chance to do so: https://twitter.com/gecafe/status/1708753716688396409 And of course, the legendary Roots crew from Philadelphia. Late Night with Seth Meyers 12:35/11:35c, NBC; streaming on Peacock Taking over for Fallon the next week, Seth Meyers began the fourth era of the franchise on February 24 2014. Of the four remaining network talkers, his is the most unrecognizable compared to its original form: He came out to deliver a standing monologue, in a suit, with the band on stage left, then hopped onto a swing-out platform containing his desk and chair as the band played him over. He would then deliver either personal anecdotes, or do traditional late night desk bits. Sometimes there were stage sketches performed. By that fall, the set had been entirely re-done, the band was on the right, and within another year he was starting the show seated, and as the 2016 election drew Closer, so did the Looks. Initially increasing in frequency to two a week to keep up with the manic pace of the news, the mania failed to end and in fact increased after the election. A Closer Look had become the defining bit of the show. When the pandemic hit, Seth lost the suit and, with the exception of the franchise's 40th birthday last year, when thread patron saint David Letterman was the guest, he has dressed casual each night. The tone has become much more casual these past few years, and A Closer Look has blossomed from its humble roots as a poor man's Last Week Tonight to an expert melange of deep callbacks, twisted tangents, impression camp, and of course commentary on the day's events. Along with Fallon's lighter fare, it has become NBC's mini viral hit with the vast online viewership of Youtube et al, many of whom have never seen an actual episode over the air and only know of these shows by what pops up in their feeds. To this end, Seth will return tonight with an oops! All A Closer Look episode to begin catching up on the last five months: https://twitter.com/gecafe/status/1708753783398752352 Whether or not there's anything left of the 8G Band remains to be seen, considering they were down to three original members back in May. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert 11:35/10:35c, CBS; streaming on Paramount Plus Speaking of growing pains, the man who took over for Dave, Stephen Colbert. Not unlike Seth, his show's early days were marked by a lot of traditional bits and, as though desiring to get away from the politics-drenched trappings of his CC show, wasn't particularly heavy on politics (though it should be noted that one of Seth's first guests was Joe Biden, and Colbert's first night was blessed by Jeb!). After about six months, new showrunner Chris Licht came in and tweaked the show in ways that initially felt off but have proven to be fruitful. And of course, after the election, it became the show's raison d'etre, with monologues becoming so deeply saturated by one or two headlining news items that they created Meanwhile, a repository for the rest of what would be typical late night mono fodder in a pre-2016 world. Gone are bits like Midnight Confessions and Big Furry Hat and, honestly, good riddance, because I personally was not a great fan of them. For that matter, the strangest thing is how they have someone like Brian Stack, yet I don't know that I've ever seen him do anything half as funny as his Conan stuff. Most of their cold opens leave me cold. And the bulk of his monologue is that mediocre "[thing in the news]? That's like [something else that would be like that]!" stuff that seems to have infected late night shows these past 7 years. Thankfully Sal Gentile and company have cooled it on that front over at Late Night. Meanwhile, over at the The Late Show writer's room, someone is still laughing heartily every time someone makes a dull analogy. Still, I find Colbert comforting. Dude loving loves what he does and he's too smart to do so but deep down would probably do it for free. Look at this promo: https://twitter.com/gecafe/status/1708753889065836620 The editor has no shortage of footage of him bouncing out and skipping to use. His show def has some of the facade that these shows do (e.g. the warm-up prompts the audience to do those "Stephen! Stephen!" chants before the taping begins), and he can be frustratingly centrist, but goddamn I will never not get a smile from seeing old man Noblet come out to those practiced chants. His house band, Louis Cato and the Late Show Band, is pretty damned swell too. From what I hear, it's worth seeing the show in person for them alone. Jimmy Jimmel Live! 11:35/10:35c, ABC; streaming on Hulu Finally, the elder statesmen of late night, Jimmy Kimmel has been plugging away now for 20 years. And for the first 14 years it was a largely apolitical show, liberal but not especially interested in being too loud about it. That all changed in May 2017, when he delivered this monologue about his then-newborn son Jack. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmWWoMcGmo0 From that point forward, the show took no restraints in pointedly burning down the right wing ghouls who have themselves shown no restraint in growing louder and ever more fashy these recent years. While Colbert trips over himself to adhere to decorum, Kimmel drops his pants and looses sloppy wet farts. And I take great joy in it. Now that Late Late is gone, Kimmel's is the show I enjoy most (though Seth is a mighty close second). And he still has plenty of the bawdy humour that his show has become known for, which is nice, as "late night yelly man ROASTS Trump" all night every night does get tiring. Kimmel is the harmonious balance between the extremes of Colbert and Seth's GOOD DAY SIR takedowns and Fallon's (and Corden's, RIP) let's just play games and have fun nonsense. And my mans Guillermo. Can never have too much Guillermo. https://twitter.com/gecafe/status/1708754023312998708 Cleto and The Cletones were restored to their rightful position in the opening montage on March 29 2022. Good. As for The Daily Show, it will return in two weeks on October 16, continuing their search for a permanent host. And after ending their Late Late Show franchise in April, CBS was probably planning to put @midnight on sometime this summer, but, you know. So we got an extended goodbye from James Corden in the form of reruns that ended September 15. CBS currently has moldy reruns of Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed filling the spot until they get @midnight up and running. And here's all the promos in one comp on Youtube, if you don't care to visit Twitter or, somehow, the site breaks. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-WhZRJwZMk I'll get the listing up later today, I have to go to sleep I have other things going on!! *or eighth, if we count Jack Lescoulie and Al "Jazzbo" Collins, from the all-but-erased-from-history version of the show which ran for six months in 1957 between Steve Allen and Jack Paar's tenures, Tonight! America After Dark (January 28 1957-July 26 1957). Since there is such a dearth of detailed info on this forgotten show on the internet, I've reproduced, in its entirety, chapter 6 from Tonight! (Terry Galanoy, 1972). I have done light formatting to correct a few errors in the iPhone's transcription, but I'm not italicizing show names and like that, you'll have to use the power of imagination to see italics. quote:"Steve Allen doing anything is a hard act to follow. Steve Allen doing everything is almost impossible," said one reviewer. I got this book about 20 years ago and it is a compact tome of rare info on those mostly-lost first 20 years of the show, from before Johnny took the show to Hollywood and made sure to keep the tapes from NBC's eager wiping boys. Pick it up if you're lucky enough to ever come across a copy.
pwn fucked around with this message at 13:18 on Oct 3, 2023 |
# ? Oct 2, 2023 12:44 |
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# ? May 6, 2024 01:05 |
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I've started listening to Strike Force Five and I'm sad it ended before Conan could be on... and I half wonder if the strike went on longer they would eventually get to CraigyFerg. Anyway, great job on the OP! Thank you for doing it!
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# ? Oct 2, 2023 14:16 |
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Thank you pwn for a great op I have had this in my paste stuff for awhile now, so
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# ? Oct 2, 2023 15:42 |
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The good shows were Colbert, Stewart, and Conan
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# ? Oct 2, 2023 17:58 |
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Ferguson.
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# ? Oct 2, 2023 21:49 |
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Steve Vader posted:Ferguson. He should've gotten The Late Show and Colbert should've taken over The Tonight Show. Fallon can take over a dumpster behind a Taco Bell.
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# ? Oct 2, 2023 23:13 |
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Fallon should have a 45 minute late night show once a week where he forces a C list celebrity to play a VR game until they puke or trip over themselves.
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# ? Oct 2, 2023 23:31 |
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The funniest part is that Conan’s clueless gamer segments were exponentially funnier than like 95% of Fallon’s games. Looking forward to the Conan abroad series
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# ? Oct 2, 2023 23:35 |
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pwn posted:(and Corden's, RIP) Nah, gently caress Corden and his dopey rear end. I'm glad he's gone. LividLiquid posted:God-tier. While I agree that Fallon is worthless, I don't think that CraigyFerg would have worked at 11:35 p.m. His show became great when Geoff Peterson was added, and then when Josh Robert Thompson began voicing him live, the show became something completely special. By the end, Ferguson's LLS was basically a one-hour live-action Pee Wee's Play House, and after reading his autobiography, American on Purpose, I think he would have really chafed at having to turn his act down instead of being able to just embrace sheer absurdity for so many years.
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# ? Oct 3, 2023 01:18 |
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Timby posted:Nah, gently caress Corden and his dopey rear end. I'm glad he's gone. drat it! Now I feel awful. drat you, Timby. Here we go! First full week of shows in five damned months. Despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, there are a lot of actors on this week, though not promoting shows or films—Matthew McConaughey is pushing his children's book, for instance. Hopefully that strike is resolved soon. Schedule for the week starting 2023.10.02 Subject and likely to change Colbert Monday - Neil deGrasse Tyson, Louis Cato Tuesday - John Oliver, boygenius Wednesday - Anderson Cooper, Japanese Breakfast Thursday - Bob Odenkirk Kimmel Monday - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Tuesday - Kathy Griffin, Luenell, Glen Hansard Wednesday - Wanda Sykes, Cassidy Hutchinson, LANY Thursday - Dax Shepard, Nicole Avant, BoyWithUke Fallon Monday - Matthew McConaughey, John Mayer Tuesday - Taraji P. Henson, Geri Halliwell-Horner, Jelly Roll Wednesday - Chelsea Handler, Carly Pearce Thursday - TBA, Maluma Friday - Killer Mike feat. Robert Glasper and Eryn Allen Kane Seth Monday - Special hour-long edition of A CLOSER LOOK Tuesday - Tracy Morgan, Chris Hayes Wednesday - Nick Offerman, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Jungle Thursday - David Byrne, TBA
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# ? Oct 3, 2023 01:58 |
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It took me a minute to realize Jon Oliver and boygenius were two separate things.
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# ? Oct 3, 2023 02:33 |
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However, Anderson Cooper is indeed a popular dish in many Japanese households.
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# ? Oct 3, 2023 15:59 |
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Jimmy Fallon, McConaughey and John Mayer in the same room is like a sampler platter of different kinds of douchebags
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# ? Oct 3, 2023 18:01 |
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Steve Vader posted:I've started listening to Strike Force Five and I'm sad it ended before Conan could be on... and I half wonder if the strike went on longer they would eventually get to CraigyFerg. It honestly might be worth throwing Strike Force Five in there, pwn, just because it's so incredibly relevant to the thread topic, explores all the shows in depth and is generally just a really good peek into all their lives during something this historic (as you mentioned in the OP and they mention in the podcast, even during the pandemic, they were still doing shows, and there was no Worldwide Pants-style production loophole to get people back to work without writers this time around). I would have LOVED to get some kind of oral history of Craig's Late Late Show. I still miss it and always welcome getting a peek behind the, uh, two-person horse costume.
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# ? Oct 4, 2023 18:57 |
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https://www.thedailybeast.com/roy-wood-jr-quits-daily-show-after-losing-out-on-host-gig roy wood jr quit daily show
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# ? Oct 5, 2023 18:20 |
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I wonder if the executives will ever realise just how large a mistake they made
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# ? Oct 5, 2023 20:19 |
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ThisIsJohnWayne posted:I wonder if the executives will ever realise just how large a mistake they made But I noped out when Trevor started tut-tutting me for being too hard on Trump, I'm sure I'm not alone, and oh right, literally every show's ratings are dropping as viewership gets more fragmented and cable television becomes irrelevant beyond old people and sports. Roy was the best choice. I'll likely never watch the show again.
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# ? Oct 5, 2023 22:22 |
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Ronny Chieng rubbing his hands together like Anthony Adams right now.
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# ? Oct 5, 2023 22:33 |
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In case you didn’t listen to Strike Force Five there’s a New Yorker piece that is mostly about how Fallon is a dumbass on the podcast. At one point he texts the other cohosts to tell them he wants to end the podcast and Colbert calls him out. It’s a fun read. So Long, “Strike Force Five” https://www.newyorker.com/culture/podcast-dept/so-long-strike-force-five
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# ? Oct 6, 2023 09:40 |
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AndyElusive posted:Ronny Chieng rubbing his hands together like Anthony Adams right now. I was about to correct you and say it's Anthony Anderson but holy poo poo.... It's not.
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# ? Oct 6, 2023 10:52 |
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Ronnie is like the only other person who could make the daily show funny, but. But if someone doesn't like Roy they'd like Ronnie even less. I mean ffs if the wandering toaster of lactose Minhaj was seriously considered, whoever actually got it could start a creamery
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# ? Oct 6, 2023 11:21 |
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Vegetable posted:In case you didn’t listen to Strike Force Five there’s a New Yorker piece that is mostly about how Fallon is a dumbass on the podcast. At one point he texts the other cohosts to tell them he wants to end the podcast and Colbert calls him out. It’s a fun read. I've been gradually making my way through the podcast when I have nothing better to do, and my 2 biggest takeaways are: 1) None of these guys are as effortlessly funny as Conan. 2) All of them are far more effortlessly funny than Fallon.
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# ? Oct 6, 2023 13:54 |
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i honestly skipped it because of the lack of conan. Colbert couldve been great but he needs someone to play with, and Conan is probably the only one who wouldve been the guy to fit that bill.
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# ? Oct 6, 2023 23:13 |
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I've listened to all the episodes as they came out and they're great. It made me love them all, yes, Fallon included. I'm hoping the final episode is titled "And Conan makes Six" but I'm not holding my breath.
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# ? Oct 6, 2023 23:53 |
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They already released a post announcing the end of the podcast and apologizing to Conan, who had agreed to do it, for not getting him the potential available dates to do it before the strike ended.
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# ? Oct 7, 2023 00:37 |
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Steve Vader posted:They already released a post announcing the end of the podcast and apologizing to Conan, who had agreed to do it, for not getting him the potential available dates to do it before the strike ended. Matt Damon cackling that finally a host understands how he feels
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# ? Oct 7, 2023 00:41 |
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Steve Vader posted:They already released a post announcing the end of the podcast and apologizing to Conan, who had agreed to do it, for not getting him the potential available dates to do it before the strike ended.
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# ? Oct 7, 2023 01:01 |
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Vegetable posted:In case you didn’t listen to Strike Force Five there’s a New Yorker piece that is mostly about how Fallon is a dumbass on the podcast. At one point he texts the other cohosts to tell them he wants to end the podcast and Colbert calls him out. It’s a fun read. episode 5 is so funny. Fallon wrote his questions while drunk, it’s the only explanation lol
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# ? Oct 8, 2023 06:13 |
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lol Fallon is such a dweeb I only listened to the SFF episode with Letterman and it was good, but also enough
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# ? Oct 9, 2023 22:01 |
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Has Colbert mentioned why he went back to saying Trump's name and doing the impression after, what, 2 years (?) of not doing either?
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# ? Oct 13, 2023 10:51 |
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:Has Colbert mentioned why he went back to saying Trump's name and doing the impression after, what, 2 years (?) of not doing either? He gave up on his personal ban on Trump voice before the strike.
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# ? Oct 14, 2023 02:36 |
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Last week I did NOT post listings. Wow. And I was too distracted and didn't do an snl thread. Is my brain ok? Was it ever? Anyway for posterity here is last week's listings. Schedule for the week starting 2023.10.09 Colbert Monday - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Metric Tuesday - Kerry Washington, Rep. Maxwell Frost Wednesday - Sen. John Fetterman, Melissa Villaseńor Thursday - John Mulaney, Darius Rucker Kimmel Monday - Amy Poehler, Bert Kreischer, Wilco Tuesday - Billie Eilish and Finneas, Whitney Cummings, Grace Potter Wednesday - Sean Penn, Nicole Byer, Megan Moroney Thursday - Josh Duhamel, Gerry Turner, Mĺneskin Fallon Monday - Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells, Nate Bargatze, Ian Lara Tuesday - Pete Davidson, Troye Sivan and comedian Josh Johnson Wednesday - Seth Meyers, Joe La Puma, Alexander Stewart Thursday - Leslie Odom Jr., Chloe Fineman, Raye Friday - Kelly Clarkson, Henrik Lundqvist Seth Monday - Amy Sedaris, Colin Quinn Tuesday - Bob Odenkirk, Marcello Hernández, Aparna Nancherla Wednesday - Reba McEntire, Werner Herzog, Tom Odell Thursday - Bowen Yang, Jason Blum And this week, the Daily Show returns, that's cool! Without Roy Wood Jr, that's not cool! Also pretty lovely that Dulce doesn't get to finish her week. No specific guest data but Michael Kosta is guest hosting. https://twitter.com/thedailyshow/status/1712879614383542680 Elsewhere, Fallon has 2/3 of the remaining Rolling Stones on Wednesday and Friday. Colbert is scoring, kicking off the week with Jada Pinkett Smith, Talking Heads on Wednesday (not performing but drat cool anyway), and ends the week with chat and music from Jon Batiste. Schedule for the week starting 2023.10.16 Subject and likely to change Colbert Monday - Jada Pinkett Smith, Ricky Velez Tuesday - Rachel Maddow, Caroline Polachek Wednesday - Talking Heads, Daniel Caesar Thursday - Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key, Jon Batiste Kimmel Monday - Christina Aguilera, Al Michaels, Lil Yachty Tuesday - Simu Liu, Myke Towers Wednesday - Martin Scorsese, Mike Epps, Musical Guest Chelsea Cutler Thursday - Snoop Dogg, Ms. Pat, October London Fallon Monday - Uma Thurman, Lil Rel Howery, Feist Tuesday - Paris Hilton, Jared Freid Wednesday - Ronnie Wood, Issa Rae, David Kushner Thursday - Bad Bunny, Sam Heughan, Victoria Monét Friday - Keith Richards, Canelo Álvarez, 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne Present ColleGrove II Seth Monday - Kelly Clarkson, Erin Andrews, Ryan Beatty Tuesday - Josh Gad, Joe Pera, Chef Ayesha Nurdjaja Wednesday - Nathan Lane, Lauren Schuker Blum and Rebecca Angelo Thursday - TBA, Christine and the Queens TDS with Michael Kosta Monday - TBA Tuesday - TBA Wednesday - TBA Thursday - TBA!! pwn fucked around with this message at 08:30 on Oct 16, 2023 |
# ? Oct 16, 2023 08:23 |
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so daily show was supposed to do lewis black hosting before the strikes happened, any word if hes being scheduled for later? he was pretty pissed off he wasnt asked earlier iirc
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# ? Oct 16, 2023 11:03 |
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I thought he did a guest host already?
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# ? Oct 16, 2023 12:42 |
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He absolutely shouldn’t get the regular job but I’m very pumped for Desus to get back on my TV screen. Maybe someday he and Mero can figure things out and get back to what they were meant to do
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# ? Oct 16, 2023 19:43 |
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Colbert will be remote at least for today after testing positive for COVID.
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# ? Oct 16, 2023 22:51 |
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Timby posted:Colbert will be remote at least for today after testing positive for COVID. He really should stop kissing Kimmel.
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# ? Oct 16, 2023 23:58 |
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Colbert's canceled tonight, I'm guessing he's too sick to even do it from home https://twitter.com/colbertlateshow/status/1714345688815804680 My aunt had it last week and it laid her up for a few days. She was fortunate enough to get good medicine. Tonight is rerun of Fetterman ep from last Wednesday, tomorrow is still scheduled to be new but I would be surprised if the show comes back this week.
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# ? Oct 18, 2023 04:57 |
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Roy Woods Jr. interview. He’s asked about Hasan Minhaj. I think he’s being as diplomatic as he can be, but he eventually relents and calls Minhaj a liar. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/roy-wood-jr-the-daily-show-host-hasan-minhaj-trevor-noah-comedy-1234852383/
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# ? Oct 18, 2023 06:47 |
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# ? May 6, 2024 01:05 |
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And like we saw so often during the pandemic, the seams of television production are laid bare. Caroline Polachek, who was supposed to perform on tonight's Late Show, actually taped the performance earlier. Since tonight's show got canned they just put it up on Youtube. It could have been edited into the rerun for all I know. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UsIcDivsls
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# ? Oct 18, 2023 07:13 |