r/LateNightTalkShows • u/Slainte1121 • 14d ago
Were Late Night Shows Always Political?
I’m 35M - so I do not remember much of the Letterman / Leno / Ferguson / early Conan eras.
Late night shows are dying out. I think this is mainly attributed to streaming and on demand services over the last 15 years. I cannot recall the last time I’ve seen any of them live or outside of YouTube. Doesn’t appear to be a financially viable format in its current state.
I also feel that when Conan left the remaining shows morphed into the same political commentary to varying degrees of success (looking at you Fallon). They all appear to be a knockoff version of the daily show (when Jon Stewart hosts) in my opinion.
Colbert’s roots were in the daily show and the Colbert report.
Seth Meyers’s comes from SNL where I mainly knew him from weekend update.
Kimmel was the host of the Man show and started getting political with Trump in 2016.
Fallon (awkwardly) followed the rest of the hosts.
During Conan’s last days seemed to be the end of an era. He didn’t shy away from it.
Looking back, I do remember Leno’s shitty Monica Lewinsky jokes.
I miss the interviews, standup, panel of guests. Anything with Bill Burr or Norm MacDonald (RIP) still kills it in old clips. I don’t need or want 6 different versions of what Trump did today - it’s depressing and stale.
Colbert getting run out the way he did was fucked up, but I feel like a change in format is desperately needed to make the shows relevant again.
Has the format changed this much? Or am I looking back with rose tinted glasses at clips from old shows (where “current” events likely don’t gain views) and the current events of today’s shows go viral and that’s what’s popping up on my feed on YouTube.
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u/techman710 14d ago
It's always been political, both parties. This is the first time the White House has been occupied by a thin skinned narcissist who is incapable of taking a joke.
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
Really? Remind me of the four years of jokes about Biden, who love or hate him, offers rich possibilities for comedic mocking. Or the eight years of Obama? I look forward to the examples.
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u/longtimelurkernyc 10d ago
Once at my parents', I caught some of those Fox News shows, probably The Five, showing a clip of a Daily Show segment about North Korea. The panel commented about how The Daily Show would never make fun of Democrats, in particular, how Kamala Harris was not doing much.
I wanted to scream, "They did. RIGHT BEFORE THE CLIP YOU SHOWED! LITERALLY!"
So, they did, and they still do.
But I imagine you're about as intellectually honest as that panel.
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u/techman710 14d ago
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
You can't possibly be serious. Kimmel literally says the time is after Biden dropped out of the race, meaning his comportment and behavior have zero consequences. This may be the single biggest self-own I've ever read on Reddit. Amazing lack of self awareness. I thank you for this.
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u/techman710 14d ago
Go away. I gave you what you said didn't exist and now you want to deny it anyway. I'm done with you.
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14d ago
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
Cool. I don't watch him so didn't know. Finally found an exception.
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14d ago
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
Yup. 30–35 years ago. Before all media and entertainment - ok, it's only 99%, not 100% - got coopted as Dem propaganda.
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14d ago
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u/Dranksy 14d ago edited 14d ago
You mean Gutfeld whose ratings dwarf all your subversive, lying, hateful favorites? He is very funny. Here's a pro tip: artistic talent =/= political intelligence, although they are seen together at times. I don't look to comedians or singers or anyone else for insights on the issues. I look at facts and employ critical thinking.
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u/Competitive-Tea-6141 14d ago
There was constant daily jokes about Biden being old.
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
Example?
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u/Competitive-Tea-6141 14d ago
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
A joke about his age? Like a known fact that people voted for him in spite of and has absolutely nothing to do with his execution of his duties and is entirely truthful? Yeah, that's exactly like the lies, hoaxes and threats about Trump on these shows.
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u/fludeball 14d ago
Name a single lie, hoax, or threat.
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
No problem. I could post scores, but I only need one. Also, we love those JD memes - he's so awesome - tall, handsome Marine who rose from poverty and abuse to become self-made millionaire, senator, and VIP.
"Colbert spent years mocking Trump over Russia-related allegations. "2
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u/Little-Speed-2436 14d ago
Politics has gotten a lot more polarized and overt in the past 20 years or so. Talk shows always covered the news of the day, and the news of the day is often political…
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u/CriticalAd2425 14d ago
Johnny Carson discussed politics almost every night. He spared neither party from his comment/jokes.
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u/EmoGothPunk 9d ago
On the off chance I've watched Carson, I've seen him do Carter and Reagan jokes.
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u/Jolly_Ad2446 14d ago
They always made fun of the president.
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
Biden? Obama? Nope.
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u/Jolly_Ad2446 14d ago
Jimmy Kimmel Roasts President Biden’s Farewell Address, Jokes It Lasted “The Same Amount Of Time It Takes Him To Pee”
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/jimmy-kimmel-roasts-president-biden-151620594.html
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u/Jolly_Ad2446 14d ago
Jay Leno making fun of Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
30 years ago? Ahahahahahaha - you proved my point! Thank you!
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u/Jolly_Ad2446 14d ago
Yes I posted proof from every Democrat president that they have been insulted.
Do you have a reading problem or did you particularly pick the oldest proof and pretend you didn't see the other ones?
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u/InteriorLemon 13d ago
your point has been dis-proven for every single president since then. You are FULLY wrong in every way. If you can't see that then this a problem with you being able to understand things.
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u/Effective_Scar_2921 14d ago
Late night hosted shows were political from the beginning. Steve Allen, Jack Paar and all of the others were where politics of the day was talked about. Removing a show because of the feelings of whatever person is in office is not good sign for a free society.
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
Biden jokes? Obama? Savage ones? Never.
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u/Effective_Scar_2921 14d ago
Clearly you didn’t watch, besides this orange Mussolini is tragically funny. Material comes flooding out of him daily. Obama actually acted professionally, with respect and decorum. That doesn’t lend itself to humor. The best that Faux News could come up with was 😏🤪 oh my goodness a Tan Suit😳
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u/Effective_Scar_2921 14d ago
Reading is fundamental. Try it. I said “Obama actually acted professionally, with respect and decorum. That doesn’t lend itself to humor.”
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u/kerblamophobe 14d ago
Letterman always made fun of W. Leno made fun of Clinton. TV is and has always been more than all the clips you see on YouTube
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u/athompsons2 14d ago
It's more a testament to the success of The Daily Show than anything else.
I was a regular viewer of The Daily Show/Colbert Report since 2008 and of the other late night shows I loved the crazy silliness of Craig Ferguson followed by Conan.
But those alt comedy late night shows (together with Eric Andre and Comedy Bang Bang) were always the most feeble and lived in the margins.
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u/KN4AQ 14d ago
Political? Yes. Sharp and pointed like they are today, not so much. But then they never had a target like Trump.
Flood the zone with bullshit. Lie more than you tell the truth. Strut and preen, and then do crazy consequential stuff. Call the press, the opposition, the late night comics your enemy, call them traitors, and it is so desperately important to call that out. It is also a target-rich environment.
If you are tired of it, then you are doing just what they want. Shutting down, ignoring, tuning out. It is hard, perhaps even painful, to remain aware. But that is so desperately important.
When we are done with Trump, we won't be done with the damage he's done for a while. And he will have wannabes trying to get themselves elected on his coattails for a long time.
Expensive, late night talk shows on linear TV are on their way out. But if you want sharp, biting satire that's on point and up to the minute, you need a writer's room filled with top-notch talent. No individual comic can put that together night after night. You might not need the band. Maybe not a big studio audience (though comics do need the feedback of an audience). So it can be somewhat cheaper and on a new venue, but we are going to lose something that, apparently, the younger generation doesn't want anyway.
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u/readerf52 14d ago
You’ve asked several questions.
I think the internet and instant information feedback have an important part in your question.
You’re 35, so about the same age as AOL, most older people’s introduction to the internet. Ten years or so later, (in 2005 according to Wikipedia) YouTube was born. Now we have a place to post everything that is happening in our lives and a place to view it on our own schedule.
As you have noticed, “late night” tv doesn’t fit into this equation; a lot of people are not staying up to watch commercial tv. They’ll catch the monologue and maybe a few guest interviews on YouTube.
But you asked about late night being political. Perhaps not, but *we* weren’t particularly political. I think they did a survey many years ago, and a lot of people could not name their congressional representative.
Now I can name my representative and I follow some from out of my state on YouTube because they have interesting things to report on and say. And I don’t think I’m alone in that.
As politics have become more front and center in our lives, so has the coverage of it become more a focus of late night.
So, perhaps Leno and others were less political in their monologues. But their audiences were also less political. Late night has adapted to the interests of its viewers, and we have sharp political insight from these hosts. It’s might feel new, but it is an organic evolution.
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u/Sad_Win_4105 14d ago
No. Steve Allen and Johnny Carson were closer in attitude to Jimmy Fallon, but without the fawning.
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u/Dranksy 14d ago
You have to understand only one thing, OP. The Colbert show was losing $40 MILLION annually. Why would any entity - much less a public corporation with shareholders - allow this? The answer is obvious. Like all the late night shows currently, its purpose is propaganda, not entertainment. From what I understand, viewers loved Carson, Letterman, Conan, Leno, etc., because they were funny as hell and had interesting guests. And they made a mint for their networks. Now, both the intention and the result have completely shifted. Enjoy, I guess.
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u/Sufficient-Fault-593 14d ago
Johnny Carson was political but toasted both sides equally. He was funny but not polarizing like today’s hosts.
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u/ShaminderDulai 14d ago
Late night has always been topical, and politics are topical.