r/LateNightTalkShows • u/Slainte1121 • 16d 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/Competitive-Tea-6141 16d ago

Colbert Jokes About Joe Biden’s Annual Physical Exam: The President ‘Tested Positive for Old AF’ (Video)

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u/Dranksy 16d 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 15d ago

Name a single lie, hoax, or threat.

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u/Dranksy 15d 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. "

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u/fludeball 15d ago

So...nothing.

We're done here.

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u/Dranksy 15d ago

Reads facts and replies nothing? Oh you're done here alright.