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| Left to right: Jeb Bush and Stephen Colbert |
Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
There is something fascinating about the changing landscape of late night talk shows. Over the past decade, it has sort of lost its zeal. This is largely because the functions of the program are often not as integral as actually watching them. The service of them is to now produce viral content that will get millions upon millions of hits, causing the shows to become more self-aware and in other ways less interesting. A Conan writer took to Twitter to accuse The Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon of ruining the edginess by making it an all access party for guests to be silly. True, his shtick definitely updated the program in ways that have done more good than bad for NBC, but it's more of a reflection of late night in general. It ain't what it used to be.
Considering that the past two years have seen the departure of Jon Stewart (The Daily Show), Jay Leno (The Tonight Show), W. Kamau Bell (Totally Biased), Craig Ferguson (The Late Late Show), Arsenio Hall (The Arsenio Hall Show), Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately), and the best of them all: David Letterman (The Late Show), it seems like the format is having trouble updating for a modern audience; the YouTube generation that is more concerned with the clip packages than the actual revelation of watching late night and being caught in the spontaneity. True, there's Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live) and Conan O'Brien (Conan), but it's staggering how strongly the game has changed around them. In fact, it does seem like the two stalwarts adapted to the contemporary audience in meaningful ways. Does it make their show better? You tell me.
Then of course, there is the "new kid" in town: Stephen Colbert. Replacing Letterman, he made his debut on The Late Show as host last night with the familiar fanfare. It was mere months since he left his political satire series The Colbert Report - a show that inevitably made some claim was better than The Daily Show. There was hype around this news series, even a podcast of the production. How would he translate into the landscape of the less political late night area? After all, Letterman wasn't the most outwardly spoken man on the topic. He enjoyed confusing you more than pulling out soapboxes. Colbert, by nature, would bring something different to his show.
Unlike Fallon's debut, he kept it simple and small. He spent the first portion doing the familiar introductions. He proceeded to slowly integrate his personal take on comedy into his various segments. One of the more noteworthy included him eating Oreos as he dissected the complaints that presidential candidate Donald Trump made while Colbert was away. There was rich symbolism that continued when George Clooney served as his first guest: promoting nothing but a nonexistent movie. Next was Jeb Bush. While the joke may be slight, it's funny to see Bush follow someone not selling anything at all. One can only assume that Colbert will continue to be subversive in that way.
Yet the question turns to the future of late night. Considering that it's back to being a young man's game, what exactly is the appeal? Not long ago, it was a chance to stay up late and watch segments that would be their own news stories. They wouldn't be on YouTube for easy access. That's kind of what's missing. There's almost no edginess left in the game. True, Colbert isn't as grating as Fallon or James Corden when it comes to doing cheap gags for viral videos. Maybe he will eventually restore some spontaneity to late night that made it such a mainstay for a few decades. Of course, that is if you liked The Colbert Report and are fine with the extended running time and format.
Even if the shows are decent ways to sell products, I don't know that late night is as fruitful as it once was. With so much content available, there isn't that immediacy of just watching a variety show in the late hours. Speaking as Colbert is an acquired taste (and one that I don't care for), it's getting increasingly hard to find a show that is just about the spontaneity. You maybe get that with Seth Meyers (Late Night), but even that is dependent on if you like dry absurdity... at 12:30 AM. So, good luck to Colbert on his new gig. Part of me feels that at very least, he will be the last relevant host of The Late Show, possibly even the last new late night talk show host that matters. We'll just have to wait and see.
Considering that the past two years have seen the departure of Jon Stewart (The Daily Show), Jay Leno (The Tonight Show), W. Kamau Bell (Totally Biased), Craig Ferguson (The Late Late Show), Arsenio Hall (The Arsenio Hall Show), Chelsea Handler (Chelsea Lately), and the best of them all: David Letterman (The Late Show), it seems like the format is having trouble updating for a modern audience; the YouTube generation that is more concerned with the clip packages than the actual revelation of watching late night and being caught in the spontaneity. True, there's Jimmy Kimmel (Jimmy Kimmel Live) and Conan O'Brien (Conan), but it's staggering how strongly the game has changed around them. In fact, it does seem like the two stalwarts adapted to the contemporary audience in meaningful ways. Does it make their show better? You tell me.
Then of course, there is the "new kid" in town: Stephen Colbert. Replacing Letterman, he made his debut on The Late Show as host last night with the familiar fanfare. It was mere months since he left his political satire series The Colbert Report - a show that inevitably made some claim was better than The Daily Show. There was hype around this news series, even a podcast of the production. How would he translate into the landscape of the less political late night area? After all, Letterman wasn't the most outwardly spoken man on the topic. He enjoyed confusing you more than pulling out soapboxes. Colbert, by nature, would bring something different to his show.
Unlike Fallon's debut, he kept it simple and small. He spent the first portion doing the familiar introductions. He proceeded to slowly integrate his personal take on comedy into his various segments. One of the more noteworthy included him eating Oreos as he dissected the complaints that presidential candidate Donald Trump made while Colbert was away. There was rich symbolism that continued when George Clooney served as his first guest: promoting nothing but a nonexistent movie. Next was Jeb Bush. While the joke may be slight, it's funny to see Bush follow someone not selling anything at all. One can only assume that Colbert will continue to be subversive in that way.
Yet the question turns to the future of late night. Considering that it's back to being a young man's game, what exactly is the appeal? Not long ago, it was a chance to stay up late and watch segments that would be their own news stories. They wouldn't be on YouTube for easy access. That's kind of what's missing. There's almost no edginess left in the game. True, Colbert isn't as grating as Fallon or James Corden when it comes to doing cheap gags for viral videos. Maybe he will eventually restore some spontaneity to late night that made it such a mainstay for a few decades. Of course, that is if you liked The Colbert Report and are fine with the extended running time and format.
Even if the shows are decent ways to sell products, I don't know that late night is as fruitful as it once was. With so much content available, there isn't that immediacy of just watching a variety show in the late hours. Speaking as Colbert is an acquired taste (and one that I don't care for), it's getting increasingly hard to find a show that is just about the spontaneity. You maybe get that with Seth Meyers (Late Night), but even that is dependent on if you like dry absurdity... at 12:30 AM. So, good luck to Colbert on his new gig. Part of me feels that at very least, he will be the last relevant host of The Late Show, possibly even the last new late night talk show host that matters. We'll just have to wait and see.
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