Seth’s signature political (i.e. trump-bashing) bit is called ‘A Closer Look.’ That’s the only part of his show I’ve ever seen.
I like Meyer, although I find his Trump impersonation grating.
Not exactly the same genre, but I always enjoy Bill Maher’s show, especially when he has a panel with which he disagrees.
Weird. I find Meyer’s Trump impersonation to be the only one out there that isn’t grating. But yeah, after Oliver, I like his political takes the best of the late night shows. He could do with fewer “It’s like when your spouse/boss/parent…says/does” gags though.
I know interviews aren’t a popular draw around here, but I find Kimmel’s to be the best in that category. They have a nice conversational flow, without looking like a suck-up. And he isn’t afraid to chase down a rabbit hole if the opportunity presents itself. He learned well from Letterman in that regard.
I actually prefer Seth Meyer’s monologues to Colbert’s. For whatever reason his “arcs” within his “Closer Look” segments always seem to come around full-circle with a nice point at the end. Colbert by contrast mostly seems to just complain/riff on the news in what appears to be an unstructured way. Colbert can be much funnier, but less… impactful, maybe?
Meyer’s non-political stuff is MUCH less funny than Colbert’s non-political stuff. And when Meyer has his writers do a segment it’s almost always tooth-gratingly bad.
Trevor Noah has been getting better in the last few months as well.
Noah just has poor delivery, terrible timing. And it isn’t just the Daily Show, I watched some of his standup too and barely chuckled.
All I ever see of Meyer is the political stuff on Youtube. I haven’t seen any of his bits.
And yeah, Noah is unwatchable.
No need to be sorry, I don’t have a personal beef with him, I just don’t enjoy his show.
Yes but sadly you are in the minority there. Could be the “trump bump” I guess.
My wife records and watches most of these shows so I can speak about them with incredible expertise!
I think Trevor Noah had a rough start, but to be honest, who wouldn’t have trouble being the replacement for Colbert? However, I think he’s really come around and I like his show quite a bit. He’s the only one of the bunch who doesn’t interview the same old celebrities who are making the late night circuit… I get so tired of the inane conversations with the latest actress, TV star, or author. And I like the correspondents they have, the special reports they do, and even Trevor’s monologue - the writers continue to be top notch. And his delivery has improved a ton as he’s gotten more comfortable in the role.
I’ve watched Colbert on and off since he moved to the Late Show. I’ve just gotten tired of it by now, so I don’t watch it much anymore. To me, the show doesn’t have enough variety to make it interesting (granting that I think most of the interviews are boring). Yeah, I get it, he bashes Trump. Which I will admit is entertaining. But they don’t do any of the longer form things that the correspondents used to do on the Daily Show, so his act has gotten a bit old for me… I really hate the voice he uses to mock Trump (I won’t call it an impersonation because he’s not really trying to impersonate Donnie).
Seth Meyers is ok. He’s a decent interviewer but again, the interviews are mostly boring. His “A Closer Look” skits are always good though.
I don’t watch Kimmel or Fallon at all so nothing to say about them.
Sam Bee is the newcomer who I think deserves kudos - I really like her show (is she in the “late night talk show” category? Maybe not). She came out of nowhere and I think has earned a spot in the top tier from the start. Is part of it that so much of her show is coming from a female perspective? Maybe. To be fair, though, it’s somewhat easier to do a weekly show than a daily one, but her writers and topics both seem to be firing on all cylinders.
Check out Klepper, it’s the best of the bunch.
Trevor Noah was a replacement for Jon Stewart not Colbert.
Doh, when you get old, it all runs together. Replacing Jon Stewart was hard too!
All this talk of late night hosts has me lamenting not having Craig Ferguson anymore. Man i really enjoyed him.
What happened to Craig?
They replaced him with Corden.
That’s the guy that does Car Karaoke with his celebrity guests. That’s all I know about him. I’ve never seen his show.
I wish I’d stayed up late more often to watch Craig Ferguson. I was always amazed when I did catch him. Instead of a monologue, he did a whole 10-12 minute stand-up routine on every show. I just couldn’t believe that kind of output from any stand-up. It was amazing.
If you’re a Craig Ferguson fan, his autobiography is fantastic. It’s called American on Purpose.
I guess since she doesn’t interview vapid celebrities, she doesn’t get considered alongside these other dudes? Which is a shame, since I agree that she’s got unique insight, fire, and humor about the whole big fucking mess.
I liked her when Clinton was running and everyone thought we were going to have a Clinton presidency and we could look back and laugh at that time the Republicans got saddled with that reality TV show buffoon. She had a unique appreciation for Hillary Clinton, and her perspective as a woman was unapologetic. But after the election? I’ve liked her even more. There’s a sense that guys like Colbert are making a grand living mocking what a dumbass Trump is, with Kimmell occasionally doing something heartfelt about kids and healthcare. But Samantha Bee? She’s angry. She and her writers approach their subject with an appropriate sense of outrage. And yet they still manage to be blisteringly funny.
So I don’t get why people have conversations like the one we’re having here and Samantha Bee isn’t mentioned in the same breath as Noah, Colbert, Kimmel, etc. How can you talk about late night TV without bringing up her unique contribution? Before your post, I think stusser was the only one who brought her up. But I feel she’s not just good late night TV; she’s an essential perspective. Her anger and outrage should be a fundamental part of how we mock this dipshit.
-Tom
Part of it might just be that Sam Bee, like Conan, isn’t on one of the big networks, and so just doesn’t have the headspace for most people. Noah gets grandfathered in with the Daily Show name.