After Midnight

@ftermidnight is a reboot of @midnight. This takes a show that was 30 mins (really 20 mins) to being 60 (really 40 mins). The game show goes on too long. From forced laughter to exhaustion of every answer in the first 20 minutes gets points, there's a reason even non-comedy game shows limit it to 30 mins.

Taylor is a great comedian. With 40 minutes, there's time for a monologue + game show. Understand CBS went to this game show to cut costs vs James Corden's show, but it's only but so long before an hour long game show alone will lack the ratings to justify even drug or political ads. They cast a phenomenal host and the game show can work as part of the show. It needs a monologue upfront and the game show can replace the guest interviews other shows do.

Currently in season 2, Taylor Tomlinson and After Midnight as a whole are hitting its stride!!! In today's toxic political climate, it is refreshing to have a late night show that not only pokes fun at politics on occasional but also provides an escape from the serious news of the day. The guests while not always well known are creatively funny and offer a wide variety of perspective! The show never takes itself too seriously and while the games are usually fun and unique, the unscripted moments are the best part of the whole show! Looking for 40 minutes to unwind and relax, this is the show!!!

The original.@midnight (2013-2017) was a brilliant experiment that combined up-to-the-second pop culture ephemera, stand-up comedy & improv. Host Chris Hardwick made it seem effortless. With this reboot, aptly named @fter midnight (begins at 12:30pm in many markets), new host Taylor Tomlinson tries her best to recapture the magic. In the premier episode, she seemed a bit too eager to respond with a loud chuckle to anything the three contestants said, but she did keep things moving and tossed in enough self-deprecating humor to smooth over some rough patches. Given time, I believe she can make the show her own. She also needs a better buzzer. The production has a snappy set, with a smartphone-like screen displaying videos, images and themed graphics. The production team also wisely chose to get the comic contestants out from behind their podiums for one segment. Breaking up the standard game show format is key to a project that proports to not be your average game show. As with its host, the show will need time to shake out some bugs. Here's hoping CBS is willing to invest that time.

The show was very scripted feeling. You have a bunch of amazing comedians on the show including the host, but it felt like she was just reading from a teleprompter the whole time. Give her the cards and turn them loose to be comedians. They are already funny people. You don't have to write their jokes for them.

I was really hoping for something like an American version of The Big Fat Quiz, but it just missed the mark. Who cares if they even make it through the whole game, just let it derail a bit.

Hopefully Taylor will get more comfortable after a few episodes because she is already naturally funny. She doesn't need to look at the camera every time she talks. We are watching to see the back and forth between her and the other comedians not her and the audience/camera.

Most of these reviews are from the first week of shows, which isn't quite fair. As with almost all TV shows, After Midnight has improved as they find their rhythm.

Some of the initial complaints still hold; while Taylor has less forced laughter, she is too bound to the prompter. The show probably would pace better at 30 minutes.

However, depending on the guests, the show can be quite funny. I've seen several episodes now that have derailed in a fun way because the guests bounced off each other and went off script, making Taylor genuinely laugh and banter back.

Hopefully, like @Midnight, the guests best suited to the format will come back regularly and level up episodes overall. And as the producers watch the reactions to their tweaks, I'm confident the show will improve.