Late Night with Seth Meyers

Premise: I'm european.

And I find most US talk shows of this kind way over the top. It feels ridiculous most of the times.

I understand why, historically: there used to be two or three absurdly relevant ones, with universally loved hosts that were as important as the president but lasted much longer and developed this incredible devotion over the years.

Fine but now there's a dozen brand new talk shows like this so maybe calm down. You have to earn that crazy respect instead of faking it: take yourself less seriously, be kind and rewarding with your selected audience, make it a nice time among friends.

This is exactly what Seth does best.

If you follow the show, most of the things that people seem to hate in reviews seem to fit perfectly. Guests are rarely superstars for the easy youtube clicks, they're people Seth likes and can have a fun conversation with. Jokes are soberly funny and sometimes just silly, to the point that Seth often jokes about how insecure he is about them. He doesn't show the absurd and pathetic confidence that other hosts have, even when they deliver a bad joke with no irony about it. That really makes me cringe.

All talk show writers have to deliver way too much material for it to be always good. But I enjoy much more a lame joke when it's delivered in a humble way. That's why I perceive Seth more like a friend than other God-like hosts.

The whole writing process is exposed and demystified in the show through jokes about his writers. They become characters and make you feel like the team is just a group of friends. These grew even stronger after the lockdown and massively rewarded the audience loyalty. Many new segments are self-referential but not in an arrogant way, just to make fun of the show.

Then, of course, there's a strong political element, which I find myself quite in tune with or I probably wouldn't enjoy the show. He's very open about it and I don't agree with all of the points of view but it makes fine segments.

It's not a talk show everyone enjoys. But it gets better and better for those who do.

When Jay Leno announced his retirement of hosting NBC's The Tonight Show in 2014, Jimmy Fallon, known for being a cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live for 6 years (with him anchoring Weekend Update for his last 4) and hosted Late Night for 5 years, was announced that he'll be the new host of The Tonight Show, meaning that he'll be passing the torch of Late Night to the next guy, and that person is Seth Meyers.

Like Fallon, Meyers was also a cast member on SNL, and was known mainly for anchoring Weekend Update, co-anchoring with Amy Poehler for his first 2 years on Update until Poehler went on maternity leave and her eventual leaving the show, with him anchoring solo for most of the rest of his tenure until he was joined by Cecily Strong for the first half of SNL's 39th season. He would leave SNL midseason when he was announced as the new host of NBC's Late Night.

Meyers was notably nervous throughout his first year and a half of his tenure, but he did get more comfortable once the producers started to cater the show more towards his strengths, especially with his recurring bits like A Closer Look (my 2nd personal favorite bit), Corrections, Amber Says What? (which shoutout to Amber Ruffin, whom I absolutely love), Day Drinking (my personal favorite bit) and tied for my 2nd favorite recurring bit, Jokes Seth Can't Tell.

If you're a fan of Seth Meyers, then you won't regret watching his current show!

I honestly don't get why this show is getting bad reviews. I have to assume they are reviewing the episodes that aired pre-COVID. I've been watching recently and I have to say it is a pretty funny show. Since March 2020, Seth has been doing the show without an audience. He has really been doing well. Despite being overused, A Closer Look is hilarious most of the time. I do have to warn that Seth does get more political than Jimmy Fallon, whose show airs directly before Seth's show on weeknights, but other than that, it is fine. In my opinion, Seth has been able to squeeze a lot more jokes into an episode now than he was able to when he paused for audience laughter every 6 seconds. I recommend giving the show a try when it comes back on August 9th. Or just watch a full episode now on NBC's website.

Although I tend to skip the monologue because it's overtly political. I get that's his niche. I really look forward to the thanksgiving episodes. I tear up at the family video clips sometimes. He seems very approachable. I like the more relaxed look.

The show has improved a lot. Seth definitely seems in control whenever he is pushing his political agenda (even though he needs to tone that down a bit). The "Closer Look" segment is the best part of his show and I am always looking forward to that. His show is different from the other late night shows because it is more educational. The show has taken itself seriously. The regular complain about the show not being funny enough is valid but that's a direction that the makers have decided and they want to attract a certain kind of audience. Conan is funnier than any other talk show host but its not your traditional late night show, is it?