Here’s What ‘Jokes Seth Can’t Tell’ Looks Like When Late Night Works From Home

If you’re wondering what Late Night’s “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell” segment would look like if Seth Meyers, Amber Ruffin, and Jenny Hagel were all working from home while self-quarantining during a pandemic with no hope or clear end in sight, well, that’s a weird thing to wonder about, but you’re in luck. Meyers’s show released a new clip last night, complete with an intro from Fred Armisen and the Late Night band and a handful of jokes with no audience there to laugh at them.

As usual, Ruffin and Hagel tackle all the punchlines that Meyers can’t, including takes on black astronauts (“A black astronaut is just like a white astronaut, except his boots are spotless”), Sephora (“‘That’s where I buy my new makeup!’ said lesbians about Walgreens”), and how Ruffin plans to vote on Election Day: “The same way all black people vote: I’m gonna call in sick, drive 50 miles to my nearest polling place, have the lady tell me my name is not on the list, insist that it is, show her my voter-registration card, shut her up, stand in line for seven hours, and then vote for someone who may or may not keep their promises to black people. That’s democracy!” Meyers has one big takeaway about this particular round of jokes: “I do want to note that some of these are playing exactly as well as they would with an audience.” The end of the segment, if you’re familiar with “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell,” is no exception.