Last week, late-night TV got real newsy. This week, it just got real. This was a week of oddly unvarnished performances from the stars. Rhett and Link shared a clip of their colonoscopies on The Tonight Show. Julio Torres told an incredible anecdote on Late Night, which you could tell genuinely delighted Seth Meyers. And Josh Brolin got his tits out, which also delighted Seth Meyers.
We’re celebrating the best, weirdest, most unguarded moments in late night this week — because that’s what we want out of the late-night comedy space, right? Spontaneous moments, Josh Brolin’s yiddies, the things that make life worth living.
5. Last Week Tonight Executes a Perfect Running Gag
First, an honorable mention to a well-executed and well-planned joke. The former CEO of Boeing married his first cousin, and John Oliver delivered more incest content than a Modern Family fanfic. There’s something so wonderful about seeing a comedian run a bit into the ground. It’s like Tibetan sand art: designed to be destroyed and reminding us of the fragile beauty of our impermanent existence. The joke isn’t a renewable resource; it will get old fast. But life is short. Gather ye cousin-fucker jokes while ye may.
4. Jimmy Fallon Explains His Career to a Child
Did you know that kids say the darndest things? Jimmy Fallon had kid inventors on The Tonight Show, which was cute and sweet to behold. But the best moment of the segment was when a child asked Fallon to talk about something boring, so he just started talking about his comedy career. Fallon thought to himself, What’s a topic that (1) I can talk about for a while extemporaneously, and (2) would bore others? Oh, I know! My early days trying to make a career as an impressionist.
3. Stephen Colbert’s Live Prop Comedy
The Late Show went live after the State of the Union, as they are wont to do after big political things. Colbert broke down the SOTU in bite-size chunks that my brain could understand, so thanks for the service journalism. But what really grabbed me was his pitchfork. Colbert had a few bits where he wanted to be a riotous townsfolk, aided by a real-ass pitchfork. And at one point, he almost threw it into the audience like a trident. He didn’t, but you could see the glint of What if? in his eyes. That’s the power of live TV, baby.
2. Kyle Kinane Mourns for Lost Jokes
Comedians love getting laughs — one might argue it’s the main objective of the job. But truly great comedians also relish bombing, and there’s nothing like doing a post-mortem on a bit that died after a show. Kyle Kinane and Seth Meyers gave us plebs a peek into the green room, discussing a sketch that ran sub-optimally with the audience right before their talk. Meyers and John Lutz were doing this thing about sheet pans, and I guess it didn’t connect the way they wanted. Really offhandedly, Meyers said, “I don’t know who’s gonna die first, Lutz or I, but we’re gonna talk about it at the funeral,†and I will be thinking about that until I die.
1. After Midnight Makes a Child Cry
It’s been interesting seeing people who were on the old @midnight compete on this new iteration. Ron Funches brought his championship belt (?) to an episode this week, and during that same episode, Adam Pally spent almost all his screen time critiquing the show’s new name/logo. While I would love to see more new blood on the show, I am very grateful that Kurt Braunohler has already come back for a second appearance post-premiere. After Braunohler lost the penultimate game, Taylor Tomlinson made him call someone he loves and tell them he lost the show. He chose his wife, Lauren Cook, who was watching their daughter, Olive. And finding out that Braunohler lost made Olive cry. Now, I’m no dummy: I feel pretty confident that this phone call was prearranged like “phone a friend†on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? But the child tears? Very potentially unplanned. Watching Tomlinson’s face go from gleeful to full-on horror? Exquisite. What a week of fascinating emotional journeys.
More From This Series
- Chris Fleming’s Experimental New Play Won Late Night This Week
- Late Night With Seth Meyers Delivers the Best Topical Comedy for This Moment
- Queening Out With the Divas of Late Night This Week