You know those weeks where everything is awful, but people are kind of running on automatic pilot, so they still ask “How are you?” as just a conversation opener, but all you can really say is “Bad,” which is more of a conversation closer? Yeah, that’s what talk shows were like this week. Los Angeles is still on fire. After Midnight is still dark, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! is doing a donations drive in the back lot where it usually holds concerts. It’s a way less fun use of the space, but a great thing to be doing right now. Shout-out, generally, to Kimmel for threading the needle on being a funny show while still acknowledging the devastation outside the studio. Snoop Dogg was a very calming presence on Monday’s show, and Bill Burr did some conspiracy-theory debunking on Tuesday. Here’s hoping next week won’t have to strike that same balance.
5.
Some Poetry on The Late Show
Kwame Alexander went on The Late Show and read his late mentor Nikki Giovanni’s poem “Still Life With Apron.” The story he told of how she became his mentor was great a chat-show anecdote. And then he got to honor her legacy by reading a pretty fucking horny poem on CBS. “Horny” and “poetic” are two modes we don’t see enough of on late night. Thanks, Stephen Colbert, for making some space for them.
4.
Nicole Byer’s Second Chance
Nicole Byer’s fire-evacuation go-bag had no underwear in it, but it did have a picture of herself that she thought was cute. That’s the energy. Byer caught up with Jimmy Kimmel to talk about the wildfires, but also how she is friends with a neighbor’s car but not the neighbor. (When she tells the story, it almost makes sense.) She also got a second chance to correctly answer the question that got her eliminated from the celebrity edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, but then someone in the audience scooped her. Maybe third time’s the charm?
3.
“Robbie, That’s a Window”
Throughout this episode of WWHL, we see Julia Stiles come to know who Robbie Williams is. It’s crazy to see it happen in real time — going from “I am sitting next to some guy, I wonder what Below Deck ship he captains” to “This man has lived a fucking life.” He really, really has. Williams tells a great story about doing mushrooms at Bono’s house — and this anecdote isn’t juicy enough to have made it into Better Man. It’s like the 145th-weirdest thing he’s done. Go see the monkey movie, I beg you.
2.
Roy Wood Jr.’s Firefighting Adventure
Putting that journalism degree to good use, Roy Wood Jr. embedded with firefighters in Compton ahead of his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wood brought video of him riding in a fire truck, putting out a dumpster fire, and generally living the dream. And I learned something, to boot. Because a lot of firefighting efforts are being directed toward the Palisades and Eaton fires, firehouses that are nowhere near any of the wildfires now have bigger coverage zones. So every firehouse is feeling the strain right now. But also, they’re letting comedians slide down the pole, so that’s nice.
1.
Aidy Bryant Gets $1
Nothing is better than when host and guest are buds and you get a little peek into their IRL lives. Apparently, Seth Meyers was approached for a photo in the middle of buying a drink at All In, which meant he accidentally went without tipping the bartender. So Meyers finds Aidy Bryant in the crowd, borrows some cash from her, and runs back to tip the bartender. He then paid Bryant back on his show, with $1 interest. That tells us several great bits of goss: Seth Meyers loves to take a photo with a fan, Seth Meyers is a conscientious tipper, Aidy Bryant hasn’t gone cashless in this world of Apple Pay, and Meyers always repays his debts. Or at least when it makes good TV to do so.
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