An introduction to late-night talk shows

Late Night is just an amusing stream of entertainment and comedy. It is interesting to see what they are on about on these shows and maybe you could even learn something in the process.

The largest shows and the best ones are The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Conan, and Jimmy Kimmel Live.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

The host of the show, Jimmy, is one of the broadest entertainers out there, creating a lot of variation in the show.

He does it all, he will dance, sing, act, he does stand-up, impressions of celebrities, improvisational theater, he does a wide range of games and much more.

Overall, one feels as if the show is largely game show-driven. These game segments take up a large part of the show, Jimmy being the game master, every now and then introducing new games.

Throughout all the segments, Fallon is positive and supportive. Along with his guests and throughout these games, they often do something which involves them not taking themselves too seriously, not being too self-conscious about what they are doing.

The show has a sense of family entertainment to it, it is a clean act, funny and educational. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is clearly one of the best shows out there at the moment.

The best part of the show is the game segments. Some other highlights are when Fallon does impersonations and when he gets to work together with Benedict Cumberbatch.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is shot on Manhattan just a short walk from Jimmy’s office.

Stephen is energetic as he enters the scene and delivers his perspectives on the recent development in politics. The show is largely entertaining, but a minor downside is that Stephen is getting a bit too repetitive with the bashing of the current presidential political leadership. The mandatory monologue is largely politically driven.

The interviews are usually good-natured, amicable and low-key. Although Stephen can, also in the interviews, get a little bit confrontational as he seeks to target political wrongdoings, as when the president comes onto the show.

The show has been trying, it seems, to borrow from the game show concept that Fallon brought to the Tonight Show. There is usually a segment involving some kind of play or game, a pre-recorded comedic piece, or sometimes there is just a musical performance.

A difference in content is also that Stephen is more into word plays than are the other hosts of late-night shows.

The best part of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert may be the interviews as he usually manages to create an interesting atmosphere with most guests. A highlight is also when Stephen gets to team up with former Daily Show colleague Jon Stewart.

Conan

Moving on to the west coast and California, Conan O’Brien is nowadays airing a show named simply “Conan”.

Conan employs a traditional late night show format starting with a monologue and then interviewing at least two guests. These elements, the monologue and the guest interviews, are really the major elements of the show.

In the monologues, Conan provides a comedic perspective on current events in the news, without having any major political agenda. Conan employs a kind of typical late-night punchline-driven humor which often works really well.

Throughout the interviews, it is entertaining to hear about the whereabouts, the happenings and any new movies of the guests and to see them fool around together with Conan.

While the innovative pieces of Fallon’s take on the Tonight Show is interesting, there is also something reassuring and likable with this familiar traditional format.

The best part of the show, when Conan is at his best, is in the monologues when he does the monologue punchlines.

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Joining Conan on the west coast in California is Jimmy Kimmel. The Jimmy Kimmel show stands out in that it employs some different kinds of segments than the other shows.

First of all, Kimmel is known for being into pranks of different kinds. Such as filling up his celebrity neighbor’s car with lego or gift-wrapping their entire house and having Christmas decoration put up all over it. These segments are really different from the usual late-night pieces, it feels interesting with something entirely different like this.

In other segments, the show involves children that get to answer questions and participate in different ways, which makes for some reliable absurdity and amusement alike. This is often very appreciated, there is something about children’s directness that is just amusing.

Another example of a different kind of segment, and the one which may be the show’s most appreciated, is the one called “Mean Tweets”, where celebrities read out tweets about themselves written by displeased tweeters.

Aside from these segments, there is a monologue, which is sometimes a guest monologue, and interviews with celebrity guests. It is all good without standing out in any particular way.

In summary, The Jimmy Kimmel Live show is really funny from time to time, often involving different kinds of segments, often involving children or pranks. These segments may be the best parts of the show.

All in all, The Tonight Show, The Late Show, Conan and Jimmy Kimmel Live all have qualities of their own, providing a lot of variation and entertainment.

While The Tonight Show with Jimmy may be the funniest and the most educational in Late Night at the moment, the other shows certainly have got their moments also.