Happy debate week! Late-night TV definitely had more fun with this debate than the last one. Maybe it was the more energetic debaters; maybe it was that Donald Trump said some truly wack shit. Either way, the hosts had a lot more material to work with than the Biden vs. Trump matchup. The Late Show and The Daily Show went live; Seth Meyers went to prime time; and Jimmy Kimmel went to his reserve team of impressionists. The headline gives it away, but comedically? That was the most successful route.
But before we get into the top five, pour one out for Friday nights. The Tonight Show is scaling back from five nights a week to four, skipping Friday. It’s a common move on these shows, since Friday is notoriously the most unwatched night of TV, but it’s sad to see a staple of television diminish. This is the biggest time cut The Tonight Show has received since it scaled back from 105 minutes to 60 — and we got a whole new show from that! Historically, cutting down The Tonight Show has previously only been done to make room for more shows. Saturday Night Live was born from Johnny Carson not wanting a “Best Of” program to run in his time slot on Saturday. This time, it’ll just be for reruns. Good night, sweet Friday. May flights of Hashtag the Panda sing thee to thy rest.
5. WWHL Is Asking the Right Questions
Marianne is a fucking real one. Calling in to WWHL, she delivered an incredible performance by asking if there were any fruity vibes between Professor X and Magneto in the First Class movies. First of all, the way she says “X-Men” like she’s on Too Much Tuna, that’s real New York shit right there. Then she just gets to the meat of the question: Y’all gay or what? Credit to James McAvoy, who handles the question with grace and cheekiness. “You’re feeling something that was present,” he says. What a therapized way to pander to the fangirls. Great stuff all around.
4. Jimmy Fallon Dies, Repeatedly
I cannot express how fascinated I am by Jimmy Fallon’s Tonightmares, the pop-up haunt coming to 30 Rock for Halloween season. Whose idea was this? Did Fallon actually weigh in on what scares him, or did Universal Creative just get to pop off? Where are the fire exits, and do they interfere with the Christie’s that’s also in Rockefeller Plaza? Every night, Fallon has been felled by one of his nightmares as a plug for this haunt. It’s so stupid, and I giggle every time the camera cuts to his dead ass on the couch. I love when the monster says, “We’ll be right back” — that’s classic “Treehouse of Horror” nonsense.
3. Wayne Brady Does Mouth Stuff on After Midnight
Every week, I say After Midnight has come up with the dumbest game possible, and then the next week it amazes with something even dumber. On Monday night, the writers presented me with a real humdinger of a stupid thing to make famous people do: putting something in their mouths that was either sweet, savory, or a piece of paper. “I have so many Emmys,” Wayne Brady lamented when he was told he had to maybe eat paper. But then! He proved why he’s got all that hardware. I won’t spoil how he Kobayashi Maru’d the game, but wow. And to see him baby-bird an object into a glass bowl? Poetry.
2. Kevin Hart Knows How to Sell Liquor
This was one of the more zippy “Day Drinking” segments in a long time. One thing about Kevin Hart? The man is a riffer. He’s also a businessman, closure of his vegan-fast-food restaurants notwithstanding. The way he can plug his own liquor brand while already half a bottle into said liquor is heroic and a skill not utilized with such aplomb since The Colgate Comedy Hour probably. Shout-out to the Late Night staff for the “Kevin’s Gate” drink concept as well. What a choice to go that dark that early in the segment.
1. Jimmy Kimmel Live! Assembles the Impressionist Avengers
Josh Meyers, James Adomian, and Haley Joel Osment commentated on the debate as Gavin Newsom, Mike Lindell, and J.D. Vance, respectively. Meyers and Adomian have been doing these characters for a minute on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and they are sooo good at them. It’s especially heartening to see some digs thrown at the Dems with the Newsom impression, really homing in on his out-of-touch skater-oligarch thing. Osment is relatively new, but he brings a sweaty pervert vibe that works quite well for the VP hopeful. With Adomian and Osment working off each other, this is as close to seeing the Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast on TV since the Comedy Bang! Bang! show on IFC. Excessive exclamation points and everything! Love that for us as a viewing public.
