When Late-Night is Done, Whats Next for the Artists in the Morning?

Words by Matthew Spence:

Grab an 80s TV Guide booklet and skim through the TV Guide website for tonight’s lineup you’ll pick up plenty of “Where’s Waldo” skilled-level observations. TV for the 2020s, the same amount of white people, and less amount of variety. While swimming in the sea of reruns for Friends, Seinfeld, and The Office reruns today, one thing that’s been able to hop from decade to decade. Excuse me, let me fix up my tie here, <clears throat> Late shows.

A cornerstone of comedy, combining political commentary and satire, all delivered through a personality, late-night shows have been the cause of so many couch gags. Between talk shows and Saturday Night Live, they’ve helped push forward and sculpt the humor of teens and adults who now know how to crack topical jokes that can be cool enough to tell your parents and the homies at the water cooler.

 

However, lately, as you may (or may not) know, the relationship between people and their TV has been on the rocks. As streaming has become increasingly dominant over the past decade-plus, people are watching TV less and less. This isn’t groundbreaking news, but context, yo. Millions have canceled and continue to cancel their cable service in favor of other streaming services or just YouTube. No laughing matter here; late-night shows are facing the reality of “nothing lasts forever; nothing sticks together.” With allusion to SNL ending after a few more seasons after season 50 (no confirmation though), late-night talk shows viewership has been dipping as time ticks to the point shows have had budget cuts: getting rid of their house bands and changing schedules from 5 days to 4 days.

Now, when it’s all said and done, many fans and industry peers are gonna wonder what’s next for comedy writers and actors when we enter the reality of these shows wrapping. Remember folks, you may think SNL or late-night talk shows are cringe and unfunny (I sometimes think that myself); however, they are still a BIG DEAL. Writing for SNL is a BIG DEAL. Writing for the Tonight Show is a BIG DEAL. Being cast for SNL is a BIG DEAL. So it leads to more questions than answers when you think of that pipeline the two have. Things like who’s gonna host the Tonight Show? Who’s gonna be the next SNL film star to be in a shit ton of Judd Apatow movies? Some SNL alums have gone on to be late-night talk show hosts, for better or worse. <breaks out a vintage hearing horn to hear Jimmy Fallon laugh.> What’s next? Only the Wizard of SAG and SWAG, Fran Drescher, knows.

 

However, I can’t shake off the thought and wonder, what will be the next big thing for musicians?

Alongside its comedy, musical performances have been an integral part of late-night shows as well over the course of a few decades, with early cultural addictive moments, gradually becoming one of the most anticipated parts of the show. It’s a bucket list for artists to perform on a late-night show, up there with selling out Madison Square Garden, headlining Coachella, and winning a Grammy. Making their late-night TV debut and continuing to make appearances is something special for the artist and the fans. A sign of letting you know they’re having a pretty solid year. Plus, possibly deliver one of the best live performances of their career. Between SNL and Night Talk shows, they have given a plethora of classic performances for particular artists and in general.

 

 

But what’s next, yo?

When it’s all over, what will take its place, and will the impact still… well, impact? To reiterate, late shows are a big DEAL, and with their wide audience, ranging from 18-49 (generally), that’s prime-time reach to people who may not know about artists A, B, and C. So when an artist not only performs but steals the moment, it can spread their name like gangbusters. From Beatlemania to Nirvanamania to OFWGKTA.

 

Granted, it’s not always for the better.

 

In times of need and confusion, it’s time to assemble the League of Chronically Online TV-Rotted Friends to go through the encyclopedia for alternatives. Whatever it may be, as long as it remains active in variety. As many late-night shows, in particular talk shows, often tried, whether it may be the host or people behind the scenes, there is at least someone who encourages going against the grain of what their audience may have wanted or not. Giving the green light for “niche,” and I quote “niche” artists. Conan was the king of this.

 

 

Look what happened with Jimmy Kimmel recently and Knocked Loose in Novemeber 2024. Soccer moms and Catholic aunts were very upset. And that’s a kind of good thing, that someone behind the scenes was willing to take a risk for the music they respected. So, if the alternative may be streamers or podcasts, our only hope is it’s a platform that isn’t gonna reduce the variety and take away the opportunity of someone being introduced to an artist and subgenres they may not have heard or weren’t really fond of beforehand.

 

Now, who’s to say what’s gonna happen next? We don’t know the definitive answers, obviously. Maybe there’s no need to question, and everything will keep running until the world blows up. Whether the next step receives fanfare or fan middle fingers, it’s just another example of adapting to our ever-changing culture.

[Petition for Dissect Podcast to get more guests and performances]