It’s official—late-night talk shows are officially dead. RIP. Despite the big bucks doled out to their hosts, they’re simply no longer relevant—except for Greg Gutfeld.
Younger readers might not grasp the significance of this. “Who cares?” they might say. A bunch of mostly-white male comedians no longer attract the audience they once did; big freakin’ deal, who gives a rip? But they miss something important, not because they’re clueless, but because they haven’t seen America as it once was: late-night comedy used to be part of our shared experience.
It brought us together. People gathered ’round the water cooler of old to chuckle about Johnny Carson’s latest jest, David Letterman’s newest top ten list, or Jay Leno’s nightly spot-on political takes of whoever was in power. Carson was part of our lives:
Remembering a popular late night TV host, born on Oct. 23rd (1925-2005)… pic.twitter.com/atHzCq0cSV
— Route60plus (@Route_60plus) October 23, 2022
Remember, if you will, that they used to make fun of both sides, something almost they never do anymore. Saturday Night Live once had a soul:
And lest you think late-night wasn’t diverse, allow me to remind you that Arsenio Hall, Joan Rivers, and Magic Johnson all held top slots in the late-night world at various points.
But Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Steven Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, all the names… they’re no longer funny. Not even sort of. Sure, they may get the big Hollywood stars to come to plug their latest movies, and they may still have the big bands in the background, the cheering audiences clapping for their introductions… but the fact is, they’re no longer relevant. America no longer cares.
The proof is in their ratings. “How Late-Night Talk Ratings Cratered During Trevor Noah’s ‘Daily Show’ Era,” reads a recent headline from Forbes. You want numbers? I have numbers:
By August of this year, The Daily Show averaged just 383,000 viewers, a 65% drop from its 2015 ratings and a far lower figure than any network late-night programs, according to Nielsen ratings published by The Wrap.
Fox News’ Gutfeld!—a conservative show that launched last year—averaged 2.19 million viewers last month, followed by Colbert with 2.16 million (down 31% from 2015), Fallon with 1.34 million (down 64%) and Kimmel—which was on hiatus for part of the month—with 1.14 million (down 54%).
What happened to the once-golden age of late-night programming? Let’s just say it out loud—the usual network suspects are weak.
They’re weak people, and they’re weak comedians.
'Woke' Jimmy Kimmel, who's dabbled in blackface, attacks Tim Scott as token Republican https://t.co/PZgQ2Crnlc pic.twitter.com/054GvTj2Qo
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 30, 2021
“Funnymen” like Kimmel lack the spine or the fortitude to do anything other than repeat the latest CNN headlines and read them as if they’re well-crafted jokes. They besmirch the trails blazed by the likes of George Carlin, Chevy Chase, and even iconoclasts like Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd who used to question authority.
Comedy among the elite has sadly devolved into repeating Democrat party talking points. (See: Rob Schneider remembers the day SNL died.) Alec Baldwin has belittled himself by taking his considerable talent and using it as yet another mouthpiece of the Machine. His impersonations of Trump were so one-note, so vitriolic, that anything that might have been funny was washed away by his hate.
In breaking news, RedState’s Nick Arama reports Sunday that SNL actually did a funny skit skewering Biden and Democrats. Maybe it’s the sign of a new era, but note that they’ve barely touched Biden since he took office despite years of relentless thrashing of his predecessor.
Making fun of Fetterman would have been like shooting a fish in a barrel. So easy, yet they didn't do it. Because the show is a completly partisan political weapon now. https://t.co/ikqyKS9U9J
— Mike LaChance (@MikeLaChance33) October 30, 2022
I remember when actors used to be rebels. It’s sad to see them turned into progressive androids who seemingly lack souls.
Comedy isn’t dead. It’s still well and alive on YouTube and other platforms. As much fun as that can be, I do miss the zeitgeist of when Americans came together, and we all laughed in unison at Johnny Carson’s latest Carnak The Magnificent sketch. Thankfully, there’s Greg Gutfeld, who’s amazingly winning the ratings game with his conservative-themed Fox comedy show, and Bill Maher, who’s questioning authority in ways he never did in the past.
Whether you like their comedy or not, they are showing that there’s an alternative to the mainstream juggernaut of Leftist propaganda masquerading as late-night entertainment.
