“Floor, sit, write” is Sophie Buddle’s ultimate mantra. The After Midnight monologue writer and stand-up comedian, who boarded the CBS comedy panel game show in June, is no stranger to tight deadlines.
As the show’s sole monologue writer, Buddle is tasked daily with taking the hottest, weirdest internet trends—from Hawk Tuah Girl to underconsumption core—and molding them into a whip-smart monologue for host Taylor Tomlinson to perform just hours later. Fortunately, Buddle is up to the challenge.
When After Midnight first decided to add a monologue to the show in May, Tomlinson immediately thought Buddle could be the right person for the job. The pair were already close friends, having met at the Hollywood Improv a couple years prior. Buddle had even opened for Tomlinson on more than one occasion. However, what really sealed the deal was Buddle’s thorough understanding of stand-up comedy.
“Because Taylor is such an amazing stand-up and that’s such a big part of who she is, I think she really wanted somebody who was super familiar with her stand-up voice,” Buddle tells LateNighter. “And [who] presumably also does stand-up, because it’s kind of a specific instinct.”
Prior to joining After Midnight, Buddle worked as a writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, a weekly sketch comedy series on Canada’s CBC network. In 2020, her comedy album Lil Bit of Buddle won the Juno Award for Comedy Album of the Year, making her the first solo female comic to receive the award. She has also guested on late-night staples like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Late Late Show with James Corden.
LateNighter chatted with Buddle about the process of writing the After Midnight monologue, how Season 2 will lean into slightly different territory amid the U.S. presidential election, her dream panel (hint: it involves Chappell Roan), and more.
How did you land the gig on After Midnight?
I think [After Midnight] reached out to a couple of people to submit, and I remember Taylor had told me I was submitting to it before I got the packet. She and I had planned to hang out one night, and then she texted me and was like, “Hey, if you can’t hang out tonight anymore, that’s okay. I understand.” And I was like, “Why not? What’s the problem?” She was like, “Well, you have to work on your submission.”
They gave us a silly little internet trend and were like, “OK, write a monologue for Taylor Tomlinson for the show. It should be about a page.” They said that if this takes you more than an hour or two to write up, then you’re wrong for the job. I banged it out really fast, and Taylor and I went and hung out as planned. The next morning, I flew out to the Limestone Comedy Festival. When I landed, my manager had scheduled a Zoom. I got to the hotel, and we had a meeting with the head writer, Jo Firestone; the EP, Joe Farrell; and Taylor. They decided that they wanted to hire me, and I had to leave the comedy festival early so that I could start that Monday. It all happened within the course of, like, two days. So, I just kind of jumped in.
How long does it typically take you to write a first draft?
Technically, our day starts at 8:30 a.m. We get a research packet with a bunch of online trends and options to write jokes about, and I have to be done with the draft by 10. Wednesdays, it’s our double tape day, so I have to do two [monologue drafts] between 8:30 and 10—those are much harder. I use the full amount of time on [single-tape days], so it feels like a truly great feat of human willpower to get two done.
What’s the process of collaborating with Taylor like?
She’s really, really such a pleasure to write for. I’ve watched all of her stand-up specials and we’ve been on the road together so much, so I feel like I have a strong sense of her voice and perspective. In the morning, we do the read-through with all of the researchers, cast, crew, and writers. As soon as that’s finished, Taylor and I peel off and go into her office and she’ll give me a couple notes—whether it’s a joke that doesn’t make sense to her, or a joke that she wouldn’t say, or a direction for something that she wants me to brainstorm—and I usually will implement those notes during lunch.
After lunch, I meet up with her again while she’s getting her hair and makeup done. I sit on the floor of her makeup room and she reads through [the monologue]. Usually at that point, she has a bunch of joke ideas for it, too—like really good jokes. Truly, everything that Taylor brings is already a perfectly crafted joke, perfectly written. I can literally just add what she says into the script, and they don’t have to tinker with it. It’s so helpful.
Is there a certain kind of joke that Taylor really loves?
I honestly think she loves jokes that she wouldn’t necessarily do herself. I think she laughs harder when it’s a joke that she wouldn’t write. So it’s always kind of on the line of, like, if it’s too outside of her voice, she won’t do it. But if it’s outside enough that she wouldn’t think of it, then that’s what makes her laugh really hard.
What’s been your favorite game so far?
One that always makes me laugh is “Who’s Your Zaddy?” I think that that’s a really solid one. There’s also weird [games], and sometimes they’re so funny. There was one that made me laugh so hard—I think we called it “Does This Lamp Work?“
Who’s your dream panel?
I have said so many times to anybody who will listen to me that the show [should have] a drag queen on every episode, because they’re so funny and so good in our format. My favorite drag queens are Trixie and Katya, so if they did the show, that’d be so cool. My dream lineup is Trixie and Katya and Chappell Roan.
Is there a joke you wish got on the air but didn’t?
Every single day, I’m trying to slander companies. I’m always trying to put in names of companies and say horrible things about them. So I do wish that we were allowed to do that, but I don’t know why that’s important to me.
What would you say is the biggest misconception about your job?
A lot of people have asked me, “How many monologue writers are there?” It’s just me. Every other late-night show has a team of monologue writers, so I feel that that has been the biggest misconception. But I’m very lucky that I was able to recruit one of our other staff writers, Caroline [Ulwick], for Season 2 with me. She’s just a really good fit, and she’s a great joke writer.
She used to be a journalist for MSNBC, and I find that she brings a really unique voice. She’s really good at the absurd—I think that’ll really bring a new level of texture to the monologue in Season 2. I’m very excited that she’s joining me. If I wasn’t doing comedy stuff, I would want to do journalism, so I really love being around that energy.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received for doing this job?
Recently, I was taking a pilot writing class, and my instructor told me that once you figure out what your creative process is, just accept it and not judge yourself. If you’re really creative right in the morning, then just accept that you’re really creative right in the morning and set your alarm and wake up in the morning and write. Do what helps you. Try to really be regimented about it, because it’s so easy to not be regimented in a creative field. If it’s something that you want to pursue as more than just a hobby, you do have to put a lot of effort into it.
Finally, what are you most excited about for Season 2?
I’m excited that it’s an election season. We’re not a news-based show, but for Season 2, we’re going in a slightly less internet trends direction and a slightly more pop culture direction. Pop culture implies a little bit of election stuff. I think that I’m also just finding my footing better for the monologues, and they’re getting longer and longer too, which is fun. I’m excited to sneak in a little bit more current events stuff.
Taylor and I are going on the road together too; I’m opening for her October through December. Her and I are going to be so synced up—we’re going to be together at work all week and together on the road all weekend, so we will be unrecognizable from each other.
After Midnight airs at 12:35 a.m. Monday through Friday on CBS.
The interview above has been edited for length and clarity.
