You could say Jill Twiss knows a thing or two about writing jokes.
Twiss—who wrote on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver from 2014 to 2019—has racked up multiple Emmys, several Writers Guild of America Awards, and a Peabody Award for her time as a senior writer on the HBO show (and lest we forget about her recurrent stint as “Janice in Accounting” on the award-winning series). Following her time on Last Week Tonight, Twiss also wrote on Peacock’s The Amber Ruffin Show from 2021 to 2022. (On Election Night, she even took over The Daily Beast’s Twitter/X feed to provide running commentary.)
On top of her work in late night, Twiss is the author of several children’s books, including Major Makes History (about Joe Biden’s famously feisty German Shepherd rescue pup) and A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo. The latter book—which was written for Last Week Tonight and went on to become a No. 1 New York Times bestseller—is a loose parody of Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Life of the Vice President (which was written by former Vice President Mike Pence’s daughter Charlotte Pence and illustrated by his wife Karen).
Like the original picture book, Twiss’ story centers on a fictional day in the life of Pence’s pet rabbit, Bundo. Except Twiss’ version just happens to feature Bundo’s same-sex relationship with another rabbit, Wesley.
Before breaking into late night, Twiss was a stand-up comedian for about six years. But while she loved the process of writing jokes, something about performing stand-up just didn’t feel right. Then, one day, she had an epiphany.
“I realized that I kind of wanted to vomit all the time,” Twiss tells LateNighter of her time in stand-up. “I was constantly nervous. Stand-up eventually got easier, but not easier enough. So I finally said to myself, ‘Hey, if you love writing jokes, but you’re not actually happier when people clap for you, maybe you’re a writer!’”
From there, Twiss says, she began to “pursue late-night writing in earnest.” Eventually she landed her first gig as a writer on Last Week Tonight (more on that below), and the rest is history.
Below, Twiss chats with LateNighter about what she’s learned from her time on Last Week Tonight and The Amber Ruffin Show, the “natural overlap between jokes and children’s books,” the biggest misconceptions about working in late night, and the “seven-minute” rule she swears by as a writer.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
LateNighter: How did you get started writing for late-night TV?
Jill Twiss: I didn’t know anyone in the business, so I just started putting my writing everywhere I could. I wrote jokes on Twitter every day to show that I could write quickly and be funny. I asked everyone I knew if they knew anyone who wrote for late night; I was a tutor, and I even asked my students’ parents. Eventually, I got connected to a person who knew a person who knew a person.
One day, I got an email from an amazing writer, Nell Scovell, saying she’d read my stuff. And while she couldn’t get me a job, she could tell me when there were job openings and get the people in charge to read my work—which was all I’d ever wanted.
I learned about an upcoming topical comedy show starring John Oliver on HBO; this was 2014, and [Last Week Tonight] didn’t exist yet. I wrote a packet (basically a couple of pieces that you think are right for the show). They contacted me and said that they liked the packet and they’d like me to write another one, with more specifications and a time limit. I did that, they invited me in to meet John, and then they hired me! Last Week Tonight with John Oliver was my first professional TV writing gig.
Can you tell me a little bit about how a writers’ room for late night generally works? For instance, how big are most rooms? How much time do you usually spend collaborating with other writers vs. writing solo? How long is a typical workday?
As far as I can tell, every late-night show has a completely different writing process. When I worked at Last Week Tonight, I think we had anywhere from eight to 10 writers. They may have a few more now. At The Amber Ruffin Show, we had a smaller number. Our typical scheduled workday at LWT was 10-6, but the answer is generally “you write till you get it done.” You meet your deadlines. Sometimes it was writing all night, and sometimes it’s a very typical schedule.
In both cases, I collaborated with writers, footage producers, and researchers, but virtually all of the actual writing was done on my own. Specifically on The Amber Ruffin Show, I got to collaborate with some amazing Black historians, who helped me craft her “How Did We Get Here?” segments.
What’s your personal writing process like when it comes to crafting jokes for on air?
I haven’t worked on a show where, for the most part, we write single jokes. We write entire pieces, ranging from maybe five to 25 minutes long. My process for writing jokes varies, but if all else fails, I set a timer for seven minutes and I say, “For this amount of time, I’m going to write down everything I know about this subject.” And virtually always, somewhere in that seven minutes, I come up with a joke or two. Why seven minutes? No idea. I just made it up!
You’ve worked on different shows hosted by different personalities. How does your job change when you’re writing for a different host? Do you change the process based on the voice of the host you’re writing for?
My process doesn’t change, but of course I pay particular attention to the host’s voice. John Oliver speaks in longer sentences than most hosts do, so as soon as I stopped writing for him, I had to learn to shorten my jokes. Every host has their favorite phrases and mannerisms. Weirdly, I know which swear words everyone I’ve worked for prefers.
I also found differences because Last Week Tonight uses a teleprompter, whereas The Amber Ruffin Show uses cue cards. The rhythm goes a little differently depending the format your host is working in.
Do you remember the first joke you ever got on the air?
I don’t, because at LWT we tend to write full pieces more than just jokes. I know I got a couple of jokes on that first episode, but I honestly don’t remember what they were. But one of the first pieces I remember being particularly proud of was this piece I co-wrote (no one writes anything alone!) on the translators our government recruited to help us in Iraq and Afghanistan and then abandoned.
You’re also a children’s book author, which seems to be a genre that a lot of late-night personalities—including Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers—have gravitated toward in recent years. Why do you think that is?
I think there’s a real natural overlap between jokes and children’s books, actually. First, the obvious: Comedy writers are very silly and that is a thing kids are into. But I also think that there is a real rhythm to writing jokes that serves you well in picture books. The knowledge that shorter is better. The importance of clarity and making sure that your writing is easy to understand. And just to get a little in the weeds here: I think a childlike mind helps in writing jokes. Seeing things as though you’re seeing them for the first time can lead you to a perspective or joke that no one else has thought of.
What’s the biggest misconception about being a late-night writer?
I think sometimes people picture late-night writers as always “on” or always the loudest, most outwardly funny person in the room. In reality, people like that can be hard to spend hours and hours every day in a room with. I remember in college, a guy I was sitting next to said, “You’d be the funniest person here if anyone actually heard what you were saying under your breath.” Some comedy writers are loudly funny. Some are the quietest person in a room.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever gotten?
Oh man, I don’t remember where I learned it, but I’m currently writing a children’s book about the best piece of advice I know—I’m calling it You Can Do It (Just Not All At Once). Sometimes our aspirations are so big, they get paralyzing. And because we can’t do everything, we don’t do anything. But, and forgive me for being pedantic here, starting is the most important step. Writing a novel is absurd, but writing a few sentences? Totally possible. Then you write a few more, a couple the next day, and in a few months you’ve completed a thing. Then fixing that thing seems impossible, but fixing this one sentence? Totally doable. You can do it! Just not all at once.
One other thing: all good ideas come in the shower or on walks. Fact.
You can read more about Jill Twiss on her website or keep up with her on Twitter/X and Instagram.
