We hope you like this look at the season finale of Have I Got News For You, despite our sweaty anxiety that you won’t.
The CNN late-night show celebrated its season finale Saturday, sharing with its audience that it’s coming back for Season 2 next year. After the episode’s taping and before it aired, though, cast member Michael Ian Black shared on Substack that he doesn’t watch the show.
“For the record, I do not watch the program and probably never will,” Black wrote. “I tried, once, when it first came on, but found I had to turn the channel within moments of seeing my own stupid, grinning mug.”
Serving as a team captain on the series opposite Amber Ruffin, with Roy Wood Jr. as the show’s host, Black’s confession came in a post exploring his own insecurities that the show brings to the surface.
Black may be a more under-the-radar performer at times than Ruffin, which could contribute to that imposter syndrome. He praised the skill and confidence of the rest of the cast.
“Many times, like tonight, I leave the taping thinking everybody else was great and I was… fine,” Black wrote.
As much as he loves working on the show, Black went on to note that being on its 10-week run has led to him thinking about how he sees himself as a performer.
“This has been a perennial issue,” Black shared. “I want very much to be a smart comic who says smart and funny things, and sometimes I am, but most of the time I just feel like a fraud.”
He admitted his own need for approval from the audience comes alongside a struggle to win his own approval. Black goes on to diagnose the issue: that his expectations for himself are higher than his own ability to meet them.
Ruffin doesn’t have the same problem, according to Black. “She is one of those lucky few who believes in themselves,” Black wrote. “I admire that very much.”
“She also happens to be deserving of her own self-confidence,” Black continued. “Sometimes after a show, I will ask her how she feels. ‘Great!’ she’ll say, and I can only marvel.”
Bringing it all back around, though, Black implored his readers not to share that same self-doubt.
“If you’re feeling Imposter Syndrome, just know that you’re not an imposter,” Black wrote. “You’re just a person doing their best. Your best is probably quite good. Take heart. And I will try to do the same.”
It’s a great post, and you can read the full article for yourself right here.
The Have I Got News episode’s panel also featured an old friend and colleague of Ruffin: her fellow Late Night with Seth Meyers writer and the former head writer of The Amber Ruffin Show, Jenny Hagel. You may know Hagel from appearing alongside Ruffin Late Night for their recurring “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell” segment.
Ruffin and Hagel also previously teamed on New York City comedy show “Late Night Trash Can,” in which late-night writers share jokes they wrote that didn’t make their respective shows. Hagel has continued to host after Ruffin stepped back from hosting. The show was also previously used as a segment on Late Night‘s podcast.
As the fourth panelist on the Have I Got News For You finale, Kara Swisher, pointed out, there were three lesbians on the panel this evening. Black jokingly asked if one of them was him, which led to a running joke around his gray suit with a plain top and no tie making him look a bit like Ellen DeGeneres.
Earlier in the night, setting up the announcement of the show getting another season, Wood shared a clip of Donald Trump telling a crowd, “A goodbye, we love you, we will be back in some form.”
As Wood explained, the show is set to kick off its second season in February. He thanked viewers for watching the show, as well as sharing clips and talking about it online. Those last couple items show the way the priorities of a late-night show, and what makes one a success, have changed in recent years.
In other comedy-related news discussed in the episode, they noted The Onion and its CEO Ben Collins purchasing alt-right conspiracy theory news outlet InfoWars. Breaking down what this would be like for older viewers, Wood compared the purchase to if Mad Magazine bought Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
Another late-night-centric story touched on included the fall that left former Tonight Show host Jay Leno sporting some serious injuries, with Wood explaining what Leno has in common with bubble-gum mascot Bazooka Joe.
“Both are comedians who have eye patches and should apologize to Monica Lewinsky for all the jokes they made about her in the ’90s,” Wood offered.
Closing the episode, Wood made a plea to viewers.
“We can’t wait to be back with you in February, so please hold off on any news until then,” Wood said.
We wouldn’t mind living in some less interesting times ourselves, either.
I adore Have I Got News for You! I wish it were on every night! What can I watch that’s that funny and smart until it returns next year? (I’m a baby boomer.)