We do our darndest to cover the late-night landscape in real time, but not every item gets the full stop-the-presses treatment. Here are the latest items to slip through the cracks.
Kimmel Trolls McConnell’s Proof-of-Life Pic
Jimmy Kimmel may be off for the summer, but that isn’t stopping him from getting in a few shots from the sidelines.
After Mitch McConnell posted his much-shared proof-of-life photo Sunday, Kimmel responded with a little Instagram mischief of his own: an apparently AI-generated image recreating the shot, only with Kimmel himself seated beside McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao.
“For those who’ve been asking, I’m feeling great,” Kimmel captioned the image.
Rosie Shoots Her Shot at Rihanna
Speaking of Kimmel, Rosie O’Donnell took to social media this weekend in hopes of landing a dream guest for her upcoming week hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
O’Donnell, who is set to guest host the ABC late-night show the week of August 17, posted a photo of Rihanna and A$AP Rocky to Instagram with a direct invitation for the singer: “I’d love to interview u on Kimmel – the week of Aug. 17!”
So far, no public yes from Rihanna. But the ask does give fans something to root for ahead of what was already going to be one of the more closely watched guest-host weeks of the summer.
Kimmel announced O’Donnell’s guest-host stint before heading off on break, presenting it as something of a summer gift to President Trump. “And for a special treat for our commander in chief,” Kimmel said, “I asked one of his all-time favorites, Rosie O’Donnell, to be here to keep the hits coming.”
Marcello Hernandez Gets Ready for His ESPYS Close-Up
Marcello Hernández’s first major awards-show hosting gig is almost here.
ESPN has released a trio of promo photos for Wednesday night’s ESPYS, with the Saturday Night Live cast member tuxed up ahead of his hosting debut.
It’s a big platform for Hernandez. The ESPYS aren’t quite late night, obviously, but they do require a very late-night-adjacent skill set: live-room energy, joke delivery, celebrity crowd work, and the ability to make athletes pretend they enjoy being roasted on camera.
Gary Kroeger Pulls Triple Duty in New Horror-Comedy
Former Saturday Night Live cast member Gary Kroeger has joined the upcoming horror-comedy Don’t Scream, Don’t Hide, Just Run!, and he won’t be making it easy on himself.
Kroeger is set to play three roles in the film, in addition to serving as an executive producer. The project comes from stand-up comedian Ricky Glore, whose credits include Dry Bar Comedy and Troma’s Sweet Meats.
The film is scheduled to shoot in September in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati.
YouTube Late-Night War Heats Up
Last we checked in on the extremely online skirmish between YouTube late-night shows Good Night with Ben Gleib and After Tonight with Tommy Afters, the latter had infiltrated Gleib’s paid Zoom audience during a live taping, then spent much of the rest of its own episode taking shots at him.
Gleib apparently did not find the bit funny.
On this week’s After Tonight, Afters said Gleib tried to call him twice on Instagram, then sent “seven full paragraphs unsolicited” late on a Friday night. According to screenshots Afters shared on his show, Gleib accused him of making offensive comments about his girlfriend and team, said his staff was afraid to come to work, and warned that his legal team and law enforcement had been alerted.
Afters framed the whole thing as an attempt to silence a fellow late-night host. Gleib, clearly, sees it differently.
Leno and Letterman, this is not.
