Were Buck Buchanan‘s 12 years as a Late Night with Seth Meyers cameraman all but a dream…?
Buchanan, a Late Night with Seth Meyers camera operator since the NBC series’ February 2014 launch, got a meta little send-off on Thursday night at the close of this week’s Corrections episode.
The setting for Buchanan’s swan song was apt seeing as he was a big Corrections fan—at least judging by his often prominent off-camera laughter. (Corrections is taped after the Late Night audience is sent home, with only the crew available to react to Seth Meyers‘ wry jokes.) Meyers would on occasion clock and/or call out “Buck’s” reactions, and Buchanan has also sometimes appeared on-camera.
At the close of Corrections Episode 161, cued up above, Meyers reaches for his final note card, on the back of which is the stealth message, “BYE BYE BUCKY.” Snow then begins drifting down from above, onto Meyers at his desk.
“What’s… what’s going on?” a confused Meyers asks. “Does anybody know what’s going on?”
The scene then dissolves to a snow globe with a miniature Seth/desk inside. Buchanan is revealed to be holding said snow globe—à la young Tommy Westphall at the end of NBC’s St. Elsewhere infamous series finale.
“I’m Buck, and each and every one of you is a figment of my imagination,” Buchanan announces with a grin. “None of you are real, none of this is real. See you in my dreams!”
And off Buck went, to focus on his other NBC gig, at the Today show.
Buchanan has been a Late Night with Seth Meyers camera operator since the show’s first episode. During his 12-year run on the NBC program, he also for a time pulled double duty on Peacock’s The Amber Ruffin Show, which was headlined by the Late Night scribe, as well as at Today.
