Back to school? Not quite yet for late night. Despite having just come off 2-3 week breaks following the Summer Olympics, it’s about to become very quiet after 11:00 for another week.
All of the nightly late-night shows will be dark the week of August 25th for the last week of summer.
Most are due back the day after Labor Day, Tuesday, September 3rd, to kick off their new seasons.
The start of the new season also means the return of Jimmy Kimmel, whose show has been in guest-host mode while Kimmel was out on summer vacation. Since late June, Jimmy Kimmel Live! has been hosted by the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, Lamorne Morris, Martin Short (and Jiminy Glick), Anthony Anderson, Kathryn Hahn, Kumail Nanjiani, Jeff Goldblum, and RuPaul. As a result, Kimmel has missed chances to sound off on some of the biggest political stories of the year, including the assassination attempt of Donald Trump and the Democratic ticket swap of Joe Biden for Kamala Harris.
Meanwhile, when Late Night with Seth Meyers returns on September 3, it’ll be the show’s first week without a live house band, following the departure of The 8G Band last night. Earlier reports suggested a larger “revamp” of the show when it begins its 11th season, but time will tell what (if any) form that takes
Late Night’s timeslot competitor After Midnight is also due back September 3rd to kick off its second season. The CBS late-late night entry has been dark since late July.
Fresh off a triumphant week of shows in Chicago, The Daily Show is taking a slighly longer break. Jon Stewart and team are due back Monday September 9th.
After months of a writers/actors strike,
a four day work week for some, and multiple vacations; it seems over the air TV is trying it’s hardest to kill TV, especially ‘live’ shows that depend on current events.
I do not begrudge Colbert getting ill, or Kimmel for medical family leave, but I am curious. What’s the normal nights worked for these shows anyway?
And what kind of collusion is it that they all go dark at the same time?