Gideon Evans and Kathy Egan-Taylor have spent decades working behind the scenes of some of TV comedy’s most inventive projects, from their days as field producers at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to stints on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, The Jay Leno Show, Da Ali G Show, Billy on the Street, and more.
On this week’s episode of LateNighter’s Inside Late Night podcast, Evans and Egan-Taylor join Mark Malkoff to discuss producing field pieces with correspondents like Stephen Colbert, Rob Corddry, Ed Helms, and Steve Carell, and the constant challenge of pulling segments together on tight timelines—even when key interviews fell through or shoots didn’t go as planned.
The two also reflect on the art of booking and producing man-on-the-street comedy, the evolution of The Daily Show as it grew in prominence, and the behind-the-scenes realities of making ambitious comedy with limited resources.
Now, after years of working in the same orbit, Evans and Egan-Taylor have teamed up to co-host Bad Elizabeth, an inspired podcast exploring infamous women named Elizabeth—from Elizabeth Holmes to Lizzie Borden—bringing their shared sensibility and deep production experience to a new format.
Click the embed above to listen to Gideon Evans and Kathy Egan-Taylor’s full conversation with Mark Malkoff now, or find Inside Late Night on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
As someone who was in the audience that evening, I was really glad to hear a little discussion on the shelved Michael Moore talk show pilot with OJ Simpson. And yes, from my vantage in the audience, it was absolute crazy and amazing.
I think some of the crew were aware of what was going to happen – i.e., the surprise appearance of Simpson as a guest – as I recall one woman, possibly a stage manager, walking back and forth behind the cameras and looking very mad. Moore and Simpson started just casually about the current state of football, including a new rule about receivers being allowed to wear gloves. When Moore asked “You wouldn’t have worn gloves, would you” the crowd lost their minds. I would estimate about 14 to 1/3 of the audience walked out during the whole segment.