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Will America lose sleep over…not losing sleep?
The landscape of entertainment is always changing, as anyone can see through the ins and outs of the 2025 TV schedule. But if there’s any sector that feels that sort of uncertainty more than others, it’s late night programming. While the most notable examples we’ve seen are stories like The Tonight Show’s episode cuts, it hasn’t gotten too apocalyptic out there. But between Jimmy Kimmel’s recent prediction, and Seth Meyers’ take on where late night is going, any aspiring talk show hosts may want to adjust their expectations.
It sucks to hear it, but according to Jimmy Kimmel Live’s own host, we may be down to one late night show on network TV within the next 10 years. Making this prediction as part of an interview with the podcast Politickin’ with Gavin Newsom, Marshawn Lynch, and Doug Hendrickson, ABC’s own stalwart of the format doesn’t see a rosy future for the landscape that Johnny Carson, among others, helped pioneer. But when you read his reasons why, it sadly makes total sense:
It used to be Johnny Carson was the only thing on at 11:30; and so everybody watched. … But now there are so many options, and maybe even more significantly, the fact that people are able to easily watch your monologue online the next day, it really cancels out the need to watch it when it’s on the air. And once people stop watching it when it’s on the air, networks are gonna stop paying for it to be made.
What’s even crazier is the fact that thanks to the viewing patterns of audiences these days, Jimmy Kimmel believes that the internet has also reduced the level of competition among his contemporaries. So while you’ll still see fans ranking late night hosts, and ratings reports trumpeting who’s on top this week, folks like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon aren’t duking it out like Letterman and Leno were in the ‘90s.
As far as Seth Meyers’ thoughts on the matter are concerned, he does back Mr. Kimmel’s call. But while he also has his own bittersweet reflection on his career’s path, he does show some signs of optimism.
(Image credit: NBC)
A separate interview with Variety, on behalf of his stand-up special Dad Man Walking, saw Seth Meyers falling in line with his ABC counterpart. The NBC host of Late Night with Seth Meyers even went as far as touting Jimmy Kimmel as the host who best understands the current late night machine.
Reflecting on the potential decline of late night, Meyers showed his gratitude for how he entered the game, and how he’s “bummed” for those who want to be the next late night hit but won’t have that specific shot in the future. But he did temper that outlook with this bit of optimistic thinking:
…when you think about podcasts, they have just as big of a reach as we ever had. Interesting voices are always going to use the technologies they have at hand to find an audience. So, if you’re a great lover of the institution of late-night talk shows, there’s probably some sadness in your future. But if you love funny people telling funny jokes and talking to people in interesting ways, that’s always going to be available.
To see the medium shift so far from those halcyon days is sad, but even with Meyers and Jimmy Kimmel’s prognosis in mind, it’s comforting to know that topical comedy will always find an audience. The only real change may be the format, and the venue it’s presented. For now, you can find Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET, and Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC at 12:35 p.m. ET.
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