The Late Night Sausage Fest.

[trumad]

It seems teh Women's are not amused. AND I don't blame them.

http://thinkprogress.org/culture/2015/09/14/3701355/vanity-fair-celebrates-all-male-titans-of-late-night-television/

[Xithras]

1. Years ago, Joan Rivers explained the problem this way...

For those of you too young to remember, Joan Rivers was the permanent guest host for The Tonight Show when Carson was hosting it, and later a short lived late night show of her own. She was probably the most successful female late night TV host ever.

Rivers said that the problem with getting female hosts into late night TV is that late night TV producers tend to choose their show hosts from the ranks of stand up comics. She pointed out that there are relatively few female stand up comics compared to the number of male stand up comics, and even fewer who aren't "shock" comediennes and will appeal to a wide audience. So why aren't there more female stand up comediennes? Because American's don't buy tickets to see them at their local comedy clubs. She said that it isn't a "Hollywood problem", it's an "America problem". If a female comedienne can't be successful at the local comedy clubs, she'll never go national and won't ever have a shot at top jobs like late night TV.

[Raine1967]

5. What was the last show that had guest hosts at all?

I like your post a lot, but it really got me wondering, since Carson, who has had guest hosts?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

11. I'm not even sure anyone did it BEFORE Carson.

[Xithras]

13. Many of them still do.

Hosts get sick, take vacations, etc. Most shows still have guest hosts that fill in from time to time. A number of months ago I was watching the Late Late Show when Drew Carey was guest hosting it, and he was as funny as ever. I know that Letterman also had a lot of guest hosts over the years...including Jimmy Fallon. Most shows do it when they need to, but it's not something they try to schedule in.

The Tonight Show was an oddity in that it had consistent permanent guest hosts who stepped in periodically, pretty much whenever Carson wanted a break from the show. That ended when Joan Rivers left, because Carson felt that Rivers had betrayed their friendship and used his show to springboard her own talk show career. After she left, Carson decided that he wasn't going to be "used" again, and ended guest hosting entirely on his show. The Tonight Show didn't have another guest host until Leno took over, and he wasn't really big on guest hosting himself, so it's remained a rare thing ever since.

[yeoman6987]

16. Amy shumer was offered a late night gig

And turned it down. I remember Wanda Sikes had a fun late night show for a number of years. Queen Latifa and Monica did as well. Both fun.

[AngryAmish]

25. Joan Rivers had a show in the 80s.

She had Husker Du on. No idea who those Minnesota tweakers were. It is on youtube.

It was big for us punk rock kiddies back in the day.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

27. I dated a late night (generic phrase) producer at one time

She saw it primarily as a financial and scheduling issue. No sane in demand comedienne is going to forego opportunities for movies or sitcoms to work the grueling Late Night format. She just saw it as different career arcs for men and women. She said there were some women she would have loved to work with and saw some amazing screen tests. But if she was in-front of the camera and she was choosing between sitcoms and movies or filming a talk show 200 days a year, she wouldn't pick the talk show either.

[bettyellen]

36. I tink Tina Fey covered this aspect of show business really well in Bossy Pants.....

and it had nothing to do with how hard anyone is willing to work. That book was an eye opener.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

37. I haven't read it, but I want to

I don't think she was implying laziness, just that a high performing female comedian might be presented with different opportunities and not necessarily worse one.

One of her projects that went nowhere was trying to get an actress who was on a popular 90's sitcom to cover a talk show over the summer. She showed me the screen test and some mock interviews and they really were great. The actress completely improvised three different monologues and interactions with a house band of cardboard cutouts. But at the end of the day the actress didn't see much of a point in doing it. It was just a couple months she wasn't available for filming and even if she really killed it and was offered the real thing, she wouldn't have wanted it.

Whereas you take a dweeb like Jimmy Kimmel or Conan as NBC found him probably didn't have any better prospects and were just lucky to get it in the first place.

[bettyellen]

38. I agree about Conan and Kimmel being dweebs. Which begs the question why there are no female dweebs

Last edited Wed Sep 16, 2015, 01:10 PM - Edit history (2)

on late night TV. Because if things were equal, we would have them on the air. According to you, women have to have much more talent and opportunities in order to be in the running for these jobs. That is the status quo and it is so prevalent, we don't even notice how wrong it is. That says it all.

But the sexism in SNL was rampant according to Fey. Always trying to "improve things" by always sticking a guy in the skit, even if the part was for a woman and awkward drag was the solution. to the point that producers said things like "who would want to see two women?" and I think that was about Fey and Amy Pohler, which is just nuts. Fey struggled working with people she largely respected, but came up against their self admitted bias against women writers and performers all the time.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

39. Different opportunities aren't nessisarily unequal or lesser ones.

The female dweeb might just be presented with different opportunities, opportunities this female producer acknowledged to be better.

If you as an actor or comedian, male or female have any potential for film or sitcom work, you absolutely 100% should not do this.

[bettyellen]

40. we are talking about this specific opportunity - and why it is so often given to mediocre men.

You don't really believe all the women who tried for it had better things to do? All putting themselves out there for a lark? All too talented? Come on now.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

41. I didn't say they are mediocre, I said they are dweebs.

The format is what it is and requires a certain cadence, swagger and personality and certainly many women have it. But that probably isn't going to be someone who escaped from the writer's room or tells dick jokes.

[bettyellen]

42. those dweebs are actually pretty mediocre. but you have a bagful excuses that make no sense, so lets

just end it here.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

44. Forgive me for thinking a woman who was a producer on multiple late night programs...

could have any insights on them or their casting what-so-ever.

[bettyellen]

45. if the logic was consistent, I'd buy it. As I said, I think Tina Fey nailed it pretty well.

[Shrek]

2. I have no idea who most of those guys are

I recognize Colbert, Kimmel, Fallon, and Maher.

[Snobblevitch]

3. Don't you even recognize Conan O'Brien?

He's been a late night television talkshow host for over 20 years.

[Shrek]

7. The guy next to Colbert

Didn't notice him upon my initial viewing of the photo, thanks.

But I don't recognize any of the rest, even after careful inspection.

Edit: wait, is that the SNL guy next to Fallon? Does he have a late-night show?

[Snobblevitch]

22. Frankly,

if fame and longevity is taken into account, Colbert is standing next to O'Brien.

I too don't recognize many of those in the photo.

[ohheckyeah]

29. Seth Myers

from SNL. He did the news and now has his own show.

[KamaAina]

4. And it's a Weisswurst

with the possible exception of the guy sitting below Colbert.

edit: Wait, is that Trevor Noah? I'd forgotten about him, because for some bizarre reason, Comedy Central is holding back his premiere until the 28th.

[Aerows]

17. I hope I'm wrong

But I think Trevor Noah doesn't have the chops to fill Jon Stewart's shoes. He already had the controversy about some borderline racist tweets and personally I don't find him very funny.

John Oliver is one of the only people that COULD fill Jon Stewart's shoes effectively and he has his own show now.

Aasif Mandvi, IMHO, would have been a better choice than Noah. Hell, I can barely stand Samantha Bee, but at least she and her husband Jason Jones could keep the show interesting.

I guess we will see.

[TreasonousBastard]

18. I believe that's Larry Wilmore on the upper right.

[KamaAina]

26. D'oh!

So Comedy Central holds a monopoly on late-night hosts of color. Hmmm.

[Warren DeMontague]

6. People still watch tv?

Shit, I hope at the very least you're not still actually paying for it.

[LanternWaste]

8. Sounds almost as bad a problem as people still reading comic books

Sounds almost as bad a problem as people still reading comic books, listening to albums or reading books. Let's hope they're not paying for those also. The horror. The horror.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. Oh, no "horror", friend! None at all!

Personally, we discovered that the combination of a 35 dollar antenna to pull HD channels for free out of the air (delightfully retro, no?) plus HBO and Netflix, which we were payin' for anyway, is just as satisfying as spending an extra bucket o' cash every month for 400 channels of crap, like "ice road truckers".

YMMV, of course.

The only one of the 'sausages' in the OP that I've watched in the past several years is Bill Maher, but his shtick is a bit too repetitive for my taste. Mr. Colbert and Mr. O'Brien are funny, to be sure.



Never read comic books, myself- but 'albums'? Speaking of delightfully retro! I do enjoy buying the occasional one from itunes, but I am blessed with musical tastes that lend themselves to terabytes of free, band-sanctioned live recordings available on the interwebs.

[trumad]

19. Love television ...

I guess I haven't hit that I'm to cool to watch television mode.

[Warren DeMontague]

20. I'm too cool to spend 100 bucks a month on ice road truckers and sasquatch hunters, I admit it.

Where do you live, man?

There are sites which will tell you what HD broadcasts are in your area for free. Probably a lot of good channels you can pull off the air.

[tabasco]

21. Many people choose to cut cable/sat for many reasons

Least of which is probably to "be cool." In fact, a lot of people just can't afford it anymore. If you haven't heard, wages haven't really kept up with the cost of living lately.

Personally, I think more people should turn that shite off. I'm glad I did.

[trumad]

23. uh rabbit ears are about 5 bucks.

[tabasco]

24. Uh, where I live and many people live

Rabbit ears don't pick up shit.

But it's mostly garbage on the idiot tube, so I can see why many people just stopped watching, even if they can get free TV.

[Facility Inspector]

32. It's a pretty rarefied zone to be that cool

I reside in that zone.

television is a mighty suckhole.

You should try destroying your tv and living without it. It's a reward in itself.

Don't snark it before you try it.

[Heeeeers Johnny]

9. One guareenteed result from that article and Twitter comments

Most, if not all of those guys will be making "sausage fest" jokes, parodies and skits for the next week.

[madinmaryland]

15. Heh! Funny that someone who has Ed McMahon's tag line comments in a thread

about late night talk show hosts!!

BTW, Welcome to DU!!

[madinmaryland]

12. Late night television jumped the shark years ago. I would rather put

ESPN Sports Center on to see how few fans showed up to a Marlins game than watch late night talk shows.

If that doesn't work, then I'll just put something on Netflix or Hulu on.

[snooper2]

33. No, Reggae Shark jumped the Shark

&feature=youtu.be

[LostOne4Ever]

28. I still think Jessica Williams should have been tapped as the new host of the Daily Show (nt)

[Initech]

30. Jessica Williams herself declined because she thought she wasn't experienced enough.

I know it's way too early to judge Trevor Noah because his show hasn't started yet, but I can't imagine his show lasting as long as Jon Stewart's does. If he isn't a viable replacement, I can bet that Jessica Williams will be his immediate replacement. Besides, it was a joke in "Hot Tub Time Machine"!

[Shrek]

31. Is Chelsea Lately still on?

I used to like that show but I don't think I've seen it recently.

[RockaFowler]

34. She went to Netflix

I miss her show on E!

But yeah she was the lone Female in Late Night
Pretty sad

[blogslut]

35. ...

Samantha Bee Verified account
‏@iamsambee

.@VanityFair BETTER

https://twitter.com/iamsambee/status/643476935172038656

[Agschmid]

43. Rec'd for the title alone.

[progressoid]

46. Saw Samantha Bee's trailer for her show last night.

[trumad]

47. Ha---had to start a new thread... Love it.