Seth Meyers acknowledged that there is a lot of uncertainty about late-night TV shows following the cancellation of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. During an appearance on podcast Armchair Expert, Meyers reflected on how the end of his own show, Late Night With Seth Meyers, would impact him.
On the podcast, host Dax Shepard asked if Meyers had any fear that Late Night might “end tomorrow.”
“I do,” Meyers admitted. “I mean, only because it is such a time we’re living in, as far as the entertainment industry. There is this weird thing that I feel like I shifted from fearing that I wouldn’t be good enough. And now my fear is weirdly more outside of my control, which is… just at some point, the ecosystem might not support [late night]. I guess that’s better than thinking it’s your fault, but it is weird to not feel any control over it.”
He added that he tries to focus on what he can control, which is hosting the show. “That’s the only part they’re paying you to do. It’s the only part you’re good at,” Meyers said. “All the other problems, we have people that are as good at that as you are at the thing you do — and don’t mess around with it.”
Later, co-host Monica Padman asked Meyers about his financial stability if Late Night did get cancelled. Meyers said he is more worried about his mental stability. “I would worry about myself mental health-wise,” he said. “But I put a lot of thought into diversifying my skill set. Certainly, financially, I could have been fine just doing the show for the last eleven years. But then it was like, ‘Oh, you know what? I feel like there’s something to trying to build a stand-up career and trying to do other things.’”
He continued, “It’s more like, ‘Try to find something that makes you as happy as late night’s making you.’ But it’s not just to have busy work or anything. It’s like, ‘Oh, I like these things, too.’ And there’s no one entity that can take everything away at once, and I think that’s the scariest situation to be in.”
Earlier this month, CBS announced that The Late Show would come to end next May, citing “financial” reasons. Although CBS lauded the show for being the top-rated late-night show for nine seasons, calling it a “staple of the nation’s zeitgeist,” many have speculated that the cancellation is political.
Love Music?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in Australian/New Zealand music and globally.
On a recent episode, Colbert acknowledged that “now for the next 10 months, the gloves are off.” He said, “I can finally speak unvarnished truth to power and say what I really think about Donald Trump starting right now. I don’t really care for him. Doesn’t seem to have the skill set to be president. Just not a good fit.”
Trump celebrated the cancellation on Truth Social and claimed that Jimmy Kimmel, who hosts Jimmy Kimmel Live at ABC, is “next.” “Nope. No, no. Absolutely not, Kimmel,” Colbert replied. “I am the martyr. There’s only room for one on this cross. And I gotta tell you, the view is fantastic from up here.”
On the same episode, Meyers appeared on The Late Show to show support for Colbert alongside fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, and John Oliver.
From Rolling Stone US
