Two quick thoughts: First, it's clear that the writers room for "Hacks" adores Jean Smart and the entire Seventies generation of pioneering women in comedy. Deborah Vance is a really difficult character (and they don't sand down the edges), but you understand *why* she is the way she is to have succeeded in a boys' club, and that's no small achievement.
Second, when someone tells you that "Richard Pryor couldn't work today," it's a good sign that you're talking to someone who is full of shit. Pryor wouldn't do the same show today, but his show was never about saying the N-word. It was about taking on the white power structure and making it funny. And the last five years have created an . . . ummmm . . . target rich environment.
The format of these late-night shows is definitely dated, and so the most enjoyable ones, to me, take that format and make it as absurd as possible. Conan was a master at it, and some of those bits are still pure gold.
Craig Ferguson's show was also incredible. If it's possible, it's more unhinged than Conan's show. For those that didn't watch it- there are a ton of clips from it on youtube.
I've seen it a million times, though I hadn't seen it in years, but the "...and the USA Network owns....Walker, Texas Ranger" line STILL elicited audible laughter from me today in 2021. That's good comedy right there, folks.
I heard someone, I think it was a comedian on a podcast, say that Conan was the first comedy that was theirs, that their parents didn't understand. And I think it was that for me as well. I mean, my parents didn't care for Adam Sandler movies, but that's because those were stupid. Conan was different. He was the world's wildest straight man. He had a way of putting himself in absurd situations and somehow seeming both exasperated at the absurdity and utterly at home in it. I think of one of my favorite Conan bits, him playing old-timey baseball with some weirdos. He perfectly takes the piss out of these people by making clear he finds the whole thing weird while simultaneously playing along so hard that he makes a more authentic old-timey baseballer than most of the people in the game. The Walker Texas Ranger lever is like that too: lazier comedians would make fun of the show because it was silly, but Conan recognized its silliness and knew that people like silly things, so he fully embraced the silliness.
In college, it was like Conan was made for us. We were starting to realize we'd been sold a bill of goods in the 90s, and the "post-9/11 world" made little sense. Conan seemed to plant himself in the middle of all the madness and embrace it. Maybe a little like Camus's Sysiphus. I think Conan helped us realize that it's okay not to be in control of the world and to be a gleeful participant even if you don't quite understand what's going on.
Anyway, I've now mentioned Camus, which is the sign I ought to log off. Great piece, AC.
On an unrelated note but worth mentioning, I finished the book that you sent to me (Lincoln in the bardo). It was.......very odd. But you know what? Once I got into a rhythm, pretty good! But weird, definitely weird.
My favorite Conan bit was when he visited those people cosplaying as olde timey baseball players. Comedy may change an adapt but those 4 minutes will never fail to make me laugh. That late show on NBC, coupled with his run on the Simpsons puts him firmly on my Mount Rushmore of my comedic influences.
The comedians like Adam Corolla or Nick DiPaolo will always have an audience sadly. But you're so right - Rather than adapt to the new landscape, they can rebrand themselves as dangerous truth tellers rather than be people whose tired shtick dried up years ago.
I just went down a YouTube rabbit hole the other day watching his Conan's WTR bits.
Like everyone else, I cannot remember the last time I intentionally watched a late night show. I think their real purpose is for people to fall asleep to after watching the 11 o'clock news. I cannot remember the last time I watched the late news, either. By that time, I have already heard about most of the noteworthy events for the day, sometimes from earlier news broadcasts, but mostly from Twitter. I think the almost instant information of social media combined with the ability to stream media whenever we want has freed a lot of people from the set schedules everyone followed only a few decades ago. The institutions that relied on people adhering to those schedules have had their audiences drastically reduced. A lot of people still follow the "Eat dinner>Watch prime time network TV>Watch the 11 o'clock news>Fall asleep to late night show" schedule but that just isn't how most of the people I know live anymore.
Lastly, for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would intentionally subject themselves to James Corden. At least the Roots have a steady-paying gig on Fallon so they can keep doing their thing while expanding their audience. I don't watch it because I cannot stand Fallon, but I am happy for them. It is indicative of how networks want to play it safe that it seems like they never want to refer to Tariq as Blackthought.
Conan's an interesting one. Like you I think he's funny but I haven't watched 5 minutes of any of his shows. I like his podcast. I hope he finds a format that fits his skillset.
I love Conan so much. It always fascinated me how well liked he was by a wide range of people in comedy. The podcast was great, his long sit downs on TBS were great. His embracing of the youtube outlets for so much of his stuff was great.
The fact that he took care of so many people when NBC committed unforced error after unforced error always stuck out to me. I hope the staff today is being taken care of the same way again.
Two quick thoughts: First, it's clear that the writers room for "Hacks" adores Jean Smart and the entire Seventies generation of pioneering women in comedy. Deborah Vance is a really difficult character (and they don't sand down the edges), but you understand *why* she is the way she is to have succeeded in a boys' club, and that's no small achievement.
Second, when someone tells you that "Richard Pryor couldn't work today," it's a good sign that you're talking to someone who is full of shit. Pryor wouldn't do the same show today, but his show was never about saying the N-word. It was about taking on the white power structure and making it funny. And the last five years have created an . . . ummmm . . . target rich environment.
The format of these late-night shows is definitely dated, and so the most enjoyable ones, to me, take that format and make it as absurd as possible. Conan was a master at it, and some of those bits are still pure gold.
Craig Ferguson's show was also incredible. If it's possible, it's more unhinged than Conan's show. For those that didn't watch it- there are a ton of clips from it on youtube.
I've seen it a million times, though I hadn't seen it in years, but the "...and the USA Network owns....Walker, Texas Ranger" line STILL elicited audible laughter from me today in 2021. That's good comedy right there, folks.
We listen to his podcast in the car often, and it allows him to be funny and witty without being tethered to a format or urgent events. Fun listen.
I heard someone, I think it was a comedian on a podcast, say that Conan was the first comedy that was theirs, that their parents didn't understand. And I think it was that for me as well. I mean, my parents didn't care for Adam Sandler movies, but that's because those were stupid. Conan was different. He was the world's wildest straight man. He had a way of putting himself in absurd situations and somehow seeming both exasperated at the absurdity and utterly at home in it. I think of one of my favorite Conan bits, him playing old-timey baseball with some weirdos. He perfectly takes the piss out of these people by making clear he finds the whole thing weird while simultaneously playing along so hard that he makes a more authentic old-timey baseballer than most of the people in the game. The Walker Texas Ranger lever is like that too: lazier comedians would make fun of the show because it was silly, but Conan recognized its silliness and knew that people like silly things, so he fully embraced the silliness.
In college, it was like Conan was made for us. We were starting to realize we'd been sold a bill of goods in the 90s, and the "post-9/11 world" made little sense. Conan seemed to plant himself in the middle of all the madness and embrace it. Maybe a little like Camus's Sysiphus. I think Conan helped us realize that it's okay not to be in control of the world and to be a gleeful participant even if you don't quite understand what's going on.
Anyway, I've now mentioned Camus, which is the sign I ought to log off. Great piece, AC.
On an unrelated note but worth mentioning, I finished the book that you sent to me (Lincoln in the bardo). It was.......very odd. But you know what? Once I got into a rhythm, pretty good! But weird, definitely weird.
CNN recently did a docuseries - The History Of Late Night and it devoted an episode and a half to Conan. The whole series was fantastic.
Conan was always funny, but man, I can't remember the last time I watched a late night show. The world has moved on fire me, I guess.
My favorite Conan bit was when he visited those people cosplaying as olde timey baseball players. Comedy may change an adapt but those 4 minutes will never fail to make me laugh. That late show on NBC, coupled with his run on the Simpsons puts him firmly on my Mount Rushmore of my comedic influences.
The comedians like Adam Corolla or Nick DiPaolo will always have an audience sadly. But you're so right - Rather than adapt to the new landscape, they can rebrand themselves as dangerous truth tellers rather than be people whose tired shtick dried up years ago.
I just went down a YouTube rabbit hole the other day watching his Conan's WTR bits.
Like everyone else, I cannot remember the last time I intentionally watched a late night show. I think their real purpose is for people to fall asleep to after watching the 11 o'clock news. I cannot remember the last time I watched the late news, either. By that time, I have already heard about most of the noteworthy events for the day, sometimes from earlier news broadcasts, but mostly from Twitter. I think the almost instant information of social media combined with the ability to stream media whenever we want has freed a lot of people from the set schedules everyone followed only a few decades ago. The institutions that relied on people adhering to those schedules have had their audiences drastically reduced. A lot of people still follow the "Eat dinner>Watch prime time network TV>Watch the 11 o'clock news>Fall asleep to late night show" schedule but that just isn't how most of the people I know live anymore.
Lastly, for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would intentionally subject themselves to James Corden. At least the Roots have a steady-paying gig on Fallon so they can keep doing their thing while expanding their audience. I don't watch it because I cannot stand Fallon, but I am happy for them. It is indicative of how networks want to play it safe that it seems like they never want to refer to Tariq as Blackthought.
Conan's an interesting one. Like you I think he's funny but I haven't watched 5 minutes of any of his shows. I like his podcast. I hope he finds a format that fits his skillset.
I love Conan so much. It always fascinated me how well liked he was by a wide range of people in comedy. The podcast was great, his long sit downs on TBS were great. His embracing of the youtube outlets for so much of his stuff was great.
The fact that he took care of so many people when NBC committed unforced error after unforced error always stuck out to me. I hope the staff today is being taken care of the same way again.