Welcome to the first week of New Normal for late night. Jimmy Kimmel got reinstated on Tuesday after his “indefinite” suspension last week for … unclear. What FCC chair Brendan Carr said last week about the situation differs greatly from what he said this week, and both differ from a transcript of Kimmel’s actual remarks about Charlie Kirk’s assassination. On his first night back, Kimmel began his monologue with the same words Tonight Show host Jack Parr said in 1960 following a dispute he had with NBC over free speech: “As I was saying before I was interrupted …”
It was a huge night for Kimmel, with his comeback becoming the most-watched standard episode of the show ever. And that was despite still being preempted in a quarter of markets! And it includes episodes back in the 2000s when people actually watched network TV live! Every late-night host’s boat seemed lifted by Kimmel’s rising tide. The hosts were punchy, and the guests were pulling out all the stops. Here’s who really stuck the landing this week in late night.
5.
Louis Partridge Does His Party Tricks
Louis Partridge learned two incredibly fun-at-party skills for House of Guinness. One: He worked with his accent coach to do several different eras and classes of the Dubliner Irish accent, which he can now transition between with great facility. And two: He can split the G from muscle memory. Partridge did his entire Late Night segment while pouring a Guinness, letting it settle, then drinking it perfectly. If you see someone split the G IRL, it is miraculous. It’s no less impressive live to tape on late night.
4.
The Daily Show Gets Raptured
The large number of contributors to The Daily Show made it the best platform to do a good bit about the Rapture That Wasn’t. Jordan Klepper hosted a segment where all the correspondents got sucked off to heaven, utilizing the show’s green screen to its best effect in years. Plus, they found a fun tag of each correspondent being confused to meet O.J. Simpson once they arrived at the pearly gates. You’d be surprised by that too — admit it.
3.
Stephen Colbert Is One Cool Dinosaur
The most important clip on The Late Show this week was Gavin Newsom saying with his full chest that he doesn’t think we’ll have elections in 2028 if we keep going the way we’re going. But the funniest clip on The Late Show this week was of Stephen Colbert trying to light a cigarette while having Pachycephalosaur (similar to T. rex) arms. Colbert has always committed to his space work; he always puts away his mimed props after every monologue bit. This notion of a cool dino who smokes is the natural extension of that commitment. Wish he’d taken a drag, though.
2.
Lisa Ann Walter Gives America What It Wants
Lisa Ann Walter came into Jimmy Kimmel Live! in a pageant gown and carrying pasta she made herself. She told Kimmel she wanted to give America what it loves the most: “a nice home-cooked meal and a great rack.” Is she wrong, folks? She’s not. Walter synthesized her talk-show shtick with the current moment, entering the space with strong game while also finding a way to mention Kimmel’s current hero status — and without belaboring it, which is a needle most talk-show guests cannot thread.
1.
Seth Meyers Queerbaits America
This is a link-up for the ages. Every time Seth Meyers interacts with Las Culturistas, it’s the best vibe hands down. That’s why Meyers has won “Best Vibe, Hands Down” two years in a row at the Las Culturistas Culture Awards. The innocent flirting between these three men who do not want to fuck each other will keep TikTok fan editors fed for at least two months. And with the “name the iconic diva pop song in one second or take a shot” bit, the Late Night producers have developed a game that will echo on through Gay Guy Music Video Nights for centuries to come. I could tell Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang did not want that game to ever end. And in living rooms across WeHo, it won’t.