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Seth Meyers pick: Why must late night be so white and male?

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:41:00 +0000

Let's just get this part out of the way first. It's not that Seth Meyers isn't fantastic. He is. He's charming and funny and personable. He's also, like his predecessor Conan O'Brien, a skilled writer whose boyish looks belie his dark, surreal sense of humor. (As "Saturday Night Live's" head writer, he's given the show some of its most memorably quotable moments of the past decade.)

And it's not that we like having these conversations every single goddamn time there's a vacancy anywhere on late-night television, one that is promptly filled by an affable white dude. Believe me, I'd love to write the "Hooray for this bold new era in television" story. But here we are again, America. With the official announcement Sunday that Meyers will be assuming the chair now occupied by Jimmy Fallon as host of "Late Night," our post-11 p.m. hours seem yet again to be largely safe, for the foreseeable future, from having any people of color or ovaries anywhere near them.

Seth Meyers named next host of NBC’s “Late Night”

Sun, 12 May 2013 18:46:00 +0000

With Jimmy Fallon set to take over "The Tonight Show," NBC has tapped "Saturday Night Live" head writer Seth Meyers to host "Late Night."

As reported by the New York Times:

NBC made the appointment, which had been widely expected, one day before Mr. Meyers was to be introduced to advertisers at NBC’s presentation of its new programming lineup at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.

The assignment will keep Mr. Meyers under the production leadership of Lorne Michaels, who will continue to serve as executive producer of “Late Night” as well as serving in the same position on Mr. Fallon’s “Tonight Show” as it moves to New York. (And of course, he will remain in charge of “SNL.”)

In an interview before taking the stage on Saturday’s edition of “SNL,” Mr. Meyers said, “Working at ‘SNL’ requires 100 percent of your mental capacity — on easy weeks. And so I had not really spent a lot of time thinking about what I was going to do next. Obviously I can’t quit Lorne. So this seems like a pretty good deal that I have an opportunity to keep working with him.”

While sentimental about leaving his home at "SNL," Meyers sees the move as a natural fit: “It always seemed like a logical next move,” he said. “It was just competing with the very emotional idea of leaving a place I have been for a very long time."

Must-see morning clip: Chris Christie and his fleece on SNL

Sun, 18 Nov 2012 14:29:00 +0000

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stopped by SNL's "Weekend Update" on Saturday, donning his celebrated fleece sweatshirt.

"It's basically fused to my skin at this point... I'm gonna die in this fleece" said Christie. He also took the opportunity to barb mayors who ignored his Sandy evacuation orders, "I do not thank any of the stupid mayors who ignored my evacuation orders. They're idiots. And when you ignore me, it makes you look like a real Seth Meyers."

Watch below, via Hulu: