Court Jesters of Modern Late Night Comedy
The English called them "licensed fools," we call it late night.
I watched the Biden/Trump debate at a friend’s house, with a bunch of guys from church. We sat in the garage and smoked cigars, and decided almost immediately that it wouldn’t be wise to take a drink every time Biden said the phrase “The idea.”
It was a great time of fellowship I will probably always remember because of its historical significance, but I think the thing we all remember the most was immediately after the debate.
“Stay on CNN and let’s see how they spin this.” I said.
They didn’t spin it.
I remember everyone kind of in shock, looking around the room at each other. It was so incredibly dystopian watching this network who has never said one bad thing about Biden in the past four years suddenly turn in unison within 90 minutes.
“Looks like the CIA gave them permission to turn on Biden” I jokingly said.
“CNN is the CIA.” Someone said as Anderson Cooper was speaking.
He was right. It was eerie. I can’t explain it. You always know the media is lying to you, but very rarely do you get an up close and personal seat behind the scenes. The political commentators were admitting during the debate they were in talks with “Democratic Operatives” and “Barack Obama.” There was no hiding what happened, they were lifting the curtain, just briefly, but it was enough. It is time to make the move.
Release the court jesters.
And so over the past few weeks, late night comedy has shifted into what we always hoped it would be. Hard hitting and hilarious attacks on the Biden administration. Where was this for four entire years? Their ratings were slipping, networks have been debating if Colbert and Fallon are the last late night talk show hosts. Corden was replaced with a game show. The Daily Show hasn’t had a permanent host since Trevor Noah. But they did bring Jon Stewart back.
I am very fond of Jon Stewart, he was always a liberal, but there was something about his early comedy that even when I disagreed with him, he made me laugh. He’s probably one of the few comedians that can attack Donald Trump in such a way that can make me laugh. Because the jokes are so well crafted and for the most part actually based in truth. Sure, Trump is “our guy” but our guy creates a lot of opportunity for comedy. It’s dishonest to say otherwise. His Trump eating Pizza with Sarah Palin Pizza Rant is perhaps one of the greatest demonstrations of attacking Trump with satire in such a way that everyone laughs. No matter who they voted for.
And being able to do that is a superpower.
He then went on to do a brief stent at Apple+ that was so unwatchable and uncomfortable that he quit the show mid-season. I am not sure what happened there, and if I ever get to meet Jon, I would love to ask. But it felt like Apple wanted to write the jokes for him, and Jon wasn’t having that.
So he came back to his home. The Daily Show. For one night a week. Most of his monologues are pretty forgettable and partisan, but occasionally Jon returns with the brilliant satire that made him the GOAT. Take the monologue he did on Wednesday, for example. He went after both Trump and Biden in what was phenomenal joke craft. Demanding that if Trump is as much a threat to democracy as they say he is, they must replace Biden. Which begs the question, does Jon Stewart really believe Trump is a threat to democracy? Is he subtle in pointing out that the whole line is a lie? He might believe it. But great satire leaves room for that debate and allows both sides to laugh at their own.
Stephen Colbert is also a brilliant comedian. But something changed in his transition from Comedy Central’s Colbert Report to host of Late Night. It always felt to me like they got to him somehow. Like the job wasn’t to make people laugh anymore. It was to attack Trump, night after night. The Colbert Report had perhaps some of the best political satire in the history of modern television. The Colbert SuperPAC telethons, the debate with NT Wright, and even debating Richard Dawkins. It was an incredibly thoughtful show.
Playing the character of Bill O’Riley, a hyped up conservative political pundit, Colbert did so in such a way you always second guessed if he was attacking republicans or liberals. This is the perfection of that show. True comedic satire always leaves you guessing what the comedian actually believes. He did this with such fine-tuned perfection, that he routinely had Bill O’Riley on as a guest and even did a fake debate for charity with him. Excellent satire can make enemies your friends.
But something happened at CBS. Like on debate night a few weeks ago, that moment of transformation was captured live on television in 2016. When Stephen Colbert is interviewing the political correspondents, and they let him know with all certainty that Trump beat Hillary Clinton.
Around seven minutes in, Mark Halperin says to Stephen Colbert, “A good line for a comedy show, eh.” to which he replies “I don’t think it’s a comedy show at this point.” then at eight minutes in Colbert gets word that Trump won Florida and his guests inform Colbert that it’s pretty much certain that Trump will be the next President.
From that moment out, Colbert was right. It was no longer a comedy show. It was almost as if he had orders to prioritize political messaging over pure comedy. His face changes. He looks down. He almost cries. There is this optimistic side of me that thinks Trump winning wasn’t for him disappointment that his favorite candidate didn’t win, but that his show had to change, and he couldn’t be a comedian anymore. Maybe, he knew at that moment what he had to do in order to keep his job, maybe even his life. We know what happens when court jesters make fun of the king. But Trump is not the king, CBS is the court of the Deep State. He serves at their behest.
Over the past seven years, Colbert’s show has degraded into the very definition of a court jester. As history would call the British royal jesters “Licensed Fools” I think this defines modern network comedy best. They have a job. The broadcast networks have a very valuable and exclusive FCC license they must keep in good standing. You can’t make the king look bad, while performing in his courts.
We have not even gotten to Jimmy Fallon touching Trump’s hair and “humanizing” him. That single event alone resulted in The Tonight Show losing Josh Lieb, and hiring a new show runner Jim Bell, who was an NBC News producer of The Today Show. Yes, you heard that right. Touching the hair of Trump, something that was funny and humanizing to everyone, forced NBC to bring in a news producer. That lasted for one year.
Since this time, comedy has shifted to the underground. Joe Rogan’s Mothership, Kill Tony, Conan Needs a Friend, Fly on the Wall, Your Mom’s House, Bobby Lee, Theo Von and countless others. These shows produced in basements and secret locations have far surpassed the viewership and prestige of the Late Night shows. Conan sold Needs a Friend for fifty million dollars to Sirius. Joe Rogan allegedly has a 250 million dollar deal with Spotify.
They are making more money with more freedom than any of them could have on a network. And they have followings that far surpass anything the Networks have seen since Carson. And many of these hosts, including Conan, have alluded to comedians who lost themselves to keep their job. This comes up several times, and every time you know they are referring to Colbert and Jimmy Fallon, there is a sadness to it. They never mention their names, but you can see it.
It’s never the court jesters that have long-lasting cultural impact. Comedy performed in the courts remain in the courts. They perform for the elites. But outside the courts you always have rebellious comedians, storytellers and poets who break the rules and in many instances give their lives.
Fallon recently hired a new showrunner, one described as having “deeper ties to the host.” I hope this means that Fallon returns to form, giving us more sketch comedy and singing. This is what Fallon was known for. He’s a true, renaissance man but he’s not a political comedian and that is exactly why he’s perfect for Tonight.
I also still have hope that it is not too late for Colbert. Why would I say that? In this clip of Colbert interviewing John Mulaney, Colbert returns to Comedy Central form discussing deep theological and philosophical subjects with Mulaney.
At ten minutes in, Colbert lets the veil come off, just for a minute, and says:
“I accuse myself of weakness, that I think that I actually do not have an ethical core, is my fear… I imagine that when Pontus Pilot had Christ up there and said “Who do I release, Barabbas or Christ?” I’d go, “release Barabbas!” I’m pretty sure I would have done the same thing as the crowd… I would have gone with the crowd. That’s my fear.”
And Mulaney responds, almost as if they forget the cameras are recording:
“I have that fear too, and when you are faced with getting your head chopped off, that would be pretty stressful.”
This is exactly why the Bible says that cowards go to hell. Because cowardice is what leads to going with the crowd, it led to Pilot washing his hands. Cowardice is the hallmark of a court jester. Fearfully, vetting every joke to make sure it can be done safely without any heads being taken off. Comedy with permission of the King.
Court Jesters might have access to all the beltway parties, they might get a few minutes with the President and other significant politicians. They get to eat from the King’s table. But they don’t sleep well.
I doubt Colbert will ever see this, but I do want him to know that there are people praying for his bravery. That he might be given courage from outside himself and one day, perhaps live on TV, maybe even on election night, we will see that courage return.
The world's gonna world...
I stopped caring about these folks before the pandemic turned them into a parade of fools. Hollywood’s political driven decision making sucks all authenticity out of the room.
Frankly if Loor just put out one authentic weekly comedy show on YouTube it could have enormous impact. And nobody could stop it.