Now what am I supposed to do tonight if I can’t watch Stephen Colbert?
Just kidding, I haven’t watched a late night show in years, probably since Dale Earnhardt presented the top ten list on David Letterman back in 1998.
But in a blow to the literally tens of people who tune in to late night shows regularly, it appears that the shows will be going on an indefinite hiatus after the Writers Guild of America announced a work stoppage amidst a breakdown in negotiations with the group representing studios and producers.
The writers’ strike is the WGA’s first since 2007-2008, which lasted for just over 3 months and brought the production of new scripted content to a halt, along with the late-night shows.
Well here we are again, and once again we’re faced with a world without late night shows like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night With Seth Meyers.
But as news of the shutdown of late shows began to spread on Twitter, many were celebrating their forced hiatus.
No one cares.
— Real Nowhere Man 🇺🇸 (@DavidBugnon) May 2, 2023
— 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚢 𝙺𝚗𝚒𝚕𝚕 (@courtneyknill) May 2, 2023
And nothing of value was lost pic.twitter.com/pgd07zvR5U
— Patrick (@patricksp71) May 2, 2023
They pay people to write there horrendously, unfunny shows?
— Rob MacDonald (@RobMacD35127984) May 2, 2023
I love that this will not impact me one single bit. pic.twitter.com/6bs0qz6HFM
— von Scrappy (@notscrappy530) May 2, 2023
Just brutal.
Of course during the last strike, the late night shows slowly started coming back before the strike was officially over. But with many of the shows taking breaks over the summer anyway, it could be awhile before we see new material from any of the late-night hosts. (Although let’s be honest, when was the last time we saw any new material from them even with the writers?)
There’s no word yet on whether Saturday Night Live will also be impacted by the strike, as it was in 2007, which says that a decision will be made closer to showtime as to the fate of SNL.
