“Late Night is joyful to make, and we try to make it joyful to watch. With what’s happening in the world—we have to present that there is still a place to be with people who you love, respect, and care for. I hope it’s cathartic to watch because it’s incredibly cathartic to do.”
-Seth Meyers, episode 419 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
For the past twenty-four years, Seth Meyers has built a comedy career inside the walls of 30 Rock. We join him there today for our Father’s Day special, reflecting on the past decade of Late Night.
At the top, we talk about making the show four nights a week (3:35), his approach to parenting as seen in his HBO special Dad Man Walking (10:38), and the formative lessons that shaped his comedic voice (14:25). Then, we unpack the characters he brought to his SNL audition (18:45), what it takes to get a sketch from read-through to air (25:09), and an infamous 2004 scene Seth performed opposite Donald Trump (30:40).
On the back-half, Meyers revisits his legendary White House Correspondents Dinner monologue (38:09), how that night unexpectedly set him on the path to Late Night (44:00), and how his singular approach to the talk show was born (45:10). To close, we take A Closer Look at his Strike Force Five co-hosts (46:30), the future of SNL (52:40), and an early memory of Seth’s father that inspired his creativity (55:12).
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at mail@talkeasypod.com.
Watch this conversation on YouTube:
Show-notes:
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- Watch Late Night with Seth Meyers.
- Listen to Seth’s podcasts Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers, The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast, and Strike Force Five.
- See his standup specials Dad Man Walking and Lobby Baby.
- For more talks, hear Bill Hader, Natasha Lyonne, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
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Illustrations by Krishna Shenoi. Reference photograph by Sarah Schneider.
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