@fter Midnight, a funny, intentionally stupid, unpredictable and entertaining late-night show, has been following The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for the last couple of years – and it comes from the same shop. Sadly, the week of June 9 is the end of the line; there won’t be a third season. And that’s a damn shame.
Taylor Tomlinson, who’s been the host of this fake game show/showcase for comedians, actors, and the occasional head case, is an absolute joy, and I’ll miss catching up with her four days a week.
The internet trivia/game show format is both restrictive and an opportunity. The ‘funny’ answers – and yes, that’s an open question – to the silly questions and mini-games are clearly written and planted, but there’s also room for the participants to go off-script, and when they do it’s often the best part of the show. And then there’s Tomlinson – smart, open, and absolutely transparent about who silly this whole thing is in the face of the current, sad world.
Season 3 of @fter Midnight wasn’t exactly canceled. Maybe that was in the cards, I don’t know, but before CBS made any official announcement, Tomlinson – who’s an exec producer on the show – and Colbert announced that she was stepping away from the show and going back to full-time stand-up, touring the country in venues large and small. That’s a pretty ballsy thing to do — to walk away from a network show, even a little-appreciated late-night ‘stunt’ – but that was the decision, and both she and Colbert seem okay with it.
Truthfully, I’ve only had glimpses of Tomlinson’s stand-up show. The clips aren’t over the tight fifteen; they’re clips of her sitting on a couch with a co-host or talking directly to the audience, and that’s what makes her so damn attractive: she listens, she responds, and she brings that same self-awareness and no-bullshit attitude to @fter Midnight… which is why it’s a shame to see her go.
If you’ve been a fan, you can catch the last week starting Monday, June 9. If not… ya missed it. I assume CBS will leave it up for streaming, at least for a while, and Tomlinson is all over the socials, and there are three concert shows on Netflix right now, including the most recent one — with more to come, I hope,
But I’m sad she can’t do both, and keep me company in the middle of the night. Regardless… thanks, Taylor. Let’s keep in touch.
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