Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Filming on iPhones, stuffed animals as props: Stay-at-home orders change late-night TV
Late-night shows are recorded on iPhones, guests are joining via Zoom, and monologues are delivered without laughs from an audience. We speak with Matt O’Brien, head writer for “Conan."
By Madeleine Brand • • 1 min readMost of the late-night TV shows are now back from their brief coronavirus hiatus with a much more minimalistic look. Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Conan O’Brien, and many other hosts are now broadcasting from their homes to comply with stay-at-home orders. There are no lavish sets, cushy in-person celebrity interviews, or highly produced field pieces.
Instead, shows are recorded on iPhones, guests are joining via Zoom, and monologues are delivered without laughs from an audience.
We talk about what it’s like to put on a late-night show now with Matt O’Brien, head writer for “Conan” on TBS. (Conan O’Brien and Matt O’Brien are not related.)
The full episode
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The full episode
4 of 5Food waste during COVID-19- 0:00Tossed crops, dumped milk: Coronavirus disrupts US food supply
- 7:15Facing record demand, LA Regional Food Bank donates millions of pounds each week
- 13:12Hair’s too long, barbershop’s closed? How to groom in quarantine
- 21:27Filming on iPhones, stuffed animals as props: Stay-at-home orders change late-night TVYou’re reading this
- 36:09John Prine, Hal Willner, Adam Schlesinger: Remembering musicians lost to COVID-19