Although people out in cable-land can turn to the reliable comedic sensibilities of folks like Samantha Bee and Trevor Noah, it’s one of those begrudgingly accept maxims of the TV universe that network late-night hosts really only come in a single flavor: White, and male. Now, NBC is finally getting ready to break that apparent stranglehold of Jimmys, Seths, and Stephens on network TV’s nighttime talk show offerings—albeit only for a show that airs at 1:35 in the morning. (Still, that’s progress, right?)
Variety reports tonight that Lilly Singh—who got her start as a ridiculously popular YouTube star, operating under the channel name IISuperwomanII—has been tapped to take over Carson Daly’s old Last Call spot, replacing it with a new series titled A Little Late With Lilly Singh. Singh went on her new lead-in’s lead-in The Tonight Show this evening to talk about the news, accepting congratulations from Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, and announcing that the show will likely debut this September.
Singh’s accomplishments over the last few years are numerous, and include films, books, and being a YouTube celebrity who’s somehow resisted the siren call of blurting racial slurs at Fortnite opponents while poking dead guys with a stick. She described her new series as an extension of her channel, which features comedy videos, vlogs, and that one time she hung out with The Rock.
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Canadians invading America and taking the jobs
fact: 3 out of 4 American jobs are currently being filled by a Canadian.
—hot Canadians.
-mmmmmm…Neil Young…
Yeah, she’s a regular genius.
She follows a high-fiber diet?
….who?
is on first.
was bound to happen eventually. whatever.
I’m always surprised by literal nobodies having millions of Youtube subs. This is why Youtube should just ditch its algorithms and create jobs for people to just watch and curate Youtube instead.Lori Loughlin’s daughter had 2 million subs doing nothing but nail polish videos. Must be those USC rowing team victories I guess.
counterpoint: if you have millions of people watching your YouTubes, you are no longer “a nobody” per se; your fame has merely not made it to TMZ and the AV Club yet. And possibly there is an all-YouTube TMZ or AVC that offers reviews and gossip and snark but we’re just not bothering to look for it, either.
I’m very excited. I have no idea who she is, but what the hell.
But will this match the cultural impact of Last Call with Carson Daly?
Not to be a party pooper here, but it wont last. Her fan base goes to bed at 10:30 to get up for 7th grade in the morning. Also, I find here whole shtick pretty grating. Hey, a check is a check so good for her.
Yeah, but not many people are going to watch her show live anyway. If it does well with DVR and YouTube audiences, it’ll still be a win for NBC.
Possibly for NBC, especially of the show goes overboard with the product placements/sponsorships/endorsements ala Kimmel. I do see it as a really tough sell for an affiliate to move its ad space if no one watches any ads, no matter what.
She’ll also be the first openly LGBT late night host, right?
I actually wonder how much she’ll be able to publicize that on the show. On an earlier timeslot at NBC she’d probably have to downplay being openly bisexual but being on at 1:35, the network may be more lax especially as time goes on because there won’t be that many people tuned to make a fuss.
I doubt it will come up enough to make a fuss? I don’t watch any one late-night show regularly, but I can hardly remember the hosts themselves mentioning their wives. Maybe Fallon if his wife’s BFF Drew Barrymore is on, but I think Seth mentions Stefon more than his real-life wife.
I rarely catch late night shows but I think the times that I have, Kimmel, Meyers and Cordon have managed to mention anecdotes about their wives and (less often) their kids. I don’t watch Lily’s content but if her bisexuality and/or queer topics are part of usual YouTube content, I wonder if it’ll make the transition over to tv.
Never heard of her, never seen her before, but I like her hair and she seems kinda fun, so sure. Go for it, internet person!
NETWORK: We need a new late-night host. Someone more interesting than Carson Daly.
PRODUCER: How about LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE?
I love how NOBODY in this talkback has heard of this person. Neither have I.
Didn’t she do that thing that time?
To be fair, no one had any idea that Carson Daly was still on the air, either and I doubt anyone in their twenties even knew who he was. She’s probably still more famous than Carson at this point to somebody. Not of any of us, but somebody.
I’ve seen a couple of her videos and they were VERY Youtube humor, which is to say, not terribly funny unless you’re 13.
“YouTube’s Lilly Singh”She belongs to YouTube.
*guffaw* A YouTube “celebrity”? I’VE never heard of her!The comments are extra fun when the snobbery arises.
Ironically, I’ll probably be watching her late night highlights on YouTube since 1:35 is way past my bedtime.
Carson Daly died for this?
has any YouTuber made a successful leap to MSM?