A Little Late with Lilly Singh
American late-night talk show From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Little Late with Lilly Singh is an American late-night talk show that was broadcast by NBC. Premiering on September 16, 2019, and hosted by Canadian comedian and internet celebrity Lilly Singh, it succeeded Last Call with Carson Daly as the third and final original program of NBC's late-night lineup, airing at 1:37 a.m. ET/PT.
| A Little Late with Lilly Singh | |
|---|---|
| |
| Genre | Late-night talk show |
| Created by | Lilly Singh |
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Lilly Singh Neil Punsalan |
| Presented by | Lilly Singh |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 177 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Camera setup | Multi-Camera |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | Irwin Entertainment (season 1) Unicorn Island Productions Universal Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 16, 2019 – June 3, 2021 |
The show originally used a studio-based format similar to other late-night talk shows, albeit with its episodes being filmed in advance rather than the same day they air, and therefore having a reduced focus on current events. For its second season, the show was retooled with new production staff, and began to be filmed in a Los Angeles home rather than live-to-tape. Singh became the first openly bisexual person, as well as the first person of Indian and South Asian descent, to host an American broadcast major network late-night talk show.[1][2][3]
A Little Late was canceled by NBC on May 6, 2021, with its final episode airing on June 3, 2021, and its timeslot being given back to affiliates.
History
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Last Call with Carson Daly aired on NBC since 2002 as the third and final original program of the network's late-night lineup, behind Late Night and The Tonight Show. It was initially formatted as a studio-based talk show but was later retooled to consist of interview and performance segments filmed on-location. When Daly was announced as the new social media correspondent for Today in 2013, it was stated that Daly would be moving from Last Call to the show.[4] However, Daly would remain as host in a reduced capacity, only providing introductions between the segments.[5][6] On February 12, 2019, NBC announced that Last Call would conclude after its 2,000th and final episode, with Daly citing his desire to focus on Today, The Voice and other new projects, including a planned series for Golf Channel.[7]
NBC stated that it intended to replace Last Call with a new program.[6][7] NBC's co-chairman of entertainment George Cheeks intended the timeslot to become a "creative playground" for a personality who could be positioned as a "digital" and "relevancy" play, as opposed to a "ratings play".[8] Chrissy Teigen was suggested as a possibility, but she declined. Former Late Night with Conan O'Brien producer John Irwin suggested YouTube celebrity Lilly Singh — noting her ability to perform both serious interviews and comedic material. The Hollywood Reporter also noted that Singh's experience with online video would also bolster the program's digital presence.[8][9]
On March 14, 2019, NBC officially announced A Little Late with Lilly Singh. That night, Singh appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote the upcoming series. Singh became the first woman among the current generation of late-night hosts on the major broadcast networks, and the first late-night host to ever publicly identify as bisexual.[1] The series was executive produced by Singh and her business partner Polly Auritt (head of development for Singh's studio Unicorn Island Productions), along with John Irwin and others.[10][11] Aliyah Silverstein was named showrunner.[9]
The show maintained its own YouTube channel, featuring highlights, as well as other web-exclusive content. Cheeks explained that the network did not mind if viewers discovered the series via its YouTube content rather than on TV; clips of segments from late-night talk shows, including Fallon's Tonight Show in particular, have been major draws on YouTube. Singh thought of each episode "[having] a life for the next 24 hours" after their television premiere,[8][9] and told her writing staff that pitches had to be in the form of "the YouTube video title that's going to work with it".[12]
The network agreed to accommodate Singh's other ventures and entertainment projects, primarily by having her pre-record the first season in advance, as opposed to other late-night programs, where episodes are typically filmed the same day as they are broadcast. The first season of 97 episodes was filmed over a three-month span in late-2019.[8][9][13]
Due to this filming schedule, A Little Late was one of the only late-night talk shows to still air studio-based first-run episodes at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Singh remarked that viewers were raising concerns over the episodes on social media, as they were unaware that they had been filmed "back in 2019 when the only people wearing masks were robbers and Jim Carrey."[14]
On May 13, 2020, NBC renewed the show for a second season.[13][15] On December 1, 2020, it was announced that season two would premiere on January 11, 2021. Several production changes were made for the second season, including the addition of a new showrunner and writing staff, and having Singh film the program at a home in Los Angeles, rather than a traditional studio set.[16][17][14]
On May 6, 2021, NBC announced that A Little Late would end after two seasons, with Singh signing a first-look deal with Universal Television Alternative Studio to produce other new unscripted projects for the company, and NBC opting to "move away" from scheduling original programming in the time slot.[18]
Format
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The series featured a mix of interviews, comedy sketches and commentary "rants".[11][12] In contrast to other late-night talk shows, the first season of A Little Late largely avoided topical content, such as news satire, citing its filming schedule and larger focus on comedy and Singh's personal experiences, rather than "current information".[9]
The first season used a studio set similar to other late-night talk shows. For the second season, A Little Late began to use a house in the Los Angeles area as its studio, with a small crew present on-site, and began to increase its use of topical commentaries, with subjects having included new vice president Kamala Harris and the Proud Boys. While the COVID-19 pandemic was cited as having influenced the decision, Singh explained to Deadline Hollywood that she felt uncomfortable in a studio, describing it as a "creative crutch", and the new setting allowed her to give the show a "more inviting and warm casual" feel - including more "behind the scenes" moments - and not having to film the show live-to-tape. Singh also began to write more of her own material for sketches.[12] Of the changes, Singh sarcastically remarked during the season premiere that filming without an audience "sounds a lot like YouTube and I don't know if I have enough experience."[14]
Broadcast
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A Little Late premiered on September 16, 2019, featuring actress Mindy Kaling as its first guest. The episode was made available on A Little Late's YouTube channel at 10:00 p.m. ET, in advance of its television premiere.[19] An hour-long primetime special aired on September 18, 2019, following the season 14 finale of America's Got Talent, with guests Christina Aguilera, Tony Hale, Mandy Moore, Kenan Thompson, Milo Ventimiglia and 5 Seconds of Summer. While an expected appearance by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was promoted by NBC, it was cut prior to broadcast.[11][20]
In Singh's home country of Canada, A Little Late was acquired by Global. It aired as a lead-out for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — airing an hour earlier (12:35 a.m. ET/PT) in the Eastern and Pacific time zones than its U.S. scheduling.[21]
In February 2021, NBC announced that reruns of A Little Late would be replaced temporarily on Friday nights by airings of Peacock's The Amber Ruffin Show.[22]
The show remained in reruns after its final episode until August 13, 2021; the next Monday, the half-hour was given over to affiliates, either for a repeat of their late local newscasts, other programming or a network-provided replay of the NBC Nightly News.
Reception
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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that the first season of A Little Late with Lilly Singh holds an 82% critic approval rating based on eleven reviews, with an average rating of six out of ten. The site's critical consensus reads: "The delightful Lilly Singh breathes fresh air into the world of late-night comedy with an energetic new show that's willing to play with the format in ways that will keep viewers looking forward to staying up A Little Late."[23] Metacritic reports a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on four critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[24]
The premiere episode attained steady ratings, in comparison to the finale of Last Call.[25] In October 2019, it was reported that the series had an average of 666,000 viewers for the early portion of fall 2019 and a 0.16 rating in adults 18–49 per episode, which were below those of Last Call for the same period (780,000) from a year prior.[26] In May 2020, The Hollywood Reporter characterized the first season's ratings to have been "comparable" to that of Last Call, and that the show led all first-year shows in 2019–20 in online social engagements.[27]
In a positive review, Shirley Li from The Atlantic opined that while Singh's monologues came off as "awkward", she excelled in interviewing the series' guests, during which she delivered "some of her best, off-the-cuff humor."[28] Caroline Framke of Variety also gave the series a positive review and commended Singh as an "engaged interviewer capable of steering the conversation where it needs to go."[29] In addition, the segment "Lilly Is Struggling to Date Women" was nominated for Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode at the 31st GLAAD Media Awards.[30] "Lilly Responds to Comments About Her Sexuality" was nominated and won the same award at the 32nd GLAAD Media Awards.[31] The show was also nominated for an MTV Movie & TV Award, for Best Talk/Topical Show,[32] and a Canadian Screen Award, for Singh as host.[33]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award Show | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 8th Canadian Screen Awards[34] | Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award | Nominated |
| 31st GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode ("Lilly is Struggling to Date Women")[35][36] | Nominated | |
| 2021 | 32nd GLAAD Media Awards[37] | Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode ("Lilly Responds to Comments About Her Sexuality") | Won |
| 2021 MTV Movie & TV Awards[38] | Best Talk/Topical Show | Nominated |
Episodes
Season 1: 2019–2020
September 2019
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 16, 2019 | Mindy Kaling, Rainn Wilson | |
| 2 | September 17, 2019 | Kenan Thompson | |
| 3 | September 18, 2019 | Milo Ventimiglia & Mandy Moore, Christina Aguilera | |
|
The Primetime Special. Includes in-studio cameos by Kenan Thompson and Tony Hale, a pre-filmed cameo by Chelsea Handler, and musical guests 5 Seconds of Summer. | |||
| 4 | September 18, 2019 | Tracee Ellis Ross | |
| 5 | September 19, 2019 | Chelsea Handler | |
| 6 | September 23, 2019 | Jessica Alba | |
| 7 | September 24, 2019 | Elizabeth McGovern, Allen Leech, Hugh Bonneville | |
| 8 | September 25, 2019 | Anna Faris | |
| 9 | September 26, 2019 | Jim Gaffigan, Antoni Porowski | |
| 10 | September 30, 2019 | Barbie Ferreira, Alexa Demie | |
October 2019
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | October 1, 2019 | Tegan & Sara, Alexandra Shipp |
| 12 | October 2, 2019 | Meghan Trainor |
| 13 | October 3, 2019 | America Ferrera |
| 14 | October 7, 2019 | Katy Mixon, Titus Burgess |
| 15 | October 8, 2019 | Natalie Portman |
| 16 | October 9, 2019 | Kal Penn, Kiran Deol, Moses Storm |
| 17 | October 10, 2019 | Nikki & Brie Bella |
| 18 | October 21, 2019 | Paula Abdul, Nicole Scherzinger |
| 19 | October 22, 2019 | Rosario Dawson, Zoey Deutch |
| 20 | October 23, 2019 | Justin Hartley, Lea Michele |
| 21 | October 24, 2019 | Jenna Dewan, Nick Offerman |
| 22 | October 31, 2019 | David Arquette, Justin Willman |
November 2019
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 23 | November 4, 2019 | Lake Bell, Jason Clarke |
| 24 | November 5, 2019 | Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Ferguson |
| 25 | November 6, 2019 | Ashley Graham |
| 26 | November 7, 2019 | Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Diego Boneta, Gabriel Luna |
| 27 | November 11, 2019 | Adam Devine |
| 28 | November 12, 2019 | Tyler Perry |
| 29 | November 13, 2019 | John Cena, Bindi Irwin |
| 30 | November 14, 2019 | Jenny Slate, Kathryn Hahn |
| 31 | November 18, 2019 | Constance Wu |
| 32 | November 19, 2019 | Rainn Wilson, Matteo Lane |
| 33 | November 20, 2019 | Ginnifer Goodwin, Chase Bernstein |
| 34 | November 21, 2019 | Tig Notaro, Susan Kelechi Watson |
| 35 | November 25, 2019 | Thomas Middleditch, Martin Starr, Zach Woods, Amanda Crew |
| 36 | November 26, 2019 | Jillian Bell, Utkarsh Ambudkar |
| 37 | November 27, 2019 | Esther Povitsky, Brenda Song |
| 38 | November 28, 2019 | Snoop Dogg |
December 2019
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 39 | December 9, 2019 | Tony Shalhoub, Ne-Yo |
| 40 | December 10, 2019 | Thomas Lennon, Aisling Bea |
| 41 | December 11, 2019 | John Legend |
| 42 | December 12, 2019 | Deepak Chopra |
| 43 | December 16, 2019 | Daisy Ridley |
| 44 | December 17, 2019 | Leslie Odom Jr. |
| 45 | December 18, 2019 | Malala Yousafzai |
| 46 | December 19, 2019 | Charlize Theron |
January 2020
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 47 | January 6, 2020 | Russell Peters, Michael Ealy |
| 48 | January 7, 2020 | Adam Rippon, Iliza Shlesinger |
| 49 | January 8, 2020 | Rhett & Link |
| 50 | January 9, 2020 | Brett Gelman, Rosanna Pansino |
| 51 | January 13, 2020 | Madelaine Petsch, Mena Massoud |
| 52 | January 14, 2020 | Francia Raisa, Debby Ryan |
| 53 | January 15, 2020 | Cameron Monaghan, Noel Fisher |
| 54 | January 20, 2020 | Awkwafina |
| 55 | January 21, 2020 | RuPaul |
| 56 | January 22, 2020 | Abigail Spencer, Rodrigo Santoro, Michael Palascak |
| 57 | January 23, 2020 | Fortune Feimster |
February 2020
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 58 | February 3, 2020 | Ilana Glazer |
| 59 | February 4, 2020 | D'Arcy Carden, Ali Kolbert |
| 60 | February 5, 2020 | Wendi McLendon-Covey |
| 61 | February 6, 2020 | Stephanie Beatriz |
| 62 | February 10, 2020 | Joseph Gordon-Levitt |
| 63 | February 11, 2020 | Nico Santos, Sabrina Jalees |
| 64 | February 12, 2020 | Shan Boodram, Chris Sullivan |
| 65 | February 13, 2020 | Natasha Leggero, Moshe Kasher |
| 66 | February 24, 2020 | Lana Condor, Sofia Carson |
| 67 | February 25, 2020 | Karen Gillan |
| 68 | February 26, 2020 | Beth Behrs, Tichina Arnold |
| 69 | February 27, 2020 | Retta |
March 2020
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | March 2, 2020 | Taran Killam |
| 71 | March 3, 2020 | Erin Moriarty |
| 72 | March 4, 2020 | Jo Koy, Erinn Hayes |
| 73 | March 5, 2020 | Jameela Jamil |
| 74 | March 9, 2020 | Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Vanessa Gonzalez |
| 75 | March 10, 2020 | Chrissy Metz, Marlena Rodriguez |
| 76 | March 11, 2020 | Rob Corddry, Pete Holmes |
| 77 | March 30, 2020 | Tyra Banks |
| 78 | March 31, 2020 | Natalya Neidhart, Paige & Alexa Bliss |
April 2020
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 79 | April 1, 2020 | Terry Crews |
| 80 | April 2, 2020 | Aisha Tyler, Rob Huebel |
| 81 | April 6, 2020 | Adam Rippon, Anna Camp |
| 82 | April 7, 2020 | Adam Rodriguez, Kelsey Cook |
| 83 | April 8, 2020 | Ron Funches |
| 84 | April 9, 2020 | Abby Elliott, Adam Pally |
| 85 | April 13, 2020 | Tan France |
| 86 | April 14, 2020 | Nikki Glaser |
| 87 | April 15, 2020 | Lauren Ash, Ben Feldman |
| 88 | April 16, 2020 | Kevin Nealon |
| 89 | April 17, 2020 | Reggie Watts |
| 90 | April 27, 2020 | Sara Foster, Erin Foster |
| 91 | April 28, 2020 | Jay Shetty, Humble the Poet, Subhah Agarwal |
| 92 | April 29, 2020 | Adam Conover, Deon Cole |
| 93 | April 30, 2020 | Phoebe Robinson |
May 2020
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 94 | May 4, 2020 | Phil McGraw |
| 95 | May 5, 2020 | Larry Wilmore, Quinta Brunson |
| 96 | May 6, 2020 | Christina Hendricks |
| 97 | May 7, 2020 | Mark Cuban |
Season 2: 2021
January 2021
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 11, 2021 | Saweetie |
| 2 | January 12, 2021 | Brie Larson |
| 3 | January 13, 2021 | Rainn Wilson |
| 4 | January 14, 2021 | Stone Cold Steve Austin |
| 5 | January 18, 2021 | Gitanjali Rao |
| 6 | January 19, 2021 | Craig Robinson |
| 7 | January 20, 2021 | Karamo Brown |
| 8 | January 21, 2021 | Javicia Leslie |
| 9 | January 25, 2021 | Mike Colter |
| 10 | January 26, 2021 | Marsai Martin |
| 11 | January 27, 2021 | Vir Das |
| 12 | January 28, 2021 | Mary Holland |
February 2021
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | February 1, 2021 | Russ |
| 14 | February 2, 2021 | Adam Mosseri |
| 15 | February 3, 2021 | Richfresh |
| 16 | February 4, 2021 | Alok Vaid-Menon |
| 17 | February 8, 2021 | Jay Pharoah |
| 18 | February 9, 2021 | Jagmeet Singh |
| 19 | February 10, 2021 | Priyanka Chopra |
| 20 | February 11, 2021 | Taraji P. Henson |
| 21 | February 15, 2021 | Chris Redd |
| 22 | February 16, 2021 | Machel Montano |
| 23 | February 17, 2021 | Patton Oswalt |
| 24 | February 18, 2021 | Lily Rabe |
| 25 | February 22, 2021 | Bob the Drag Queen |
| 26 | February 23, 2021 | Tracee Ellis Ross |
| 27 | February 24, 2021 | Beth Behrs |
| 28 | February 25, 2021 | Randall Park |
March 2021
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | March 1, 2021 | Sarah Chalke |
| 30 | March 2, 2021 | Fortune Feimster |
| 31 | March 3, 2021 | Alexi Pappas |
| 32 | March 4, 2021 | Andy Puddicombe |
| 33 | March 8, 2021 | Elsa Majimbo |
| 34 | March 9, 2021 | Kathryn Hahn |
| 35 | March 10, 2021 | Zach King |
| 36 | March 11, 2021 | Lena Dunham |
| 37 | March 15, 2021 | M. Night Shyamalan |
| 38 | March 16, 2021 | Kelly Marie Tran |
| 39 | March 17, 2021 | Laverne Cox |
| 40 | March 18, 2021 | Jerry Springer |
| 41 | March 22, 2021 | Melinda Gates |
| 42 | March 23, 2021 | Ayesha Curry, Kristina Wong, Eve Torres Gracie |
| 43 | March 24, 2021 | Whitney Wolfe Herd |
| 44 | March 25, 2021 | Renee Montgomery |
April 2021
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 45 | April 5, 2021 | Tig Notaro |
| 46 | April 6, 2021 | Julian Dennison |
| 47 | April 7, 2021 | Amber Ruffin |
| 48 | April 8, 2021 | Padma Lakshmi |
| 49 | April 12, 2021 | RZA |
| 50 | April 13, 2021 | Maitreyi Ramakrishnan |
| 51 | April 14, 2021 | Margaret Cho |
| 52 | April 15, 2021 | Caleb McLaughlin |
| 53 | April 19, 2021 | Nick Offerman |
| 54 | April 20, 2021 | Abdullah Saeed |
| 55 | April 21, 2021 | Teddy Swims |
| 56 | April 22, 2021 | Brett Chamberlin |
| 57 | April 26, 2021 | Keke Palmer |
| 58 | April 27, 2021 | Justin Baldoni |
| 59 | April 28, 2021 | Yvonne Strahovski |
| 60 | April 29, 2021 | Rupi Kaur |
May 2021
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 61 | May 3, 2021 | MJ Rodriguez |
| 62 | May 4, 2021 | Kal Penn |
| 63 | May 5, 2021 | J. B. Smoove |
| 64 | May 6, 2021 | Whitney Cummings |
| 65 | May 10, 2021 | Humble the Poet |
| 66 | May 11, 2021 | Jimmy Tatro |
| 67 | May 12, 2021 | Hasan Minhaj |
| 68 | May 13, 2021 | Natalie Wynn |
| 69 | May 17, 2021 | Matty Matheson |
| 70 | May 18, 2021 | A. R. Rahman |
| 71 | May 19, 2021 | Eitan Bernath |
| 72 | May 20, 2021 | Jay Shetty |
| 73 | May 24, 2021 | Nithya Raman |
| 74 | May 25, 2021 | Ryan O'Connell |
| 75 | May 26, 2021 | Andrew Rannells |
| 76 | May 27, 2021 | Payal Kadakia |
| 77 | May 31, 2021 | Jaren Lewison |
June 2021
| No. | Original release date | Guest(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 78 | June 1, 2021 | Wedding Episode |
| 79 | June 2, 2021 | Tan France |
| 80 | June 3, 2021 | Season Finale |
References
External links
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