Why All Late-Night Talk Shows Look The Same - Cheddar Explains 

I'm not from the US and I legit through all of those talk show where the same, just with a different host by season.

Graham Norton is the best host as he actually let's the guests interact with each other.

Interesting to note how the UK differs. Two of the most successful current shows are Graham Norton and Jonathan Ross. Norton sits in an office-chair-style armchair stage right, his guests sit on a long couch stage left, having entered from the rear between the two seats. Ross does have a desk, but he is again stage right and the guests on a couch stage left. One of the most famous and successful ever, Terry Wogan in the 80s, again had no desk, although the stage left/right set-up matched the 'US formula'. Interesting how different things work for different audiences.

Conan's remotes set him apart from other talk shows.

Conan is my guy, going to miss him after tonight. He was just starting a new format when it all shut down. Was excited to see how it would work.

it's a bit weird how this video excluded Conan

My favourite late night show is “Graham Norton”, I’m British, and the interesting thing is that the show’s stage layout and show format subverts almost everything that has been stated in this video.

I completely forgot that Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon are two different people

There is another thing challenging the late night formula: podcasts and Internet shows. And as Letterman himself said while a guest on such a show, "This is the future as it should be."

In the Netherlands, they have tried this American set-up of talkshows but it has proven unsuccessful. The standard, most commonly used set-up is just a large table with various guests sitting around it. You see that a lot less in the US.

As Shakespeare noted: “Exit Stage Left, pursued by a Bear”.

That explains why John Oliver's white void felt more comfortable. I assumed it was due to the persistence of high quality footage, but even when other hosts got better webcams, the intimacy of their home offices were very unsettling. It's like running into a teacher/coworker/etc at the grocery store, somehow they seem out of place, and despite knowing that logically they don't live at the place you usually encounter them, it still feels unnatural.

I prefer the set-ups that The Late-Late Show and The Daily Show use. The former is like a television podcast for its monologue while the latter has more of a youtube flair to it with it using graphics and little skits

Do the hosts always have to laugh artificially and obnoxiously?

I’m from the Netherlands and when visiting NYC February 2020 (before hell started) I went to the Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert shows. It felt so surreal to see the desks in real life, almost like a cartoon so tiny in comparison to the whole studio. The conversation with the guest happened from such a distance that it was impossible to follow without mics. In my country the talk shows are usually one or two hosts and several guests who can interact with eachother and have discussions about everything. The audience is sitting around the table in the back and are usually drinking beers and wines from the bar in the studio. They are much closer to the conversation and make or break the atmosphere

Graham Norton does things differently

CRAIG FERGUSON had the best late night show in history. It's a reason why it's not featured in this video because Craig's show is not generic. It's one of the most unique late night shows I have seen as it was his intention, deconstructing the late night genre. He has a gay robot skeleton for a sidekick and a pantomime horse for some reason. There's puppets and awkward pauses. And it's probably the only late night show I saw that its host didn't pander to his audience. It's a riot of a show. It's so good.

UK and Irish talk shows regularly depart from this pattern. It might just be an American thing.

wait, the often referenced "Hereeee's Johnny" from The Shining is in itself a reference to a late night show?

Graeme Norton: “ I'll ignore all that”

In Mexico "Otro Rollo" with the host Adal Ramones, had some variations to the formula (they sat on a couch instead of a desk and a chair). But the left/right formula was kept.

Craig Fergus on was the last late night TV show with his own personality that was pleasant to watch alongside his comedy relief robot skeleton named Geoff Peterson.

To answer the closing question: does The Eric Andre Show count?

No mention of CoCo? For shame, Cheddar. 😔

Surprised you didn't mention Arsenio Hall. He never had a desk and his show was on for 6 years.

The best talk show is “The Graham Norton Show” in the UK it’s so much better than the US shows. Guests all interact with each other, usually whilst drinking glasses of wine etc.

In the Netherlands we have a long tradition of Late Night talk shows centered around a table where guests sit on. The only exception that maintained the American set-up was Jensen in the early 2000 but all other nightly talk shows (Pauw&Witteman, RTL late night, de Vooravond, DWDD, M, Op1) all used the desk approach. There are two shows that originally tried something different to my knowledge: Jinek in the first season on the NPO where she used a couch set-up like Graham Norton (no desk), and Beau who used the full on American set-up like shown in the video including monologue and Desk. Both shows however changed after one season and one month respectively eventually ending up with the table on which the guests will join. I think this is interesting as it shows a large difference between what viewers of different countries like, or even society in general. There US audience it would appear much more looks like guests are people of stature, by emphasising the host being above their guests and viewers being part of the host crowd it opens up a fragility in the guests as if they are opening up more. In the Netherlands however we don't like placing people on a pedestal like that. Placing them all on a table only emphasis hoe everybody is equal - in fact when the guest needs to make place for other guests they often sit in the background among with the audience making them equal to the audience of the show whether they are an expert in biology, a music star or even a minister of the current government . Based on those observations I'd say that it is more than just a remnant of a tiny stage on an old show but a reflection of what society values and approaches media. It makes me wonder if shows will truly change or in the end fall back on one visual format once again. It also makes me wonder what talkshow visuals in other countries say about their value...

The one with craig ferguson was the best late night show in recent memory.

When game show producer Merv Griffin created his independent talk show to compete with Johnny Carson in 1965, he used a completely different format. He sat, downstage center, with guests on either side, coffee table in front, with an orchestra upstage, and a curtain between that closed during the interview segments. That show ran for 20 years and was eventually acquired by ABC. And, there was also Tom Snyder's Tomorrow Show, which followed Carson on NBC, with a one on one format, without an audience. It ran from 1973 t0 1982 and was replaced by Late Night with David Letterman, followed by the news show NBC News Overnight, with Linda Ellerbee and Lloyd Dobyns/Bill Schechner, which last about a year.

And to me Craig Ferguson was the most original host, so far away from the boring and repetitive late night format. Pure chaos, and to this day I still re-watch those clips which is something I'd never do with Fallon and the fake laugh.

I like the 'in-studio with no audience' versions recently. Stephen Colbert and especially Seth Meyers are great when playing only to the crew. The laughs seem more genuine, and the level of banter between presenter and crew makes the whole thing seem more personal and intimate. I really hope that some producers realise the potential of this kind of format.

The best late night show host ever was Craig Ferguson.

And then there’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver…

There is only one King. Conan.

I think it’s interesting how most shows with the stage-right up-stage format seem to have men hosting whereas when women host similar shows, they’re often in that more open and equally-staged format.

For those who watch Conan, all the other shows are garbage.

This is exactly why The Graham Norton Show is my favourite chat show in comparison to a lot of American ones as it disproves essentially all of this points. Norton's stage is flipped so he's on stage right. He doesn't have a desk. He has all the guests on at the same time so they can all banter and interact with each other. Everyone is on the same level, Graham isn't above the guests. And it's just a lot more of a relaxed atmosphere. Matt Damon even said it was the best time he's ever had on a talk show. There's a really good video from when Graham went on Stephen Colberts show where they discussed the differences in their approaches. I also think the no desk Jay Leno thing was probably about the execution rather than the idea itself.

@4:05 Here's Johnny! I had no idea this meme was from Johnny Carson until right now... I thought the meme was from Jack Nicholson in the Shining lol

Late late show with Craig Ferguson was the peak of television

I miss the Arsenio Hall Show

When James Cordon took over the Late Late Show he reversed the set, and was criticized in the media for it at the time. Now his show is a huge success. So the formula can be changed sometimes. I think people care more about how talented the host is, and how interesting the shows guests are. Everything else is trivial.

James Corden’s show is getting really interesting as of late. Watching the “monologues” is like seeing what the day to day life working there is like.

The current hosts are all unwatchable, regardless of where they are or how they sit.

Trevor Noah and Seth Meyers have thrived in their small at-home formats. They don’t need an audience or canned laughter to be funny, they ARE funny!

I love how they didn’t mention Arsenio Hall. He didn’t have a desk. Although he was seated to the right, he found relative success until his cancellation for his interview of Farrakhan.

here to celebrate Conan TBS' farewell!

I don’t know if the pandemic is to blame necessarily. I think it was more the hosts not wanting to adapt. Tom Snyder hosted the 12:30 slot without a desk or studio audience. In a lot of ways he was ahead of his time. One iteration of his show simulcast his show on tv and radio. It’s not that far from the video podcasts of today.

Don't lump Conan with the rest of these jokesters.

I’m not always a Cheddar fan but this one was very informative and well-written and produced. Thanks for the great content.

The Eric Andre show is the only late night show i can actually watch

Too long didnt watch: network television is scared to break tradition in fear of losing money by upsetting advertisers in a moment of authentic live interaction they script it full of safe interactions to the point youre watching one long ad

I ADORED Busy Phillips' show, and her set was made to look like a living space

not only do they look the same, they have the same opinions and political affiliation.

In the Netherlands everyone is sitting at a table together. This breaths equality and cosines. Makes celebs more relatable.

Here in Brazil, some of the most popular talk shows have been formatted following that same old canned recipe - all really successfully.

Canadian talk shows are a bit different, often giving the guest more control over the show

Fun Fact: In other cultures where they read from right to left or up and down, stage placement principles needs to change accordingly. Or they will view heroes as villains and visa versa.

6:15 Typical Cheddar, omit the most critical reason why Jay Leno Show was bombing it was because they slotted the show at 10PM. Personally, I find Jay Leno to be a massive bore but that is besides the point.

I never noticed the importance of old legacy stage positions were to late night talk shows. Very interesting.

These shows are just ads for the "today's guests" new projects...

Only Conan is actually interesting…

What of the UK? Graham Norton sits on stage right, in a chair, 3-4 guests on a couch to his left, stage left; equal height. Same for other UK talk shows.

James Corden, in the regular configuration of the 'Late Late Show', is seated stage right with the guest stage left, w/o a desk and on the same level. For the 'Colbert Report', Stephen Colbert -in character- would sit across the guest at a table -him on stage left, for a confrontational setup.

Last week tonight. I think the "man with no guests and a desk talking about issues" is enjoyable

On German TV Harald Schmidt started with a bit of a fun, anarchy format (Schmidteinander) that already included a desk (but upstage right, so on the left of the screen). His later Harald Schmidt Show copied pretty much the American format with a desk on stage left, a guest seat or two on stage right. An example from Austria would be "Willkommen Österreich" which is co-hosted by Stermann & Grissemann, sitting behind a large desk in background with their guests in front (stage right).

The Graham Norton show is a good late night show it the British equivalent to Conan or kimmel late night chat show

Gotta love the amber ruffin show. That started in the pandemic and has a different yet so fun format.

From Europe, what a weird TV you have...all the same, just different faces... amazing.

Im surprised nothing was mentioned about how The Colbert Report interviewed guests.

Interesting that they didn't mention the one obvious current exception in American late night... The Late Late Show with James Corden. James has a desk for comedy bits, but rolls out from behind to do interviews in his office chair. James sits stage right while the guests sit on the couch at stage left, and James and the first guest tend to be same distance up/down stage. I guess it's like Graham Norton as other commenters said, which is fitting since Corden comes from the UK.

As a European I just get the feeling American television just tries to produce the most 'efficient' programs possible. When somebody finds a formula that works, everybody just copies it and sticks with it. With talk shows, news channels, reality TV. No matter who produces them, they all look, sound, are edited and structured the same way. Also American late night shows come across to me as just one gigantic commercial fest. Every guest always is there to 'sell' something.

Bill Maher breaks the mold, and that's why he is great.

The Pit Stop has a non traditional format and it works. Asian talk shows also have non traditional ones and its more laid back

I don't know man, the joker seemed the dominant even though he was right stage

Great video, as always! They never fail to disappoint.

I find this rather interesting, and that's on watching the Late Late Show with James Corden because I admire how cohesive the host & the guests are, even thru video

Imagine doing an video about late night shows and not mentioning Conan

Way too many host's names start with 'J'

Spanish late night shows like El Hormiguero, while having a few similarities to those in other countries, have their own tropes. Having celebs do quirky stunts and tons of in jokes. The power Inbalance is not physically seen, but instead you see the guests being mocked. Oddly Latin America seemed to be more fond of weekend variety shows well until the 2000s.

It kinda sucks that the 1-on-1 experience like "The Alec Baldwin Show" didn't work, since that's very similar to what Jimmy Kimmel is doing now, or at least from what was shown in that last clip of him in this video I liked that there was no audience & it was just two people talking to each other. That's what I came to see anyhow: the celebrity being interviewed by the host.

Televisions became common in the 50s and ubiquitous by the 60s. …Given that only 0.5% of households in the US had a TV in 1946, I would not say families gathered around their televisions in the 40s.

You don’t blame a desk for the failure of a show

4:05 "Heeeeeeerre's JOHNNY!" Me: *"Why am I not seeing Jack Nicholson!?"*

cheddar really went out of their way not to mention conan lmao

The most interesting info here was about stagecraft. It will help me understand the character interactions when I watch our local Shakespeare theatre.

I was obsessed with the top 5 latenight shows during the pandemic. I was surprised because I wasn't interested before COVID except special guests. I've also become blah about the latenight shows in last couple of months. Unbeknownst to me, I apparently don't like the status quo. However, seeing the hosts in studio, without being behind a desk, also bothered me. 🤷🏼🤦🏼 Check out the Behind the Desk: The Story of Late Night podcast for more indepth historical information.

Graham Norton's on the left, because that's the correct side to drive on the road

I think Conan and Craig Ferguson really hit a good middle ground between milk toast host and eric andre feverdream

How did you not once mention the best late night show of all, The Eric Andre Show

I've never watched these late night talk shows. And i don't feel like I'm missing out 😆

Overall very good. I learned a little bit. Now I want to y is it in the early talk shows they let (asked) guests to sit on set the entire show. In the 21st century 9 times out of 10, the first guest departs at the ad break & another guest appears & he / she disappears again at the break until the music act appears

And yet not every host can be self aware of the cyclical pattern of late night and few of them are Craig Ferguson, that that try to rip apart the pattern of late night by making fun of it with the shy fellas bands, a horse clown, mouth organ, and of course Geoff the robot skeleton sidekick. Craig always said that the skeleton embodies the tiresome pattern of late night show sidekick.

when he was a guest on kimmel,obama talked about 5:22

Never knew how chauvinist/sexist this show format is until now. Let me recap: Woman pioneers the format, but she's removed to day time television instead of prime time, because women should be working in home day time. Then they put men in charge and elevate their power position in every way: they raise their chair above the guests, they dominate talk, they put desk in front of them to tell everyone they are the authority (judges, teachers, offices etc.), they wear classic business uniform of authority and they put them on side of kings. Still until today, the women talk show hosts treat guests as equals, while men hosts treat themselves like kings with granting their subordinates audience.

The Jay Leno show is bad example of changing the format isn’t good. What is up with Cheddar recently really trying to subvert these ideas. Remember that this was as Jay Leno trying to do this show because he didn’t want to give up the tonight show to Conan who he had promised that he would give it too. He messed up things for the local news as a lead in and then left the local news with low ratings and then when Conan was on he got low ratings. You can’t just gloss over these facts and just say and then he got his job back as the tonight show host.

Conan and Letterman were like a fine wine, you can always appreciate the difference in quality and flavor when you drink it, and they go well with any food. Fallon and Kimmel are like beer, cheap, common, big at youth parties, but isn't anything special nor particularly good. Colbert is like a vodka, heavy in alcohol but lacking in unique smell or flavor.

Let's talk about how Hot Ones literally has been doing the opposite of the stagecraft method for years now.

In Norway it is opposite, the norm of late night shows is to only sit in cheres, with some shows trying to to the desk setup.

Graham Norton is best for guest spots. They can have a drink, relax and engage with the host, each other and even the audience. Always has me in fits of laughter no matter who is on.

Out of late night the set is different. Graham Norton in Great Britian and the old daytime talk shows like Mike Douglas and Dinah Shore use use semicircular chair arrangements with. No desk. In this set up the host is more equal to the guests.