Late-Night Television’s Relevance in an Era of Streaming

As our world becomes progressively more reliant on technology, streaming services and on-demand media offer a convenience that is simply too good to pass up. Yet somehow, late-night television and their segments seem to remain a staple in the cultural makeup of society.

With the ever-present split-season trend dominating platforms such as Netflix — without considering the generally large gap between seasons on other services too — late-night television offers a consistent, reliable entertainment alternative, four times a week. Late-night television comes in several flavors: traditional talk shows such as NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” hosting celebrities and social figures nightly, as well as sketch comedy franchises such as “Saturday Night Live”, which features a new celebrity guest host once a week. Each of these shows offers viewers at home the opportunity to indulge in new content quickly and frequently, in comparison to their lengthy, slow-to-production counterparts.

While it’s important to note that fictional storylines in television obviously differ from late-night and its comedy and commentary, there is much to be said about the instant gratification that late-night provides. Due to their constant production, late-night television shows have the uncontested opportunity to create segments or punchlines that go along with trending topics or moments, effectively capturing their relevance before it washes away. Take “SNL” and their cold-opens, for example. With a unique but stylistically familiar take, actors Dana Carvey and James Austin Johnson play President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, respectively, with comedic stances and not-so-subtle references to the political climate.

Beyond politics, “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” has been successful with the implementation of the “Thank You Notes,” a segment where Fallon addresses current news or trending events, enabling him to reference trending moments with his own comedic twist. With an often nonchalant delivery, audience members are able to relish the weight of the joke better than if it was delivered too enthusiastically. On “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” Kimmel’s casual conversation with both the viewers at home and live studio audience, particularly regarding current events, are also filled with comedic takes. For all of these shows — with original sketches and segments — the floor is opened up for conversation, and sometimes even a viral audio may come out of it.

There’s an element of unpredictability that makes late-night such an entertaining format, and with both curated dialogue and improv, viewers are able to resonate with material and engage with it in creative ways. Take “SNL” and its recent “Bridesmaid Speech” sketch. By using Billboard’s 2024 Top Global Song of the Summer — “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter — and turning it into a catchy parody, the television show was able to garner 13 million views on YouTube. Beyond YouTube, many parodies of the featured character “Domingo” (Marcello Hernandez) have risen on social media platforms such as TikTok, creating a new trend dubbed “DomingoTok.”

With the now-traditional streaming format of television shows, this kind of engagement is hard to obtain as quickly and as often as it happens with late-night shows, effectively establishing late-night as a relevant feeder and conversant with the more popular social media platforms of today. Alongside capitalizing on trending content, late-night television benefits from hosting different celebrities each show — allowing for limitless audience and fanbase engagement.

On this note, the ever-relevant Ariana Grande was also a large part of the success of “SNL”’s “Bridesmaid Speech” sketch. Her off-key singing — untraditional and unrealistic for the acclaimed singer — added to the comedy. with Grande being in the spotlight even more so during her press tour for the widely-anticipated film “Wicked,”the attention brought to the episode was crucial to its success. For many television shows, having guests who are both new to fame and accustomed to the spotlight can provide unprecedented levels of views, especially when they also engage with trending topics or current events. Particularly, “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon”’s decision to host TikTok stars Andrew “A.J.” Befumo Jr. and Eric Justice Befumo (“Costco Guys”), alongside Christian Joseph’s “The Rizzler,” was a smart one — the uploaded interview received almost a million views, one of Fallon’s best performing videos within the month it was posted.

In sum, late-night television offers a connection to fast-paced entertainment and current events that streaming services and their shows take ages to achieve. While both can be equally valuable, late-night’s ingenuity — largely due to its being live and unedited — offers it a unique opportunity to handle material that is authentically produced and quickly executed. Late-night television remains relevant despite its competition — an impressive feat for a supposedly “outdated” format.