TV Shows to Laugh Your Way Through the News

When Jon Stewart took over The Daily Show from Craig Kilborn back in 1999 the show had seen moderate success but strong cultural relevance so the studio felt like it should just maintain its format of a typical news show with some comedy worked in.  Stewart had other plans and gradually turned the show into the voice of a generation and staple of pop and political culture.  With the enormous success of Jon Stewart’s Daily Show the studio and fans of the show grew restless when he announced his retirement; who would take over the show?  Will there still be a show?  Enter Trevor Noah, the then 31-year-old South African black comedian strolling in to fill the biggest comedic shows (kinda like clown shoes) on television; no, Ashton Kutcher’s replacement of Charlie Sheen was not as difficult (learn to womanize and do coke and you’re got an adequate Sheen replacement).  Noah has found his footing with the late-night talk show and has established a strong following ensuring a future for the show and its fans.  The show airs Monday – Thursday and is a relatively decent substitution for conventional news shows as you get slight glimpses of CNN, Fox, and so forth while learning about activist celebrities whom he interviews nightly.  Also, Trevor Noah does a solid Trump impression. Clip to watch: after the Trump Access Hollywood tape was release (“grab ‘em by the…”) Trevor had a great response.

Gaining experience as a correspondent on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show (this will be a small theme within this blog post) is John Oliver, a chippy, quirky, and foul-mouthed Brit who can exercise the range of his vulgarity in the freedom of HBO programming.  Oliver’s weekly show is released Sunday evenings when he delves into the biggest stories of the week.  Generally, he’ll then have a very in-depth look into a political (or simply worldly) topic that, on the surface, is extremely boring but his presentation mixed with jokes and colorful commentary quickly turn topics such as gerrymandering into an informative and interesting watch.  As mentioned, he can be rather vulgar so “earmuffs” if you find f-bombs and crass humor offensive; but the overall message is discussion, education, and accountability.  Also, John Oliver does a solid Trump impression. Clip to watch: the entire overview and then interview with the Dalai Lama was profoundly ridiculous (and the Dalai Lama’s giggle is irresistible).

Stephen Colbert, like John Oliver, spent much of his career with The Daily Show and even predates Jon Stewart in his tenure.  Colbert created a persona on The Daily Show of a character who we wish we could say is a caricature of pundits such as Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly but, concerningly, he was more of just a reflection of such individuals.  He took this persona to a new Comedy Central show airing right after The Daily Show with Jon Stewart called The Colbert Report.  People often found this confusing not knowing when the host was making a satirical joke or being serious but the ratings were relatively strong nonetheless.  In 2014 The Colbert Report had its last episode after nine years on air.  Just nine months later Colbert hosted his first episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (formerly hosted by David Letterman).  The show has enjoyed growing success that some credit to Stephen’s ability to remain approachable while definitively expressing his (real) personal opinions of politics.  Also, Stephen Colbert does a solid Trump impression. Clip to watch: as mentioned, Colbert isn’t shy about his actual political views and how he feels about Trump as president, the night of the election he gave a beautiful and hopeful reflection on what it all means.

Jimmy Fallon took over The Tonight Show back in 2014 beating Colbert’s Late Show premier by only a few months.  After making his start on TV as a six-season cast member of Saturday Night Live Fallon moved to the film industry.  He returned to TV for a late-night show on NBC in 2009 but made a real mark when he took over the long-running Tonight Show previously hosted by Jay Leno, then Conan O’Brian, then Jay Leno…Fallon brought two key strengths to the battle for late-night: many skills including singing, impressions, etc.; and a focus on shareable content, particularly through YouTube clips.  Fallon’s experience in many different roles with SNL paired with celebrity connections he’s made through the years, such as bestie Justin Timberlake, has assisted in creating content that appeals to Millennials in both presentation style as well as media platform: Facebook, YouTube, etc.  Fallon stays middle-of-the-road with his comedy from a political standpoint but certainly will take punches at whomever is sitting in the Oval Office.  Also, Jimmy Fallon does a solid Trump impression. Clip to watch: since Jimmy is more lighthearted you may want to indulge in one of his regular segments such as his weekly Thank You Notes that are quick and funny one-liners.