A Little Late with Lilly Singh
A Little Late with Lilly Singh is an American late-night talk show hosted by Canadian comedian and YouTuber Lilly Singh, on NBC.[1] The program premiered on September 16, 2019,[2][3] as a replacement for Last Call with Carson Daly in its 1:35 a.m. ET/PT time slot. Singh is 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.[4][5][6]
| A Little Late with Lilly Singh | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Late-night talk show |
| Created by | Lilly Singh |
| Presented by | Lilly Singh |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 (1 upcoming) |
| No. of episodes | 97 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Lilly Singh Polly Auritt John Irwin Casey Spira Sean O'Connor Sarah Weichel |
| Camera setup | Multi-Camera |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Unicorn Island Productions Irwin Entertainment Universal Television |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 16, 2019 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Last Call with Carson Daly |
| Related shows | Late Night with Seth Meyers |
| External links | |
| Program website on NBC.com | |
History
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.[7] However, Daly would remain as host in a reduced capacity, only providing introductions between the segments.[8][9] 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).[10]
NBC stated that it intended to replace Last Call with a new program.[9][10] 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".[11] 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.[12][11]
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.[4] The series will be 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.[2][13] Aliyah Silverstein was named showrunner.[12]
The network agreed to accommodate Singh's other ventures and entertainment projects, primarily by having her pre-record seasons 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.[14][11][12] Due to this filming schedule and the longer gaps between filming and broadcast, the program does not focus on topical subjects (such as news satire) like other late-night shows. Irwin argued that the show was meant to focus more on comedy and Singh's personal experiences, as there were already "a million places" to get "current information".[12]
The show maintains 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 on TV (clips of segments from late-night talk shows, including Fallon's Tonight Show in particular, have been major draws on YouTube). Due to its digital presence, Singh thought of each episode "[having] a life for the next 24 hours" after their television premiere.[11][12]
On May 13, 2020, NBC renewed the show for a second season. Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the show's staff has said they would prefer to be in the studio rather than having remote segments, and will wait for clearance from NBC and local officials before starting their planning for the new season.[14][15]
Format
The series features a mix of in-studio interviews and pre-taped segments such as comedy sketches.[13]
Broadcast
A Little Late premiered on September 16, 2019, with its official YouTube channel posting the series premiere episode (with guest Mindy Kaling) at 10:00 p.m. ET, in advance of its television broadcast.[16] An hour-long primetime special aired on September 18, 2019, following the season 14 finale of America's Got Talent.[13]
In Singh's home country of Canada, A Little Late was acquired by Global. It airs 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.[17]
Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that A Little Late with Lilly Singh holds a 82% critic approval rating with an average score of 6/10, based on 11 reviews. 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."[18] Aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalized rating of 62 out of 100, based on 4 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews.[19]
The premiere episode also attained steady ratings in comparison to the finale of Last Call.[20] In October 2019, it was reported that the series had an average of 666,000 viewers and a 0.16 rating in adults 18-49 per episode, which were below those of Last Call from a year prior.[21]
In a positive review, Shirley Li from The Atlantic opined that while Singh's monologues came off "awkward," she excelled in interviewing the series' guests, during which she delivered "some of her best, off-the-cuff humor."[22] 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."[23] 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.[24]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award Show | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 31st GLAAD Media Awards | Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode ("Lilly is Struggling to Date Women") | Nominated |
| 8th Canadian Screen Awards | Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award | Nominated |
Episodes
2019
September
| No. | Original air date | Guest(s) | Musical/entertainment guest(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 16, 2019 | Mindy Kaling, Rainn Wilson | N/A | |
| 2 | September 17, 2019 | Kenan Thompson | N/A | |
| 3 | September 18, 2019 | Milo Ventimiglia & Mandy Moore, Christina Aguilera | 5 Seconds of Summer | |
| The Primetime Special. Includes in-studio cameos by Kenan Thompson and Tony Hale, plus a pre-filmed cameo by Chelsea Handler. | ||||
| 4 | September 18, 2019 | Tracee Ellis Ross | N/A | |
| 5 | September 19, 2019 | Chelsea Handler | N/A | |
| 6 | September 23, 2019 | Jessica Alba | N/A | |
| 7 | September 24, 2019 | Elizabeth McGovern, Allen Leech, Hugh Bonneville | N/A | |
| 8 | September 25, 2019 | Anna Faris | N/A | |
| 9 | September 26, 2019 | Jim Gaffigan, Antoni Porowski | N/A | |
| 10 | September 30, 2019 | Barbie Ferreira, Alexa Demie | N/A | |
October
| No. | Original air 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
| No. | Original air 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
| No. | Original air 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 |
2020
January
| No. | Original air 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 Palasca |
| 57 | January 23, 2020 | Fortune Feimster |
February
| No. | Original air 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
| No. | Original air 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
| No. | Original air 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
| No. | Original air 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 |
References
- "Lilly Singh Talks Late-Night Production, Says Her YouTube Uploading Schedule "Won't Be So Rigorous"". Tubefilter. August 16, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
- Schneider, Michael; Schneider, Michael (March 15, 2019). "NBC Taps Lilly Singh to Replace Carson Daly in Late Night". Variety. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- ""A Little Late with Lilly Singh" Sets Highly Anticipated Premiere for Monday, Sept. 16". The Futon Critic. July 25, 2019.
- "YouTube star Lilly Singh set to become first bisexual late-night host". NBC News. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
- "'All these people have my back:' celebs support Lilly Singh's talk show debut". CBC News. September 11, 2019.
- "YouTube Star Lilly Singh is the First Woman of Indian-Origin to Host a U.S. Late Night Show -". Rolling Stone India. March 16, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
- O'Neal, Sean (September 12, 2013). "NBC to Imprison Carson Daly Within an Orange Room Made of Tweets". The A.V. Club.
- Andreeva, Nellie (November 22, 2013). "'Last Call With Carson Daly' Carries On With New Format". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
- "'Last Call With Carson Daly' Ending After 17 Years on NBC". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- Petski, Nellie Andreeva,Denise; Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (February 12, 2019). "'Last Call With Carson Daly' To End After 17 Seasons On NBC". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
- Alexander, Julia (September 17, 2019). "Lilly Singh's NBC series debut proves late night TV and YouTube need each other". The Verge. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- "Lilly Singh: From YouTube Superwoman to NBC Late Night TV Trailblazer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 21, 2019). "NBC Sets 'A Little Late With Lilly Singh: The Primetime Special' To Introduce Late Night's Newest Voice". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
- Porter, Nick (May 13, 2020). "'A Little Late With Lilly Singh' Renewed at NBC". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- White, Peter (May 13, 2020). "NBC Brings Back 'A Little Late With Lilly Singh' For Second Season". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
- "NBC's 'A Little Late With Lilly Singh' Sets First Guests, Gets Early YouTube Premiere (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
- "Lilly Singh says Miley Cyrus, Amy Schumer among supporters ahead of her talk show debut". Toronto Star. September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- "A Little Late With Lilly Singh: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
- "A Little Late with Lilly Singh – TV Show Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
- "'A Little Late With Lilly Singh' Debuts Steady With Carson Daly's 'Last Call' Finale Ratings". TheWrap. September 17, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
- "TV Ratings: Late-Night Numbers Fall to Start Season". The Hollywood Reporter. October 9, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
- Li, Shirley (October 5, 2019). "Lilly Singh's Late-Night Challenge". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
- Framke, Caroline (September 20, 2019). "TV Review: 'A Little Late with Lilly Singh'". Variety.
- "GLAAD Media Awards 2020: The Complete List of Nominations". E! News. January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 17, 2020.