John Oliver

Chris Farley would have had his sixtieth birthday last week. One of the comedian’s most memorable live bits happened when, after being introduced by Late Show host David Letterman, burst through the back of the auditorium doors, charged down the audience aisle, slugging applauding attendees in the arm, grabbing them and eventually dumping a plant in a dumpster outside the theater. He ended this entrance with a double cartwheel — no small feat for someone of Farley’s stature at the time.The crowd was treated to a hilarious moment of personal interaction with one of comedy’s biggest stars at the time. That was then, though. It’s apparent to just about everyone how far late-night comedy and variety shows have fallen.

You may or may have not noticed, but there is currently a writers’ and actors’ strike happening across Hollywood. Major film productions have been shut down, as have regular television and streaming shows. No new content. Anywhere.  This also applies to all late-night talk shows. There hasn’t been a fresh new episode of Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, or The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon or Kimmel. All three network shows have downed tools in solidarity with the strikers. The question is: has anyone noticed, beyond their niche core audience of coastal liberals, for whom such programs have become little more than political group therapy sessions?