Seth Meyers

Bill Burr has built a successful stand-up comedy and film career on being the cranky scold next door – and his acts have always been tinged with the politics of the moment. He built his reputation as an expert on reading a room and knowing exactly how uncomfortable to make the people in said room while also making them laugh.Beginning some time last year, however, Burr’s act started to risk taking a backseat to his media armchair-political scolding, whether it’s Israel, Ben Shapiro or now Elon Musk. It’s one thing to work material about any of those topics into a stand-up routine, as Burr has done with Israel, when he spoke about “launching missiles at people using kids as human shields.

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?