Ben Affleck Entering Flow State Won Late Night This Week

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The team at The Daily Show created a fantastic new graphics package to cover Mayor Zohran Mamdani. It’s visually striking, effectively plays on fears, and achieves its purpose. Knowing that right-wing news would likely produce sensationalized coverage of Mamdani, TDS proactively prepared a response. The same team was also responsible for Wednesday night’s supercut of funny mistakes made by ICE agents – watching those in power stumble, especially with skillful editing, is incredibly satisfying.

The editing of segments for late-night talk shows often goes unnoticed, but it’s a really important part of what makes them work. I especially admire the team at Jimmy Kimmel Live! – their editing is incredibly fast-paced. People tend to think of talk shows as just conversation, but they’re a performance too, a visually exciting show created by skilled crews working at lightning speed. I have a lot of respect for them.

5.
Noah Wyle Does His Own Research

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=rcDZn1qvf3c

Noah Wyle, despite being incredibly busy with awards, made time to film a funny sketch for Jimmy Kimmel Live! He playfully criticized some questionable health ideas promoted by the current administration, like their new food pyramid and focus on eliminating meat. The sketch also touched on topics like 5G conspiracy theories, whether astrology is a real science, and the surprisingly accurate (according to medical research) results of mixing probiotics and antibiotics. The clip was so good it went viral, spreading from late-night TV to TikTok’s ‘The Pitt’ section. Well done, Dr. Robby!

4.
Amanda Seyfried Wants to Own a Monkey So Badly

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=FBuKMWoiJcM&pp=ygUXYW1hbmRhIHNleWZyaWVkIGNvbGJlcnQ%3D

I’m really going to miss the press tour for The Testament of Ann Lee. Amanda Seyfried has been fantastic on talk shows, and her recent appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert was no exception. She playfully convinced Colbert to invite her back for another interview, shared her disappointment about New York’s laws regarding monkey ownership (she looked into it!), and enthusiastically discussed the fascinating life of Ann Lee. Plus, she jokingly cast Colbert in a potential Mamma Mia sequel as a love interest for undead Meryl Streep, and she didn’t hold back when criticizing awards shows. She’s truly a star!

3.
Marcello Hernández Understands Womanhood

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=8JiOibKcnSM

Marcello Hernández recently promoted his new comedy special, American Boy, with a great five-minute set on The Tonight Show. While his jokes about the often-absurd world of women’s beauty routines aren’t groundbreaking, he delivers them with a lot of energy and personality. His physical comedy, especially his impression of someone struggling to fasten a bodysuit, is incredibly vivid and funny – it really puts you right there in the moment! And his simple plea at the end – “Please watch it” – is surprisingly endearing.

2.
Kristen Wiig Is God’s Perfect Party Planner

https://youtube.com/watch?v=6yj_mWqdsdg?si=H-14zkhCKOvMikHl

Kristen Wiig’s appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers felt incredibly warm and friendly – like watching a relaxed conversation between old friends, and inviting the audience to join in. It reminded me of Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor chatting easily at an awards show. The segment about Wiig being the family’s ‘fun master’ and planning parties was particularly great. Her game ideas, especially ‘Under the Blanket,’ sounded hilarious and I immediately wanted to try it – despite it sounding a little suggestive, it’s actually very innocent! The whole exchange felt incredibly comfortable and engaging.

1.
Damon, Affleck, and Fallon Return to Southie

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=FhC76xAq7oE

Boston provides a rich backdrop for both dramatic and funny stories – it’s a familiar setting, as seen in classic sketches like Jimmy Fallon’s “Boston Teens” on SNL and Seth Meyers’s “Boston Accent” trailer. But hearing Ben Affleck (who grew up in Falmouth), Matt Damon (born in Cambridge), and Jimmy Fallon (a New York native and talented impressionist, despite playfully adopting a Boston persona) list every town and city in Massachusetts is surprisingly captivating. Affleck, in particular, seems to enter a unique, energetic state while doing so. He recites the names with a rapid-fire delivery, almost like the character of Hamilton in the musical Hamilton, and it really works. His enthusiastic pronunciation of places like “Yarmouth!” feels powerful enough to impress even Walt Whitman.

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2026-01-16 18:55