A Little Late with Lilly Singh
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''A Little Late with Lilly Singh'' is an American
late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...
that was broadcast by
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
. Premiering on September 16, 2019, and hosted by Canadian comedian and internet celebrity
Lilly Singh Lilly Saini Singh (born September 26, 1988) is a Canadian YouTuber. Singh began making YouTube videos in 2010. She originally appeared under the pseudonym Superwoman (stylized IISuperwomanII), her YouTube username until 2019. In 2016, she was in ...
, it succeeded ''
Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''Th ...
'' as the third and final original program of NBC's late-night lineup, airing at 1:37 a.m. ET/PT. The show originally used a studio-based format similar to other late-night talk shows, albeit with its episodes being filmed in advance rather than the same day they air, and therefore having a reduced focus on current events. For its second season, the show was retooled with new production staff, and began to be filmed in a Los Angeles home rather than live-to-tape. Singh became the first openly
bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
person, as well as the first person of
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
and
South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...
descent, to host an American broadcast major network late-night talk show. ''A Little Late'' was canceled by NBC on May 6, 2021, with its final episode airing on June 3, 2021, and its timeslot being given back to affiliates.


History

''
Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''Th ...
'' 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 ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
''. 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 Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...
'' in 2013, it was stated that Daly would be moving from ''Last Call'' to the show. However, Daly would remain as host in a reduced capacity, only providing introductions between the segments. 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'', ''
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'', and other new projects (including a planned series for
Golf Channel Golf Channel (also verbally referred to as simply Golf) is an American sports television television network, network owned by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Founded in Birmingham, Alabama, it is currently ...
). NBC stated that it intended to replace ''Last Call'' with a new program. 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".
Chrissy Teigen Christine Diane Teigen (born November 30, 1985) is an American model and television personality. She made her professional modeling debut in the annual ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue in 2010 and later appeared on the 50th anniversary co ...
was suggested as a possibility, but she declined. Former ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...
'' producer John Irwin suggested
YouTube celebrity A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006. Influence Influen ...
Lilly Singh Lilly Saini Singh (born September 26, 1988) is a Canadian YouTuber. Singh began making YouTube videos in 2010. She originally appeared under the pseudonym Superwoman (stylized IISuperwomanII), her YouTube username until 2019. In 2016, she was in ...
—noting her ability to perform both serious interviews and comedic material. ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' also noted that Singh's experience with online video would also bolster the program's digital presence. On March 14, 2019, NBC officially announced ''A Little Late with Lilly Singh''. That night, Singh appeared on ''
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...
'' 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 Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
. The series was 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. Aliyah Silverstein was named showrunner. The show maintained 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). Singh thought of each episode " avinga life for the next 24 hours" after their television premiere, and told her writing staff that pitches had to be in the form of "the YouTube video title that's going to work with it". The network agreed to accommodate Singh's other ventures and entertainment projects, primarily by having her pre-record the first season 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. Due to this filming schedule, ''A Little Late'' was one of the only late-night talk shows to still air studio-based first-run episodes at the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...
(which prompted all other shows to suspend production or move to remotely-produced formats). Singh remarked that viewers were raising concerns over the episodes on social media, as they were unaware that they had been filmed "back in 2019 when the only people wearing
masks A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practi ...
were
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and
Jim Carrey James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy te ...
." On May 13, 2020, NBC renewed the show for a second season. On December 1, 2020, it was announced that season 2 would premiere on January 11, 2021. Several production changes were made for the second season, including the addition of a new showrunner and writing staff, and having Singh film the program at a home in Los Angeles rather than a traditional studio set. On May 6, 2021, NBC announced that ''A Little Late'' would end after two seasons, with Singh signing a
first-look deal A first-look deal is any contract containing a clause granting, usually for a fee or other consideration that covers a specified period of time, a pre-emption right, right of first refusal, or right of first offer (also called a right of first neg ...
with Universal Television Alternative Studio to produce other new unscripted projects for the company, and NBC opting to "move away" from scheduling original programming in the time slot.


Format

The series featured a mix of interviews, comedy sketches, and commentary "rants". In contrast to other late-night talk shows, the first season of ''A Little Late'' largely avoided topical content (such as
news satire News satire or news comedy is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content. News satire has been around almost as long as journalism itself, but it is particularly popular on t ...
), citing its filming schedule, and larger focus on comedy and Singh's personal experiences rather than "current information". The first season used a studio set similar to other late-night talk shows. For the second season, ''A Little Late'' began to use a house in the Los Angeles area as its studio, with a small crew present on-site, and began to increase its use of topical commentaries (with subjects having included new U.S. vice president
Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...
, and the
Proud Boys The Proud Boys is an American far-right, neo-fascist, and exclusively male organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States.Far-right: * * Fascist: * * * * * Men only: * * * Political violence: * * * It has ...
). While the COVID-19 pandemic was cited as having influenced the decision, Singh explained to ''
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'' that she felt uncomfortable in a studio (describing it as a "creative crutch"), and the new setting allowed her to give the show a "more inviting and warm casual" feel (including more "behind the scenes" moments, and not having to film the show live-to-tape). Singh also began to write more of her own material for sketches. Of the changes, Singh sarcastically remarked during the season premiere that filming without an audience "sounds a lot like YouTube and I don’t know if I have enough experience."


Broadcast

''A Little Late'' premiered on September 16, 2019, featuring actress
Mindy Kaling Vera Mindy Chokalingam (born June 24, 1979),Additional archive on June 25, 2015. known professionally as Mindy Kaling (), is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. She first gained recognition starring as Kelly Kapoor in the N ...
as its first guest. The episode was made available on ''A Little Late''s YouTube channel at 10:00 p.m. ET, in advance of its television premiere. An hour-long primetime special aired on September 18, 2019, following the season 14 finale of ''
America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribut ...
'', with guests
Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
,
Tony Hale Anthony Russell Hale (born September 30, 1970) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his role in the Fox comedy series ''Arrested Development'' as Buster Bluth. Hale played Gary Walsh on the HBO comedy ''Veep'' from 2012 until its ...
,
Mandy Moore Amanda Leigh Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to fame with her debut single, "Candy", which peaked at number 41 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her debut studio album, '' So Real'' (1999), recei ...
,
Kenan Thompson Kenan Thompson (; born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian. He has been a cast member of the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' since 2003, making him the longest-tenured cast member in the show's history. He was also th ...
,
Milo Ventimiglia Milo Anthony Ventimiglia (, ; born July 8, 1977) is an American actor. Making his screen acting debut on ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' in 1995, he portrayed the lead role on the short-lived series '' Opposite Sex'' in 2000 before landing his br ...
, and 5 Seconds of Summer. While an expected appearance by
Canadian prime minister The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as such ...
Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
was promoted by NBC, it was cut prior to broadcast. In Singh's home country of Canada, ''A Little Late'' was acquired by
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. It aired as a lead-out for ''
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second it ...
''—airing an hour earlier (12:35 a.m. ET/PT) in the
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and
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time zones than its U.S. scheduling. In February 2021, NBC announced that reruns of ''A Little Late'' would be replaced temporarily on Friday nights by airings of
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's ''
The Amber Ruffin Show ''The Amber Ruffin Show'' is an American comedy late-night talk show. Produced by Universal Television and Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions and starring Amber Ruffin, it features a mix of sketches and monologues. The series was ordered for nine ...
''. The show remained in reruns after its final episode until August 13, 2021; the next Monday, the half-hour was given over to affiliates, either for a repeat of their late local newscasts, other programming, or a network-provided replay of the ''
NBC Nightly News ''NBC Nightly News'' (titled as ''NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt'' for its weeknight broadcasts since June 22, 2015) is the flagship daily evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program for NBC News, the news division of the NB ...
''.


Reception

The
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website
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
reported that the first season of ''A Little Late with Lilly Singh'' holds an 82% critic approval rating based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 6 out of 10. 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''."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
reports a
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score of 62 out of 100, based on 4 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." The premiere episode attained steady ratings in comparison to the finale of ''Last Call''. In October 2019, it was reported that the series had an average of 666,000 viewers for the early portion of fall 2019 and a 0.16 rating in adults 18–49 per episode, which were below those of ''Last Call'' for the same period (780,000) from a year prior. In May 2020, ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' characterized the first season's ratings to have been "comparable" to that of ''Last Call'', and that the show led all first-year shows in 2019–20 in online social engagements. In a positive review, Shirley Li from ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' 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." Caroline Framke of ''
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'' also gave the series a positive review and commended Singh as an "engaged interviewer capable of steering the conversation where it needs to go." 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 The 31st GLAAD Media Awards is the 2020 annual presentation of the GLAAD Media Awards, presented by GLAAD honoring the 2019 media season and held on July 30, 2020. The awards honor films, television shows, musicians and works of journalism that ...
. "Lilly Responds to Comments About Her Sexuality" was nominated and won the same award at the 32nd GLAAD Media Awards. The show was also nominated for an
MTV Movie & TV Award The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editi ...
, for Best Talk/Topical Show, and a
Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...
, for Singh as host.


Awards and nominations


Episodes


Season 1: 2019–2020


September 2019


October 2019


November 2019


December 2019


January 2020


February 2020


March 2020


April 2020


May 2020


Season 2: 2021


January 2021


February 2021


March 2021


April 2021


May 2021


June 2021


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Little Late with Lilly Singh, A 2019 American television series debuts 2021 American television series endings 2010s American late-night television series 2010s American television talk shows 2020s American late-night television series 2020s American television talk shows English-language television shows NBC late-night programming NBC original programming Television series by Universal Television