There is no absolute definition for clean. Here's something you should never do...
I was on the road with this comedian from Salt Lake City and we got a call from a booker in the middle of the week to do a corporate show for a bunch of gold miners. It was a dinner and everyone was well dressed. The pay was $1000 for the headliner and $500 for the feature act.
When we got to the event this huge dude in a tuxedo comes up to us--There's something scary about a huge dude in a tuxedo. Like, first of all, what tuxedo company rents shirts with a 22-inch neck?
Anyway, he says to us, "We need this show to be clean because the wives are here." The comedian I was working with was told by some other comedian that when they want it clean all you have to do is ask the audience, "Do you want the clean stuff or the dirty stuff?"
So He got up onstage and said...
Where some people see failure, I see amazing opportunity!
I mean what a perfect time to self-produce a show that has that edge.
If I was new writer trying to break in, not only would I be writing and submitting packets every three to six months, I would be collaborating and self-producing a 5 min. edgy variety/talk show just like the Daily Show with the same type of enthusiasm and gusto that was ever-present at that show.
A writer interested in writing for Late Night TV, should be paying close attention to the movements that happen behind the scenes just like a market investor eyes the NYSE or the NASDAQ.
Because turning $11k into $200k over a period of 11 years is a sweet investment, but a job writing in Late Night TV can turn $0 into $200k in a year, because that's the minimum salary for a staff writer working in Late Night.
So a writer should be paying close attention to the Late Night TV market, because drama is happening big time over at CBS.
The Late Night TV industry has totally exploded. When I was first writing for Late Night, there were 2 shows. Now there's 9 Late Night style shows and that's not even including Samantha Bee's "Full Frontal" on TBS and Chelsea Handler on "Chelsea" on Netflix. With Hulu, Amazon and YouTube whispering about producing new streaming shows.
Good comedy content is in high demand and continuing to grow.
Problem is, the talent pool of good comedy writers is seriously thin. The next 5 years is going to be a boom period for good comedy writers. If you've thought about writing for Late Night TV, what you do in the next 6 months can have a huge impact on the rest of your life!
As the news about Late Night Comedy proliferates in the media, I've been receiving more questions. The most common question is: How do you get into Late Night TV Comedy Writing?
You're going to have a love-hate feeling about how simple the answer is.
It's...
