Oh Snap!
If things weren’t explosive already when it comes to Late Night T.V. and variety T.V.
If you remember, the middle of last year I wrote about the changes in the Late Night T.V. scene are unprecedented in T.V. history with changes in The Tonight Show and Late Night on N.B.C.
Now things are heating up even more with the news of Jon Stewart announcing that he is stepping down from The Daily Show!
What? Say it ain’t so!
Jon Stewart has been the most trusted name in news and comedy for the last twenty years, while also developing and introducing some of the most talented people in comedy, like Stephen Colbert, who’s now replacing David Letterman and of course John Oliver, who now has a show on HBO.
And now the landscape in Late Night is changing drastically. This spells opportunity.
What This Means For You
This is epic news because when hosts change, writing staffs change and movement means more opportunity for comedy writers like you.
On top of that, how many new shows are going to attempt to pop up to replace Stewart and Colbert?
Other networks competing with Comedy Central may decide to try their hand to be the top hosted comedy/interview shows on cable.
With that in mind, how many of you have been continuously working on your Late Night Comedy Writing packet?
How many of you just wait for one opportunity and how many are writing every day with a goal of putting together two to three fresh packets a year or more?
How many of you know how to put together your sample packet?
How many of you look at it a such an overwhelming task that’s too big to tackle?
Anyone interested in this field of comedy, and those of you who have been to my seminars know that Late Night Writing should be a part of your arsenal to create your multiple-revenue-stream approach to the comedy business.
Here’s a couple of things you should be doing right now:
- Watching and Recording the Late Night Show line up, including
- Ellen
- David Letterman
- Jimmy Fallon
- Jimmy Kimmel
- Late Late Show
- Seth Meyers
- Carson Daly
- Tavis Smiley
- The Talk
- Kelly & Michael
- Ellen DeGeneres
- Wendy Williams
- Meredith Vieira
- Queen Latifah
- The Real
- Study the hosts and learn their rhythms, persona and style.
- Pick a few hosts to “write for”
- Write down their jokes exactly as they say them
- Write at least 10-25 jokes a day on headline news, celebrity culture, and trending news. If you can’t do 10-25, start with three jokes, then set goals each week to increase your production by one. In a couple of months, you’ll be up to 10 jokes a day, then 25. Trust me. This works. This is exactly how I did it, until I was writing up to 120 jokes per day. Boom!
Remember, this should be a process, not a one-time shot sort of thing. You just keep moving, keep writing and keep submitting. If you’re applying yourself and constantly testing your material against those already on T.V., soon the doors will open and you might actually find yourself on staff on one of these shows.
Get to work!
