Late Night Last Week: Laverne Cox and Lewis Black Have Messages for America
Late Night Last Week is a column highlighting some of the more notable segments from the previous week of late night television. Today’s installment features The Daily Show’s guests Laverne Cox and Lewis Black, John Oliver on election subversion, and Haley Joel Osment as a certain eyeliner-wearing vice-presidential candidate.
Head down into the New York City subway system and you will be sure to encounter one thing: rats. Then turn your gaze to a nearby wall, where you will see an ad for The Daily Show. Most are usual fare: pleas for the show to be considered, plugs for “Indecision 2024,” perhaps even an older ad announcing Jon Stewart’s return to the show. And then my favorite, an ad describing the program as the “most hosted” program in late night. It is true and wonderful. The rotating cast of correspondents who now take on hosting duties—Ronny Chieng, Michael Kosta, Desi Lydic, Jordan Klepper—and the return of Stewart have made for a perfect blend: equal parts new and nostalgic.
The multi-host format follows from the post-Trevor Noah direction of The Daily Show. Loyal viewers will remember that in 2023, the program featured various celebrity guest hosts. The decision to pivot towards the new format has given the show a more stable feel, while still preserving that freshness week-to-week. But there are still some times when a guest host is needed, when the mic needs to be passed once again in the service of the public good and, of course, comedy. As Michael Kosta put it when he passed the mic earlier this month to Charlamagne tha God, who discussed whether Donald Trump would attempt to steal the election again in 2024, “Studies show that other people also have opinions.” On the October 17 episode of the program, host Desi Lydic shared the same sentiment while introducing Laverne Cox, the latest guest contributor to the late night program’s Andy Rooney-esque segment, “In My Opinion.”
Cox began her monologue by making clear she was not just wearing purple “because I look great in it.” The purple marked Spirit Day, one to spread awareness against anti-LGBTQ bullying. Such bullying, Cox made clear, does not just take place in schools. Many of the most prevalent examples come from the government itself. Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills (and in particular anti-trans bills), for example, have been passed or could pass around the country this year. “And you thought the government couldn’t get anything done,” Cox said.
In her monologue, Cox addresses the anti-trans fear mongering of Republican politicians, the painfully real threat to people’s safety, and the hypocrisy of at least one scandal-ridden GOP politician. “If you had told me that anti-trans politicians were secretly watching and loving trans porn, I would have said, ‘Duh,’” Cox joked. “In reality, turning us into sex objects is just another way of dehumanizing us. And I think it’s time to stop dehumanizing and start rehumanizing each other.”
Two days earlier, on October 15, the program’s hearty blend of fresh and familiar faces was on full display during a monologue by a very familiar man by the name of Lewis Black. You know him, you love him. On this day, Black was a bit upset. He figuratively tackled the so-called “undecided voter,” or, as Black called them, “morons.” “After almost two years of campaigning,” Black said, “this election still comes down to winning over a few dozen Pennsylvanians with carbon monoxide poisoning.”
Black played a montage of voters saying that they need to do more “research,” a trend in the tired campaign trail interviews conducted by cable news. The incredulous Black was unable to understand just what this research into two of the most famous politicians in the world would entail. “What the fuck is left for you to learn about them,” Black screamed. “How they load a dishwasher?!”
John Oliver on Election Subversion
Speaking of the election (who isn’t, am I right?), John Oliver tackled the state of the race on the October 13 episode of Last Week Tonight, focusing specifically on the efforts of the Trump campaign to sow doubt about the election results. Oliver began his monologue by addressing the fact that Trump himself is openly boasting about how he has grown more popular in the wake of January 6. Oliver noted the stark contrast between the insurrection and Watergate. “If that happened today,” he said, “he would probably be able to release [the tapes] as an audiobook and win a fucking Grammy.”
Oliver then launched into the state of play today, specifically efforts to question the legitimacy of the results, disrupt the voter rolls, and cause chaos during the vote count and certification. He focused specifically on the racist strategy of the Trump campaign to demonize migrants, including the claim that noncitizens, with the help of Democrats, are entering the country in order to vote. “You really think people would flee their homes, travel under dangerous conditions to enter this country, just to vote,” a dismayed Oliver asked. “It’s like assuming someone would break into a bank just so they could free the pens from their chains.”
Taylor Tomlinson Roasts Russell Brand’s New Grift
The best couple of dollars I spend each month is my donation to Wikipedia. Imagine a world without it—is that one you want to live in? Not only is it a peerless (initial) research tool, but also a fabulous way to pass the time, especially when you want to procrastinate but also feel productive.
In the wee hours of October 18, After Midnight captured the beauty of our beloved Wikipedia with a simple game. Taking inspiration from another website, Six Degrees of Wikipedia, host Taylor Tomlinson asked guests Guy Branum and Gillian Jacobs to compete and see which one of them could correctly guess the number of words connecting: “Groin,” as in the bodily region, and “Tigger,” the beloved, fictional tiger.
The game provided a fun contrast to the tone with which Tomlinson began her opening monologue. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the internet is a scary place,” Tomlinson said. The monologue then eventually made its way to a man who you probably forgot once hosted a late night program, Russell Brand—and if you did, I’m sorry for the reminder.
Brand has recently taken a hard turn into Christianity and right-wing politics after being accused of a bunch of messed up shit. And like his new compatriots, he has immediately started hawking all sorts of dumb stuff, including an amulet that keeps you “safe” from signals, like Wi-Fi and 5G. “I’ve always thought men needed accountability,” Tomlinson said. “But apparently they just need jewelry.”
Haley Joel Osment as JD Vance
This close to the election, a lot of jokes are being made at the expense of JD Vance. While all are fair and were initially funny, most have now turned out to be a bit overused and, thus, cringe. Couches. Donuts. Cat ladies. We get it.
But one of the more notable expectations came on a recent episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! while this column was on a brief hiatus. At the beginning of the month, Haley Joel Osment impersonated the veep candidate buying a donut, but did so with a twist that could only be described as existential, capturing the dark dread embedded in the real moments on which the sketch is based. Just have a look.
Will DiGravio is a Brooklyn-based critic, researcher, and late night comedy expert, who first contributed to Paste in 2022. He is an assistant editor at Cineaste, a GALECA member, and since 2019 has hosted The Video Essay Podcast. You can follow and/or unfollow him on Twitter and learn more about him via his website.