After Midnight

I don't watch any of the late night talk shows since Letterman quit. I did watch Craig Ferguson some. Although not the same type of show as the regular late night talk show. I really liked @Midnight on Comedy Central with Chris Hardwick.

The new version with Taylor Tomlinson is a little different than @Midnight, but still funny and fun. It took a little while to get use to Taylor's style, but I liked her more and more. Some of the same old fav comedians from the old days with @Midnight I really enjoyed seeing again. Doug Peterson, Paul F. Tompkins, Pete Holmes, Maria Bamford, Thomas Lennon, to name a few.

I just read it was cancelled. The reason I came here. To bad. That sucks.

Back @ you segment was very entertaining last night. The trio of Bert Kreischer, Katherine Blanford & Rich Eisen was great. The show has steadily gotten better over time. Taylor Tomlinson is perfect for the show. I love how she laughs throughout the show. It's just stupid, crazy and fun. It's a nice break for me to watch adults being absolutely ridiculous and an hour of smiling and laughing. A show unlike any other I've ever seen which makes it even more fun. I like how the guests make fun of each other and everyone just seems to really enjoy themselves. Give it a try if you've never watched it! Stupid fun!

The original.@midnight (2013-2017) was a brilliant experiment that combined up-to-the-second pop culture ephemera, stand-up comedy & improv. Host Chris Hardwick made it seem effortless. With this reboot, aptly named @fter midnight (begins at 12:30pm in many markets), new host Taylor Tomlinson tries her best to recapture the magic. In the premier episode, she seemed a bit too eager to respond with a loud chuckle to anything the three contestants said, but she did keep things moving and tossed in enough self-deprecating humor to smooth over some rough patches. Given time, I believe she can make the show her own. She also needs a better buzzer. The production has a snappy set, with a smartphone-like screen displaying videos, images and themed graphics. The production team also wisely chose to get the comic contestants out from behind their podiums for one segment. Breaking up the standard game show format is key to a project that proports to not be your average game show. As with its host, the show will need time to shake out some bugs. Here's hoping CBS is willing to invest that time.

Most of these reviews are from the first week of shows, which isn't quite fair. As with almost all TV shows, After Midnight has improved as they find their rhythm.

Some of the initial complaints still hold; while Taylor has less forced laughter, she is too bound to the prompter. The show probably would pace better at 30 minutes.

However, depending on the guests, the show can be quite funny. I've seen several episodes now that have derailed in a fun way because the guests bounced off each other and went off script, making Taylor genuinely laugh and banter back.

Hopefully, like @Midnight, the guests best suited to the format will come back regularly and level up episodes overall. And as the producers watch the reactions to their tweaks, I'm confident the show will improve.

@ftermidnight is a reboot of @midnight. This takes a show that was 30 mins (really 20 mins) to being 60 (really 40 mins). The game show goes on too long. From forced laughter to exhaustion of every answer in the first 20 minutes gets points, there's a reason even non-comedy game shows limit it to 30 mins.

Taylor is a great comedian. With 40 minutes, there's time for a monologue + game show. Understand CBS went to this game show to cut costs vs James Corden's show, but it's only but so long before an hour long game show alone will lack the ratings to justify even drug or political ads. They cast a phenomenal host and the game show can work as part of the show. It needs a monologue upfront and the game show can replace the guest interviews other shows do.