Seth Meyers Explains Why ‘Late Night’ Took Almost 2 Months Off

It’s been a long seven weeks for fans of “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” but the NBC late night show finally returns with a new episode on Monday night. So what took so long? As it turns out, the longest break in the show’s history was by design, as Meyers and Co. opted for a more “SNL”-like structure to ensure there are fewer breaks in the fall, winter and spring. “There’s a nice consistency to our show when it’s rolling, and we want to be able to provide that as much as we can, as much as is in our control, to our audience,” Meyers told TheWrap from his 30 Rock office on Monday morning, where he was back at work. “Obviously we’re not going to go straight through, but if we can find our way into that ‘SNL’ schedule that relies on summers off to make sure that when more people are watching TV, we’re on with better regularity, we’re going to do that.” Not that Meyers has been completely absent over the last two months. In late August, Meyers and “A Closer Look” head writer Sal Gentile returned on YouTube with “A Closer Look Out of Office,” a weekly podcast where the two would run down topics that might have made an installment of the show’s wildly popular Closer Look segment that week had the show been on the air. It was a hit. Views on some episodes topped over 1 million on YouTube, and Meyers said that while he and Gentile initially envisioned it as a 20-minute show, it easily ballooned into a full hour. “We just didn’t want to disappear. We wanted people to know that we want to be making stuff for them, and Sal and I always talk about how, without the show as an outlet for our own anxieties and everything else, we go a little bit crazy. So it was a bit of catharsis for us, and we really enjoyed doing it,” Meyers explained, adding that if they stick to a similar time off schedule next year, he hopes to do it again. But the host also said doing the YouTube show was a way of showing to their viewers that they really would rather be doing “Late Night” than not. “We’ve always really wanted to let people know that we would rather be doing the show than not. And if it was in our hands, there would be more weeks on the air for us, and people don’t quite believe that,” he said. “Certainly over the course of a long summer break, people have every right to call us out for what they perceive as sort of a laziness and living a good life. What we wanted to do with Proof of Life was just kind of hammer home as much as we could by doing it.” Read on as Meyers also talks about Gentile getting a reputation in the comments as a “thirst trap,” why the show won’t be different when it comes back and how it feels to be back on the air when Stephen Colbert is not. This interview has been edited for clarity and length. TheWrap: How was the break? Meyers: (Laughs) I mean, I don’t even know how to answer that. The quote-unquote break. Yeah. You know, there was plenty going on, and ultimately it’s a long summer with three podcasts and three kids, and with a swirling mass of confusion and activity, and I’m very happy to be back in the structure of an office. Is this the longest break you’ve ever had? Yeah, certainly without a writer’s strike, this was the longest break we’ve ever had, and it definitely felt reminiscent of what I was used to with “SNL,” and so it wasn’t the first time. Obviously, I’ve worked for a show that takes the summer off, but a seven-week break was very out of the ordinary for us. And I think everybody, based on the energy here on Monday morning, was chomping at the bit to get back. Was there a reason for that? I think for us, the goal is to try to have less breaks over the course of the fall, winter and spring. There’s a nice consistency to our show when it’s rolling, and we want to be able to provide that as much as we can, as much as is in our control, to our audience. Obviously we’re not going to go straight through, but if we can find our way into that “SNL” schedule that relies on summers off to make sure that when more people are watching TV, we’re on with better regularity, we’re going to do that. I like that. I’m sure the Jackals will be appreciative. Absolutely. We’re doing everything we can for them. And for ourselves — we like being on as much as I think our audience likes us being on. What’s it like today back at work, where’s your head at? How are you feeling? I’m very excited. I mean, the nice thing is, we’ve obviously taken two and three week breaks, and I think we show up and we’re worried if we all forgot how to do the show, and historically we haven’t. So we’ll know more in about 12 hours, but as of right now, there’s a confidence and an excitement to get back into it. Well, you and Sal got a head start with the Proof of Life podcast. Tell me about starting that. Where’d that come from? We were going into it, and obviously we were as aware as everybody else that it was a longer break than we were used to, and we just didn’t want to disappear. We wanted people to know that we want to be making stuff for them, and Sal and I always talk about how, without the show as an outlet for our own anxieties and everything else, we go a little bit crazy. So it was a bit of catharsis for us, and we really enjoyed doing it. We didn’t quite know what it was going to be in the beginning. I think we thought maybe we could bang out 20 minutes a week, and of course, I think we could have very easily done two hours. At some point we’d just run out of podcast tape. But it was nice. We found it rewarding that people were showing up to check it out, and our preference is to do a regular Closer Look, but it was a fun experiment. I think if next summer has a similar break, I think we’ll lean back on that as well. What was your wife’s reaction when you told her you were starting another podcast? I will be honest, I think if I just say I’m off to do a podcast, she doesn’t really care that much which one it is. Her disappointment is consistent no matter which one it is. She’s not a member of the Quaid Army. She is not. Very little righteousness to her podcast engagement (laughs). How do you feel about Sal as a thirst trap? I’ve been reading the comments. You think we’re at a point where nothing can surprise you, and then you find out Sal is a thirst trap after working with him for oh so many years, and you just realize the news is still capable of surprising you. Has it gone to his head yet? It’s gone to his wardrobe. He’s spending a fortune right now. You can tell he’s had a professional manicure today, and shoes have been on, but I’m assuming he got a pedicure as well. The comments on that were super positive. I feel like you’re probably the most accessible late night host in that you actually read comments and respond to them on the show. So many of the people in the comments on Proof of Life were just like, “This is really nice, thanks for doing this.” What’s it like to read that? We try so hard, and we mostly address the audience in Corrections with stuff like this, but we’ve always really wanted to let people know that we would rather be doing the show than not. And if it were in our hands, there would be more weeks on the air for us. And people don’t quite believe that. Certainly, over the course of a long summer break, people have every right to call us out for what they perceive as sort of laziness and living a good life. What we wanted to do with Proof of Life was just kind of hammer home as much as we could by doing it. We would hopefully, at least to our most sort of diehard viewers, let them know, “Hey, we like doing this with you guys,” and I think it means more when you actually do it as opposed to say that you would like to be doing. The Jackals were, of course, very busy in the comments. I assume Corrections is back this week. It is. We’ll see if Corrections addresses everything in Proof of Life. But maybe a good long Corrections is what they all deserve. You’re getting back in the chair. Any changes viewers can expect to see as you guys come back? Anything different? No (laughs). We’ll see. Some will come up. I’m hoping I have a new impression, but there’s nothing new. I’m working through a 50-page Closer Look right now, and I really like the process of our show. I really love the structure of everything we do, and we’ve never kind of fallen into that trap of desperately trying to reinvent the wheel. Maybe we’ll use the old bookshelves that they don’t have in “60 Minutes” anymore. See if we get a deal on those old books. That’d be good. They’re not using them. We got that used book money still. I know we’ve had some budget constraints, but we got that used book money. Any chance of a live show as the midterms near? We’ll see. We really have enjoyed going live when we’ve had time to process what has happened, as opposed to like going live and processing it in real time. So if we thought there was a night that we would have the eyeballs for it, we would love to do it. The last time it was a lot of fun, and everybody, both at the show and the network, were happy. So we’re never opposed to stuff like that. I think everyone is very excited and very nervous for that night. I think that’s about right. There’s one fewer of you now that Colbert is gone, obviously, and I was curious practically, does that change anything on your end? Like, does it impact booking? How you’re looking at anything? I think it’s too early to tell if it impacts bookings. It’s never been a situation where we have been upset about the quality of guests we’ve been able to have on the show. One of the nice things is, obviously Stephen was talking about politics, we were talking about politics. There always seemed to be room for both of us, so it was never a case where we ever were anything but grateful that he was also on the air. So we’ll see. It’s an interesting time with the landscape of these shows. Well more in the abstract, does it feel different? Do you think about the fact that there’s one less host now, or is that just not in your head at all? I don’t. One of the great things about Strike Force Five was getting to know those guys as people, and that’s how I’ve seen them ever since, just get to know them on that level. So I only think about it that way, and we’ve never found any success when we try to position our show in relation to the other ones. The only way our show has ever worked is when we make it the show we want it to be. So whether there were double the late night shows or one less, I think we would have the exact same approach. I think that’s very healthy. And obviously The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast is a joy. How’s that going? It feels like Andy has come around on podcasts. He loves it now. He runs doesn’t walk to the headphones. It’s good. I missed yesterday’s record, so the next one will be three Alvin’s. It’s the best. The best thing about that podcast, and about all the podcasts I do, is I like talking to my friends. It’s a really cool medium because I think ultimately people who listen feel like they’re listening to friends, and when I see people on the street who yell out “Quaid Army!” to me, very few things make me happier. We’re always texting about the weird places that we get that shout out. It’s very fun to authentically build podcast lore with people that you want to be talking to. Last question: Best thing you watched and read on the break? I am reading the new Marlon James book “The Disappearers,” which I adore. Fantastic, I’m halfway through that. And “Widow’s Bay” and “Lanterns,” I’ll shout those out.