Late Night Last Week: Vacations End as the Election Heats Up

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 Seth Meyers returning from vacation to update us on all the news, Jeff Goldblum helping actors qualify for healthcare, Desi Lydic on Fox News, Rachel Dratch as Raygun, and Ali Macofsky’s TV stand-up debut.

The dog days of late night summer have come to a close. We (with the exception of Taylor Tomlinson, who was performing stand-up in Las Vegas last week in the lead up to her “Save Me” tour) are so back. Many hosts returned with a monologue that more or less began with, “So what did I miss?” It may be hard to believe, but Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race mere weeks ago. When hosts returned last week, the Republican National Convention and the attempted assassination of Donald Trump had not even turned one month old.

As the news grew more turbulent, this column celebrated programs like The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight, two shows perfectly suited to help us process it all. We will never know how the regular group of network hosts may have responded to the events, but here’s the thing: maybe it was good they were all on vacation? Americans, well, we are not great at paying attention. It is not our fault. The media, too, gets distracted, often choosing to highlight the flavor of the moment rather than take in the big picture. They want to entertain, not always help us process.

Desi Lydic Talks Fox News Tim Walz Spin

Today marks the first day of the Democratic National Convention, where much of the American public will for the first time be introduced to the ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. While many will be familiar with Vice President Harris, some will be meeting Walz, the current governor of Minnesota, for the first time. Right-leaning outlets like Fox News have been hard at work trying to spin their own story of Walz, a veteran and former teacher and football coach.

But thankfully, The Daily Show correspondent and Fox News superfan Desi Lydic is on the case. From her Fox News Cybertruck, Lydic has been streaming the cable network nonstop, dissecting each of the narratives to deliver them straight to our liberal ears. One narrative Fox is trying to spin concerns Walz’s time as football coach: he was an assistant coach (defensive coordinator), not a head coach. “Do you really want a VP who serves under other people?” Lydic bravely asks.

Jeff Goldblum Plays Health Care Santa

Chronically online readers will remember last month when Jimmy Kimmel Live! put out a casting call for actors close to qualifying for Screen Actors Guild health insurance. Jimmy Kimmel has long been a healthcare advocate, including after his son, Billy, underwent his first of three open-heart surgeries. In 2022, Kerry Washington, then guest hosting for Kimmel, welcomed guild members on the show to help get them over the health care finish line.

Since then, the United States, well, still doesn’t have a national health care system. But we do have Jeff Goldblum. Checkmate, dozens of other countries around the world. Last week, Goldblum, who is also Kimmel’s neighbor, filled in for the host. Unsurprisingly, Goldblum was just delightful in the role: charming, smart, smooth, and funny. A highlight came when he welcomed a group of actors to qualify for SAG health care by playing the role of a lifetime: Jeff Goldblum.

Rachel Dratch Embodies Raygun

And now for something completely different. Australian Olympic Breakdancer Raygun continues to make headlines. The winning breakdancers are speaking out in defense of their sport. Controversy has ensued, with some charging the dancer with cultural appropriation and making a mockery of the sport. Others have asked how she even qualified. And as always, the trolls are out in full force taking things too far.

The Olympic Games are always fodder for late night television. So while harassment is, of course, bad, funny jokes are good. On Monday, Jimmy Fallon’s monologue on The Tonight Show was interrupted by the physical comedy genius of Rachel Dratch as Raygun. Without a single word, Dratch brought down the house and got to the absurdities at the heart of the performance. While she may not have won the gold, Dratch is certainly a national treasure.

Ali Macofsky Makes TV Stand-up Debut

Over on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Ali Macofsky made her television stand-up debut. Macofsky, who performs stand-up around the country, was selected as a New Face of Comedy at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in 2022. She currently hosts “Ali’s Interview Show” on YouTube.

Macofsky came out to The Late Show crowd talking about America’s favorite subject: murder. A self-professed fan of true crime, Macofsky talks about what being a fan of the genre has taught her about survival. “One of the biggest things I ever learned,” she said, “is you should never start your day like any other.” Watch her full, hilarious set below.

Will DiGravio is a Brooklyn-based critic and researcher, 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.