Late Night Last Week: Taylor Tomlinson Tackles TikTok and Triumph Takes D.C.

By Will DiGravio  |  January 27, 2025 | 2:43pm
TV Features late night
Late Night Last Week: Taylor Tomlinson Tackles TikTok and Triumph Takes D.C.
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Every week,  ​​​​Late Night Last Week highlights some of the best late night TV from the previous week. This week, Taylor Tomlinson returns to the air to talk TikTok and the LA wildfires, Debra DiGiovanni makes her Tonight Show debut, a pair of Late Night staff writers tackles the new year, and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog journeys to DC.

Following a more-than-a-week-long hiatus, After Midnight, one of two late night programs to broadcast from Los Angeles, returned to the air last Monday, January 20. “It is so good to be back on TV now that our city is just barely on fire,” host Taylor Tomlinson said. 

As she is wont to do, Tomlinson was quick to praise Gen Z content creators: “they can turn any trauma into a tragedy.” Tomlinson went on to highlight a new TikTok trend, in which creators show off their go bags in ironic fashion. “You know who is the best at putting together go bags? All my friends with divorced parents,” Tomlinson said. “They’re ready to go at a moment’s notice. They had to evacuate dad’s apartment every weekend when he got a new girlfriend.” 

The following evening, Tomlinson reacted to the short-lived ban on TikTok. Fans of Tomlinson will know that the platform was essential to the comic as she built her own following, and has remained a central point of commentary on After Midnight. If there is a defense to be had of TikTok, it is as a hub of primarily Gen Z art and humor, as showcased each week on Tomlinson’s program. 

Plus, the comic was quick to point out how essential the platform is to everyday life in this country. “You cannot take TikTok away from us,” Tomlinson declared to applause from the audience. “For many Americans, that’s their doctor.” 

Longtime Canadian stand-up Debra DiGiovanni made her Tonight Show debut last week. In her set, DiGiovanni talked about her initial hesitancy to get a CPAP machine to help her sleep. She admitted she was embarrassed and thought that men might think it was weird. But then things change. “I’m like, is that what I should be concerned with?” DiGiovanni asked. “I think I should be more concerned if they’re into it.” 

DiGiovanni has an incredible presence, blitzing from one joke to the next while making hard pivots that somehow all tie together. “Oh, you know what, I have to ask you a question. Guys, be honest with me,” she says, after a joke about her cats. “How lazy was this Susan?” 

In case you missed it, the Oscar nominees were announced last week. The crew over at Late Night with Seth Meyers marked the occasion on Thursday with “The Scollywood Minute,” featuring show writer and AMC Stubs member Mike Scollins breaking down the nominees. He’s a regular Siskel and/or Ebert. 

“Next, The Brutalist. Three-and-a-half hours? What does this movie think it is? A Closer Look?” Scollins asked, making reference to the name of Meyers’ nightly monologue. It sooon became clear there was a theme to these jokes. “Wicked. Now this is about a woman who can’t get wet,” Scollins said. “Basically anyone Seth’s ever dated.” 

On the previous evening’s broadcast, Late Night writer Jeff Wright took a moment to “check the scoreboard,” a new segment examining the state of various topics, such as white men, Black women, and new year’s resolutions. 

“Tom Holland is engaged to Zendaya, which brings white men’s score up three points,”  Wright said. He soon pivoted on to checking the score for Black women, one scored with tallies, not points. “They’re judged by two different metrics,” Wright explained. “See, Tom Holland being engaged to Zendaya gets white men three points, but Zendaya being engaged to Tom Holland does nothing for Black women.” 

Wright continued to explain the metric. “Now, Simone Biles being the most decorated gymnast in world champion’s history? That’s a tally for Black women,” he said. “But, my mom just found out that Shea Moisture, which is her favorite moisturizer, is owned by a white company. Gotta take away three tallies.” 

Finally, we end with The Daily Show, who brought on a legendary guest correspondent to their team: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. The Robert Smigel-voiced character traveled to Washington D.C. last week, where the subject of his ire was not Trump and his supporters, but the People’s March and the second iteration of the “resistance.”

“We are here with everyone in America who thinks Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski still have good on-air chemistry,” Triumph said to begin his reporting. He also noted the diversity of the crowd: “This crowd covers the full spectrum of literally every stage of depression.” 

Triumph engaged in some tier one gallows humor, basking in the powerlessness of the protesters. “Let’s face it, no one here is going to smash any windows at the capitol,” he said. “That would require upper body strength.” 

 

Will DiGravio is a Brooklyn-based critic, researcher, and late night comedy columnist, 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.

 
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