Seth Meyers Worried About Losing His Show Due to Factors ‘Outside His Control’ As Early As This Summer
Even before ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Paramount canceled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers was aware that the fate of his show was out of his hands.
Earlier this summer, the Late Night host explained that his worries surrounding the possible cancellation of his series had shifted from personal to existential concerns, speculating that someday, that media ecosystem “might not support” late-night comedy.
“I feel like I shifted from fearing that I wouldn’t be good enough. And now my fear is weirdly more outside of my control,” the comedian said during a July appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast.
This article not your thing? Try these...
At the time, Meyers said focusing on his hosting duties helped him keep these concerns at bay. “That’s the only part they’re paying you to do. It’s the only part you’re good at,” he said, noting that there were other equally-talented folks on staff tasked with solving “all the other problems” surrounding his show.
Just two months later, Meyers’ worries are much less theoretical.
President Donald Trump took aim at both Meyers and Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday evening, urging NBC to remove both comedians’ late-night programs from the airwaves.
“That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after praising ABC’s suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! “Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”
Which in some ways, is the same as it ever was — NBC is always going to be the ultimate decider on Meyers’ future. It’s just now there’s a presidential-sized thumb on the scale.