Stephen Colbert’s Worst Pun Was the Best Thing on Late Night This Week

First off, big congrats to The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight for winning Emmys this week for their respective late-night categories. Sorry to John Oliver’s late dog for getting played off. The Emmys producers were fast and loose with that music, and I know they’re kicking themselves for making Oliver’s “RIP my dog” speech the weirdest moment of the ceremony.

Secondly, welcome to Have I Got News for You! The new CNN game show is the latest attempt to make British panel shows work in the U.S. — and I desperately need them to work here! Panel shows keep comedians employed long enough to sell sitcoms, star in movies, and otherwise go from B- to A-list. Watch Have I Got News for You, listen to Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me (also based on HIGNFY, per Wikipedia), and otherwise support your up-and-coming comedians!

5. An After Midnight Dance Break

This is great because (1) Dylan Adler and Atsuko Okatsuka dance so hard in this, and (2) Reggie Watts does not. I like to imagine Adler and Okatsuka (two certified comedic hoofers) choreographing this together during After Midnight’s dress rehearsal. Meanwhile, Reggie’s off to the side going, “That’s awesome, guys! You should totally do that. What am I gonna do? I will assist.” And assist he does! Not since Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion has a dance triad rocked so.

4. Ms. Pat on Late Night With Seth Meyers

Ms. Pat crushes every time she’s on Late Night. She delivers classic late-night “stand-up sitting down and delivering stand-up material” content, something that links her to everyone from Jay Leno to Joan Rivers. Taking your prepared remarks and making them sound conversational is a talent, and one that not every stand-up possesses.

3. Zayn Malik’s Mime Work on The Tonight Show

This moment on The Tonight Show really innovated in the “plugs” space. Zayn walked into the studio, accepted applause, silently left ad copy on Jimmy Fallon’s desk, and deuced the fuck out. This is a new strat for people who otherwise might say truly wack shit on a late-night show. In and out, simple and clean. Silent clowning is so hot right now, according to a lot of trend articles. Congrats to Zayn for getting in on the ground floor.

2. Elizabeth Olsen Pleads for Her Life on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Okay, this whole interaction is way funnier if you make yourself forget that Jimmy Kimmel and Elizabeth Olsen are talking about her MCU character, Scarlet Witch. Kimmel repeatedly asking if she’s dead or not, Olsen saying she’d like to be alive if someone can figure out a way for that to make sense — it’s gosh-darned absurdist existential theater. But also, yeah, it would be cool if Wanda were still alive for more witch shenanigans with Agatha and the crew.

1. Putting the Vaudeville Back in The Late Show

Ms. Pat’s desk time on Late Night harkened back to Carson-era Tonight Show. But Stephen Colbert’s horrendous Alaska pun on The Late Show harkened all the way back to, like, the Borscht Belt. And with the badump-tsss! drum accompaniment, it was Lenny Bruce–ian. Minsky’s Follies. It’s the showgirls-and-llamas backstage idea of showbiz you see in something like Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. And all for a joke about a mushmouthed Trump flub? The timely and the timeless intertwining, beautifully.