Ramona Rosales/CBS
After Midnight finally made its debut on January 16th in the time slot formerly occupied by James Corden.
Hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson, the show is a reboot of the old Comedy Central game show @midnight, which ran for 600 episodes on sister channel Paramount. For those who haven't seen the original version, imagine a combination of “Who's Line Is It Anyway?” and Tosh 2.0: It is an Internet-themed panel game show that challenges comedians to come up with the best idiots in a series of improv games.
At the premiere, Whitney Cummings competed in front of a studio audience against Aparna Nancherla (former writer of Late Night with Seth Meyers) and Kurt Braunohler (former host of IFC's Bunk) for the top prize “my father's approval,” Tomlinson quipped. “It’s rare but winnable.”
“We use the internet and are desperately trying to make it fun,” Tomlinson began. “It’s a game show, but the scores are fake.”
The first competition was called Group Chat, in which comedians are given a series of punchline challenges after watching an internet meme. Tomlinson asked them to name things they would never want to see googled at the moment; Braunohler said: “How to dispose of wet pants in front of a studio audience.”
After each “joke,” Tomlinson awards a certain number of points to the person who makes her laugh.
Next up was a game called Hashtag Wars. The comedians are given a hashtag – in this case #lesserknowntvshows – and are tasked with coming up with a series of silly show titles within 60 seconds. Offerings include: Bottom Chef, NCIS: Modesto, The Gimpsons, Sex in the City of Hoboken, Rand Paul's Drag Race and Kenny Roger's Neighborhood.
Other competitions included “What I Can't Live Without” (comedians had to guess the meaning of several random products found on the Internet) and “Suburban Dictionary” (comedians were given popular slang words such as “bussin”, “yeet” , “mid” and “lewk” and are required). how to use them like a suburban parent would). This was arguably the best (see: funniest) game of the night, with Braunohler and Nancherla giving the best answers.
But Cummings was a great sport because of her low scores!
After an elimination match titled “Is this Still Cool”, Cummings was eliminated from the competition and forced to give a farewell speech. “I think this show is rigged and you are all jealous pigs,” she said.
In order to win, Braunohler and Nancherla had to come up with fictitious vacation days. Nancherla won after creating “Ashley Wednesday.” As a reward, she receives the approval of Tomlinson's father!
Participants in Wednesday's show include Paul F. Tompkins, Sophie Buddle and Carl Tart, followed by The Neighborhood star Max Greenfield, Ike Barinholtz and Robby Hoffman on Thursday.
Jack Martin, who was showrunner for all four seasons of @midnight, serves as co-showrunner alongside Eric Pierce, who has served as executive producer on series including CBS' The Challenge: USA and The Wheel. They appear alongside Stephen Colbert, Carrie Byalick, president of Colbert's Spartina Industries, Tom Purcell, an executive producer on The Late Show, Colbert's wife Evelyn McGee Colbert and his manager James Dixon of Dixon Talent, as well as Joe Farrell, Mike Farah and Whitney Hodack and Henry R. Muñoz III from Funny Or Die.
Serious Business' Jason U. Nadler, co-creator of @midnight, is also an executive producer.