Erik Fritts has worked in media production for CBS, The US Fish

and Wildlife Service, Berkshire Hathaway, and more. He holds a

BA in Film Production from CSU Sacramento, a grad certificate in

Screenwriting from UCLA, and is currently an MFA candidate at

the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

2015. All that is to say that YouTube
      wasn’t around when current late
      night hosts got started. They had no
      idea that it would be possible to do
      their own show from home. Now
      that it is and — thanks to the global
      health emergency —, they’ve tasted
      the sweet nectar of the YouTuber
      experience, can you blame them if
      they don’t want to go back to the
      old way of creating content?
      Imagine being a host for a late-
      night show. You have to live in Los
      Angeles or New York. You commute
      to work, which means fighting
      torturous traffic. Once you get to
      work, you’re surrounded by people
      who want you to have the answer to
      every question. You have makeup
      people trying to get you powdered,
      wardrobe getting your shoes right,
      fans in the live audience that want
      to shout out how much they love
      you in the middle of your jokes. It’s
      a whirlwind. Every single day. For
      years. Sometimes, decades.

Late Show Hosts are coming for our jobs

Of course the YouTuber lifestyle seems attractive. It

means living wherever you want. Forget about traffic.

Makeup and Wardrobe? Whatever you find around the

house. The closest thing to an audience member ruin-

ing your timing is a surprise cameo from your adorable

toddler waddling in — which is sure to go viral! And

is there any doubt that these late-night show hosts are

enjoying the best part of being a YouTuber: not need-

ing to wear pants.

If there’s any question in your mind, take a look at

how fast the highly polished big-budget late-night

shows swapped to the YouTuber aesthetic. No more

perfect lighting, no more crafted set, no more pristine

picture quality. Now late shows look indistinguishable

from YouTubers — just a person sitting at home under

bad lighting, talking to a 720i webcam. Maybe one of

them will step up the game and get a ring light.

Of course, they’ve still got a lot to learn about the

YouTubing game. They’ll have to learn about engage-

ment, cajoling your audience into slamming that sub-

scribe button, and of course, like the rest of us, they’ll

have to sell their souls to the Algorithm.

CONSPIRACY THEORY

Just like us YouTubers, late-night TV hosts have to deal with unexpected

distractions while recording.

JUST LOOK AT

HOW FAST

THESE HIGHLY

POLISHED

SHOWS

SWAPPED TO

THE YOUTUBE

AESTHETIC.

“