Live from their living room: the show goes on (at home) for US talk show hosts

No studio and audience? No problem for the likes of Trevor Noah, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert

Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah and Jimmy Fallon are all shooting their shows from home. YouTube

Popular late-night talk shows are best known for being raucous affairs, filmed live in front of a studio audience. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues globally, the traditional way of filming has been put on hold. Many programmes took a week off but are now back and, rather than going dark, the shows – and their hosts – have gone home.

Everyone from Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah to Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel have been filming in familiar surroundings to them, but unfamiliar to their fans.

Here are the TV hosts making the show go on ... from their homes.

Trevor Noah 

The South African Daily Show host was an early adopter of the home studio. But gone are his suits; instead, he is going for a much more cosy-looking hoodie on a daily basis.

Noah announced that he was going to stop filming in the studio on Sunday, March 16. Since then, he has started The Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor Noah. He has interviewed everyone from Malaysian comedian Ronny Chieng to DJ D-Nice and Covid-19 expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, via video link.

Stephen Colbert 

"Welcome, one and all, to A Late Show. I'm your host, Stephen Colbert. It's good to be back. What did I miss? Anything ... anything big?" The Late Show host said to welcome viewers back on Monday, March 30. He also joked: "Why did I wish to be home more on that cursed monkey paw?"

Colbert had been off-air since Wednesday, March 18, but returned with a message for the US: "America, you got this."

Just don't expect Colbert to take a casual approach to working from home.

"A, it gives me the sense that I'm at a job," he said, explaining his choice to continue wearing a suit. "And, B, I do not have a physique that lends itself to casual clothing. I just want to do anything to make things seem somewhat normal. That's why I'm wearing full make-up and I shaved my legs."

Full episodes will continue to air daily on US channel CBS.

Jimmy Fallon

The chat show host, known and loved for his musical bits, has launched The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: At Home Edition. 

Via video link, he has chatted to Demi Lovato about FaceTiming famous friends from self-isolation and Jonathan Van Ness about quarantine grooming tips.

Full episodes aren't available to be watched online, but you can see clips and highlights from the shows here.

"In these very special editions of the show, Jimmy Fallon takes The Tonight Show to his home and highlights a different charity every night that you can donate to and help those in need," the blurb explains.

Jimmy Kimmel 

Like his peers, the host has launched Jimmy Kimmel Live From His House.

He kicked the new series off on Tuesday, March 17, and explained online: "Since we aren’t doing shows right now during this coronavirus quarantine, Jimmy has nothing to do. He’s bored and he figured some of you may be as well, so he decided that he’s going to shoot mini monologues at his house."

Since then, his "minilogues" have seen him chat to Will Arnett, Joe Biden and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

He has also tested his Friends trivia with star of the show, Courteney Cox, and some fans, with hilarious consequences.

Seth Meyers

Late Night with Seth Meyers was off-air from Wednesday, March 11, but returned on Monday, March 30 from the host's office.

Meyers chose to take an 18-minute "closer look" into President Donald Trump, and some of his claims during the coronavirus pandemic.

"You're comparing your pandemic briefings to The Bachelor?" he said in his monologue. "Because at this point, I'd rather go to Peter's mum, Barb, for coronavirus updates."

He added: "People aren't tuning in because they love you. People are tuning in because they are trapped inside and their only choice is watching you or digging through Netflix trying to find a British crime show they haven't seen yet."

He also spoke to Elizabeth Warren about the economy going forward and protecting US taxpayers.

_______________

Read more: 

15 shows, books and podcasts helping get us by while we're social distancing

From Bold and the Beautiful to Neighbours: how popular soap operas are facing the coronavirus

13 new TV shows to watch in the next month: from escapist reality to gritty dramas

_______________