After the election of Donald Trump, late night hosts Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Trevor Noah, Conan O’Brien and John Oliver have used late night television as a platform to continually lampoon the president.
But here’s a radical new idea: Adding a right-leaning late night talk show host to the media landscape. Christian Toto, a conservative film critic and podcaster, argues that this is what’s missing today in American television.
The recipe would be simple. The host would need to be funny, intelligent and tough enough to handle the nastiest attacks—and they get nasty—with a team of the best fact checkers just right of center.
The ratings would likely skyrocket since competition would be nonexistent and half of the country would suddenly find a voice to whom they could relate, Toto argued. And in a media landscape that prides itself on being objective and open to all views, wouldn’t this be fair?
There would be no shortage of possibilities for the host; a whole list of talent looking to advance their careers, the more cynical and eye-appealing the better.
Heather McDonald, the sassy right-leaning talk show host who loves to share her opinions is one option he suggests. Or, veteran radio host Adam Carolla, a self-proclaimed Libertarian. Conservative comedian Nick Di Paolo might be a bit crass at times, but he’s also clever enough to make his point while making viewers laugh. Or, perhaps Fox News would be willing to part with Greg Gutfeld and his witty one-liners.
Toto turns to South Park as the blueprint for the show.
“Conservatives adore the show, potty mouthing and all, because it dares to mock both sides of the ideological aisle,” Toto said. “If this proposed show did the same, it could draw a fraction of the Colbert crowd while protecting it from angriest attacks.”
Still, even Toto is skeptical that a show like this could actually take off. Jimmy Fallon, arguably one of the only late night talk show hosts to remain center during the Trump era has suffered in recent ratings as a result.
“If it hasn’t been created already it’s unlikely to ever get off the ground,” Toto conceded. “Networks understand the power of comedy in 2017. Comedy memes get weaponized on a daily basis. Comics have stopped telling jokes and started lecturing audiences.”
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