On May 2nd, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) began nationwide strike action over pay rates from streaming media and the use of AI in writing entertainment scripts. Caroline Leicht writes that late-night programs such as The Tonight Show have been affected by the WGA strike, and that this may have implications for how Americans view politics heading into the 2024 presidential election, as many get their political news from late-night comedy.

Looking forward to the next season of your favorite US-produced TV drama or comedy? Chances are it might be delayed because of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. Earlier this month, WGA members voted to go on strike after weeks of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers had failed. As writers across the United States enter their fourth week on the picket lines, many are speculating what this will mean for the entertainment industry in the autumn. But the writers’ strike also has more immediate effects that go far beyond entertainment itself.

Indefinite hiatus for late-night comedy as a political news platform 

Late-night programs like The Tonight Show are important venues for political communication in the United States, whether it be their hosts providing political commentary in their opening monologues or politicians appearing as guests to promote policies, campaigns, or their personal image. These late-night shows are usually written and recorded (or broadcast live in some cases) either on the day of the broadcast or a couple of days in advance.

With their writers now on the pickets outside the studios, these shows shut down production on 2 May and have been broadcasting reruns since. Among the affected programs are news parody shows like The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, talk shows including Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL). In an age where many Americans report that they receive their political news from late-night comedy, the lack of new broadcasts is poised to have significant effects on US political communication and, on a wider scale, US politics.

WGA strike comes at crucial time in US politics

Indeed, these effects can already be felt just a few weeks into the strike. The WGA action comes at a crucial time in US politics. On 9 May, former president Donald Trump was found liable in a civil case accusing him of sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll in 1996, and just a day later, he appeared in a CNN Town Hall. Both received widespread attention in the news media, but for once, not on the late-night circuit. At first glance, this may not seem like a big issue – certainly US political media and communication could do without jokes about current events for a few weeks. But there is more than what meets the eye.

As colleagues have written for the LSE USAPP Blog in the past, humor has a long tradition in American politics, particularly during election times. Late-night hosts like Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert are opinion leaders, and many viewers form parasocial relationships with them, seeing them as something akin to a friend. Such parasocial relationships can influence how viewers process information received through these sources, not least because many tend to build political opinions on friends’ input. Indeed, research has found that late-night comedy shows have a real influence on voters’ attitudes and political engagement. And late-night talk shows can provide political input in more ways than one.

Photo by Arthur Osipyan on Unsplash

Late-night comedy provides political commentary and a platform for politicians

Programs like The Tonight Show usually start with a monologue performed by the host that, often features political commentary. Additionally, some shows see the host providing more in-depth political commentary in other segments, for instance “A Closer Look” on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Finally, talk shows feature interviews with guests, including politicians. Research has shown that young people are more likely to recall facts about political actors if they saw them on a comedy talk show as opposed to news programs on cable television.

This has not gone unnoticed by politicians and their advisors: Presidential candidates regularly hit the late-night circuit during campaigns, and sitting Senators, Representatives, Governors, White House staffers, or even the President himself frequently pay visits to late-night comedy shows to promote policies or use the platform to present a down-to-earth approachable image.

Are shut-down productions an issue for Biden’s re-election bid?

For President Joe Biden, the WGA strike certainly does not come at an opportune time. He has not had a chance to reach an important audience that chatting with Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, or Stephen Colbert would give him since officially announcing his re-election bid for 2024. And while his announcement received coverage on the late-night talk shows before the writers’ strike went into effect, there was one notable exception: Saturday Night Live.

Particularly during campaign times, the sketch comedy show is known for showcasing impersonations of the candidates and building an image that is frequently associated with the candidates beyond just comedy.

During Biden’s 2020 campaign, SNL did not have a permanent Biden impersonator and switched between guest actors for the former Vice President four times throughout the campaign, leading to a rather jumbled image. SNL has since hired a permanent Biden impersonator: James Austin Johnson – who famously also plays Trump on the same show these days. But Johnson has not had a chance to kick off the Biden 2024 campaign on SNL, leaving a gap as both public and media typically look to SNL to attach meaning and context to political communication.

Public interest in late-night comedy high, even during production shutdowns

The last time WGA members went on strike was in 2007 and productions remained shut down for several months. During this time, SNL cast members famously staged a live show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City to raise money for crew members affected by the strike. The show was held behind closed doors, with an audience of just over 100 people. Still, it received a high amount of news coverage, based entirely on reports from audience members and with no footage ever made publicly available.

The public interest in the political jokes at SNL’s closed doors show in 2007 and the current focus on what the writers’ strike means for late-night comedy are just two further indicators of how important these programs are for US political communication. It is not yet clear how long the current WGA strike will continue, but it will certainly be interesting to observe how US politicians and pundits adjust to the temporary shutdown of this important political communication platform.

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