\n<\/p>\n
The new horror-thriller \u201cLate Night With the Devil\u201d<\/a> stars David Dastmalchian as the host of \u201cNight Owls With Jack Delroy\u201d where, on Halloween night 1977, an occult-themed episode takes a dark turn during the live broadcast. Shot in a found-footage way that unearths the \u201clost\u201d episode, the movie (now in theaters, streaming on Shudder on April 22) is a satirical throwback to the era\u2019s supernatural and religious fanaticism, with a notable nod to \u201cThe Exorcist.\u201d And it is one of the most recent in a string of late-night moments that make their way to the big and small screens.<\/p>\n Late-night hosts past and present have lent their sets (and sometimes themselves) to projects, while fictional nods and fake hosts pop up elsewhere. From Gucci campaigns featuring James Corden interviewing Harry Styles to several \u201cSimpsons\u201d cameos and sendups, to David Letterman crossovers on \u201cSeinfeld,\u201d \u201cThe Larry Sanders Show\u201d and \u201cRoseanne,\u201d late-night hosts play a particularly present role in popular culture. <\/p>\n Below is a select look at the times late-night television has smartly made its way into fictional movies and TV.<\/p>\n Rent on Apple TV or Amazon.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In this film directed by Don Weis, Connie Francis stars as Libby Caruso, an aspiring singer who initially found success peddling a line of women\u2019s clothing. Booked on \u201cThe Tonight Show With Johnny Carson\u201d to talk fashion, Libby makes mention of her singing and sees her life change after Carson invites her to perform a song.<\/p>\n Stream it on Hulu.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Martin Scorsese\u2019s follow-up to \u201cRaging Bull\u201d reunited the director with Robert De Niro for this dark satire. De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin, a fame-obsessed aspiring stand-up comedian who kidnaps the late-night host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis) and blackmails his way into his gig. Believing himself to be a star, Rupert\u2019s ruse pays off as he becomes infamous and lives in a fantasy of his own making.<\/p>\n Stream it on Max.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n After guest hosting \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d in the 1980s, Garry Shandling was offered his own late-night gig, but turned it down to star in this HBO parody of the genre instead. Famous for breaking the fourth wall, Sanders\u2019s on-screen alter ego took viewers through the day-to-day of crafting a monologue, interviewing celebrity guests and handling backstage drama. A precursor to \u201cCurb Your Enthusiasm,\u201d the series featured comedians and other public figures playing exaggerated versions of themselves, including David Letterman.<\/p>\n Stream it on Max.<\/a><\/p>\n Based on Bill Carter\u2019s book of the same name, this made-for-TV movie brought the industry conflict of the post-Johnny Carson era to life. When Carson announces his retirement in 1991, Jay Leno (played by Daniel Roebuck) and David Letterman (John Michael Higgins) battle to take over \u201cThe Tonight Show.\u201d Directed by Betty Thomas, this film offers a heightened version of the tumult that would ultimately lead to the creation of Letterman\u2019s \u201cLate Show\u201d on CBS.<\/p>\n Stream it on Netflix.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n On an episode aptly titled \u201cThe Merv Griffin Show,\u201d Kramer discovers the complete set for the long-running talk show in a dumpster and sets it up in his apartment so that when friends come by, he\u2019s quite literally playing host. Kramer\u2019s invasive tabloid-style interviewing of his guests incites arguments between Jerry and a girlfriend (for good reason), and a hawk and a squirrel, whose altercation trashes the set for good.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Stream it on Adult Swim.<\/a><\/p>\n The reimagining of the original Space Ghost character when Cartoon Network debuted featured the animated star hosting his own late-night talk show featuring real live-action guests. A has-been superhero, Space Ghost enlisted his enemies Zorak and Moltar to work on his show and brought out stars like Eartha Kitt and Alice Cooper in its lengthy run on-and-off over 11 seasons. Jon Stewart appears on a 1997 episode called \u201cMayonnaise,\u201d in which Space Ghost tries to sell the \u201cDaily Show\u201d host on aromatherapy, to disastrous results.<\/p>\n Stream it on Peacock<\/a> and Hulu<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Conan O\u2019Brien played himself in several episodes of the NBC hit series \u201c30 Rock,\u201d including an interview gone wrong in a Season 1 episode called \u201cTracy Does Conan,\u201d when Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) tries to stab O\u2019Brien. The show had a running joke about lingering tension between O\u2019Brien and Tina Fey\u2019s Liz Lemon, which ended with an awkward elevator run-in between exes: \u201cWe dated for a year!\u201d O\u2019Brien says to a tuned-out Lemon. \u201cWe were going to lose our virginity to each other!\u201d<\/p>\n Stream it on Netflix.<\/a><\/p>\n Stephen Colbert was still hosting \u201cThe Colbert Report\u201d on Comedy Central when he appeared on the Season 3 premiere of the Netflix series \u201cHouse of Cards,\u201d interviewing Kevin Spacey\u2019s President Frank Underwood about his America Works plan. In typical Colbert fashion, the host challenged Underwood on his big dreams for bipartisan support for his jobs program and teased that \u201cAmWorks\u201d was \u201ca socialist redistribution of wealth wherein the baby boomers latch onto the millennials like a lamprey and just keep sucking until they\u2019re as dry as a crouton.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n When the Muppets returned to weekly television<\/a> in 2015, the premise was all about \u201cUp Late With Miss Piggy.\u201d Shot like a documentary series following the muppets in their daily lives working for the show, Miss Piggy\u2019s recent ex, Kermit, was her executive producer, while the rest of Jim Henson\u2019s brood worked in the writers\u2019 room or elsewhere on set. A few celebrities pop by to duet (or duel) with the host on the short-lived series, but Miss Piggy was loath to share the stage for too long, per usual.<\/p>\n Stream it on Tubi.<\/a><\/p>\n As the head talent booker on the fifth-highest-rated late-night talk show, \u201cNightcap With Jimmy,\u201d Staci Cole (played by the show\u2019s creator Ali Wentworth) tries to wrangle her staff while appeasing celebrity guests. The show only had two seasons on the Pop network, but a stable of personalities popped by to play themselves, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Kelly Ripa, Andy Cohen, Gwyneth Paltrow, Whoopi Goldberg, Denis Leary and Wentworth\u2019s husband, George Stephanopoulos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In this dark drama from Todd Phillips, Robert De Niro goes from playing the kidnapper of a late-night host to playing the host himself. In the role, De Niro pays tribute to his parts in \u201cThe King of Comedy\u201d as well as in \u201cTaxi Driver,\u201d hosting Joaquin Phoenix\u2019s Arthur (a.k.a. the Joker) as a guest on his show. It involves a tense appearance that goes off the rails.<\/p>\n Stream it on Amazon Prime Video.<\/a><\/p>\n Mindy Kaling wrote and co-starred in this 2019 comedy about a fictional host, Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson), who, despite being likable, is struggling to keep viewers for her show, \u201cTonight With Katherine Newbury.\u201d Kaling plays the aspiring monologue writer Molly Patel, who joins the staff just in time to help Katherine navigate the network\u2019s attempt to replace her with a hack.<\/p>\n Stream it on Netflix.<\/a><\/p>\n On an episode called \u201cThe Horny Unicorn,\u201d Samantha Bee makes a brief appearance voicing an animated version of herself as an anthropomorphic bee hosting a show on \u201cT-Bee-S.\u201d When she lobs a joke aimed at BoJack, he deems it an \u201cunfair drive-by,\u201d which only gets worse before he turns her off altogether.<\/p>\n\u2018Looking for Love\u2019 (1964)<\/h2>\n
\u2018The King of Comedy\u2019 (1983)<\/h2>\n
\u2018The Larry Sanders Show\u2019 (1992-1998)<\/h2>\n
\u2018The Late Shift\u2019 (1996)<\/h2>\n
\u2018Seinfeld\u2019<\/h2>\n
Season 9, Episode 6 (1997)<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018Space Ghost Coast to Coast\u2019 (1994-2008)<\/h2>\n
\u201830 Rock\u2019<\/h2>\n
Season 1, Episode 7 (2006)<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018House of Cards\u2019<\/h2>\n
Season 3, Episode 1 (2015)<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018Nightcap\u2019 (2016-2017)<\/h2>\n
\u2018Late Night\u2019 (2019)<\/h2>\n
\u2018BoJack Horseman\u2019 (2014-2020)<\/h2>\n
Season 6, Episode 13<\/span><\/h3>\n
\u2018The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel\u2019 (2017-2023)<\/h2>\n