Late-night entertainment to go dark

NEW YORK • Much of late night is going dark.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and Late Night With Seth Meyers are all suspending production next week, NBC and CBS said on Thursday, making them the biggest daily American television series to go off the air because of concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.

The earliest date that the three shows would return with new episodes is March 30, the networks said.

Saturday Night Live, which, like The Tonight Show and Late Night, tapes at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan and is on hiatus until March 28. Its immediate future could be in doubt as well.

Earlier on Thursday, NBCUniversal's chief executive officer, Mr Jeff Shell, encouraged employees to start working from home.

The move to cancel new episodes was a reversal from Wednesday, when all the late-night shows that are based in New York - also including Trevor Noah's on Comedy Central, Samantha Bee's show on TBS and John Oliver's on HBO - said they would broadcast without studio audiences.

With more and more Americans being directed to stay home, television, particularly daily talk shows, could become a key source of entertainment and comfort during the pandemic.

On the other hand, producers and executives need to balance that imperative with the well-being of their staff.

The Tonight Show taped a new episode on Thursday, including celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz and singer Mandy Moore as guests, without a studio audience.

Late Night did not tape a new episode. A repeat was shown on Thursday night.

Colbert's show also prevented an audience from entering the Ed Sullivan Theatre on Thursday. The show explained that it was "in the light of recent developments in New York City".

Earlier in the day, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York said all gatherings with more than 500 people had to be cancelled and that gatherings with 500 or fewer people had to be cut in half.

The Ed Sullivan Theatre seats about 370 people.

NYTIMES