Voices - The People and Ideas Shaping The Culture

Chelsea Handler, Sam Jay, and Amber Ruffin on reimagining the Late-Night Talk Show and rewriting the rules of comedy

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It's a new day for late night. Long dominated by white men and cue cards, the after-hours talk show is undergoing an overdue transformation, with networks finally reexamining not only which conversations deserve to be had but how they should unfold and who should lead them.

Sam Jay and Amber Ruffin are from the new class of hosts who are approaching their shows without precedent in mind. Chelsea Handler took a similar tack when she launched Chelsea Lately on E! in 2007, which eschewed typical talk-show fare and connected with women-a demographic long neglected by late night-in a way few of her predecessors had. On her podcast, Dear Chelsea, which she launched in 2021, Handler lets her audience lead by answering its questions-about sex, drugs, and everything in between-with the help of celebrity and expert guests.

On her show Pause With Sam Jay, which debuted on HBO in 2021, Jay tackles divisive cultural issues via one-on-one conversations with relevant professionals at their places of work and through lively parties hosted at her apartment with friends. Formerly a writer for Saturday Night Live, she is also the co-writer, costar, and co-creator of the scripted Peacock comedy series Bust Down.

Ruffin, a writer for Late Night With Seth Meyers since 2014, also turned the desk-interview format on its head with The Amber Ruffin Show, which wrapped its second season in June on Peacock. Largely forgoing celebrity guests, Ruffin explores trending topics via scripted sketches and monologues, the writing for which has earned her an Emmy nomination.

Handler, Jay, and Ruffin connected over Zoom to discuss balancing work and love, the evolution of comedy, and what drives their creative processes.