Initial thoughts on Episode 1 of Jason Kelce’s ‘They Call It Late Night’
Photo courtesy of ESPN
So, Jason Kelce‘s debut late-night show, “They Call It Late Night,” has aired. Yes, I stayed up to watch it. It was worth it.
Imagine hearing that 13 years ago. Jason Kelce, a Cincinnati walk-on and sixth-round offensive lineman will become one of the biggest figures in not just football, but in society, and is hosting a late-night show on ESPN. It is crazy.
But, the show was fun. Dave Burd, also known as Lil Dicky, Brian Baldinger, and Charles Barkley were great guests. But, when it was scripted, it was not pleasant.
Here are my thoughts:
An awkward open
The opening of the show was quite cumbersome.
ESPN had an interesting intro, featuring Kelce in his mummer suit speaking to Lincoln Financial Field (strange), taking a shot at the Giants letting Saquon Barkley walk and finishing by riding an Eagles golf cart around the city.
After that, Kelce went around the studio, which was filmed at Union Transfer, and made his best attempt at describing the show, making some jokes, and going through a random door at the back of the set, which was a “portal” that led him to Jimmy Kimmel, leading to an unfunny skit.
He also introduced that his wife, Kylie, is the announcer because of course, she is. The two also made abundantly clear that cursing is a major part of this show, which only makes sense.
Kelce described “They Call It late Night” as his “love letter” to football. ESPN teamed up with NFL Films to use game clips that will be sprinkled throughout each episode, something Kelce described as a “sentimental” part of his attachment to football.
Overall, the opening was scripted, felt very forced, and was not very funny.
But it got better.
Guests turned it around
When Lil Dicky, Baldinger, and Barkley entered after the first commercial break, things turned around mightily.
The four talked football. They began talking Eagles, mostly about whether playing Barkley on Sunday is the right decision or not.
Yes, “They Call It Late Night” is not a Philadelphia show, but all three of the guests have ties to Philadelphia. Lil Dicky is from Cheltenham, Baldinger played in Philadelphia in 1992 and ’93, and of course Barkley is a legendary Sixer. So, of course, they talked Eagles.
But they moved to general NFL talk following the commercial break. Playoffs, the NFC North battle between the Lions and Vikings, and Dan Campbell were the main topics of discussion.
Also, look at the 65-year-old Baldinger. This is impressive.
It was raw Kelce and raw football talk between football guys. It was entertaining, and just that right there can become a great product.
A fitting end
Of course, this thing ended with a chugging contest.
Kelce brought out Rob Dunphy (the guy with the Phillie Phanatic belly button tattoo), a crazy Bengals fan, and two influencers who do a lot of beer chugging.
One of the influencers won, and that was the end of the show. It was a hard cut.
Overall thoughts
After the first episode, “They Call It Late Night” had its ups and downs.
The football discussion with Kelce, Baldinger, Barkley, and Lil Dicky was great. Kelce and Baldinger are two excellent football minds, Barkley gave very good insight, and Lil Dicky tried his best.
But, other than that, it was tacky and uneasy.
Some moments were funny, but a lot of it felt involuntary. It was not the raw, unfiltered Kelce that we are all used to. He is a host on a real show for the first time. A lot of it also has to do with those who are writing the show. A lot of Episode 1 did not feel like Jason Kelce. So hopefully, the writers can adapt and improve on the initial experience.
There are five episodes that are slated to air on ESPN on Saturdays at 1 a.m. throghout the NFL Playoffs. They run from Saturday the fourth to February 1. I am interested to see how the show progresses.
But, the first one was not bad.
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Benjamin Goldstein
Benjamin has been covering Philly Sports for Philly Sports Reports since 2017. He is a podcaster, writer, and founder of Philly Sports Reports. Benjamin is also an intern at the WBCB Sports Network on 1490AM. Through Philly Sports Reports, Benjamin has gotten the opportunity to meet Phillies owner John Middleton in his suite and be honored as the Philadelphia sports fan of the week for KYW News Radio. He hopes to be reporting on Philly sports as a full-time job in the future.
