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Comedy in the time of coronavirus: How Fallon, Colbert went on with bourbon and gallows humor

Kelly Lawler
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Late night comedy was a little closer to late night mania on NBC and CBS Thursday night. 

Due to growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, talk shows went without audiences Thursday, ahead of a shutdown that will keep them off the air with new episodes until at least March 30.

It's a responsible measure as large gatherings of people are banned and canceled throughout the world, and it's not unprecedented. "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" went audience-free in 2012 as Superstorm Sandy approached New York City. But it took away an important element to any comedy show: sustained laughter and applause. 

As a result, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" offered up bizarre, elbow bumping episodes that veered between gallows humor, panic and complete surreality. And over on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Pete Buttigieg was a guest host because why not? They weren't your typical hours of late-night entertainment, but there was absolutely something distracting and riveting to behold. 

The episodes felt less like traditional TV and more like personality tests for the two very different hosts. Fallon tried to stay the genial goof that has gotten him so far in Hollywood, while Colbert let his walls down, becoming a physical manifestation of the fear and confusion so many around the world are feeling right now. 

The rapid spread of the coronavirus has sparked cancellations and postponements in the entertainment industry as safety concerns grow. Late night talk shows starring Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers were all benched, through March 30, after airing audience-free episodes on March 11. They have since returned with at-home versions of the shows.

Scroll through for more major changes of plans in the entertainment world.

Fallon tried to maintain some sense of normalcy with "Tonight," opening with an address about coronavirus and an explanation of his empty studio at New York's 30 Rock. His hammy, giddy brand of comedy is perhaps more in need of an audience than any of his peers, and it was with a bit of sadness that he read his usual parade of hashtag humor as his announcer Steve Higgins limply tried to goad the 20 or so staffers in the studio, trying to fill in for a crowd that usually contains hundreds, into louder responses. Fallon read the jokes off of tiny notecards and put the ones that didn't land straight into a paper shredder. 

If Fallon was at a lower volume, Colbert turned himself up to the max, running wildly around his studio, drinking straight bourbon and generally acting like a toddler given a TV studio to play with.

The episode was ostensibly a taped rehearsal, with Colbert making frequent side cracks to his writers and musing about how much time he could waste by pointing the camera at the crew to chat. Frequently sipping his beverage, he asked bandleader Jon Batiste, who doesn't drink alcohol, how he copes with stress. Batiste said music, and though he played a plaintive tune for the host, Colbert soon returned to his cocktail. There were frequent and distracting edits, not usually a part of the late-night format, suggesting that Colbert had gone too far off script. 

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Both hosts enlisted celebrity doctors to give coronavirus public service announcements, although Colbert got lucky withCNN stalwart Dr. Sanjay Gupta while Fallon was stuck with hacky Dr. Mehmet Oz. Although each repeated proper hand-washing techniques and explained the benefits of social distancing, it was jarring to see both medical professionals sit less than six feet from the comedians. There is another seat on the stage for a reason! 

Colbert didn't have another guest or a musical performer to keep the episode afloat, but Fallon had Mandy Moore and Dane DeHaan, offering familiar celebrity anecdotes and plugs for new projects. Moore ("This Is Us") performed a song off her new album to an empty room, and it wasn't as awkward as you might imagine. 

Mandy Moore  promotes her new album to an empty studio while visiting "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" on March 12.

If they diverged in exactly how their "show must go on," Fallon and Colbert were united in criticizing President Donald Trump and his address to the nation Wednesday night. Each broke out their impersonation for jokes, sure, but also offered outright condemnations of Trump and the government's response to the crisis. As they did for other crises, the comedians also took on the role of the national voice of reason and comfort. 

Considering both series have shut down production (they'll air repeats) as the country moves further toward social distancing, these strange episodes feel like historical documents. Fallon and Colbert captured an unfathomable moment in our history through the lens of comedy. There are few silver linings in a pandemic, but Thursday gave us the rare opportunity to see the mettle of these two men.

And we have to laugh at something, right?

Coronavirus updates:Stephen Colbert, more late night suspend production; 'AGT,' 'Family Feud' nix live audience

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