Time flies when you're hosting a late-night show four times a week. But Seth Meyers admits it took a while to feel comfortable as host of 鈥淟ate Night with Seth Meyers,鈥 which is marking its 10th anniversary.
鈥淚t's a journey everyone takes when you get a show like this,鈥 he said recently in an interview over Zoom.
It took about six months to establish "a baseline of confidence.鈥 Over time, he also decided to skip the late-night tradition of standing for an opening monologue in favor of sitting at his desk the whole show.
鈥淥nce people stopped seeing my legs, we turned a corner,鈥 he jokes. He also wears more casual clothing instead of suits.
In the last decade, Meyers has launched signature segments, the in-depth comedic take He also embarks on day-drinking excursions with celebrities like and and gives his writers the opportunity to explain a joke they wrote that didn't land.
鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to talk about jokes that go badly because, any writer will tell you, you work just as hard on the jokes that bomb,鈥 he says.
There's also the digital series 鈥淐orrections,鈥 where Meyers responds to YouTube comments pointing out his mistakes. It's written exclusively by Meyers and taped on Thursday nights in front of crew members, with a Negroni on the desk.
Meyers will celebrate the show's milestone on Monday鈥檚 episode, with fellow 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥 alum In a conversation with The Associated Press edited for brevity and clarity, Meyers reflects on his favorite moments 鈥 and his goal to reach 25 years working in the NBC building
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AP: Some favorite moments on your show were the wild stories of your son's (very quick) births. Are you happy you shared?
MEYERS: Both times my boys were born, it was really special to go in and speak off the cuff about it, knowing that it would be this really nice historical record to one day show them. Ashe, who I would have thought had the craziest story, was born first. He was born on a Sunday, and I took Monday off. And then that I remember on Sunday saying to my wife, 鈥淚 think I got to go to set.鈥 She was like, 鈥淵eah, I get it.鈥
AP: Why did you decide to stop wearing a suit on the air and to dress more casually?
MEYERS: It seemed silly to wear a suit with no audience there so I was in casual clothes. Then when the audience came back, I just felt more in my own skin. Dressing more like myself allows me to be more like myself. And I don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 permanent, but it is a nice feeling. The other day I put on a suit for something else and it was just, 鈥淏lech!鈥 I like that I don鈥檛 ever feel that way.
AP: 鈥淎 Closer Look鈥 came about during the Trump administration. And here we are in another with Trump running for reelection. What are your thoughts creatively?
MEYERS: We just have to respond to what鈥檚 happening in the world. 鈥淎 Closer Look,鈥 for us, has always been cathartic to write, and we hope it鈥檚 cathartic to watch. We鈥檙e just happy to have built this segment on our show that can sort of take all news. It certainly in a way. It is what it is.
AP: You often mention during the show and bring them on. Why?
MEYERS: I probably still than anything else, and I love being a part of a writing staff. Over the pandemic, when it was just the crew, you could blame a joke on a writer and get a laugh because they knew them. ... You're showing people behind the curtain a bit.
AP: You also have a very conversational style to interviewing, with no cue cards. Does that lend itself to the kinds of guests you ideally want on the show?
MEYERS: There鈥檚 a tier of guests that all of us would take, and I鈥檓 sure you and I could both name those names. And then you have a chance to be selective in a way that you think reflects what your show鈥檚 DNA is. We鈥檙e always looking for those guests that are a little bit more offbeat or maybe just fit with my vibe better. The longer you do the show to build the rapport with people, you get really excited when, for example, coming back, who is one of my favorite guests. You only have to ask him one question and he talks all day. was also a recent guest who has a vibe that is all her own. does not feel like interviewing anybody else, and that makes it really fun.
AP: Will you be doing this job in 10 years?
MEYERS: I don鈥檛 know. I鈥檝e tried in my career never to think that far ahead. I would like to do it for a few more years. I can鈥檛 imagine anything being more enjoyable than that. I鈥檓 coming up on 25 years at 30 Rock, and I鈥檓 pretty sure I will get a watch. Or maybe a nice pen. I鈥檒l tell you this, if I don鈥檛 make it to 25, there should be an investigation because that might just mean they don鈥檛 want to spend that watch money.
