Sean Hannity Thinks Stephen A. Smith Can Save Late Night TV

While the golden age of late-night television seems to be a thing of the past, Sean Hannity thinks Stephen A. Smith can bring it back to prominence.

Maybe you have a favorite late night host who regularly checks their social media feed for clips or watches their show. But even if you’re a fan of Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, or Stephen Colbert, let’s face it, the days or nights when late night shows were must-watch TV are long gone. This is reflected in their influence compared to that of podcast hosts, as well as their ratings.

Will it ever bounce back? According to Hannity, this will be the case if Stephen A. Smith enters the conversation. Smith joined Hannity on his new Fox Nation series, Sean this week. And during the conversation, Hannity floated the idea of ​​Bob Iger replacing Kimmel with Smith.

“Kimmel keeps saying late-night TV is going away,” Hannity said. “I think you could save him, and I’ll tell you why.” Because one night you’d find out about Robert De Niro, hating Trump. The next night, you’d put me or the big guy, Mark Levin, on the stage and let us all talk. And you’re naturally funny and then they’d have 30 writers who would make you funnier.

Part of the problem with late night television is recycled guests like Robert De Niro or Mark Levin, but you have to understand. Smith guest hosted Kimmel’s late-night show on ABC in 2021. And for years, Smith has said he would love to be Kimmel’s heir apparent. Although Smith is still interested in late night, he no longer broadcasts as strong a desire to take Kimmel’s job, instead proposing the idea of ​​moving his own YouTube show to a network.

“I want to turn my YouTube show into a network or cable news show,” Smith admitted. “I love stuff like that…I’m a fan of Bill Maher, I would love to do a show like him or what Jon (Stewart) does in The daily show…I like to discuss serious topics. But more importantly, I like the idea of ​​having Chris Cuomo one day and Sean Hannity the next. I want people to know that when you come to me, I will be fair.

Late night hosts and shows lack surprise or edge and can seem redundant. But part of their problem is how media is consumed. Maybe Smith can bring a late night show to life, or maybe he’d just be better off continuing to implement everything he’d like as a late night host, into his own brand and its own platform on YouTube.

(Fox Nation)