For the ‘Late Night’ host’s viral ‘Corrections’ series, Meyers does not deputize any of the doomscrolling: “Have you seen ‘Severance’? I’d be telling an intern to look for the bad numbers. Because that’s what it’s like: A seven starts throbbing, and only I can see it.”
Seth Meyers is reading your comments.
Since launching Corrections in March 2021 — first as a recurring segment and now a full 20-minute (and Emmy-nominated) digital series — NBC’s Late Night host has populated his comic rundown of viewer critiques and observations of his show by spending countless hours scrolling through YouTube feedback.
He starts every morning by reading comments. He devotes the bulk of each Thursday to reading comments. And, as the segment has grown in popularity, he’s found that his own commentary on the comments has… prompted even more comments to read. “A lot of them are within the body of the comments and the previous Corrections,” says Meyers, during a recent visit to The Hollywood Reporter offices. “It’s definitely a snake eating its own tail at this point — which, as I found out through Corrections, is called an ouroboros.”
To anyone who’s lost precious hours of their own days to room scrolling, this might sound like an exercise in digital masochism. But Meyers appears to genuinely love the process. “I think that everybody has bought into the game,” he said. “They’re fans of the show and want to help give content for this other thing they like. So, it’s performative outrage. It’s been the most delightful experiment in trying to turn the worst of the Internet into something joyous.”
It’s also been fruitful. In addition to a 2021 Emmy nomination for outstanding short-form series, YouTube uploads of the segment regularly fetch more than 400,000 views. For Meyers, Corrections have also been a healthy exercise in comedy writing outside the typical late-night bits. The Saturday Night Live alum, whose last comedy special was 2019’s Lobby Baby, equates it to creating a new 20-minute stand-up set every week.
Late Night brought back its studio audience in October, but Corrections is still only filmed in front of the crew and staff. That means his stand-up, however strong, isn’t always greeted by the most assuring laughter. “There’s a cameraman named Buck who laughs at everything,” says Meyers. “Whereas Alex Baze, our head writer, is discerning to the point of… well, I’ve worked with him for like 20 years and I think I’ve heard him laugh like five or six times.”
Producing and hosting a late-night talk show is not exactly easy to work. So, one could easily assume Meyers might consider delegating the comment-reading to an intern or assistant down the line. But he’s surprisingly happy doing that part by himself.
“No, I don’t think they’d know what to look for,” he says. “Have you seen Severance? I’d be telling an intern to look for the bad numbers. Because that’s what it’s like: A seven starts throbbing and only I can see it.”
