A Finger Up Maya Rudolph’s Nose Won Late Night This Week

Photo: Lloyd Bishop/NBC via Getty Images

First and foremost: What a shame that George Santos got his sentence commuted by President Trump on a week Jimmy Kimmel Live! it was dark. Nelson Franklin’s was my favorite Santos impression from the last time that guy was in the news. Jon Lovitz returned to The Tonight Show, however, which was nice to see. But whither Harvey Guillén? Will Franklin stop by Kimmel next week? No need to let this diva retire to the Poconos quietly. And, Jimmy, he’s back on Cameo. The courts ruled you can fuck with him again.

The other place late-night TV intersected with the rest of the internet was the The Tonight Show TikTok of Jimmy Fallon and Malala Yousafzai doing the “What’s Up/Bees in the Trap” trend. I saw one person say it was proof 30 Rock and The Other Two were documentaries. On the one hand, “Jimmy Fallon and Malala Yousafzai perform Nicki Minaj for TikTok” does sound like the word salad people say while having a stroke. But on the other hand, that’s kind of nice? This is what late night is for: hallucinatoryly strange combinations of people dancing for our amusement as our brains go to sleep. You’re not supposed to really be able to tell if you’re still awake or if you’re dreaming. Here’s who else did it dance of the dream man this week.

Finally, we have a way to indicate what we are saying or presenting is satire, and it’s a big sign with poop emojis. Hon The Late Show, Stephen Colbert poked at the hypocrisy of Republicans decrying his show (and all of late night/lefty humor) while simultaneously defending Trump’s right to make AI videos of himself dropping shit on protesters. Of course, anyone looking for internal consistency in Trump admin logic is fighting a losing battle, so you might as well have some fun with the graphics department while you still have one.

Allison Janney and Keri Russell repurposed their chemistry from The Diplomats to reenact a scene from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City. “Clubhouse Playhouse” is always a real proving ground for actors. Can you be as ludicrously tragic — as tragically ludicrous — as the Housewives themselves? Janney and Russell crush the “gout dick sucker” argument, and it’s only made better by Andy Cohen absolutely kvelling in the background.

Putting protein in everything is stupid. And, more specifically, it’s dumb in a low-stakes, ’90s way. Lewis Black’s rant against protein Doritos was classic Gen-X complaining, the kind of thing Denis Leary used to bleat between music videos on MTV back when MTV had music videos and not just endless reruns of pre-unionization Ridiculousness. This was a platonic ideal of the “guy yells about dumb food” genre of comedy. Jim Gaffigan should doff his cap the next time he sees Black about town.

Speaking of returning to the classics of the form, Jay Jurden is where you go when you want actual punch lines in your comedy. He’s a perfect fit for a tight five on The Tonight Show. This time, he brought one of the first actually successful jokes about Gen Z and what they are like. Too often, intergenerational comedy completely misses the mark, eg, how teens text in movies. But Jurden’s bit about the intensity of zoomers as they first-person-video at each other was dead on. (Finger heart.)

Paula Pell did a character on late night this week — of course it was going to win. Pell was dressed much as I imagine she used to when working there Disney World’s Adventurers Clubplaying an ornery ornithologist. She was fed up with actors (like Maya Rudolph) dipping their toe into someone’s lifelong vocation and claiming to be an expert. Rudolph and Pell professional ornithologist Trisha Bumrock had a good old-fashioned bird-off on Late Night With Seth Meyers. Obviously, Bumrock won, but not before she stuck her finger up Rudolph’s nose. Not to get mushy or anything, but it was really special to feel privy to the level of intimacy Rudolph and Pell have built through decades of working together. Also, the way Pell sort of pussied out of wiping boogers on Rudolph’s expensive, probably rented dress was very funny.