For all the talk about Tom Brady’s TV debut in 2024, few professional athletes have transitioned from the field to the pop culture landscape more effectively than Jason Kelce. His unique professional and personal alchemy is as follows: All-Pro honors, winning a Super Bowl title for Philadelphia and a starring role in the Eagles’ “Tush Push”; He rose to off-field media stardom as co-host of the wildly popular “New Heights” podcast with brother Travis. Commercial ubiquity (such as Buffalo Wild Wings and Campbell’s Chunky Soup).
This led to a multi-year contract with ESPN that included a participation in “Monday Night Countdown” and a new role as late-night talk show host starting at 1 a.m. ET on Saturdays. This is arguably one of the most difficult jobs in TV.
“They Call It Late Night With Jason Kelce,” recorded in front of a live audience at the Philadelphia Union Transfer, was the first of a four-week “pop-up” experiment on sports television ahead of the Super Bowl, and here are the results. It’s an unexpected combination of loud, tattered, and relatable.
Here are some highlights from the show’s debut:
Kelce’s beard and beer-loving “everyman” vibe are key to his appeal.
And the show leans toward just that. Kelce wore a letterman jacket and T-shirt with jeans and work boots.
He quickly set the tone by asking the audience, “How did we get here?” In fact, his first words were “Holy s—”. Late-night cursing permission was used liberally, but not particularly freely given (black wasn’t sounded, the f-word was).
From the show’s name, logo, and introduction to the fun retro sets, there was a constant homage to the best NFL movies. “They Call It Pro Football” was one of NFL Films’ early projects and featured a warm studio cameo and Kelce’s take on NFL history, from a toast with Hall of Fame receiver Harold Carmichael to Kelce’s awe of a framed photo of the NFL. The gratitude I had exploded. The most famous “Tangled Hands” hang in the studio.
First photo from Jason Kelce’s new show ‘They Call It Late Night’
📸: @ESPNPR pic.twitter.com/PPKD0lZ2qN
— Kelce Brothers (@kelcebrothers) January 4, 2025
Kelce’s opening monologue is graded on a curve.
Because a late-night host’s monologue in front of an audience is one of the most difficult tasks in all of television, let alone someone with limited hosting experience. The audience was friendly and tolerant of the occasional shaky riff, but they didn’t laugh it off. The parts involving the actor, such as the parts where Kelce meets himself as a 14-year-old and an old man, were more cringe-inducing than comedic.
The second segment shined
The show was at its best in the second segment, when Kelce convened a roundtable of guests, including rapper and actor Dave “Lil Dicky” Burd, NFL TV analyst Brian Baldinger and — Kelce and ESPN’s impressive flex — Charles Barkley. .
Their roundtable conversation felt like listening to a podcast in a casual, conversational way. Given his experience co-hosting “New Heights,” Kelce seemed much more comfortable as a host than as a solo star.
They covered some good “news” topics. Including the Eagles sitting out Saquon Barkley before he set the NFL single-season rushing record (Charles Barkley: “I’m glad he didn’t play”), the players’ mindset heading into Week 18, and more. Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell. It was a great idea to provide four expert speakers with a classic sports conversation framework.
The show could use a shorter run time
As the show went on for an hour, the conceit and viewer experience became much more tense. This is the segment where four panelists are tasked with doing their best impression of legendary NFL Films voice (and Philly native) John Facenda. It was derailed because the panelists were completely unprepared to read the cue cards and the content on the cards was clunky and trite. (Bud: “I don’t know what I just read.”)
The final segment, which featured four superfans participating in a beer-drinking contest, flipped their mugs over their heads as instructed, and it felt like the fastest drinker was disqualified for not finishing. (It was much more tattered to see than to describe.)
The show could benefit from a shorter run time (30 minutes or so would be reasonable), which would allow it to really focus on Kelce as an expert moderator of an interesting panel of guests.
The show needs more Kylie
One area the show shouldn’t skimp on going forward: Airtime for Kelce’s wife Kylie, who sits at a table in the wings and serves as the lead voiceover (“Kylie’s Korner”), was unfortunately sparsely used in the debut.
Kylie, who recently replaced Joe Rogan as Spotify’s most popular podcast host, is too talented (and too big a star in her own right) to take on such a minimal, minor role. The show could benefit from a lot more Kylie and could easily have replaced the last two blocks with the couple joking about the topic together or adding Kylie to the round table.
Kylie Kelce is the announcer for “They Call it Late Night with Jason Kelce” ❤️ @latenightwithjk | @JasonKelce pic.twitter.com/QnibuiP3eL
— espnW (@espnW) January 4, 2025
I have a lot of sympathy and gratitude for the production team who try new things, and the debut episode is the moment when all the fun ideas in the writers’ room come to life.
In this case, you don’t need canned bits and actors. Kelce brings both his sincerity and his talent for carrying the conversation along. They have Kylie. They have the convening power of ESPN to secure a big name like Barkley. They have a friendly Philly crowd and a welcoming studio environment. And they’ll have to double down on Kelce’s efforts to allow him to do what he does best.
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(Photo: Andy Lewis / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
