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Best of summer late night TV

By Bethonie Butler, The Washington Post
Published: September 6, 2017, 6:05am

Summer is typically a sleepy time for late-night, but the past few months have proven to be an exception, thanks to a chaotic news cycle that late-night hosts admit has changed the way they approach shows.

With the bulk of hosts returning Tuesday after a couple of weeks off, we decided to take a look back at some of the summer’s best moments in late-night — from searing political commentary to hilarious celebrity interviews. They are listed below in no particular order.

• Seth Meyers on Trump’s Charlottesville response

President Donald Trump’s multiple, inconsistent statements on Charlottesville drew rebuke across late-night in the week following a horrific weekend at the University of Virginia. On Aug. 15, Meyers was especially pointed in his remarks.

“The leader of our country is called the president because he’s supposed to preside over our society,” Meyers said in a scathing monologue. “His job is to lead, to cajole, to scold, to correct our path, to lift up what is good about us and to absolutely and unequivocally and immediately condemn what is evil in us. And if he does not do that, if he does not preside over our society, then he is not a president.”

• Jimmy Fallon gets serious on Charlottesville

The “Tonight Show” host is steadfast in his nonpolitical approach to late-night. But the “Saturday Night Live” alum took a noticeable departure after Charlottesville, with a somber monologue that found him on the verge of tears.

“The fact that it took the president two days to come out and clearly denounce racists and white supremacists is shameful,” Fallon said. “And I think he finally spoke out because people everywhere stood up and said something.”

• Kimmel’s speech to Trump voters

Kimmel joined his colleagues in lambasting Trump’s response to Charlottesville. His most serious remarks followed a baffling news conference in which Trump aggressively doubled down on his assertion that there was “blame on both sides.”

In a lengthy speech, Kimmel appealed directly to those who voted for Trump, listing some of his most controversial recent decisions and suggesting that he should not be president. The kicker? “Instead of president we make Donald Trump king,” Kimmel (half) joked.

• Andy Serkis reading Trump tweets as Gollum

The British actor was on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in July to promote “War for the Planet of the Apes.” But Colbert couldn’t resist asking Serkis to tap into one of his most iconic roles: Gollum from the “Lord of the Rings” movies.

Serkis read several of Trump’s tweets as Gollum and, well, there’s nothing quite like it.

• John Oliver on “Stupid Watergate”

The weekly format of “Last Week Tonight” proved especially helpful when the former “Daily Show” correspondent recapped a week that began with news that Trump had revealed highly classified information to Russia’s foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting in May. But that was only the first of many bombshells to emerge that week, and Oliver was there to explain it all.

• Colbert sings farewell to The Mooch

Sure, “The Late Show” landed a major interview with former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. But it was Colbert’s Queen parody that really captured the absurdity of the (very brief) Scaramucci era.

• Tiffany Haddish’s captivating Groupon story

In July, the comedian and breakout star of the box office smash “Girls Trip” appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” where she told a really hilarious story about the time she took Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith on a Groupon swamp tour in New Orleans. Which also marked the time Jada Pinkett Smith asked her: “What the … is a Groupon?” To date, the interview has been viewed more than 1.5 million times on YouTube.

• Desus and Mero explain Migos v. Joe Budden

Viceland’s breakout late-night duo have gained a following with their no-holds-barred criticism of Trump and his administration. But it’s the pair’s fluency in hip-hop that really sets Desus Nice and the Kid Mero apart from their contemporaries. Take, for example, their hilarious breakdown of one of this year’s most confounding pop culture moments — the super awkward BET Awards exchange between Atlanta rap trio Migos, DJ Akademiks and rapper Joe Budden.

• Leslie Jones and Seth Meyers watch “Game of Thrones”

What’s better than dragons? “SNL’s” Leslie Jones impersonating dragons while sharing a couch with Lord Varys.

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