‘They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce’ premiered on ESPN
Jason Kelce is officially in his late-night talk show era!
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce premiered on Saturday, Jan. 4, on ESPN with a collection of inaugural guests — including fellow late night host Jimmy Kimmel, Inside the NBA host Charles Barkley, musician and Philadelphia native Lil Dicky (whose real name is David Burd).
As he stepped on stage in front of a live audience, Kelce cracked a few jokes about his new show being the result of his parents Ed and Donna Kelce — who were both present in the audience — letting him stay up as a child to watch late night shows.
“Wow, how did we get here?,” Kelce, 37, said in his opening monologue. “Yeah, I have my own late night show. Not quite sure how we got here. I used to love watching Conan as a kid. I thought it was hilarious and now I’m up here doing my own show.”
“My parents are here,” he continued. “Mom, dad, you were wrong, turns out letting me stay up late at night was a good thing, in watching TV.”
He then turned the crowd’s attention to his wife Kylie Kelce, who added in a viewer discretion about the show’s language from her own special spot dubbed “Kylie’s Corner,” before heading to the bar where he was served a pint (which he promptly chugged down) by Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Eagles player Harold Carmichael.
The show featured several fun segments including Kelce making a visit to Kimmel for advice.
There was then a panel chat with Barkley, Lil Dicky, and former football offensive lineman Brian Baldinger, who also tried their hand at commentating on NFL films, and a beer-chugging competition.
The former football player previously opened up about his ideas for the show — which is filmed in Philadelphia — revealing the importance of having a “piece of the Philadelphia scene.”
“This first show is certainly going to be pretty Philly, but it will eventually evolve into a show that feels more national, but I always want the Philly roots be felt and heard. So that was an important thing for us,” Kelce said, per Philadelphia Eagles.
He noted that it was “really a challenge to do and pull together all the things in a show like this,” and filming it for the first time made him “aware of how difficult filming things live is.”
He added, “I did Saturday Night Live with my brother (Travis Kelce) and Monday Night Countdown on ESPN. But there’s a challenge that goes into it. And one of the things I really enjoy is that there’s so many people involved, and everybody has their role.”
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ESPN has described the show as “a new personality-driven, one-hour program that will run in conjunction with the finale of the NFL regular season and playoffs where Kelce will take the audience on a ride showcasing his oversized personality and infectious humor.”
Each of its five episodes will feature celebrity guests along with the former Philadelphia Eagles star discussing the NFL combined with comedy and live music.
On Nov. 21, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kelce confirmed the news that he would host his own late-night show on ESPN in 2025.
“Yes, I’m starting I believe it’s January 3rd — I hope it’s January 3rd! — we’ll be doing a late-night show during the postseason on ESPN,” he said at the time. “It’s going to be airing every Friday.”
“When I first approached ESPN with potentially working for them, Monday Night Football was a big part of that, Monday Night Countdown,” Kelce added.
Following his appearance on the late-night program, Kelce revealed on his podcast, New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce, on Nov. 27, that Kimmel, 57, gave him tons of advice regarding his new career venture..
“I got to see Jimmy Kimmel this past week and I thought it was absurd. It was hilarious,” Kelce said at the time. “Jimmy was the man, offered tons of advice, got to follow him around all day.”