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@midnight

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This article is about the TV game show. For the 1913 silent short film, see At Midnight. For Rufus and Chaka Khan song, see At Midnight (My Love Will Lift You Up).

@midnight
GenreImprovisational comedy
Created by
  • Alex Blagg
  • Jason Nadler
  • Jon Zimelis
Directed byRon de Moraes (2013)
Michael Dimich (2013–present)
Presented byChris Hardwick
Theme music composerMike Farrell
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes490 (as of December 1, 2016) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Production locationHollywood Center Studios
EditorsClark Burnett
Asaf Eisenberg
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkComedy Central
ReleaseOctober 21, 2013 (2013-10-21) –
present

@midnight with Chris Hardwick (shortened to and formerly exclusively titled @midnight) is an American late night Internet-based combination scripted, rehearsed and improv panel game show hosted by Chris Hardwick,[1] that airs Monday through Thursday nights on Comedy Central. @midnight with Chris Hardwick premiered on October 21, 2013.[2][3] It is syndicated internationally in Australia on SBS2 and The Comedy Channel, in the United Kingdom on Comedy Central Extra, and in Canada on MuchMusic.

@midnight received a nomination for Outstanding Interactive Program at the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards.[4] It received a nomination and win for Outstanding Social TV Experience at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards.[5] It currently airs at 11:30 p.m. (EST), where it will continue to air until the network launches another series to air in that time slot.[6] It has been renewed throughout 2017.[7]

Format

Each episode features three comedians competing against one another in a series of Internet-inspired improv games, which vary from episode to episode.

Host Chris Hardwick begins each game by introducing some Internet meme trending that day, and asks the panel of comedians to craft a funny response or choose the correct answer among multiple choices. Contestants are awarded points by Hardwick (who loudly announces "Points!") for each funny or correct answer.

The show is taped live, then edited for time. Because of this, scores appear to change somewhat randomly between segments.

This continues through about five segments, after which the third-place contestant is usually eliminated from the game and is doused in red light. (On Tuesday, November 1 2016 Nate Mooney was the first contestant not bathed in red light.) Hardwick then introduces the final game – "FTW" (For The Win) – and tosses to a commercial break, during which the remaining two contestants craft their responses.

After returning from commercial, Hardwick "wipes" the remaining comedians' scores and reads each of their (anonymous) answers in turn. The comedian whose response generates the most laughter/applause from the studio audience "wins the Internet".

The show ends with exactly the same overhead shot of the audience applauding, an audience which includes three people in animal costumes and at least five persons sleeping.

Daily games

  • 11:59 and 59 Seconds: A non-scoring round serving as the cold open. Usually focused on one particular item, like a viral video or news article/story trending that day.
  • Rapid Refresh: The first point-scoring game each episode, which features multiple choice questions about the day's trending headlines.
    • On Thursdays during the run-up to the 2016 primaries, this round was alternately referred to as Panderdome on Thursdays, and devoted to public/social media gaffes among presidential candidates.
  • Hashtag Wars: A sixty-second game in which panelists buzz in with a phrase based on the given hashtag theme. This extends into Twitter where the home audience is encouraged to make their own phrase as a tweet and win a chance to have it featured on-air the next episode.
  • Live Challenges: Each episode features a challenge that has the panelists writing written answers during the commercial break.
  • FTW (For The Win): The final round that is formatted like the live challenges; however, the identities of the respondents are not known when read out loud. The winner is determined by the audience's reaction.

Recurring games

  • Confession Bear: Chris gives the panel partial confessions from Reddit that use the Confession Bear meme, and the comedians must complete them.
  • Cringe-Worthy: Based on the popular Reddit forum of the same name, the panelists come up with three-word phrases to make Chris cringe.
  • Defriend Me: The panelists create Facebook statuses that would lead to Chris removing them as friends.
  • eBay Price Is Right: The panelists attempt to guess the "buy it now" price of strange items for sale on eBay The Price Is Right style.
  • Etsy Pitchmen: The panelists write taglines to boost the appeal of bizarre Etsy products.
  • Free on Craigslist: A sixty-second game where the panelists list things they would give away for free.
  • Goth Confessions: The panelists must guess which admissions goth kids made in their YouTube videos.
  • Iron Sheik: Real or Jabroni: Chris reads a topic that The Iron Sheik has tweeted about, and the contestants must decide if the wrestler loves or hates the subject. The tweet is read after the contestant is told they are right or wrong.
  • JuggalOK Cupid: The panelists must figure out which bizarre OKCupid dating profile description of a Juggalo is real.
  • Linked Out: The panelists come up with ridiculous job titles that one might find on LinkedIn.
  • Name That Vine: The panelists name the shown Vine video.
  • Photobomb: The panelists decide if an edited out photobomb is creepy or cute.
  • Rich Cat or Poor Cat: The panelists decide if it is a cash cat or a cat being humiliated someone else on the internet.
  • Sweet Emoji: The panelists translate emoji sentences.
  • Texts from Last Night: The panelists respond to embarrassing drunk text messages.
  • Thug Life or Hug Life: The panelist are shown the image of a child from a YouTube video and have to guess whether the video content would be thug or cute hug worthy.
  • TumblReality: The panelists must figure out which bizarre Tumblr blog title is real.
  • Tumblr? I Hardly Know Her: The panelists think up new Tumblr blogs that are just strange enough to be real.
  • Yahoo Answers: Chris asks the panelists to come up with funnier responses than the ones on Yahoo! Answers.

Production

The show is shot on Stage 2 of the Hollywood Center Studios, where the CBS series I Love Lucy was originally shot.[8]

Statistics

The @midnight website provides a full and complete list of all of the guests that have appeared on the show to date with an adjustable leaderboard to see more detail into the statistics. This article includes only a condensed list of guests who have been on the show.[9]

Note: Minimum of five wins or ten appearances, updated on November 28, 2016

Most wins Most appearances

Reception

During its initial 2013 run, the series averaged 453,000 viewers in the 18–49 ratings demographic, putting it above Bravo's Watch What Happens Live, E!'s Chelsea Lately, and TBS's The Pete Holmes Show.[10] It also had the youngest audience of any late-night television show.[11]

The week of February 17, 2014, was reported to be the show's highest rated to date; the show had 731,000 total viewers, and it tied The Daily Show as the most-watched late-night program on cable in the 18–34 demographic.[12]

Awards

Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2014 Creative Arts Emmy Award Outstanding Interactive Program Comedy Central, Funny or Die, Serious Business, Aloha Productions, Nerdist Industries Nominated
[13]
2015 Creative Arts Emmy Award Nominated
[13]
Outstanding Social TV Experience Chris Hardwick, Jack Martin, Joe Farrell, Jason U. Nadler, Myke Furhman Won
[13]

References

  1. ^ Ryan, Patrick (October 20, 2013). "Late-night Newcomers Hope to Enliven the Midnight Shift". USA Today. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  2. ^ Date of January 6 was announced by Chris Hardwick the same time of the announcement of the renewal.
  3. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (November 14, 2013). "Comedy Central's '@Midnight' Gets 40-Week Pickup". Deadline.com. Retrieved November 15, 2013.
  4. ^ "Nominees/Winners; Television Academy". Emmy Awards. 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  5. ^ "Nominees/Winners; Television Academy". Emmy Awards. 2015. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  6. ^ Koblin, John. "Comedy Central Cancels Larry Wilmore's Late-Night Show". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  7. ^ Hughes, William (October 7, 2016). "@midnight renewed for a fourth season". The A.V. Club. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  8. ^ "@midnight Shoots @Hollywood Center Studios". Creative COW. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  9. ^ "@midnight Guests". Comedy Central. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  10. ^ Rose, Lacey (November 15, 2013). "Chris Hardwick's '@midnight' Renewed at Comedy Central". The Hollywood Reporter.
  11. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (December 20, 2013). "Comedy Central's Newest Late-Night Hit '@Midnight' Returns Monday January 6". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  12. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 24, 2014). "@Midnight's Quiet Rise As Late-Night Talker Posts Highs Against Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno". Deadline.com. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c "@midnight with Chris Hardwick: Awards & Nominations". Emmy Awards, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
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