Nicole Taylor, one of Christian country band Taylor Red’s identical triplets, has died. The singer and musician succumbed to breast cancer on Sept. 28 in Nashville. She was 35.
“We are shocked and heartbroken to announce the passing of our sister Nicole Taylor. This isn’t the video we thought we’d ever be making,” Natalie said in a video posted to YouTube.
Nika continued, “We thought she would be here sharing her story of earthly healing, but instead we’re here sharing her story of heavenly healing, and she’s at peace and no longer suffering, so we’re thankful for that.”
The surviving sisters explained that Nicole was diagnosed in 2022 with Stage 3 breast cancer. Treatment put the disease into remission, but it returned as Stage 4 cancer. Eventually, doctors said Nicole had three months, Nika recalled in the video with Natalie revealing, “She lived around a year later after that prognosis.”
In between telling their sister’s story, Nika and Natalie read Bible verses they turned to in their grief.
“Nicole told us even before she passed that she had peace, and we were really thankful for that,” Natalie shared.
Nika continued, “Yes, things did not turn out as we hoped. We lived every day expecting full miraculous healing here on Earth and lived every day in hopes of that. Of course, we all had our moments of fear and doubt, but we fought it and fought it. And God gave us so much peace and hope in him along the way. We were so shocked and still shocked of her passing.”
The Mississippi natives are also known for their social media presence, with 16.7 million subscribers on YouTube and 13.5 million followers on TikTok.
The sisters created viral videos capitalizing on their red-haired identical-triplets identity. Using humor and social trends, the sisters filmed themselves wearing matching outfits, dancing in sync or playing instruments, including the guitar, banjo, fiddle and mandolin. They appeared in a national Sonic Drive-In commercial and also partnered with major commercial brands, including Crocs, Lipton, Skittles, Redken and Frito Lay.
“Country Money,” released in 2021, became one of the band’s most well-known songs with more than 810,000 streams on Spotify, while “Rent Free” has surpassed 664,000 streams. “Fresh off the Farm,” “Bringing Country Back” and “What They Seem” each have over 345,000 streams on the music site.
Nicole was also a Taste of Country morning radio show host. In a tribute on the country music-focused website, her colleague Evan Paul related the story of first meeting Nicole and her sisters and his later interactions with her at the media outlet.
“Nicole was such a warm soul. She was so smart and so talented that it was hard to even share a room with her. Her light was so bright. I am convinced that when you see a star shooting across the sky at night, it’s Nicole giving us a wink and letting us know she’s all right,” Paul said.
“Nicole, the oldest of us three sisters, will be greatly missed,” Nika and Natalie posted on their official site. “She was our leader and our best friend. We are heartbroken, but we know she is in Heaven and will see her again.”
A Strictly Come Dancing legend has aired viewers’ complaints about a major shake-up, revealing a jaw-dropping amount of fans said the show’s attempts at comedy did not work for them
12:48, 02 Nov 2026Updated 12:54, 02 Nov 2026
The majority of Strictly fans told Oti and Marius that the show’s skits aren’t working(Image: BBC)
Former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse, 36, who won the Glitterball trophy twice with Kelvin Fletcher and Bill Bailey before leaving the BBC show in 2022, has pointed out an issue she has with the 2026 series, which many viewers have picked up on too.
Oti, whose older sister is judge Motsi Mabuse, discusses Strictly every weekend on her vodcast, The Fifth Judge, alongside husband Marius Iepure, who is also a professional dancer. The pair regularly invite their viewers to get involved in polls to share their thoughts on the latest episode.
On Saturday’s livestream, Oti and Marius asked their YouTube audience about the introduction of comedic skits between the dances. Oti wondered: “Do all the skits work for you? Do you like the jokes? Do you like when the judges are involved? Do you like when the pros are reading the social stuff, and they’re doing the ‘Emma and Joshy’ thing? Are you laughing?”.
The topic was brought up in response to last weekend’s Halloween Special, during which hosts Josh Widdicombe, 43, Emma Willis, 50, and Johannes Radebe, 39, featured in multiple comedy sketches throughout the programme.
These segments saw Josh and Emma attempting to frighten famously stern judge Craig Revel Horwood, 61, before the comedian let down his co-presenters by declining to wear fancy dress for trick-or-treating, while the contestants mimicked Johannes’ distinctive “Emma and Joshy” handover to his fellow hosts.
Following the chat vote, Oti disclosed that an overwhelming 75 per cent responded “no, they do not work, they do not find them funny”, while just 25 per cent answered “yes, they are hilarious”.
Oti observed in response: “Well, that’s very telling! It says that people, at this point, just want to get on with the dancing.”
The former Strictly champion and her husband echoed the sentiment from their audience, with Oti revealing that Marius believes “it’s a completely different show”.
Expanding on this point, Marius stated that elements of Strictly’s Halloween Special resembled “a comedy show that I didn’t ask for”, acknowledging he “laughed a little bit” at Josh, Emma and Johannes’ trick-or-treating sketch, though he also felt that it “was so long”.
Oti mentioned that one of their viewers, named Kate, had commented: “I don’t tend to laugh, but I think it’s part of the charm.”
The former Strictly pro proceeded to suggest that if BBC bosses have incorporated the sketches to pad out the programme, they could alternatively “cut the show shorter”, or integrate the Results Show into Saturday night’s broadcast, rather than screening it separately on Sundays, with Oti declaring: “That would be a great change.”
Viewers also took to X to have their say on the skits over the weekend, with one typing: “Stop trying to make every link funny! Especially when you involve the judges who fluff their lines. #Strictly.”
“They really, really need to cut these “comedy” sketches from Strictly. They are awful, awkward and really not funny at all,” another viewer complained.
A third fan said the presenters had improved, writing: “I have to be honest Josh, Emma, & Johannes are growing on me! #Strictly.”
A fourth agreed: “@bbc I think Emma, Jojo and Josh are growing into their roles – give them time! We’re loving them #Strictly.”
Strictly 2026 has sparked debate amongst audiences after Emma, Josh and Johannes took over from long-serving presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who confirmed their departure from the BBC programme last year.
Emma, who formerly presented Big Brother, has earned widespread acclaim from Strictly fans for her professionalism and presenting abilities, while Josh and Johannes have attracted more divided opinions. Not everyone shares those reservations, however.
Radio Times TV and podcast editor Caroline Frost believes the presenting trio have grown into their roles, stating: “I think it’s fair to say there were some bumps in the road in the first couple of episodes, but they do appear to be very slowly relaxing into their new roles.”
Yip Ward and Paul Mappley at their home(Image: Paul Mappley/SWNS)
A couple who couldn’t afford to buy a house in the UK bought an entire French hamlet for £26,000.
Yip Ward and Paul Mappley, both 52, were living in a caravan in Tunbridge Wells when their friends offered them a chance to buy the property in Normandy. They went out to visit the home in Normandy and bought it straight away for £12,000 – funded by selling their belongings, including an old tractor of Paul’s.
Since then, the couple have snapped up the adjacent buildings and now own seven cottages, two barns, a workshop, a cider press, two traditional bread ovens and various other outbuildings – all for £14,000. They began restoring the hamlet building by building in 2020 and have now spent around £100,000 so far – completing the original cottage, which is a holiday rental, alongside a horsebox they brought from the UK that is “booked out”.
Restoration work
They have made their dreams a reality through fundraising efforts by their followers on social media and are set to have their second cottage complete by summer 2027. The pair reckon they have saved more than £100,000 doing the bulk of the work themselves with the help of builder friend Ian, 62.
Yip said: “People always say how did you find the village and it’s not that we were looking, it was a chance meeting with a friend who had got a place and was selling it. We definitely see it as the planets aligned.
“We went and sought out a wreck that had been abandoned 30 years ago and pieced it together. We’re really cracking on now.
“We say to ourselves we can’t believe this whole place is ours. Coming from where we come from, I don’t think the gratitude for being here will ever run out. It blows my mind.”
How they got started
The sellers had changed their minds about the property due to the huge amount of restoration work that needed to be done when they offered it to Yip and Paul. With the rules in France meaning they did not need to hand over the entire sum for eight months after purchase, they set to work during Covid, earning money through their jobs as landscape gardeners to seal the deal.
They even documented their restoration journey and appeared on Channel 4’s ‘Help! We Bought A French Village!’. Husband Paul said they were now in “full restoration mode” after working for years to transform their hamlet, called La Buslière.
He said: “I can’t express to you enough that, apart from cottages one and two, the other three cottages were covered, the whole roof in ivy. They were literally being swallowed by nature.
“We’re saving so much money doing it ourselves. We’ve got a friend we met here; he’s been in the trade for 47 years in building restoration and stuff.
“We knew of him and in 2019 he did repairs on cottage one. He did the roof repairs, minor works and then we didn’t see him for four years and he, unbeknownst to us, was watching our YouTube channel.
“We had a massive two-tonne roof thing that needed to come out as it was rotten on one end. We didn’t have anyone, machinery or money and we were sharing on YouTube saying ‘we don’t know what to do’.
“He saw this video and arrived one day and said ‘come on boys let’s get this beam out’. For the first six months he worked for no payment.”
Earning money
The couple are now able to pay Ian £1,000 weekly through the money they earn on YouTube.
Paul said: “We have five people turning up every single day to donate things – they bring bits of furniture or materials for the roof. I can’t tell you what a community we’ve built somehow.
“Every week we’re donated £400 worth of materials for free we can use. All of this saves us so much money.
“For example one side of the roof of cottage three was really bad and we were quoted £13,000 to fix it and we did it for £2,000 because we did it ourselves.
“We saved £11,000 just on one side of a roof. Take that per cottage doing it ourselves, that’s £22,000 per cottage, seven cottages, which is instantly saving us over £100,000.”
The couple plan, once they have all been restored, to try out and live in every single cottage in their hamlet.
Yip said: “People say ‘once all seven cottages are done you’ll rake it in’. That’s what a capitalist would say.
“We don’t want it to be a metropolis. Every single guest who stays here says they can’t believe how quiet it is.
“There is no light pollution, it’s a fantastic place and we don’t want to ruin it with seven cottages populated with people. The other buildings we’ll turn into workshop spaces.
“We’d like to do summer fairs here and markets. Once a month we’d like to do an outdoor cinema and do pizza making – we have two original pizza ovens.
“There won’t be things like TVs in the cottages. There won’t be UPVC windows. It’s an exciting, amazing place and we want to make sure people are transported back.”
You can follow Paul and Yip’s restoration journey on YouTube @helpweboughtafrenchvillage.
American Jake Paul to headline Christmas Eve boxing event in Dubai, with his opponent yet to be announced.
Published On 29 Oct 202629 Oct 2026
YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will return to the ring on December 24 in Dubai just over a year after suffering a broken jaw in his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua, he said.
American Paul, 29, will headline the Christmas Eve card, with his opponent yet to be announced.
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The bout will be Paul’s first since his sixth-round knockout loss to former heavyweight champion Joshua in Miami on December 19 last year, when his jaw was fractured in two places, injuries that required multiple surgeries in December and February.
“I have spent years proving people wrong, taking risks and pushing myself against opponents nobody thought I would face,” Paul said in a statement.
“Nothing that’s happened has changed my belief in myself or what I’m working toward. I am hungrier than ever and on December 24 I’m returning to the ring in Dubai to start the next chapter of my journey.
“We’ve got plenty of names on the list; let’s see who signs the contract,” he added.
Paul has a 12-2 professional record, with his only defeats coming against Britain’s Tommy Fury and Joshua.
He also fought Mike Tyson in an exhibition fight in which he beat the former heavyweight champion in a unanimous points decision, although the bout drew criticism as a sham event.
It was a crowning moment. Netflix appeared to have prevailed in an audacious $82.7-billion deal to scoop one of the industry’s most prestigious studios: Warner Bros. The move seemed to cement Netflix’s status as the ultimate Hollywood gate-crasher and its dominance as the leading new player in media.
Now, nearly a year later, the plotline for Netflix has dramatically changed. The streaming giant lost out to Paramount Skydance in its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery and is facing headwinds on multiple fronts.
That was underscored this week when the streaming giant Netflix began shedding 6% of its workforce, or about 1,000 jobs — believed to be the largest layoff in the company’s history and exceeding the last round of job cuts in 2022, when it reported subscriber declines.
On Wednesday morning, Ted Sarandos and Co-Chief Executive Greg Peters sent a note to employees confirming the job losses, adding that the bulk of the cuts would affect the tech, product, legal and human resources teams.
“Our mission — to entertain the world — is ambitious, and delivering on it requires us to be disciplined about where we prioritize our people and resources,” wrote Sarandos and Peters in the memo obtained by The Times.
The cuts mark the latest reductions across the film and TV industry. Other entertainment and media companies have slashed their payrolls, including Walt Disney Co., Paramount and Sony Pictures Entertainment during a period of economic uncertainty in Hollywood.
But the scale of such downsizing is unusual for Netflix. Industry analysts and insiders chalk up the reversal of fortune to several factors. Although it still dominates the television business, the Los Gatos company hasn’t been able to produce enough new hit franchises to replace culture-defining shows from years past such as “Stranger Things” and “Squid Game.”
At the same time, Netflix faces rising competition from rivals such as HBO Max, Apple TV, Hulu and others that have upped their game. Free, ad-supported streaming platforms such as YouTube are increasingly taking a larger slice of consumer streaming hours. And Netflix’s efforts to diversify its business into new areas such as games have yielded mixed results.
A Netflix building on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles in 2025.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
The upshot: Netflix continues to be the dominant video subscription streaming player with more than 325 million subscribers, but the time that consumers spend on the platform is growing at a slower pace than what investors want. In the first half of this year, consumer watch time on Netflix increased only 2% compared with a year earlier, even as content spending increased 11% to $20 billion this year. Netflix also narrowed its annual revenue forecast last summer, disappointing some investors.
“Netflix’s layoffs show that even the top streaming companies are not immune to stagnation and financial difficulties,” said Ross Benes, senior analyst at research firm Emarketer.
Amid the sobering signs, investors have grown restless. Netflix shares, which closed at $70.57 on Wednesday, have plummeted 42% in the last year. Part of that decline was fueled by anxiety among investors over Netflix’s deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, but the share price hasn’t rebounded even after that deal fell apart.
“They need to better prepare their balance sheet and economics since engagement has plateaued,” said Brandon Katz, director of insights and content strategy at Greenlight Analytics.
Katz said that Netflix’s five most-watched English-language scripted summer movie releases in their first eight weeks posted the lowest average hours watched compared with the streamer’s top five summer releases in 2025, 2024 and 2023, citing Nielsen data.
Sarandos acknowledged concerns about engagement at a Bloomberg Screentime event Sept. 30.
“Overall we’re not growing as fast as I want us to, and we’re working on making that move faster,” Sarandos said.
Netflix declined to comment on the layoffs.
“We’ll continue to invest aggressively in high-impact areas to improve our service and further drive growth and innovation,” Sarandos and Peters said in their memo to employees.
In some ways, Netflix has been victim of its own success. It has produced a string of shows and movies that have hit the cultural zeitgeist such as “KPop Demon Hunters” and “Squid Game.” But finding enough new popular shows that continue to drive subscriptions has been a challenge.
“A lot of these major hits are coming to an end at similar times, and they don’t yet really have heir apparents to replace them,” Katz said.
Sci-fi hit “Stranger Things” released its finale last year, followed by the young-adult drama “Outer Banks” and “Emily in Paris,” which ends this year. Netflix also announced that “The Witcher” and “The Lincoln Lawyer” will wrap after their next seasons.
What’s more, the second seasons of some shows with big followings have seen large view drop-offs compared with their first seasons. For example, the fantasy series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” season 1 debuted with 21.2 million views, but views for its second season dropped 59% to 8.7 million, according to Netflix data.
New series from Netflix also haven’t captured as much consumer demand as other competing shows from rival streamers, according to Parrot Analytics.
Last year, Netflix had just one show — the Japanese anime and manga series “Sakamoto Days” — that made it in Parrot’s top 10 list of first season original series on streaming platforms. Parrot’s ranking measures consumer demand in the U.S. and is based on digital interactions such as social media chatter and Google searches. By comparison, Netflix had three titles in 2022 alone: the true crime show “Monster,” the documentary series “Harry & Meghan” and the sci-fi mystery show “1899,” Parrot said.
Sarandos told investors in July that such declines are typical and that second season falloff is slightly improved this year. But popular shows on rival streaming services such as the medical drama “The Pitt” on HBO Max have not seen such declines. “The Pitt” drew even more viewers in its second season than the first.
To diversify its business, Netflix has expanded its programming offerings beyond TV shows and movies to include live sports, such as football and baseball games.
Although live programs have helped to spur significant subscription sign-ups, they still represent just 1% of watch time on Netflix while costing 5% of the company’s content budget, Sarandos has said.
Netflix also has added video podcasts that have helped to boost daytime viewing on the platform, and has made deals with YouTube creators to bring their content to the streaming service.
But some of the new content hasn’t clicked, particularly in games, analysts said. In August, Netflix shut down Hollywood-based Night School, the maker of supernatural adventure game “Oxenfree,” and said it was closing a Helsinki-based games studio.
“They are spending on a lot of things that haven’t necessarily proven to be effective yet,” said Rob Rosenberg, a partner at law firm Moses & Singer and former Showtime Networks general counsel. “It feels a lot like they’re trying to send a message to Wall Street that ‘we’re re-examining how we do business.’”
Meanwhile, Netflix continues to face more competition from rivals such as YouTube, which offers a free, ad-supported version of its video library.
Unlike Netflix, YouTube does not pay for the creation of many of the videos on its platform. Instead, creators or companies upload and produce the programs themselves and YouTube shares ad and subscription revenue.
YouTube’s share of streaming watch time in the U.S. on TVs has steadily increased. In July, YouTube represented 14.2%, compared with Netflix’s 7.8%, according to Nielsen.
The pressure to boost engagement on Netflix has caused tension within the company, particularly between the teams of people responsible for how programs are promoted on the platform and the employees responsible for bringing shows and movies on Netflix, according to people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Some blame the content for not being enticing enough, while others contend that the programs could be promoted better on Netflix.
“It’s a bit of a quagmire,” said one of the sources familiar with the matter. “There is a tension when things aren’t working. People tend to point fingers.”
In their staff memo, Sarandos and Peters said Netflix is on track to deliver its full-year forecast and will continue to invest in areas that improve its service and drive growth and innovation.
“Doing that means making focused choices across the business so we can keep delivering for our members, partners, employees, and investors,” they wrote.
Despite the downsizing, Netflix remains highly profitable. In the second quarter, the company generated $3.4 billion in net income, up 9% from a year earlier. Revenue rose 13% to $12.6 billion last quarter, including double-digit revenue growth in all of its regions. Next week, the company will share its third-quarter results.
The streamer is expected to get a boost from new seasons of popular shows — including season 4 of the political drama “The Diplomat” and spy series “Lupin: Part 4,” as well as Thanksgiving Eve and Christmas Day NFL games.
Having new seasons of popular shows such as “Lupin” and “The Diplomat” will help boost Netflix’s engagement, said Alejandro Rojas, vice president of applied analytics at Parrot Analytics.
“The new season is like a catalyst for people to watch the previous seasons,” Rojas said.
On the theatrical side, Netflix also has high hopes for upcoming movies including La Bola Negra, starring Penelope Cruz; and “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” featuring Brad Pitt. Next year, Netflix will release the Greta Gerwig-directed film, “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” on Imax screens.
Netflix has not signaled any changes to its strategy for releasing movies or TV shows. But some analysts said it could benefit from having more theatrical releases and by dropping episodes of shows once a week, instead of all at once, to generate more buzz for programs. They also expect that Netflix will be more disciplined in its content spending.
“While the company will expand its sports roles, it’s cutting back at a time when revenue matters much more than subscriber additions,” said Benes of Emarketer. “With pressure mounting, Netflix will look to turn the tide by getting a boost from low-cost content. The battle for top creators will become more pitched.”
Times staff writer SamanthaMasunaga contributed to this report.
A quick glance from the sidewalk shows a midsize home in the Valley. Fallen leaves from a large tree scatter across the neatly trimmed front lawn. It’s just like any other house in a suburban neighborhood outside of Los Angeles.
Inside, there’s a whole network TV operation going on.
The three-bedroom chateau is packed with people. Every inch of space in the house is being used to make “Good Night With Ben Gleib” happen. The living room TV displays the multiple angles of cameras spread across the house. The pantry doubles as a control room while the backyard shed was turned into a venue for the musical guest.
It’s not a traditional late-night talk show. It’s not on a legacy network, it isn’t filmed in a studio, and the U.S. president isn’t calling the host a “deranged lunatic.”
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This show is filmed in a room of Gleib’s house that was converted into an 18-seat studio. The host drinks a cocktail as he delivers his topical monologue in front of blue drapes, and after the taping concludes the cameras continue to roll and capture the nightcap, where Gleib mingles with audience members.
Rather than following the traditional path — from stand-up or sketch comedy to eventually landing behind a late-night desk — Gleib built his own opportunity and releases it on YouTube, a trend becoming more prominent in the comedy world.
“The landscape has changed very largely,” Gleib said. “It’s hard to make your mark in TV and a stand-up appearance on late night doesn’t change your career like it use to, you really have to find creative ways to create your dream career.”
Production staff controls the taping of the show “Good Night With Ben Gleib” on Sept. 16.
(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)
Since “Lazy Sunday” from “Saturday Night Live” hit the airwaves and caught a second wind on YouTube, the comedy landscape “had changed forever,” according to Seth Meyers.
“What made it so great then and still today is that it was an instant hit but also felt DIY in a way things hadn’t for so long,” said the “Late Night” host in an interview with GQ.
Social media platforms like YouTube have helped make it easier for anyone with a camera to create original content and spread it to the masses. The hashtag “comedy” has 20 billion views on TikTok and genres such as stand-up and sketch comedy grow every year, according to Business Insider. Meanwhile, late-night television has taken a dip in audience and ad revenue.
The old guard of comedy is changing and the DIY movement has transformed fame in the comedy world. Comics no longer have to wait to get stage time on a late-night talk show, they just need to get it done, said Nicole Blaine, owner of the Crow comedy club. It is also inexpensive to create digital content. With platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, the ability to be seen is easier, she added.
“I don’t think you can count on anyone to ‘make it,’” Blaine said. “I think you literally have to make it yourself and I do believe that the industry [is] paying attention behind the scenes in more ways than the artists know.
“You want to be your own showrunner,” she added.
Makeup artist Lisa Lopez gets musical guest Ada Pasternak ready in the kitchen of Ben Gleib’s home, also the set of “Good Night.”
(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)
Representation comes and goes, but the fan base a comedian creates for themselves stays with them, Blaine said. Creating digital content for social media to back up a career in stand-up demonstrates that success is completely within the control of comics, she continued.
The DIY formula relies on taking advantage of the skills each performer has and using them to self-produce material to build a fan base, a concept that comedian Emmy Browning is putting into practice. Using her background in screenwriting, she pitched “Hands!” to the Elysian Theater and performed it for its Spaghetti Festival, designed to showcase new work, within three months.
“I essentially wrote, cast, directed, produced, got a crew together …,” she said. “It was just a crazy team of people that came together for no money to make this thing happen.”
“Hands!” spoofs FX’s “The Bear,” while satirizing TV conventions, like the will-they-won’t-they romantic plotlines, multicamera operation and filming in front of a live studio audience. Browning’s show was performed live while a camera crew shot different angles that were being projected on screens located on stage.
It made the stream of the show feel like an actual live performance. Now the stream can be seen by anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. Browning said when her comic friends began to create clips for social media, they were able to travel around the country and perform for the fans they’ve garnered from their content.
“There are so many different ways and opportunities to be seen first,” Browning said. “…If you have the stamina to generate content online that promotes yourself, you can really make a living or create a fan base yourself.”
Self-producing isn’t only about promotion, it’s about creative ownership.
“There’s nothing as creatively freeing as being your own boss and not having to conform to network notes or the comedic ideas and opinions of people who have never been comedians and have never been recognized for their comedy skills,” Gleib said.
Guests are interviewed during the taping of “Good Night With Ben Gleib.”
(Brian Feinzimer / For The Times)
The sentiment is shared by Ron Lynch, a comedian known for voicing Hugo, the neurotic health inspector in Fox’s animated series “Bob’s Burgers,” who’s produced a variety show at the Elysian Theater called “Tomorrow!” for 20 years now.
The show gives participants the opportunity to do whatever they want, within a five-minute time frame. Half the acts are stand-ups, the other half “are just weird.”
“We’re not responsible for sponsors or anything like that,” Lynch said. “We can basically do whatever we want.”
Self-producing allows creators to explore their voice without any limitations.
“What we do is provide entertainment,” Lynch said.
In the new DIY era, it is not a matter of when a performer will make it, but rather how much a performer really wants it, Blaine said. It’s a lot of work that needs to get done, even after a day job, but it will separate the people who want it badly over those not wanting to put in the time, she added.
It isn’t about landing a late-night talk show, it is about creating.
“It isn’t easy,” Blaine said. “But artists will always find a way if we really want to do it.”
The DIY movement also comes with big risks that will not work unless the comedian believes in it, said Gleib. His team is putting a lot on the shoulders of the comedian to reinvent late night and make it a lucrative business.
And if the big swing doesn’t work?
“I’ll have to come crawling back to the traditional entertainment industry, hoping that I still have a place there,” he added.
