For the past few nights, many late night TV hosts have been performing without studio audiences, including former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who guest hosted “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Thursday night.
Buttigieg performed for a few eager staffers and friends, who cheered him along while sitting far away from one another, per CDC recommendations.
Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon also performed for small audiences composed of only staff members on Thursday night. Colbert invited Dr. Sanjay Gupta onto the show and Fallon invited Dr. Mehmet Oz, opting for medical advice rather than celebrity guests.
“The View,” “Dr. Phil,” “Jeopardy!,” “Wheel of Fortune” and “Live with Kelly and Ryan” had all previously begun filming without studio audiences on Wednesday, the New York Times reports.
Ellen DeGeneres also announced Wednesday on Twitter that “The Ellen Show” would also be forgoing a studio audience.
Now the New York Times reports that many if not all of NBC’s and CBS’s late-night television shows will be put on a temporary hiatus until at least March 30. This includes “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers.”
Colbert explained on Thursday night that the cancellations of the show were in light of New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s recent ban on gatherings of more than 500 people.