Lights Out with David Spade

History

The series was scheduled as a lead-out for The Daily Show, a timeslot that had seen several short-lived attempts at Daily Show spin-offs hosted by other cast members, such as The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore and The Opposition with Jordan Klepper, both of which had low viewership. Lights Out was the first Comedy Central program in the 11:30 timeslot not to be a news comedy program or hosted by a Daily Show alumnus. Network president Kent Alterman argued that viewers were fatigued by the extensive focus on politics and the Trump administration on other late-night shows, and Spade said his show would focus more on cultural events, Hollywood topics, and weird news stories rather than primarily political humor. On August 14, 2019, Spade brought in comedian Lara Beitz to perform the first stand-up spot on the show after watching her in Los Angeles, replacing his closing monologue; she later appeared as a guest and correspondent. Other format deviations included full-show interviews with Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey. In March 2020, production halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 3, 2020, Comedy Central announced it would not renew Lights Out but was open to selling it to another network; the show had retained roughly half of its audience from The Daily Show, which began producing expanded 45-minute episodes on April 27.