Jason Kelce tackles Late-Night Series for ESPN
Jason Kelce is ready to slay the ranks of late-night TV hosts in a limited-run program for the wee hours on ESPN.
“They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce” will air for five consecutive overnights leading up to the end-of-season NFL football weekends. The series will begin on Saturdays at 1 a.m. starting January 4 on ESPN, with the final broadcast beginning at 1:30 a.m. The hour-long show will hail from Philadelphia, where Kelce enjoyed 13 seasons in the NFL, and he will hold his ground in front of a live audience during the city’s Union Transfer. Each show is recorded on Friday evening, just hours before the program airs.
It remains unclear whether ESPN sees a future for Kelce at Midnight, but the show is said to be something the former football center wanted to try when he joined the Disney sports giant earlier this year, ostensibly as a major addition to “Monday Night Countdown ”, ‘, the pre-show leading into ‘Monday Night Football’.
When he was hired in May, Disney and ESPN said “further options will be explored.”
Kelce is known for his prowess on the field, but also for his outsize personality. He and his brother Travis host a popular weekly podcast, “New Heights,” and he has made a handful of TV appearances, including on WWE’s WrestleMania.
\He’ll be making a play late at night in a relatively safe space. None of the best-known late-night programs on ABC, CBS and NBC have original airings on Friday nights anymore, and the main Friday night option, HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” airs earlier in the evening. As for late-night shows aimed at sports fans, most of them are already airing on ESPN, starring Scott Van Pelt in an end-of-the-night version of “SportsCenter.”
The show will feature many of the trappings that late night fans have become accustomed to. There will be live music from Philadelphia band Snacktime. Kelce and guests are expected to watch next weekend’s games and look for fans at the venue to participate in the events.
At the very least, the programming play should attract a younger audience to NFL play. The show debuts hours before the final weekend of the NFL regular season, with subsequent hours leading into Super Wild Card, Divisional and Conference Championship weekends before the finals preceding the Pro Bowl Games and nine days after Super Bowl LIX.
ESPN will air original broadcasts of the show, but also make each episode available on ESPN+, ESPN YouTube and the Jason Kelce channel on YouTube, presented by ESPN. Replays air on ESPN2. NFL Films will produce the show in association with Kelce’s Wooderboy Productions and Skydance Sports.
Although the show is new, it makes some nods to history. The show’s title pays tribute to “They Call It Pro Football,” NFL Films’ first full-length project. The original feature film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2012 and was cited as an example of how football and sports were showcased. on television after its creation. Only time will tell if Kelce’s new project will receive a similar honor.
