HBO Stand-Up Special SETH MEYERS: DAD MAN WALKING is a Family Affair: ‘Daddy Has to Monetize the Stories’

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede There have been many TV comedians through the decades who have essentially issued “warnings” to their fan bases with regard to their stand-up acts. Something along the lines of, “please don’t think you’ll be seeing my lovable television persona on stage, because my stand-up act is way more raw.” With his latest HBO stand-up special SETH MEYERS: DAD MAN WALKING premiering Saturday, Oct. 26 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Crave, Meyers was asked about that distinction. Is he essentially the same person in his stand-up act as he is on CTV’s LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS, or are there differences, either subtle or substantial? “I don’t think it’s more raw,” said Meyers during a virtual media conference. “I just think that with my show, the late night show, I am calling out other people’s incompetence, and I try very hard to be the voice of reason. Whereas I think in my standup hour, I am the incompetent one, and other people are the voice of reason, often telling me what I have done wrong. So for me, the persona shift is not about anything that I can’t get away with on the late night show, it’s more just a different version of me that is no less authentic, but is a completely different comedic perspective.” But obviously there are things that he simply can’t say on LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS. “Yeah, but we’re mostly saying it, and then they’re just bleeping it out,” Meyers said with a laugh. “I mean, you know, when you’re on at 12:37 (a.m. ET), it’s, like, barely ‘broadcast.’ I feel like we’re saying the F-word, and then they’re bleeping another one three words later. Whoever’s working the button for our show right now is barely there.” Meyers did acknowledge there’s a general difference in approach between his late night show and his stand-up special, particularly with regard to subject matter. Whereas the late night show tends to focus on daily news and current events, the stand-up special embraces more universal themes, with the goal of having it stay relevant for a longer period of time. “One of the things Neal (Brennan, director of SETH MEYERS: DAD MAN WALKING) said was, ‘there’s no mention of Donald Trump in the special, right?’ ” Meyers explained. “Now, it’s very rare to watch one of the episodes of my late night show where that’s true. And, you know, that was a conscious choice. I also enjoyed not talking about it, but the way our late night show is built, it’s impossible not to (talk about Trump). But given the opportunity, I love to spend an hour without mentioning him. So there’s that difference, which is, I get to only talk about things that bring me joy.” On that very point, a good chunk of the material in SETH MEYERS: DAD MAN WALKING has to do with his family, which is no surprise, given the title. “I think the truth is, the more time you spend with your kids, the more material they give you,” Meyers said. “And then it’s sort of this trade-off, because you want to go and tell all these wonderful anecdotes that they provided you. But in order to do that, you have to abandon them. So I would just say to my children, if they were less entertaining, I would hang out with them more. But look, we have a saying in our house: Daddy has to monetize the stories.” How does Meyers’ wife, Alexi Ashe, feel about it? “Oh yeah, this is more interesting,” Meyers said. “She’s amazing. I mean, look, the one difference is, my kids did not choose to have a comedian as a father, but she did marry one. So there was a little bit of a buy-in. But it’s an incredible freedom she gives me to go on stage and obviously talk out loud, and turn our life into entertainment. But she also knows that she can say, ‘I didn’t love that,’ or, you know, ‘that’s a little unfair.’ But the best thing she does is, she’ll say, ‘that would be funnier if you said this part.’ And more often than not, she’s an incredible asset as a rewriter.” But there’s also a condition involved. “She has said before, ‘I don’t care how mean you make me sound on stage, as long as you always make me right,’ ” Meyers said. “So that’s ultimately our agreement. And I think I’ve adhered to that so far.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv