'The Not Too Late Show With Elmo' Review
TV-Y
Runtime: 15 Minutes per episodes
Production Companies: Sesame Workshop
Distributor: HBO Max
Cast: Ryan Dillon, Pam Arciero, Jennifer Barnhart, Tyler Bunch, Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Frankie Cordero, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Eric Jacobson, John Kennedy, Peter Linz, Carmen Osbahr, Martin P. Robinson, David Rudman, Matt Vogel
Release Date: May 27, 2020
Elmo has a new favorite game: he’s hosting a talk show, right from his living room. With Cookie Monster as a sidekick, other Sesame Street pals as backstage crew, and even a House Band, Elmo welcomes real-life performers to his couch to entertain kids and families with music, games, and fun for all ages. Jimmy Fallon stops by to show Elmo the hosting ropes, Lil Nas X shares a catchy song, John Mulaney gets competitive in a tricycle race, and much more—all before Elmo’s bedtime!
Man, WarnerMedia is putting more work into Sesame Street now than Disney has with The Muppets in the past five years. Here’s a fun little truth bomb for you: my entire childhood — well, most of it — was dominated by Elmo. Elmo teddy bears, Elmo toys, clothes, bath towels, VHS tapes, you name it. Heck, the first movie I ever saw in a theater was The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. That three-and-a-half-year-old red, furry monster was in control of the first five years of my life before my dad put me on to Pokemon, which dominated the following years. Elmo was a huge phenomenon back in the late ‘90s/early ‘00s. He was inescapable. He used to rule Sesame Street with an iron fist; he would appear heavily in the first 20-minute, story-driven segment and then have his own 15- to 20-minute segment, “Elmo’s World,” to close out the hour-long show. So, it’s only fitting that the WarnerMedia-owned premium streaming service HBO Max gave Elmo his own late-night series, The Not Too Late Show With Elmo, which is more charming and creative than I thought it would be.
Before Elmo heads off to bed, he gets dressed and hosts his own late-night show in front of a studio audience filled with kids and muppets. As he dons the duties of a host, other familiar faces from 123 Sesame Street appear in various roles, such as Cookie Monster the co-host, Rosita the stage manager, Prairie Dawn the director, Bert & Ernie as directors, Abby Cadabby the staff writer, and even Oscar the Grouch as the Matt Damon joke, for they run out of time for him. Each episode features one or two celebrity guests that Elmo interviews, which leads to some adorably chaotic and wacky scenarios.
Each episode consists of various sight gags, fun wordplay, and a few running gags. What keeps it fresh and entertaining is the variety of light, clever humor paired with what the celebrity guest brings to the table. There are so many hilarious moments that catch you off guard, such as the first episode, which features Jimmy Fallon. He tells Elmo how he hosts for a living, which Elmo responds to with, “You do this for a living?” In the midst of introducing John Mulaney, Elmo describes him as a New Yorker “who is as tall as three Elmos.” Can we just keep using that to describe John Mulaney’s height forever? John Mulaney is 6 feet tall, which is equivalent to three Elmos. It truly cracks me up.
After partaking in a fun activity with the guest (the John Mulaney one is the best because it is very height-centric), a famous musical act appears and sings a kid-friendly tune that is a cover of a classic Sesame Street song, like Kacey Musgraves singing “Rubber Ducky,” a hip-hop version of Elmo’s song with Lil Nas X, or Jonas Brothers singing Brushy Brush. I mean, when the JoBros tell you to brush your teeth, you better brush your teeth. As far as kid-friendly songs about brushing your teeth go, it’s nowhere near as catchy as the popular Chip Skylark classic “My Shiny Teeth and Me,” but hey, it’s the Jonas Brothers.
I used to watch Sesame Street until the age of 8 or 9. I didn’t have cable and needed to watch something in the morning that wasn’t news before heading off to school. Plus, my sister was still about 5 or 6 years old, so it was beneficial to her. So, watching Elmo and most of the Sesame Street gang in this satirical primetime format is like reuniting with old friends. It still retains the classic Sesame Street charm while mimicking the late-night talk show format in the span of 15 minutes. Seriously, for someone whose first episode featured Jimmy Fallon, Elmo makes for a better TV host than Jimmy Fallon.
Major props to puppeteer Ryan Dillon, who has been the puppeteer behind Elmo since 2013, which was long after I grew out of my Sesame Street days when Kevin Clash portrayed the character. This served as my first major introduction to his iteration and I think he does a great job capturing the lovable essence of the character. What truly warms me up to Dillon’s portrayal is Elmo’s outro song where he recaps the events of the episode via song and directly tells the viewer, “You are special.” He hits his notes so perfectly that I found myself going, “SING, ELMO, SING!”
That being said, The Not Too Late Show With Elmo is a fun, exclusive series that will entertain HBO Max subscribers young and old. It is definitely geared towards children, but it is written on such a clever, inventive level that it does have a broad appeal. It recaptures the classic nostalgic essence of the Elmo I grew up with while exhibiting the reason why Elmo is still such a large phenomena. That’s what I love about Elmo. As I get older, he stays the same. Look out, American talk show hosts. There’s a new red, furry host in town.
