Our 21 favorite fictional talk show hosts, from Deborah Vance to Miss Piggy

Alan Partridge (Steve Coogan)

Leave it to Armando Iannucci, the creator of Veep, to also co-create one of the best fictional talk show hosts of the last two decades — the blissfully dim and self-promotion-obsessed Alan Partridge. Iannucci and actor Steve Coogan debuted Partridge as a sports presenter on BBC Radio program On the Hour, but he’s since earned several of his own television series and specials, as well as a 2013 film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa.

In real life, we want our television hosts to make their guests feel welcome, but in fiction, we love to laugh at Alan Partridge’s ineptitude and tactless tendency to offend his guests. —Maureen Lee Lenker

Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) on Late Night on Hacks

Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) saw her dream of being a late-night host slip away in the ’70s, but with a career renaissance in full swing, she’s hungrier than ever to try again. After nailing a guest-hosting stint, Deborah goes all-in to prove she’s ready to take the newly opened emcee spot on Late Night, making history as the first woman — and first older woman — to do so.

As we await season 4 to see how this cutthroat comedian tackles this new chapter, one thing’s for sure: Having shelved her ego in the face of cancel culture and burned a few bridges with those closest to her, there’s no telling what lengths she’ll go to hold onto her seat behind the desk. —James Mercadante

Barry Gibb (Jimmy Fallon) and Robin Gibb (Justin Timberlake) on The Barry Gibb Talk Show on Saturday Night Live

Based on the actual popular band the Bee Gees, Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake elevated fake SNL talk shows to a new level with this hysterical recurring sketch.

While Timberlake’s Robin was mostly silent throughout, Fallon’s Barry was known for his short temper and tendency to break out into song. But it was Fallon’s high-pitched falsetto Australian accent, accentuated by his staccato speech patterns that really kept this sketch and fake talk show hosts staying alive. —M.L.L.

Betty Caruso (Amy Poehler) and Jodi Deltz (Maya Rudolph) on Bronx Beat on Saturday Night Live

Before there were the Real Housewives, there were the ladies of Bronx Beat, fawning over the attractive men joining their local cable access show and chomping on gum like their lives depended on it.

Saturday Night Live stars Amy Poehler and Maya Rudolph made this fake talk show one of their most beloved recurring sketches, bringing to life these two Bronx ladies who use their talk show as a platform to complain about their families (especially their husbands), gossip about their neighbors, and ogle their most handsome guests. A perfectly hilarious spoof of local cable access shows with deadpan Bronx accents? Tell me about it! —M.L.L.

The Church Lady (Dana Carvey) on Church Chat on Saturday Night Live

Usually, celebrities go on talk shows to promote upcoming projects, but in this SNL sketch, the holier-than-thou Church Lady (Dana Carvey) lured them there to excoriate them for their alleged sins.

Has there ever been a talk show host, fake or otherwise, so self-satisfied and confident in their own superiority? And every great talk show host has a catchphrase — the Church Lady had many, including the iconic “Well, isn’t that special?” Take us to church, Church Lady! —M.L.L.

Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) in The Hunger Games (2012)

An instrument of the Capitol’s propaganda machine, Caesar Flickerman is the flamboyant host of the titular Hunger Games, as well as the government’s main interviewer. Caesar has supposedly hosted interviews for more than 35 years, but within the series, he notably conducts interviews with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) during their Hunger Games.

It’s to Caesar that Peeta confesses his love for Katniss, which sparks the most enduring love triangle of the series. In the film adaptations of the best-selling novels, Stanley Tucci brought a creepy eccentricity to Flickerman, making him one of the most outrageous, horrifying, and memorable characters in the franchise. —M.L.L.

Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) on Wake Up, San Francisco on Full House

Widowed father Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) starts as a sports anchor on this beloved sitcom, but by season 2, he was cohosting a morning talk show (Wake Up, San Francisco) with Rebecca Donaldson (Lori Loughlin).

If you’re looking for a series of wacky set-ups for your sitcom family, from visiting a stable to performing with the Beach Boys, you can’t get a better fake job than morning show host. And no one was more willing to subject himself to humiliation or full of goofy dad jokes than Danny. —M.L.L.

Diondre Cole (Kenan Thompson) on What Up With That? on Saturday Night Live

As talk shows go, Diondre Cole was probably the worst when it came to actually interviewing his guests (but at least he didn’t force them to blindly stick their hands in boxes). Each show would begin with Diondre singing the titular, lengthy theme song accompanied by Fred Armisen playing the saxophone and Jason Sudeikis doing a mean running man.

But as each celebrity guest would start to speak, Diondre would interrupt to reprise the theme song — guaranteeing his recurring guest Lindsey Buckingham (Bill Hader) never got the chance to speak. Though Kenan Thompson is still on Saturday Night Live, this sketch hasn’t been seen since 2021. What up with that? —M.L.L.

Fernando Lamas (Billy Crystal) on Fernando’s Hideaway on Saturday Night Live

“You look mahvelous!” Billy Crystal’s impression of Fernando Lamas on the recurring SNL sketch Fernando’s Hideaway spawned this catchphrase that became synonymous with Crystal himself. And the fake talk show really played fast and loose since Crystal reportedly improvised the sketches, leaving the celebrity guests being “interviewed” totally in the dark about what outlandish things might be asked in the service of trying to make them laugh. It was definitely more unpredictable than most actual talk shows with predetermined talking points are! —M.L.L.

Gordon Ford (Reid Scott) on The Gordon Ford Show on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

After catching her stand-up act at a burlesque club, Gordon Ford (Reid Scott) opens the door for Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) to join the writing team on his titular talk show — where there’s a strict “no performing” policy for staff. But Midge has “never been great at following rules” and lands a four-minute set on air so electrifying that even Gordon has no choice but to call her to the couch, crown her “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” and then fire her — a modest wink to her irrefutable star power.

While Gordon’s off-camera ego (and many inappropriate advancements) crackles the veneer of his Johnny Carson-esque persona, Scott imbues the character with just enough charisma to earn redemption before the series’ final “thank you and goodnight.” —J.M.

Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) on Night Owls With Jack Delroy in Late Night With the Devil (2023)

Despite how many skeletons he has hidden in his closet, Jack Delroy (David Dastmalchian) puts on one hell of a show. And for his Halloween special, he is willing to pull out all the stops — even if that means conjuring the literal devil — to rescue Night Owls from its ratings slump and finally upstage The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. Unethical? Maybe. Admirable? Also maybe. —J.M.

Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) on Tonight With Katherine Newbury in Late Night (2019)

In Late Night, screenwriter and star Mindy Kaling imagines a universe where one of America’s most venerated late-night hosts is a woman. Katherine Newbury (Emma Thompson) is a bit of a relic at the start, a woman who has been fronting a show that hasn’t felt relevant in a decade. But Late Night is all about Katherine getting her mojo back and earning the privilege of her audience’s time.

Katherine deals with everything from sexism to ageism, while also having to learn a few lessons about kindness and work-life balance along the way. Honestly, the only thing we don’t like about her is the fact that she’s not real. Who couldn’t use a little bit of Katherine Newbury’s takes on life before bed? —M.L.L.

Larry Sanders (Garry Shandling) on The Larry Sanders Show

The fake talk show has perhaps never had it so good as this critically lauded HBO series that took viewers behind the scenes of a fictional late-night talk show hosted by Larry Sanders. Star Garry Shandling mined his own experiences as a recurring guest host on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show for inspiration.

At a time when the Big Four networks still reigned supreme, the character of Larry Sanders (and his idiosyncratic production team at The Larry Sanders Show) poked fun at the puffed-up narcissism of Hollywood in a way that still feels dangerous today. —M.L.L.

Miss Piggy on Up Late With Miss Piggy on The Muppets

On the original The Muppets Show in the 1970s, Kermit the Frog got to have all the fun with the visiting celebrity guests. When the Muppets got an update with their own ABC sitcom in 2015, it was Miss Piggy running the show on the syndicated late-night series Up Late With Miss Piggy.

The short-lived Muppets series focused on the day-to-day life of this show with Kermit executive producing and Gonzo as the head writer. Real celebrities guest-starred in often awkward encounters with the always vain and self-centered Miss Piggy. The show was short-lived, but there was true porcine enjoyment in watching this beloved Muppet get her own talk show. —M.L.L.

Pat Dubek (Molly Shannon) on Pat! The Pat Dubek Show on The Other Two

Pat Dubek (Molly Shannon) is the definition of doing it all — a bubbly daytime host, best-selling author, mom to three kids, and momager to her superstar son, ChaseDreams (Case Walker). Her infectious energy and endless mantras leave her audience hanging on every word, while her spontaneous phone calls with her kids reveal her down-to-earth relatability.

Pat’s heart may be a little too big for her own good, as she often juggles the weight of pleasing fans and avoiding work burnout. But no matter how hectic things get, she always brightens someone’s day. So say it with her: “The grind never stops, but it can stop if you want it to, and that’s what’s cool about the grind!” —J.M.

Space Ghost on Space Ghost Coast to Coast

Even superheroes need a late-night host! Former Hanna-Barbera supervillain Space Ghost (voiced by George Lowe) got his own talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast on Cartoon Network in the 1990s. The satirical series spoofed late-night shows, with Space Ghost often having antagonistic, openly hostile interviews with real, non-animated celebrity guests.

The off-beat cartoon talk show also featured plenty of bickering between his sidekick Zorak (C. Martin Croker) and director Moltar (also Croker), both of whom were only there because they were imprisoned. Is that a metaphor for something? —M.L.L.

Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report

Taking over for David Letterman on The Late Show in September 2015, the comedian-host Stephen Colbert is now a real-life late-night host in every sense of the word. But as the most meta entry on this list, he previously rose to fame as a conservative right-wing pundit also named Stephen Colbert who hosted his own late-night news show on Comedy Central.

The Colbert Report was a masterful exercise in satire, and in Colbert’s case, committing to a character — even when it meant embarrassing himself on air while conducting an interview. Colbert’s alter ego may not be a real person, but he changed the face of late-night TV and the news forever. —M.L.L.

Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey) on Wayne’s World on Saturday Night Live

This recurring SNL sketch became so popular it spawned a 1992 feature film and 1993 sequel, but it began as a fake local public access TV program with metal-loving pals Wayne (Mike Myers) and Garth (Dana Carvey). The show was broadcast from the basement of Wayne’s parents’ house, and it would feature the friends discussing their love of hard rock, “babes,” and tricking their guests into saying rude things. To this fake talk show, we say party on! —M.L.L.