The show has received mixed reviews. The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman referred to Meyers' monologue as "staccato and hit and miss — sounding more like his "Weekend Update" bits rather than a real monologue." On the other hand, USA Today's Robert Bianco felt Meyers was "shifting the show to suit his talents," making the show stronger and more traditional than Fallon's.[6]
Reviewing the debut week, The A.V. Club gave a B grade: The show begins with, "essentially, a carbon copy of Meyers' Weekend Update / 'what's in the news' jokes, presented as a stand-up monologue to open the show... More than anything, Meyers was arguably hired because he's such a pro at delivering quippy one-liners about dumb people in Florida... Meyers will settle in to the formulaic parts of this job quickly enough — he's a pro, and it shows... There are other features, however, that offer more than a glimmer of hope. Fred Armisen is a surprising choice as bandleader, but he brings unequaled improv chops to the table, and his little banter with Seth every night has already proven one of the more reliably funny bits. Integrating him as much as possible is certainly a smart idea... Late Night With Seth Meyers is also promising to feature panel segments with fictional characters, something that's less prominent on late-night TV these days and definitely needs to come back in force."[7]
A month later, Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly gave the program a B+ and wrote, "In his first week, the very smart, very smiley former Saturday Night Live head writer gave stiff monologue, which was basically his Weekend Update newsreader shtick, delivered in his shouty, wiseassy, talk-to-the-camera manner, but standing up; he improved the more he connected with the studio audience. He rolls when sitting down. Meyers seems capable of creating chemistry and having quality chats with anyone, from riding the wild waves of Kanye West to spinning a funny anecdote with pal Brad Paisley about accidentally stealing a Porsche."[8]
.png)