The Boys Club
By Maggie Quigley
Gone are the days of Ed Sullivan and Johnny Carson—lovable oldies that all basically looked like Bob Barker.
In the struggle for late- night domination, an all-out brawl emerged as Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien dueled nastily and publicly for primetime positions. When the dust finally settled, a clear following emerged: all hail Team Conan.
I’m looking as hard as I can, and I just don’t get why Conan is so likable. Amidst all this talk of “Conan the Underdog,” we forget who the real underdogs are: the women who are brilliant and sassy enough to hold their own in a late-night time slot but haven’t been given the chance. Let me rephrase, two women—Chelsea Handler and Mo’Nique—received late-night opportunities, but both air on marginalized networks.
Chelsea is a fucking badass, dressing up like a lady but spewing expletives like a sailor while harassing her poor little (read: hilarious) Mexican sidekick. She redefines America’s concept of “hot mess” in the best way possible. Statistically speaking, her badass attitude isn’t just a put-on. This busty, bitchy blonde attracts more female viewers aged 18 to 34 than her opponents Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson, and Carson Daly, and her recent hosting gig for MTV’s Video Music Awards boasted a whopping 11.4 million viewers, the highest since 2002. So why she doesn’t have her own show on a real network remains a mystery.
Chelsea’s not the only one with tits and talent. Blazing a trail for herself as a double whammy of minority—African-American and female—Mo’Nique kicks ass in the ratings war with her year-and-a-half-old show on BET. In fact, her debut brought in an astounding 1.5 million viewers. With such a specific demographic audience and no clear plans to diversify or go network, however, Mo’Nique’s show remains stagnant.
The same stigma stays true for female writers: apparently the fairer sex just isn’t funny. An article by Irin Carmon did some field research on the number of female writers on the staff of current late-night players. Chelsea Handler won out with the only respectable number of female writers. As so eloquently phrased by Carmon, “Even if writers’ rooms were full of women, nine times out of 10 they'd still be writing for a male voice.”
Men need to get over their immense egos and realize that comedic prowess lies not in the penis, but in the brain of the writer in question. And more importantly, women need to showcase their comedy chops and push their way into the writers’ room.
With stronger female candidates than anyone I’ve seen in a recent presidential election, stop jumping on the ginger bandwagon. Instead, let's support the women that make us laugh ‘til our cocktails tip. Put women in their rightful place—no, douchebag, not the kitchen. Try late-night television slots.