Jason Kelce makes a specific demand as he gears up for his upcoming late-night show on ESPN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: Jason Kelce will be trying his hand at late-night television as he gears up to launch his highly anticipated late-night TV show, 'They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce'. But he came to the table with a very specific demand.
Premiering January 3 on ESPN, the show marks the former Philadelphia Eagles star’s bold foray into the world of late-night entertainment—on his own unapologetic terms.
Jason Kelce wants 'live band with horns' for late-night show
This late-night sports show has been a dream of Jason Kelce, 37, and he had a clear vision in his mind about it, one that NFL Films’ vice president Keith Cossrow found hard to resist.
“He said, ‘I want to have a live band with horns. It’s got to have a horn section. And I want to shoot it in Philly, and I want you guys to produce it,’” Cossrow told The Hollywood Reporter about Kelce's specific demand.
“We were like, ‘We’re in, we’ll figure this out.’ I got goosebumps.”
Kelce first announced that he will host the show during an appearance on an episode of ABC’s 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' in November.
NFL Films, known for its Emmy-winning storytelling, is no stranger to Kelce’s charisma, having co-produced the 2023 Prime Video documentary 'Kelce,' which chronicled the football star’s emotional journey to retirement.
Now, the stakes are even higher as they tackle an entirely new challenge: late-night comedy meets sports talk, all with Kelce’s unmistakable personality at the helm.
Jason Kelce's new show to air on Friday evenings before live audience
The show, which will air on five consecutive Friday evenings (technically early Saturday mornings), will be filmed in front of a live audience at Union Transfer, a beloved venue in Kelce’s hometown of Philadelphia.
True to his roots, Kelce, who recently launched a new YouTube channel, insisted on keeping the show local, and the energy of Philly will be front and center.
For Kelce, the idea of hosting a late-night show has been a longtime dream inspired by legends like Conan O’Brien and David Letterman.
“He said, ‘No matter where I go, there’s one thing I want to do. I want to make a late-night show,’” Cossrow shared.
“‘I grew up watching Conan and Letterman, and they’re my heroes. I love what Bill Maher does with the panel on Friday nights on HBO, and I want to have a late-night show about sports'," he recalled Kelce saying.
Jason Kelce's late-night show charts new territory for athletes in media
Reportedly, Jason Kelce’s ambitions align with a broader trend among athletes carving out new post-career paths.
“I think he looked at what Peyton’s [Manning] done and what LeBron [James] has done,” Cossrow explained, “and I think that’s the model a lot of guys want to follow now. They want to build their own entity, produce their own content, and have ownership of it.”
While the project is undoubtedly exciting, the team acknowledges the challenges ahead.
“Comedy is hard. Sports and comedy is hard. Us doing essentially a live studio show is something very new and exciting, but Jason is just a force of nature,” said Ross Ketover, senior executive at NFL Films.
“It’s totally high-wire for us without a net.”
The first four episodes of 'They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce' will air at 1 am ET on ESPN, with the final episode premiering at 1.30 am ET on February 1—just in time to hype up the Super Bowl weekend.
