# Best TV show that airs after midnight?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 31, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120 "2010-08-31T13:04:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 17
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/1 "2010-08-31T13:04:34Z")

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If we limit it to midnight to 5am, I would say NBC’s Poker after Dark is rather watchable. Anything after 5am is a morning show.

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### Author: ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/2 "2010-08-31T14:48:06Z")

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Probably Family Guy re-runs on Adult Swim. Years back, I would have said anything on Adult Swim, but a good portion of their original programming is unwatchable now.

I like Hold 'em, but Poker After Dark is too slow and cut up with way too many commercials. I can barely stand listening to the players endlessly futz with their chips. So annoying! I much prefer watching tournaments that table hop and show lots of hands.

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### Author: ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/3 "2010-08-31T14:56:46Z")

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_Red Eye_ on Fox News Channel, at 3 am (2 am central). Hilarity. It’s like the McLaughlin Group, but on crack.

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### Author: ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/4 "2010-08-31T15:15:10Z")

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Craig Ferguson seems to have quite a strong following. Though it actually airs before midnight in the Central Time Zone.

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### Author: ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/5 "2010-08-31T16:15:47Z")

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I can always find Seinfeld, Frasier, King of the Hill, or Family Guy on after midnight.

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### Author: ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/6 "2010-08-31T16:22:30Z")

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> [@drastic\_quench](#):
>
> Probably Family Guy re-runs on Adult Swim. Years back, I would have said anything on Adult Swim, but a good portion of their original programming is unwatchable now.

The Venture Brothers is still good…I’m not sure if it airs after midnight though. Metalocalypse is also good. Robot Chicken is hit-or-miss, but I like it enough to keep it on the TiVo. But I agree with you…most of the new programs they have introduced are absolutely horrible.

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### Author: ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/7 "2010-08-31T16:25:49Z")

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[Children’s Hospital](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1325113/)

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### Author: ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/8 "2010-08-31T16:44:50Z")

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Scrubs is borderline 24/7 these days…

Adult Swim is nice

NFL network is usually watchable at all hours (if you like football)

ESPN

or, there are the two obvious choices - DVR and Watch Instantly 🙂

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### Author: ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/9 "2010-08-31T16:55:31Z")

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> [@fiddlesticks](#):
>
> Craig Ferguson seems to have quite a strong following. Though it actually airs before midnight in the Central Time Zone.

That’s what I came in to say - he’s damned entertaining, and we see a lot of good new music on his show as well.

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### Author: ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/10 "2010-08-31T17:04:00Z")

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I haven’t seen it in awhile, and it tends to be preempted by local stations, but _ABC World News Now_ used to be must-see TV for the late-late-late night crowd. How many news shows have ever had [their own polka](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q_NYulGppY), AND gotten [William Shatner to sing it live in the middle of the night](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuceDEC2HoU&feature=related).

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### Author: ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/11 "2010-08-31T17:32:00Z")

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> [@WolfpackJeep](#):
>
> > [@drastic\_quench](#):
> >
> > Probably Family Guy re-runs on Adult Swim. Years back, I would have said anything on Adult Swim, but a good portion of their original programming is unwatchable now.
> 
> The Venture Brothers is still good…I’m not sure if it airs after midnight though. Metalocalypse is also good. Robot Chicken is hit-or-miss, but I like it enough to keep it on the TiVo. But I agree with you…most of the new programs they have introduced are absolutely horrible.

Yeah I really like Venture Bros. too, though the last season felt really off and nowhere near as funny, in my view.

I don’t like Metalocalypse, but I don’t think it is bad - just not for me. Tim and Eric is a bad show.

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### Author: ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/12 "2010-08-31T18:43:08Z")

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Craig Ferguson. I catch up on the previous night’s show every day during my lunch break.

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### Author: ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/13 "2010-08-31T21:22:18Z")

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I wouldn’t call it the “best”, but sometime around 2:30 AM I accidentally caught a show on IFC called [**Food Party**](http://www.ifc.com/food-party/) and laughed my ass off. It’s surreal and insane and amateurish, and I don’t really know what to make of it. But I’m still watching.

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### Author: ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/14 "2010-08-31T22:20:36Z")

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> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#):
>
> _Red Eye_ on Fox News Channel, at 3 am (2 am central). Hilarity. It’s like the McLaughlin Group, but on crack.

Seriously? That’s still on?

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### Author: ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/15 "2010-08-31T22:48:30Z")

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> [@drastic\_quench](#):
>
> Tim and Eric is a bad show.

The “sit on you” song and dance is sorta funny; also, one episode made a reference to a community college near my very, very rural hometown (in that context, I found it amusing). Other than that, there’s not much to see. Tom Goes to the Mayor is even worse though.

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### Author: ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/16 "2010-08-31T22:51:52Z")

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My after midnight viewing is usually the late rebroadcasts of _Daily Show_ and _Colbert_, _Anderson Cooper_, and if the others aren’t watchable- I’ll admit it- _The Nanny_ reruns.

PBS often rebroadcasts shows from earlier in the week. I was kicking myself when I came across a rebroadcast of the Lincoln Center production of _South Pacific_ at 2 a.m. after missing it earlier in the week.

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### Author: ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2010, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tv-show-that-airs-after-midnight/552120/17 "2010-08-31T22:53:21Z")

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Not much to choose from, but Craig Ferguson is the best thing on that starts past Midnight.

He’s quite funny.
