‘A Little Late’ puts a new spin on late night comedy

Despite its differences, the show does borrow some inspiration from late night TV production design — including a dramatic host entryway. However, the ‘curtain’ here is actually a corrugated metal surface whose ripples mimc those of a fabric curtain. Behind this area, which also serves, like other late night shows, as the opening monologue position, is an open grid background. Blue, pink and white lighting accents are also used in this area.

The host desk and interview area are camera left, with a bold geometric gray desk for Singh that sheds the traditional microphone prop (in the image above, the device on the desk is a ‘white’ noise machine that’s used as a gag). It does feature a photo of Singh’s dog and french fries, though. This area also features a gray sofa and modern coffee and side table.

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This area is wrapped with a grid that features backlit panels that are a sort of abstract interpretation of a cityscapes of windows — a sort of alternative take on the skyline look. This motif is mirrored in a structural element camera on either side of the interview and host desk area. A flat panel on a stand between the host desk and sofa typically shows a design that is designed to roughly match the real scenic elements behind it, though when viewed off axis, as in this photo, it doesn’t quite line up.

The show’s logo uses a clean, geometric typeface in white and yellow. The open, meanwhile, features multiple horizontal or vertical layering effects with shots of Singh and cityscapes along with microtext of testimonials about Singh mixed in with words of wisdom adapted from Singh’s book ‘How to Be a Bawse.’