Late night talk show guests: March 21-27

Posted by: Paul Little  •  March 21, 2011 @ 6:40pm

Since last I wrote to you in this section, I've spent some time in L.A. covering the Oscars for ShowbizMonkeys.com. But beyond just taking in the year's biggest celebration of film (or rather, spending time on the Red Carpet leading up to said celebration), I also took in a lot of comedy. Over the five days I was in Hollywood, I attended a taping of Conan and took in six comedy shows (including the monthly "Paul F. Tompkins Show" at the Largo, and a stand-up show at the world-famous Hollywood Improv populated by Conan writers). Plus, I got to interview Conan graphic designer and occasional on-camera performer, Pierre Bernard.

You'd think that seeing that much comedy would make me a little sick of it, but you'd be wrong. In fact, it made me want to absorb as much hilarity as possible -- which is good, because besides keeping up with most of the late night talk shows as usual and attending as many local comedy shows as possible, the Winnipeg Comedy Festival is coming up in a few weeks and there will be a lot of comedy to see!

But I suppose you didn't come here to read about live comedy (as great as it is) -- you came here to find out which guests are appearing where on late night TV this week. So here's my Top 5 for the week:

• Steve Martin (Monday on Colbert) - He was on The Colbert Report a little while back to talk about art, but now Steve Martin returns with his bluegrass band, the Steep Canyon Rangers. As is usually the case with musical guests on the show, Colbert will likely chat with Martin for a bit before giving the band a chance to perform. The music is quite good -- reason enough to tune in -- but it's always a delight to see Colbert match wits with someone of equal comedy skill.
• Rainn Wilson (Tuesday on Kimmel) - Besides being on The Office, Rainn Wilson also has two films coming out that look amazing -- Peep World this Friday, and Super next Friday. He's also a funny late night guest. Plus, Tuesday also features the gorgeous Abbie Cornish, who you can see in last weekend's box office champ, Limitless.
• Ben Schwartz (Wednesday on Carson) - Another person appearing in Peep World is the hilarious Ben Schwartz, who I believe is making his late night television debut this week on Last Call. I've been a fan of Schwartz' for quite some time, having seen him do improv at UCB Theatre on pretty much every trip to L.A. I've made over the last few years (including a few weeks ago alongside Community's Donald Glover and others). You may known Schwartz from his recurring role on Parks & Recreation or his supporting role on the short-lived NBC spy show Undercovers, but you'll definitely be seeing a lot more of him over the next couple years.
• Sarah Silverman (Monday on Conan) - You best have yourself a PVR or timeshifting, because while Steve Martin is talking with Colbert and playing a tune, Sarah Silverman is going to be chatting with Conan. If you're a longtime fan of Conan, you likely know that Sarah Silverman used to make a lot of appearances on his old Late Night show just as she was starting out, and she definitely credits him with helping to launch her career. Now, she's one of the funniest and most well-known female comics, so it's nice when she can pop by the comfortable surroundings with Conan and Andy.
• Sarah Vowell (Monday on Stewart) - Monday's full of great guests, apparently! I'm sure I've mentioned Vowell on here before (though I'm far too lazy to go back and check), but either way, she's never one to miss. She's absolutely brilliant and amazingly funny, and besides catching her appearances on late night talk shows and the like, you should probably just go ahead and buy her latest book (or all of them, for that matter).

The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)

• Mon 03/21: Dana Carvey, Dr. Michio Kaku, British Sea Power
• Tue 03/22: Katie Couric, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
• Wed 03/23: Ben Stiller, Dario Franchitti, the Strokes
• Thu 03/24: Rainn Wilson, Hank Aaron, Mountain Goats (Repeat)
• Fri 03/25: Donald Trump, Vanessa Hudgens, Oh Land (Repeat)

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (NBC)

• Mon 03/21: Zachary Levi, Lisa Lampanelli, Raphael Saadiq
• Tue 03/22: Julie Scardina, Rebecca Black, Duran Duran
• Wed 03/23: Carol Burnett, Jason Ritter, Keith Urban
• Thu 03/24: Kirstie Alley, Peter, Bjorn & John
• Fri 03/25: Jennifer Hudson, William H. Macy

Conan (TBS, CTV)

• Mon 03/21: Sarah Silverman, Biz Stone, Pete Holmes
• Tue 03/22: Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Chalke, Teddy Thompson
• Wed 03/23: Vanessa Hudgens, The Miz, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals
• Thu 03/24: Steven Ho, Patton Oswalt, Wanda Jackson (Repeat)

Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)

• Mon 03/21: Liv Tyler, Mark Cuban, Brett Dennen
• Tue 03/22: Rainn Wilson, Abbie Cornish, the Gaslight Anthem
• Wed 03/23: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jerry Weintraub, Quinn Sullivan
• Thu 03/24: Penelope Cruz, Paul Iacono, Oh Land

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)

• Mon 03/21: Denis Leary, Kathleen Madigan (Repeat)
• Tue 03/22: Helena Bonham Carter, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers (Repeat)
• Wed 03/23: Jim Parsons (Repeat)
• Thu 03/24: Jason Biggs, Jennifer Ouellette (Repeat)
• Fri 03/25: Topher Grace, Catherine Deneuve (Repeat)

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC)

• Mon 03/21: Kiefer Sutherland, Emily Browning, Little Dragon
• Tue 03/22: Dwight Howard, Richard Ashcroft
• Wed 03/23: Trey Parker & Matt Stone, Geoffrey Canada, Friendly Fires, Bootsy Collins
• Thu 03/24: Rachel Maddow, Tres Mts.
• Fri 03/25: Billy Crudup, Reggie Fils-Aime, Cut Copy

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, CTV)

• Mon 03/21: Sarah Vowell
• Tue 03/22: T.J. English
• Wed 03/23: Richard Lewis
• Thu 03/24: Bret Baier

The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, CTV)

• Mon 03/21: Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers
• Tue 03/22: Ayman Mohyeldin
• Wed 03/23: Nathan Myhrvold
• Thu 03/24: Jody Williams

Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC)

• Mon 03/21: Tom Shadyac, the Voice Project, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (Repeat)
• Tue 03/22: Bill Hader, Stuart Gordon, the Morning Benders
• Wed 03/23: Ben Schwartz, Duncan Jones, Biffy Clyro
• Thu 03/24: Zack Snyder, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Ra Ra Riot
• Fri 03/25: David Fricke, Stacey Wilhelm

Lopez Tonight (TBS)

• Mon 03/21: Mike Tyson, Emmy Rossum, 30 Seconds to Mars
• Tue 03/22: Jim Rome, Boney James
• Wed 03/23: Matthew McConaughey, Micky Ward, Ron Artest
• Thu 03/24: Kristen Bell, Jake Johnson, Slash (Repeat)

George Stroumboloupoulos Tonight (CBC)

• Mon 03/21: Jay Baruchel
• Tue 03/22: Jennifer Stoddart
• Wed 03/23: Sylvia Tyson
• Thu 03/24: John Edward
• Fri 03/25: Jason Eisener, Bahamas

Kevin Pollak's Chat Show (Online)

• Sat 03/27: Fred Savage

Tags: Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, George Stroumboloupoulos, Kevin Pollak, talk shows

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Paul Little is the founder and Managing Editor of ShowbizMonkeys.com. When not interviewing his favourite musicians and comedians, he can also be found putting on and promoting music and comedy events with The Purple Room in Winnipeg, or co-producing the live comedy game shows Pants on Fire and The Great Patio Showdown. (@comedygeek)

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