8 Most Viral Late-Night Talk Show Sketches, Ranked By YouTube Views

Before the Internet, hilarious sketches on late night talk shows had to be discussed around the water-cooler at work the next morning or the dinner table the following night. If someone missed the episode, they missed it (unless, of course, they managed to record it on VHS!) Nowadays, like many other viral videos from the 2010s and beyond, late night sketches can easily, and do, go “viral” by taking off on sites like YouTube. In fact, there might very well be plenty of “fans” who don’t watch the actual shows but have seen all the most popular sketches.

Technically, the most popular late night viral sketch videos would go to James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke segments, which became so huge, Apple TV+ made the concept into a TV series starring different celebrities going on rides with one another. Other popular sketches, like the History of Rap and Lip Sync Battle (which was also turned into a show) from the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon aren’t available on YouTube (from an official account) and thus could not be counted.

8 Seth Brings Jon Snow To A Dinner Party (Late Night With Seth Meyers) – 18 Million Views

This “Seth Brings Jon Snow to a Dinner Party” video features a mock dinner party where the guests jovially discuss everything from the weather to their families. But when Snow tries to insert himself into the conversations, everything he shares is morbid, from declaring that “winter is coming” to relating that he never knew his mother, and that his brother was killed at his own wedding. Thinking back, there really are a lot of sad things about Jon Snow.

It perfectly shows off Seth Meyer’s humor and serves as a throwback to his days as a lead writer on sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. It’s also an homage to the “Debbie Downer” sketch from that show. Additionally, it came out right at a time when Game of Thrones was huge.

7 The Handsome Men’s Club (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) – 21 Million Views

Arguably one of the first viral videos on a late night talk show, the “Handsome Men’s Club” (from a 2010 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!) was designed to poke fun at how men are categorized in Hollywood as handsome leading men or not.

Kimmel got together some of the most popular (and handsome) actors and musicians, including George Clooney, Matthew McConaughey, Patrick Dempsey, Sting, and Lenny Kravitz, where they pretended to be in an annual meeting for a club meant just for handsome men. The purpose: to vote on potential new members. Naturally, the sketch made sure to include some ribbing of Matt Damon to continue the ongoing feud between the talk show host and A-list actor. While more than a decade old, it still holds up today.

6 I’m F**King Matt Damon (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) – 23 Million Views

Interestingly, while the “I’m F**King Matt Damon” sketch appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he actually had nothing to do with it. Rather, it was created for him by his then girlfriend Sarah Silverman as a joke. Playing into the mock rift between Kimmel and actor Matt Damon, she sang a song that started out sounding sweet and nice until she began wildly strumming the guitar and declaring, well, the words of the title.

What made the sketch even more hilarious is that it was delivered in the form of a real music video, and Damon was part of it. The writing, acting, and performances along with the way it was delivered as a surprise on Kimmel’s own show, made it a must-see. Kimmel took it in stride and delivered a retaliatory video called “I’m F**King Ben Affleck” that featured Affleck and Brad Pitt, and itself garnered another close to 15 million views.

5 I Told My Kids I Ate Their Halloween Candy (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) – 62 Million Views

While the segment hasn’t been without its share of controversy – with some people believing it’s too mean – it continues year after year as Kimmel urges parents to play the ultimate prank on their kids. The goal of “I Told My Kids I Ate Their Halloween Candy”? Wait until the morning after Halloween than pretend that parents ate all of their kid’s candy and record the reaction.

The very first segment from back in 2011 remains the most popular. While, for a split second, kids are devastated, parents quickly reveal that it isn’t true and the reactions are priceless. While some kids throw epic tantrums, others are more concerned with reassuring their parents that it’s OK.

4 Mean Tweets #7 (Jimmy Kimmel Live!) – 89 Million Views

Jimmy Kimmel has a knack for creating some of the best viral videos and one such recurring one is a segment he calls “Mean Tweets.” Celebrities read mean Tweets that are written about them aloud, on camera. It’s presumably the first time they’re seeing the Tweets, so the beauty of the segment is not only the genuine reactions but also sometimes the witty comebacks.

While there have been several editions of Mean Tweets that have garnered millions of views, including specially themed ones for everyone from athletes to country singers, this seventh instalment of “Mean Tweets” is the most popular. In it, everyone from Julia Roberts to Don Cheadle, Jon Snow, Ethan Hawke, and even the late Don Rickles, read horrendous things Twitter users have written about them. It’s impossible to keep a straight face while watching.

3 Driving Lesson With Ice Cube And Kevin Hart (Conan) – 92 Million Views

Conan has had some wonderfully hilarious viral videos over the years, but arguably the best, and certainly based on viral status, is the one when, on his show Conan, the host took his staff member Diana out for a driving lesson. However, he is joined by two celebrities, Ice Cube and Kevin Hart.

From the banter back and forth between Conan and Diana to the terrible advice given to the young woman, including telling her to pass people then yell out the window “you’re my b***ch!” “Driving Lesson with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube” is totally hilarious.

2 Ariana Grande’s Musical Impressions (The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon) – 157 Million Views

Another one from Fallon on this list, this sketch called “Wheel of Musical Impressions,” appeared on The Tonight Show. While fans already knew that Ariana Grande not only had an amazing singing voice but could also impersonate many other singers, they hadn’t really seen her do so many at once, nor so flawlessly.

The sketch was simple, occurring with both Fallon and Grande sitting in their interview seats. A digital “wheel” spun to reveal an artist and a song and each had to sing the song in that artist’s voice. Grande sang songs like “The Wheels On The Bus” as Christina Aguilera and “Can’t Feel My Face” as Celine Dion, and had jaws dropping to the floor at how spot-in she was. It was one of these sketches that anyone who missed just had to check out.

1 Carpool Karaoke With Adele (The Late Late Show With James Corden) – 239 Million Views

As noted, technically Carpool Karaoke would easily snag the entire top 10 based on YouTube views as it’s a hugely popular viral sketch. But for the sake of this list, the most viewed one to this date, and the best celebrity guest, is Adele. She and Corden laughed, sang, and got into some hilarious conversations in the Adele edition of Carpool Karaoke.

Based on YouTube views, the second most popular segment was with One Direction with 182 million views, followed by the video with Sia (143 million views), the one with Bruno Mars (137 million views), and the video with Selena Gomez (112 million views). Based on these figures, it’s easy to confirm that Carpool Karaoke is the most popular and viral late night talk show host video series, overall.

About The Author