Affective shifts in political comedy: the move to seriousness in Late Night television

In the wake of major moments of crisis, the tone of political comedy often undergoes dramatic shifts, with comedians showing strong emotions as part of their performance. This paper introduces a novel concept to the literature, exploring the characteristics and function of affective shifts by both empirical and theoretical means, utilising a mixed-method content analysis with data from political comedy programmes in the aftermath of crisis situations. The paper then reexamines the role of political comedians in light of increasing appeals to ethos, arguing that affective shifts should not be seen as evidence of limitations to the art form, but rather as expanding the ability of political comedy to tackle emotionally salient issues. The contribution concludes by briefly discussing implications for the future role and relevance of political comedy, contributing to the evolving understanding of the function political comedy assumes in the contemporary media system.