Jason Kelce is going from playing football at 1 pm to hosting a late-night, sport-centric talk show at 1 am with the upcoming ESPN show They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce. The former Philadelphia Eagle and likely future Hall of Famer is going to shepherd a limited-run late-night show that will air in conjunction with the end of the NFL regular season and the NFL playoffs.
This is the latest experiment with late-night television. In addition to the traditional staples like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, late night has seen Taylor Tomlinson tweak the format with After Midnight on CBS and John Mulaney do something completely his own with Everybody’s in LA on Netflix (the two sides are currently developing a new late-night show). Kelce’s big personality and sports focus could bring another new element to the world of late-night TV.
Here’s everything you need to know about They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce.
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce release date
ESPN is premiering They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce on Saturday, January 4, at 1 am ET on ESPN (also streaming on ESPN Plus, as well as ESPN and Kelce’s YouTube channel).
The one-hour show will run for five consecutive weeks, with the first four episodes airing at 1 am ET on Saturday mornings, while the finale airs at 1:30 am ET on February 1. All episodes will be reaired at some point on ESPN2 on Saturday mornings.
With its airing on various platforms, there are multiple ways that viewers can watch They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce. First, if you have a traditional pay-TV cable service or a live TV streaming service (ie Fubo, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV) that carries the sports network, then you can watch the show directly on ESPN. All subscribers to ESPN Plus (available as a standalone platform, as part of Hulu with Live TV or the Disney Bundle) can also watch it as soon as it airs. Even if you don’t have any of that, you’ll also be able to watch the show directly on YouTube.
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce host
Jason Kelce played 13 seasons in the NFL, all for the Philadelphia Eagles. He is a Super Bowl winner and All-Pro center who is all but bound for the NFL Hall of Fame. He retired in 2024 and has since made the transition to being a media star.
Even before his playing career ended, he began The New Heights podcast with his brother Travis Kelce (currently playing for the Kansas City Chiefs), which is one of the most popular podcasts currently streaming. After he retired he joined ESPN as an analyst on Monday Night Football. Kelce was also the subject of a hit documentary, simply titled Kelce, on Prime Video, which you should watch, even if you’re not an Eagles fan.
Joining Kelce as part of the show each week will be the Philadelphia band SNACKTIME, which will play live music for the show.
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce premise
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce is said to take its inspiration from “traditional late-night television, emphasizing a comedic approach.” However, instead of general news and pop culture, the primary focus will likely be on sports, particularly the NFL, as the show will air starting the day before the final day of the NFL regular season and run through the week before the Super Bowl.
Here is a more detailed description from ESPN:
“They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce will be an immersive experience from Union Transfer in Philadelphia, showcasing the Super Bowl champion’s oversized personality and infectious humor mixed with celebrity guests from the football world and beyond, in front of a live audience of NFL fans. The show’s format will position Kelce and his guests to dissect NFL topics and storylines, mainly focused on that weekend’s games, in both conventional and good-humoredly unconventional approaches including active participation from the fans in attendance.”
If you’re curious about the name, it is derived from the first full-length NFL Films project, They Call It Pro Football, from 1967. NFL Films is one of the producing partners for They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce.
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce trailer
No trailer or promo material for They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce has been shared at this time. However, Kelce officially announced the late-night show on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (the talk show is owned by ESPN’s sister network ABC). Watch that directly below:
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce behind the scenes
They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce will be filmed at Philadelphia’s Union Transfer, a music venue that has been in operation since 2011, but is housed in a building that dates back to 1889.
If you live in or are going to be around the Philadelphia area on Friday nights when They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelce is filming, you will have the chance to be a part of the live audience. Information on how to acquire tickets will be released in December. One place you can keep an eye out for those details is on 1iota’s Instagram page.
In addition, ESPN and NFL Films, Kelce’s own production company, Wooderboy Productions, and Skydance Sports are also involved with the show.
