Jason Kelce Debuts New Late Night Show with ‘Philly Roots’ — and Chugs an Entire Beer: Watch

Mar. 15, 2025

Jason Kelceo on ‘They Call It Late Night.'.Photo:ESPN/YouTube

ESPN/YouTube

Jason Kelceis officially in his late-night talk show era!

They Call It Late Night with Jason Kelcepremiered on Saturday, Jan. 4, on ESPN with a collection of inaugural guests — including fellow late night hostJimmy Kimmel,Inside the NBAhost Charles Barkley, musician and Philadelphia native Lil Dicky (whose real name is David Burd).

As he stepped on stage in front of a live audience, Kelce cracked a few jokes about his new show being the result of his parents Ed andDonna Kelce— who were both present in the audience — letting him stay up as a child to watch late night shows.

“Wow, how did we get here?,” Kelce, 37, said in his opening monologue. “Yeah, I have my own late night show. Not quite sure how we got here. I used to love watching Conan as a kid. I thought it was hilarious and now I’m up here doing my own show.”

The show featured several fun segments including Kelce making a visit to Kimmel for advice.

There was then a panel chat with Barkley, Lil Dicky, and former football offensive lineman Brian Baldinger, who also tried their hand at commentating on NFL films, and a beer-chugging competition.

Jason Kelce.Don Feria/AP Content Services

Don Feria/AP Content Services

The former football player previously opened up about his ideas for the show — which is filmed in Philadelphia — revealing the importance of having a “piece of the Philadelphia scene.”

“This first show is certainly going to be pretty Philly, but it will eventually evolve into a show that feels more national. But I always want the Philly roots be felt and heard. So that was an important thing for us,” Kelce said.

He noted that it was “a challenge to do and pull together all the things in a show like this,” and filming it for the first time made him “aware of how difficult filming things live [is].”

Kelce added, “There’s a challenge that goes into it, and one of the things I really enjoy is that there’s so many people involved and everybody has their role, whether it’s the audio guys, the stage set guys, the writers, the directors. There are so many people that it takes to pull off this thing.”

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Jason Kelce.Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty

Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty

ESPNhas described the show as “a new personality-driven, one-hour program that will run in conjunction with the finale of the NFL regular season and playoffs where Kelce will take the audience on a ride showcasing his oversized personality and infectious humor.”

Each of its five episodes will feature celebrity guests along with the former Philadelphia Eagles star discussing the NFL combined with comedy and live music.

On Nov. 21, during an appearance onJimmy Kimmel Live!, Kelce confirmed the news that he would host his own late-night show on ESPN in 2025.

“Yes, I’m starting I believe it’s January 3rd — I hope it’s January 3rd! — we’ll be doing a late-night show during the postseason on ESPN," he said at the time. “It’s going to be airing every Friday."

“When I first approached ESPN with potentially working for them,Monday Night Footballwas a big part of that,Monday Night Countdown,” Kelce added.

“I got to see Jimmy Kimmel this past week and I thought it was absurd. It was hilarious,” Kelce said at the time. “Jimmy was the man, offered tons of advice, got to follow him around all day.”

source: people.com