Later was an NBC talk show (specifically, 1:35-2:05 AM) that ran from 1988 to 2001. Originally hosted by noted sportscaster Bob Costas, the show originated as a one-on-one conversation with a particular guest (primarily in film, television, music, sports, literature, politics) with no studio audience on the table. After Costas left the series in 1994 due to his busy work schedule, Greg Kinnear took over the mantle and the show was updated to include the live studio audience as well as an opening monologue to recap news stories from the previous day. When Kinnear left in 1996 to pursue his acting career full-time, a series of guest hosts filled in over the next four years before VH1 personality Cynthia Garrett assumed position as the permanent host in 2000. Following the show's cancellation the next year, its spot was later filled by Last Call with Carson Daly.
Tropes seen on the show:
- Guest Host: Following Kinnear's departure and before Garrett's hiring, several celebrities served in that spot for the next three years.
- Retool: NBC began negotiating with Carson Daly to take over the Later slot after cancelling the show, but those negotiations extended well into 2001. During this time frame, Later went from being a talk show to being a presentation of time- and content-edited of the sketch show SCTV (aired by NBC from 1981 to 1983), titled, Later presents...SCTV, featuring voice-overs from former Friday Night Videos host Rita Sever. At the end of 2001, the Later brand ceased to be, with Daly's show taking on the title of Last Call.
- Signing Off Catchphrase: During Costas' stint, he would always sign off with "And we'll see you later."
- On his final episode aired February 25, 1994, he closes out with: "I'll be seeing you from NBC Sports and NBC News over the next several years, but this is the last time from here. Thank you very much. This time I mean it. See you later."
- Studio Audience: Averted during Costas' run as host. Whenever a guest elicits a response on certain things, a geniune reaction would come from crew members.
- A fifth anniversary special, 5 Years Later, which aired on January 30, 1993, to coincide with Super Bowl XXVII, which was televised by NBC the following day, and hosted by Costas, did have a studio audience. As the game was in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl, the special was taped in Los Angeles in The Tonight Show studio.
