Do late night talk show hosts hire writers for on-the-spot one liners?

Late night talk show hosts hire a team of writers who assist them with writing and editing the various comedy elements of their shows. While hosts typically prefer to hire writers with whom they are familiar, some hosts look at work from writers they don't know.

Getting hired to write on a late night talk show is extremely competitive. Knowing the show and the type of humor that it commonly employs is crucial. Monologues should be kept to only a few lines. Submitted jokes should be rewritten to be as funny as possible, should contain little filler and should not be recycled from one show to the next.