Women in Late Night
The Faye Emerson Show holds a significant historical importance not only as one of the first-ever late-night television shows, but as a show with a woman as the host. Unfortunately, late-night shows only became less, not more, common in the ensuing decades. As Dr. Maureen Mauk writes, although “her evening variety show appealed to a wide audience,” Emerson and other female hosts “were relegated to hosting daytime television for women. . . . Meanwhile, broadcasters catered to a newfound male audience within evening and late-night time slots by swiftly ejecting women from late-night hosting duties, an industry practice ever since” (143–44).
Emerson didn’t shy away from her femininity; as Mauk writes, “Emerson stitched a masterful seam between her political adroitness and the decorous femininity expected of midcentury American women” (141). In some episodes, she puts politics at center stage; others focus on science, industry, or technology, as with the episode on atomic energy below. In others, such as a Halloween special, Emerson hosts a Halloween party with secret celebrity guests, delectable spreads of food, and glamorous attire, playing the ideal hostess for her guests and viewers at home.