4. Jimmy Kimmel

This bit, this bit. It went from tired to wired so quickly that it’s impressive and also frustrating. The first half of the Jimmy Kimmel Live! monologue would have been right at home in 2013. The show started with some primo vintage clips of climate deniers, many of them dating from the early 2010s. Giving some classics like James Inhofe’s snowball moment more airtime is good to show the absurdity of deniers, but it is telling that this stuff is fresh for late night comedy.

He mined consumer staples for humor, including the threat climate change poses to chocolate that’s been reported on for years. He also messed up words from the teleprompter—he said “wild flires” at one point, and did a serious stumble over the “IPCC” (“I can’t even say their name, that’s how serious it is”). Seems like someone isn’t really used to talking about climate.

But things picked up halfway through. Kimmel roasted the Biden administration for earmarking fossil fuel projects (props!) and critiqued fossil fuel companies. It almost feels like a younger writer took over here because the tonal shift was marked. The segment then transitioned into a fake ad for ConocoPhillips describing their bravery in destroying the world that is really good and deserves to be viewed as a standalone apart from the opening mess.

Jimmy! You could be running incredible bits like this all the time, not just during Climate Week! Think outside the box more when it comes to climate, and give this sketch’s writer a raise.

Hot Burn: “We build a humongous impenetrable dome over our drills, and move inside with all our money.” (From the ConocoPhillips “ad.”)

Cringe line: “Imagine a world where you get a carrot cake for your birthday—it’s a nightmare.”