The Tonight Show's format was always celebrity happy-talk and plugging their next projects, with a few skits occasionally thrown in.
When Obama became President, none of the late-night shows would make jokes about him.
When Trump became President, none of the late-night shows made jokes about Democrats of any kind.
When Biden became President, none of the late-night shows made jokes about anyone (except Trump, conservative "supremacists," and Congressional Republicans.
And their "jokes" were really mean-spirited attacks disguised as friendly barbs, and then just outright attacks.
Gutfeld has the advantage of being on cable TV, which lets him loosen the dialog a bit. But mostly, he's not afraid to touch any "third rail" of politics, and he calls out everyone on the left who tries to play the cancel game.
Gutfeld's background is in magazines, so he focuses on the way media frames stories, while others speak to their own expertise (Dana Perino and the White House Press, Jeanine Pirro on the law, Harold Ford, Jr. on Congress, etc.). His panels usually include his sidekick(s), a news pundit, and a political/cultural/comedic guest.
What people like is that Gutfeld's assembled panels have the same kinds of conversations that everyday people would have while watching Fallon and his counterparts: a little skeptical, a little blue, a little "inappropriate." They say the things that we are thinking, but are afraid to say at work or in public.
-PJ
A great description, thanks. I was disappointed he wasn’t on last night, but totally understandable.