Late Night

Katherine Newbury has spent decades as the host of a long-running late-night talk show, and she now runs her all-male writing staff with an indifference that borders on contempt. When she is accused of being a woman who hates women, she orders her team to hire a female writer, and Molly Patel, a newcomer with no television experience, is brought in. What was meant to quiet the criticism instead puts two people from different generations and backgrounds side by side in a writers' room that neither of them fits comfortably into. Falling ratings and pressure from the network add urgency, and Molly sets out to prove she is more than a gesture.

Nisha Ganatra directed the film, the fourth of six features she has made, from a screenplay by Mindy Kaling, who also produced and plays Molly. Emma Thompson leads the cast as Katherine, with Max Casella, Hugh Dancy, Denis O'Hare and Reid Scott among the supporting players. The production was modest, at roughly four million dollars, and took about twenty-two million worldwide, a strong return on that outlay. On IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from around forty-three thousand votes, and on TMDB 6.4 out of 10 from a much smaller group of voters, indicating a generally favorable but not enthusiastic response from audiences.