In an attempt to revamp the show, Katherine has Molly Patel hired to her writing staff, mainly on the basis that she is an Indian-American woman while all remaining writers are white men.

Although Molly has little experience in comedy and initially struggles, she proves her worth by giving Katherine good material to work with on her show as well as ideas on how to reach out to a bigger audience.

One year later, the show's team has diversified, Molly is promoted to co-lead monologue writer, and there is a hint of romantic relationship with co-writer Tom.

In September 2016, it was reported that Fox 2000 had bought the rights to the project, written by Mindy Kaling, who was also set to costar alongside Emma Thompson.

[16] The film began its U.S. theatrical play with a limited release on June 7, 2019,[17] in Los Angeles and New York City, and expanded to the rest of the US the following weekend.

[22] The film expanded on June 14, opposite the openings of Men in Black: International and Shaft, and was projected to gross $5 million from 2,218 theaters over the weekend.

The website's consensus reads: "Smart, timely, and brought to life by a terrific cast, Late Night is a workplace comedy with a lot of heart—and just as many laughs.

Scott of The New York Times described the film's humor as "sharp" yet "cruelty-free", and wrote, "[Late Night] argues that entertainment benefits from the presence of different faces and voices not by preaching but by example.

"[28] Anthony Kaufman of ScreenDaily also praised Thompson for "a memorable performance as the abrasive 'cold witch,' as someone describes her, perhaps even outdoing Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada as a delightfully wicked woman of power.

"[29] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly also praised Thompson's performance, saying her "gravitas holds the center," and that "the best scenes in Late Night are consistently the ones where the movie's main stars spar and banter and intermittently connect."

Greenblatt praised director Nisha Ganatra for refreshing classic romantic comedy tropes, but added that the tone is at times "scattershot and sometimes too sitcom-ish.

"[30] Alissa Wilkinson of Vox said "Late Night is a workplace comedy that feels like a cousin of The Devil Wears Prada, and its greatest strength is its two lead characters."