Jason Kelce’s ESPN show, They Call it Late Night, will not return for a second season, Luxury Handbag Shopping has confirmed.
Awful Announcing was first to report the news on Thursday, January 29.
Kelce, 38, made the decision himself, hoping to instead pursue other opportunities, the outlet reported. ESPN continues to be interested in working with the former Philadelphia Eagles center in the future.
That includes on Sunday, February 1, when he will make his hockey broadcasting debut as a special correspondent for the NHL Stadium Series game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins in Tampa, Florida.
During the game, Kelce will sit in the “Best Seat in the House” at ice level, where he will interview a cast of guests throughout the game.
Kelce also serves as part of ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown broadcast team during the NFL season.
He first announced his move to late night in a November 2024 appearance on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“I loved late-night shows, I’ve always loved them. I remember sleepovers watching Conan O’Brien with my friends,” he said. “We’re going to have a bunch of guys up there — legends of the game, friends that I played with, coaches, celebrities.”
They Call it Late Night debuted on January 3, 2025 to an audience of 290,000 viewers, and he opened the show in true Jason Kelce fashion by chugging a beer, served to him by former Eagles wide receiver Harold Carmichael.
Jason’s wife, Kylie Kelce, then read a viewer discretion statement, telling viewers that while their own children may be used to some of the language on the show, others might not. (Jason and Kylie, 33, share four daughters: Wyatt, 6, Elliotte, 4, Bennett, 2, and 10-month-old Finnley.)
“It’s really a challenge to do and pull together all the things in a show like this,” Jason said after the premiere, according to PhiladelphiaEagles.com. “And I really became aware of how difficult filming things live is. I did Saturday Night Live with my brother and Monday Night Countdown on ESPN. But there’s a challenge that goes into it. And one of the things I really enjoy is that there’s so many people involved, and everybody has their role.”
Jason expanded on his vision for his show during a November 2024 episode of his “New Heights” podcast, which he cohosts with his brother, Travis Kelce.
“I thought it’d be fun to have live music and do something in front of a live setting of people. And I was like, ‘What has that?’ I was like, ‘Late night shows have that,’” he explained. “When I think of the NFL, I think of those old, iconic NFL songs that make you feel like you’re in the middle of football and I thought it’d be cool to have a band play some of that music, celebrate the game.”
He also gave Kimmel, 58, a shoutout for his help learning the ropes of late night TV.
“Jimmy was the man, [he] offered tons of advice, I got to follow him around all day,” Jason recalled. “To just go there and talk to him, get all the ins and outs of how to run a late night show, how to talk into the camera, how you choose topics, how you prepare, it was honestly a very, very beneficial trip to make.”
