The Midnight Show

“Saturday Night Live fans will devour this account of a similar show’s cast drama that spirals into tragedy. Sharp, witty, and totally fresh.”—People“In the vein of Daisy Jones & the Six and The Favorites before it, The Midnight Show is told via interviews, articles, and transcripts, a format that never fails to fully immerse us in a very specific moment in time.”—Marie Claire “If Saturday Night Live launched a generation of comedy legends, this novel imagines what it takes to make it there. Set in the 1980s, it follows a female comedian navigating the cutthroat New York comedy scene with grit, ambition, and sharp wit.”—Brit + Co“The Midnight Show is an utterly addictive read—I couldn’t stop thinking about it once I started. Kelly and Thorne expertly capture the cutthroat world of late-night comedy in juicy, hilarious detail, with special attention to the women at the center of it all. I loved it!”—Amy Tintera, New York Times bestselling author of Listen for the Lie“Dark, dazzling, and impossible to put down, The Midnight Show captures the high-wire world of live TV and the secrets festering just offstage. With inventive storytelling and characters that feel achingly real, it plunges us into 1980s New York with all its glitter, gossip, grime, and glory and a mystery that refuses to stay buried—an absolute knockout.”—Chandler Baker, screenwriter and New York Times bestselling author of Whisper Network and The Husbands“Book clubs, behold your next great read. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll immediately want to talk about it with everyone you know. At times comedic, at times tragic, but always unflinchingly human. A spellbinding, wildly imaginative book.”—Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, USA Today bestselling author of Till Death Do Us Part and The Girls Are All So Nice Here“A brilliant, electric ride. Reading The Midnight Show feels like being backstage at the birth of Saturday Night Live—complete with swagger, secrets, and the thrill of live TV. Nostalgic, razor sharp, and full of twists I never saw coming. Kelly and Thorne are at the top of their game with this one.”—Sara Ackerman, USA Today bestselling author of The Guest in Room 120“The Midnight Show is my kind of escapism: meticulously crafted, hilarious yet grounded, and filled with characters who are my actual friends now—I don’t care if they’re fictional. Late-night comedy fans will find this extremely delicious, but so will feminists and nostalgists and people who enjoy being wildly entertained.”—Holly Brickley, author of Deep Cuts “Juicy and addictive.”—Cynthia Weiner, author of A Gorgeous Excitement“Fans of Daisy Jones and the Six should take a look.”—Publishers Weekly

Lee Kelly and Jennifer Thorne are the co-authors of the novels The Antiquity Affair, The Starlets, My Fair Frauds, and The Midnight Show.

Independently, Kelly is the author of the acclaimed speculative fiction novels City of Savages, A Criminal Magic, and With Regrets. Thorne is the USA Today bestselling author of Diavola, Lute, and the forthcoming Newbourne Park, as well as several books for younger readers.