It’s the early 1980s. Lillian Martin is on top of the world as the breakout female star of The Midnight Show (TMS), a sketch comedy show much like “Saturday Night Live.” Then she suddenly goes missing. Forty years later, comedy writer and journalist Madeline Cohen sets out to write a piece about her and investigate her disappearance. In the process, she gets to know Lillian’s friends and castmates, and maybe she’ll even figure out what really happened.
The Midnight Show, described as “Daisy Jones and the Six” meets SNL, was one of my most anticipated reads of 2026, and it did not disappoint. I absolutely devoured this book. It was easy to get into and held my attention right up until the last page. The story unfolds through interview transcripts, excerpts from Lillian’s old journals, and correspondence between Madeline and her subjects. This format felt fresh to me and kept the story moving without any fluff.
If you’re an SNL superfan like me, you’ll probably notice that Lillian is created in the image of Gilda Radner, and several other characters feel like stand-ins for real-life figures.
Yes, it’s technically a mystery, but you don’t have to love mysteries to enjoy it. The book is full of twists, turns, and surprises as Madeline gets to know the TMS crew.
This book was everything I hoped it would be. I highly recommend it to readers of all stripes.
PS: Thank you to NetGalley and Crown for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!
