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Which is worse? Network execs too scared to change a successful formula. Or network execs too willing to turn everything on its head. It's clear that Conan's version of NBC's cash cow The Tonight Show is just more of the same old/same old. And that's how O'Brien's longtime exec producer Jeff Ross and boss Jeff Zucker want it. But while they were golfing together this weekend in a foursome at Riviera Country Club (Ross, who just moved out here, is the better player, while Zucker has a 14 handicap and can barely keep up), they both worried how to prevent primetime's The Jay Leno Show from cannibalizing Conan's late night show this fall. And my info is that it's already getting ugly.
Leno's show premieres September 14th. NBC doesn't want Conan "freaking out" as he's establishing himself. And the bosses know that booking wars on the same network are a recipe for disaster. So, already, NBC executives have barraged Jay with edicts. The first were the network's recommendations on which longtime staffers to keep or let go. The network also has demanded that Leno back off booking A-list celebrities because it would encroach on O’Brien’s turf.
You'd think Jeff Zucker and Ben Silverman would have already come up with a solution for this predicament of having two de facto Tonight Shows. But there's a reason NBC is the 4th-place network, so nooooooooooo. They only know what they don't want. So these bosses are putting Leno under pressure to think outside the box and help come up with a format significantly different from the one he’s slavishly followed for 17 years. But no one should rely on Jay for that. The last time he had an original idea, it was 1992 and it involved making his manager Helen Kushnick also The Tonight Show's executive producer. And we all know how well that turned out.
Most people wrongly attribute the start of Leno's late night ratings wins to 1995 when he asked Hugh Grant, fresh from his arrest for getting a blow job with a prostitute, "What the hell were you thinking?". But actually, in late 1993, Don Ohlmeyer was brought in to lead NBC's troops to ratings victory. And the first thing this General Patton impersonator did was to retool Jay's The Tonight Show by overseeing the design of a new set, adding more remote segments, using different camera angles, and recreating the artificial excitement of a comedy club by having people in those first rows pretend to mob Jay. After a see-saw battle with Letterman, Leno became No. 1 in late night.
Problem is, there are no leaders anymore atop NBC. Just pretenders. And, of course, Jay had no idea he'd take a backseat to Conan so soon. (Then again, Zucker sold him a bill of goods to make sure Leno didn't defect to ABC.) But Leno is the one who'll get the blame if the new show doesn't work. Zucker and Silverman have shown they're Teflon.
So Jay, Jeff, Ben: here's what you need to do:
Zucker and Silverman keep spinning how NBC is now the Comedy Network. Fine, then make The Jay Leno Show into the Comedy Hour, not the Talking Heads Hour. Yes, Leno is so insecure that he abandoned The Tonight Show's long and noble tradition under Johnny Carson of spotlighting the kind of raw stand-up talent who went on to become household names: Jerry Seinfeld, Roseanne Barr, Garry Shandling, Drew Carey, Louie Anderson, Steven Wright, Rita Rudner, Gallagher. (Well, everyone but him...) Bring back that segment. Lengthen it. Reassure Jay that this isn't an audition for his hosting spot in 2012.
Next, I have one word: raid. Make offers to feature players on Saturday Night Live, sidekicks on NBC and other network/cable sitcoms, and second bananas co-starring in Judd Apatow-type movies, to come on Jay's show for a week at a time and star in stuff -- sketches, skits, spoofs, and other updated but low-brow Carol Burnett Show-type shtick -- to help fill time and get Leno through what's going to be the dragging 10:30 PM to 11 PM half-hour. These young and old and quirky types will be like swigs of Red Bull for the mainstream audience. (With or without the cocaine.)
Finally, rescue Amy Poehler from that loser Parks And Recreation (which I hear may start changing its dreadful mockumentary style) and make her Leno's permanent sidekick equal. Women love her. And since most guys are too busy playing video games or watching internet porn to even sample Leno in primetime, you'll need females to tune in. (Just don't glam up Amy. You morons will make her look like a $10 hooker. Or, worse, Chelsea Handler.) When Jay starts whining like the pussy he is, tell him to man up and shut up.
This is a start. I'm sure DHD commenters will come up with more suggestions.
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“Women love her.”
This one doesn’t. I was relieved when she finally left SNL. Let her stay on her Parks show where I can continue to ignore her.
…harsh…
Leno is f@cked! He better tear up that contract and go to ABC today! I understand his willingness to stay with NBC is very honorable- but Geez- its getting stupid now. Nightline is useless- he could kill Conan, ( he’s already slayed Letterman for 17 years – so does he matter? ) This could be an exciting time in Late Night TV – But he’s such a company man that he’s gonna do whatever NBC tells him..That’s a shame cause he could really plant his own flag on ABC.
Hi Nikki,
Isn’t Jay Leno’s audience significantly older, as in the Senior Set? I happen to know of a few seniors back in Middle America who TiVo Leno every night and who “guffaw” over Leno’s-let’s face it-lame, political & topical jokes. Is Leno, who is in danger of becoming a fossil himself (put him in the Smithsonian already) really the right person to being youth back to NBC?
What you’re describing is a bold shake-up and probably not gonna happen. How about letting his show die a slow death, which might embolden Conan to take on some of the changes you described?
You seem to attribute the success of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to everything but Leno, but if Leno show fails it will fail because no one wants to see a late night show an hour earlier, 5 nights a week.
Leno was successful on The Tonight Show because of Leno. I’m not saying that having great guest don’t help, they help a lot, but The Tonight Show was the ratings winner for years and I don’t think every guest was “must see.” I hope Conan has the same success that Leno had, but you never know.
rip off howard stern some more
it worked for a while.
Leno could also have a “College Spotlight” segment in that half-hour where unknown university based comedy troupes can take a turn making skits after winning some sort of competition (which could promote the show with the college crowd.)
It’ll also be a good chance to mine a fresh vein of young (& cheap) talent for other projects.
As for the raiding, include Second City, Groundlings, and any other theatrical comedy group that might provide the fresh blood the show is going to need.
Plus, Jay needs to shed the insecurity that makes him feel impending doom if the spotlight leaves him for less than a nanosecond. He needs a Harvey Korman to his Carol Burnett to help pick up the slack, or he’ll be burnt out in less than a month.
Is this actually you, Nikki? The voice in this piece is sharp not shrill, satirical not obvious and pompous not arrogant. Well done!
JZ and BS….two wrongs that will never make a Wright.
you want Amy Poehler to become Jay’s Ed McMahon? huh?
Why didn’t they ask Conan to ‘think outside the box’ instead of Jay, the more traditional performer?
It should be the other way around. Have the A-listers on during prime time. The studios will love it – it will help with the traditional Thursday night media onslaught of upcoming weekend releases. Let the edgy comedians come on and innovate on Conan instead. Most of that crowd has connections to Conan’s writing staff anyway.
Tell ‘em to come on down to UCB, all the raw talent you could want waiting for their break.
These are good ideas even if I don’t generally like Jay Leno OR Amy Poehler. It would be nice to have a more down-to-earth alternative to SNL – maybe with less pot-smoking humor. I might even enjoy it every once in a while.
For someone who is not a professional golfer, a 14 handicap is not bad at all.
I take some of this blog with a grain of salt (and I don’t use much sodium/salt). The point is, Jay Leno will be fine and Conan O’brien will be fine in their new timeslots. Maybe Jeff Zucker and Jeff Ross have something to worry about and maybe not. Jeff Zucker and Ben Silverman NEED Jay’s core base and ratings to keep things looking on the positive tip for them as a viable network. Both of them simply could not afford to lose Jay to Fox or ABC. At the same time they might be worried, long term, about Conan’s shelf life and ratings over time too.
Now, if Jay’s ratings go better than Conan’s, well then they will have to suffer the consequences of their actions with both hosts and the environment of late night talk.
Everything will be Ok and so there should be nothing to get so panic stricken and paranoid over until things evolve and find out for themselves if it all works out or not. Just take a wait and see kind of attitude.
Jay Leno just might come out of all of this, the ultimate winner! There is room for both and Jeff Zucker, Ben Silverman, and Jeff Ross need to simply sit back, relax and let things happen!
How can these type of shows do well over time? People want to see stories (ie: hr and 1/2 hr shows) at some point, not ENDLESS network fluff. Between these variety shows and reality, they are just watering down their network. Locking Jay in this time slot also puts an end to any smart ADULT one hr on NBC in the 10:00 hr as long as this show is on. It’s a shame!
Trying to turn The Jay Leno Show into a “comedy of tomorrow” spotlight seems like an oxymoron. No offense to Jay, because I have respect for him as a person, but as a comedian…he’s so old fashioned and out of touch, I’m surprised America has pretended he’s relevant for this long. If this did become a Carol Burnett-style sketch show, it would be just that…muggy, “silly,” and only appealing to an older demo. Hell, look at the “sketches” they tried to do with Jay on the Tonight Show sometimes. The man doesn’t do characters, only muggy facial expressions.
Also, Parks and Recreation will always be higher rated than this thing. Also, taking a star with wattage and making her a sidekick is a bad idea, even hypothetically.
I’ve been saying it for months, Jay won’t work at 10pm. And now, NBC has no development slate in place to back him up should he “drop down to 4 nights a week”, etc.
This could be Jeff Zucker’s undoing, especially if NBC continues at it’s present spot in the ratings war and fails to improve, especially at 10pm.
A 2-hour special and Jay quietly slips off the air, followed by Jay resurfacing as the new in-residence act at Caesar’s followed by a relaunch at 11:30 on ABC for a half hour show – no band, no monologue, just 1 guest and maybe a musical act. Book it – ABC should hire me!
Thank you, Nikki, for pointing out that the Hugh Grant moment was not the only lightning rod for Jay’s turnaround. Additionally, let’s not forget that NBC was in the shitter in prime-time from ‘92-94, before their watershed lineup of introducing FRIENDS and ER, plus SEINFELD becoming a monster hit. It gave NBC a better lead-in at the time, and CBS was actually doing great (if not, older demographic) numbers in the early 90’s with MURPHY BROWN, etc. Yeah, yeah, I know people could argue that it’s an even more extreme ratings divide right now with NBC worse off than ever and Jay was still a clear #1, but there are also a lot more choices out there in latenight than there were back then.
Additionally, CBS suffered a gigantically crushing blow in ‘94 when New World changed it’s TV station affiliations from CBS to Fox, forcing CBS to scramble to get new, mostly UHF affiliates in some major markets- in some cases, these stations did not even have a local news operation, so the lead-ins to Dave were syndicated re-runs. It instantly leveled the network playing field (and Fox scored NFL around the same time), but Dave’s ratings were a major casualty of that deal.
Yeah, I prefer Letterman to Leno, but I see where the mass appeal for Jay comes from- he worked his ass off and he deserves the success. All I’m saying is that Nikki has it right- the Hugh Grant revisionist history has gotten out of hand.
A 14 Handicap when you have that much money to hire a good swing coach isn’t anything to brag about. If I remember correctly former GM chairman Jack Welch was about a 5 and he didn’t exactly look like the most athletic guy.
But then again, I don’t Zucker should be spending that much time on the links these days. Or maybe he should let his caddie pick NBC’s primetime line up? Might do better than Ben and there’s no where to go but up!
Nikki,
Shame on you for even suggesting Amy Poehler as a mere sidekick. She’s a major comedy talent and while PARKS AND RECREATION has not realized its potential, she’s FAR too talented to be relegated to a second banana job. That said, love your idea about showcasing more comedy talent on Jay’s show. New comedy talent needs more nurturing and only Comedy Central is doing it full-time these days.
This is just my opinion. The only reason Leno garnered more viewers than Dave is because of of “The Tonight Show’s” rich legacy. Anybody will watch anybody host that show as long as “The Tonight Show With____” is in front of their name. Well, Ok..maybe not ANYBODY.
Who under the age of say, 45 is going to watch anything called “The Jay Leno Show.” *Shivers*. Not me.
Jay never mentioned Helen Kushnik in his goodbye speech on his last show. Or in any of the numerous magazine interviews he’s doing lately. I haven’t read them ALL so I could be mistaken.
I was starting to feel a little sorry for Jay after hearing how NBC is treating him, but then I remembered that.
Any truth to rumors that Jay will appear on Dave’s show this summer?
I like the idea of Leno doing more to showcase standup comics. Those are his peeps, and, right now, there’s a dearth of high-quality standup on TV.
Also: now that Leno is freed from the yoke of being sort of in charge of U.S. public opinion, why can’t he go back to being more casual and a little nastier? If he would just act on his show the way he does when he’s a guest on other people’s shows, that would go a long way toward making his new show different from the Tonight Show.
I think something else that would be help would be to have him give up doing the show on Mondays very soon, and eventually to have him stop doing new shows on Fridays. That would probably ease many kinds of pressure, including booking pressure.
Finally: I think it would be awkward for Leno to have Amy as his sidekick if there really is any bad blood between Conan and Leno.
Thanks, Howard Beale for clearing that up. It was always a head scratcher how a buffoon like Leno could’ve overtaken Letterman at that time. Encouraging to know perhaps there aren’t as many moronic viewers as one would’ve thought.
I, for one, will happily stick to my internet porn, thank you very much.
And ps, I don’t know what everyone’s prolem with Chelsea Handler is; of all the latenight shows, hers consistently makes me laugh the loudest.
Jay should do a 45 minute show. Then they could start the news at the local NBC stations at 10:45. Most people watch the local news for sports and weather, which is aired halfway into the news hour. That would mean NBC stations would have sports and weather at 11:00, and they would grab all those viewers from CBS and ABC who really just want to know how their teams did and what the weather is….Conan starts at 11:20…giving his monologue a jump on Letterman….Fallon too….
Leno would have to only fill 45 minutes a night, he could loose an interview segment and concentrate on what he does best, comedy. Everybody wins and gets to go to bed earlier. You’re welcome
Jay should stay he is good
If NBC is already telling Leno who he can’t have as guests then you know it’s not long before they start to tell him who he can have. I’m guessing we’ll be seeing the casts of The Office, Heroes, and basically every other NBC/Universal show passing through on a nearly constant basis.
Conan’s ratings have gone from a 7.1 for his debut on Monday night to a 4.3 last night.* That’s a lot of people who have decided not to come back after just two shows. He’s still beating Letterman and Kimmel, but for how long? Handicapping Jay in the hopes that it would benefit Conan might work, if NBC were the only network on television, but it’s not. Ross should know better, but more importantly so should Zucker.
Just for argument’s sake: you’re only going to book celebrities on one NBC nighttime show. Would you pick the host with the Emmys or the host with the audience? Emmy awards don’t pay creditors. Conan’s an amazing talent, but until he proves he can hold the audience, Zucker shouldn’t piss off one of the only people at NBC who can make money.
I don’t think Ross’ meddling will have too much effect or that Poehler should be anyone’s sidekick. Conan’s numbers will settle at around a 3.2, and yes, I actually think his show’s great. Jay should stick to his formula and ignore all of us (like he has for 17 years) NBC will panic and drop all of its edicts when they see how many people don’t like ANY of the late night options, and his fans will tune in for him like they always do.
*Jay averaged a 3.9.
This story makes me so very happy.
(Even though I suffer a slight guilt pang because the Leno writers are really nice people.)
I am loving watch Leno being destroyed.
They offered Dave this same deal with the Devil and he turned it down. Network suits are liars and douchebags and so is Jay so he trusted them and now they are going to ruin him so that he’ll be useless for any other network.
Jay figures “I beat Letterman, I can do it to Conan, too.” The difference is Letterman didn’t see the betrayal coming. Conan knows you’re a lying scumbag.
Thank God for you Nikki otherwise we’d never know anything that’s real.
All of late night has unfortunately become a cesspool, but Conan seems like a much better guy than Leno, and a better comedian, so hopefully he’ll exceed Leno.
The network decided only one demographic was valuable to them and is paying the price.
Leno didn’t go to ABC because he likely feared it was the Tonight Show brand that held his ratings. Now that some of the history of how he leap frogged over Letterman has been explained, this seems more likely. If an ABC show failed, he’d have no one to blame. If his new show fails, he’ll just blame the time slot.
Jugdish, once again you’re mistaken. Nightline is still a very valuable commodity pulling competitive numbers (a virtual dead heat with Letterman) every night over the past couple years, while Kimmel is 100% dead weight filler.
ABC should’ve grabbed Leno and kicked Kimmel to the curb to go and host an eating competition show on Spike TV, or some shit.
This is getting fun, though. And it must be tearing that evil prick Kimmel up to know he’s never mentioned as an important player in any of these conversations.
Slightly off topic, but on last night’s Conan O’Brien show (the Wednesday episode), he told Julia Louis Dreyfuss that she was his first female guest. Wtf? There were NO female guests on the first two shows? I find that rather odd and disturbing. How do you book two whole shows, let alone your first two, without a single female guest? Odds would suggest that the male/female ratio would have been 50/50, so it appears the person selecting guests has some sort of skewed preference that is, at least to me, kind of offensive…though I know it’s popular in this country to greatly favor men over women.
NBC is diabolically brilliant. For whatever reasons they wanted to get rid of Jay Leno so the best way to do that is to give him his own prime-time show.
The ratings and format of that show will be horrible so it will be just a matter of time before the show is canceled. Other networks – like ABC – wouldn’t want to go into business with a “failure” so that prevents Jay from going on a rival network.
Now if only NBC could use that genius for good instead of evil. I know their shareholders would be happier.
Nikki, while you offer some remarkable points, it must be noted that we’re in the throes of an abysmal era in comedy. Go to Laugh Factory or the Comedy Store and you’ll see the same slate of “comedians” employing a shopworn routine of self-pitying or bombastic obnoxiousness or some other lame shtick. There’s a reason why there are no must-see comedians touring the country, creating a buzz (and BTW, Dane Cook was a pig in a poke, fueled by overhype generated on MySpace).
In addition, improv is so passe. I think audiences have reached their limits in watching buffoons acting like an electric turkey carver with a short circuit.
And while some make invoke Apatow’s success as evidence that comedy is thriving as much as ever, I just want to make this analogy: If you crave pizza, and the only place within a 30-mile radius is Papa John’s, you’ll go there because while it’s not great, it’s good enough. Same thing for Apatow and his apostles’ comedies; people really want a laugh, and they’ll go to these flicks because they’re just good enough, not memorable or great.
Personally, I prefer the writing on The Daily Show, Colbert, some Adult Swim toons and Maher, but that material is too edgy for network TV (though I’m continually amazed that Family Guy gets away with so much on Murdoch’s Fox).
Ultimately, Jay Leno’s going to regret this move. Once the show hits the nadir in the ratings, his reputation will be tarnished and he’ll wish he would’ve gone to ABC or Fox.
realworldperson – Sorry to say that even if Jay tanks, the 10pm hour will just go back to the affiliates. No chance NBC will make the $$$ investment to rebuild a full primetime line-up at this point.
Make a woman a PARTNER, not a sidekick and get rid of that dumb offensive Leno “humor.”
Just sticking a female face in as window dressing will not make women rush back in droves after being systematically driven off.
It was clear from the start that NBC is burning the candle from both ends and is going to end up with nothing.
Audiences are going to get talk show fatigue. The pool of guests will shrink because less movies and tv shows are being made. More D-list and non-celebs will be booked to fill time. That’ why talk show hosts are ping ponging back and forth as guests on each others’ shows. Viewers will fall off even more. NBC will announce the talk show format is dead rather than admitting it killed it, just like it announced sitcoms are dead rather than admitting it couldn’t or wouldn’t come up with good ones.
How can a network be run with absolutely no foresight or planning?
Oh, and Amy Poehler stands on her own.
Why wouldn’t NBC want “A” list guests in prime time? Sounds like Zucker is already devising an apologia stategy in the event that his big “experiment” fails. (Take note newbies, this is how you fail upward Hollywood style : LEAD OFF WITH YOUR FALLBACK POSITION.) If you’ve noticed too, with Zucker, if you have a relationship with him from the old days in New York – you seem to not be able to do wrong – if you don’t -not so much. We’re gonna find out just how much of a “nice guy” Conan really is. I’m looking forward to the day when “Law and Order – CSI Edition” guest starring Zach Braff and Patricia Arquette (a Zucker sweeps “Today” show-style stunt to promote the Detroit Olympics 2525) starts with a monologue.
Why don’t they just cancel Jay now and not waste the time they’re going to spend to do it eventually?
Say what you will about Jay, but he got to where he is by working harder than his peers in the business. He may not always play in L.A. and N.Y.C., but he plays just about everywhere else, including Peoria. And it’s his continued commitment to his audiences across the country that allows him to remain connected and relevant to his fans.
As comedy comes from many sources and wears many stripes, what is funny to some is often not funny to others — laughter is not a monolith nor should it be. What’s important is that men and women of comedy keep the laughs coming, and whether Jay does that at 10PM on NBC or 11:30PM on ABC (or elsewhere) is all that ultimately matters.
NBC should make Jay Leno animated in 2d. The first animated talk/comedy show. It would be very original. But the guests could be live. And certain comedy bits would 3D ala, Pixar.
To save money, Jay could have Hank Hill, Homer and Donald Duck as guests. There’s a huge library waiting to be exploited.
I know this is “out of the box,” but you don’t win by playing by the rules.
My guy at NBC tells me that one of the conditions for Jay’s 10pm show is that he drop all musical acts. Most talk shows save the musical act for the last five minutes. 50% of latenight viewers tend to change the channel once the band starts performing — no matter who is playing. NBC is worried about their lead in to the 11 o’clock news.
I like the idea of showcasing new comics and more skits.
Brett
Nikki, love ya but Parks & Recreation is hilarious.
Moving Jay to 10:00 was lame, plain and simple.
A 14 handicap is very good, probably in the top 25% or better of all golfers. Even if Ross is a scratch golfer, which is highly unlikely, Zucker would have no problem at all in keeping up with him.
i don’t watch the tonight show but i have to think jay’s success on it had less to do with camera angles and more to do with middle america liking him and his humor. it’s ridiculous in your story that he gets no credit for his success. just camera angles and a new set. ha.
I like everything but the Amy Poeler equality thing – but yes, appeal to Jay by bringing in stand up and love the idea of weekly “players” — good stuff
“on last night’s Conan O’Brien show, he told Julia Louis Dreyfuss that she was his first female guest. Wtf? How do you book two whole shows, let alone your first two, without a single female guest?”
It’s not that unusual, since the Monday and Tuesday shows only had one guest each (Will Ferrell; Tom Hanks).
wow – that’s too much good information for jay.
don’t give him any good suggestions because people will believe that he came up with them and that will make him even harder to tolerate.
he’s a complete douche bag with no redeeming qualities.
@Paul
Yes, this is part of why late night is dying.
All male hosts. All male writers. Male sidekicks. Male bands.
It was fitting punctuation, and notable before last night’s acknowledgment, that Conan’s first two shows were wall-to-wall male guests.
Creepy.
What Jay needs to do is make his show more of a news magazine with big guests across the spectrum. More political guests, more “of the moment” guests. Longer monologue, Daily Show style remotes at big events or with newsmakers. Comical investigations into pop culture stuff…
DHD remarks on this matter are about 30% news 70% navel gazing. The Poehler idea is insane and would not help at all!
Leno’s show has a long series commitment but is still very much “in development.” Edicts or no, they will do many test shows and market test the heck out of this thing. They have a lot of time to tweak before the general public sees a second of this show.
And Zucker’s decision here is nothing short of brilliant. If Leno works, it’s a win, and if Leno doesn’t it’s a win (although a seemingly more sinister win that comes at the expense of JL’s career/legacy).
Yes Leno should have taken the ABC money, even if his non-compete clause kept him off the air for nine months after his final “Tonight Show.” Jay could have toured the country with his stand-up during that time, even done more of these free recession shows, and bolstered his heartland rep in the months leading up to his ABC debut.
Zucker suckered Jay into taking a deal that has a huge upside for NBC and remains a real risk for Jay.
Your ideas would never work at NBC, as they are too ambitious and sensible.
But this assumption that once Leno’s new show tanks (well in terms of other networks, or par for the course for NBC), he’ll be “untouchable” is baseless and possibly wrong.
Mark my words: After a year or so of flailing and getting pushed around, Leno will go to Fox or ABC and compete the lights out giving the American people exactly what they want: same old, same old.
Spectacular advice…
“Recreating the artificial excitement of a comedy club by having people in those first rows pretend to mob Jay.”
Wow, you really hate Jay. The point of recreating a comedy club is because Leno was more comfortable and himself in a comedy club setting. He needs the proximity to the audience to connect.
He credits it with making the show click for him. And click it did, as he was number one forever.
I’m much more of a Letterman fan, but give the man his props.
Good ideas Nikki. I would add making the ” Jay” show once a week. Sunday. What’s old is new again. Who’d a thought talent shows would be big again. Jay could be the Ed Sullivan of the 21th Century.
NBC’s main problem is going to be talk show exhaustion. There’s already five a night, six when Jay starts up. They all have the same structure and lack of imagination. How about taking some kind of chance with some new thinking? All these networks/dinosaurs will die like GM if they don’t evolve.
Who cares? It is all crap and just dumbs down everybody, period. There is abosolutely nothing relivent that comes from either of these shows. And the writing is just as bad if not worse than regular tv shows.
Is there really that big of a difference between the new Tonight Show and The Conan O’Brien Show? Or does the issue come into play with Leno, O’Brien and Fallon?
Can’t teach a old dog new tricks. Especially a very nervous one moving to a new dog-house. Jay is topical stand up; that is his brand and comfort zone. DOuble down on it; the only choice. 10pm show should be Jay’s 10-14 minutes on topical stuff, a produced piece (sketch, remote, etc; alt jay and a few correspondents) then half-hour break. Then a permanent 7-8 minute segment with a hipper side-kick comic doing the fake news (Norm MacDonald call your agent), back to Jay with one celeb interview and close with a young stand-ups showcase. Go all comedy. Kill music.
Give Jay a chance. He is very smart about his comedy as well as his audiences. It is a great move and takes nerve and confidence from talent and management to go outside the box. Television repeats in cycles, and to go to a 10 p.m. variey time slot is not new, but unproven at this era. Those of television history know the greats who lead the way in this area.
Free television as a business in 2009 needs to embrace changes in order to survive.
I’m new to your site, and all I can say, is boy are you smart!!
You tell it like it is. Thanks!
Chelsea Handler is no $10 hooker, Ted Harbert is worth a lot more than that.
“House” and “NCIS” on USA are looking better and better.
I’d like to comment, but I’m too busy watching Internet p*rn. How else can I get to sleep?
What Jay needs to do is make his show more of a news magazine with big guests across the spectrum. More political guests, more “of the moment” guests. Longer monologue, Daily Show style remotes at big events or with newsmakers. Comical investigations into pop culture stuff…
This skews too long-hair… I really like the Carol Burnett Show/variety concept, though the more sketches and non-sequitir “characters” you put in the show, the more it starts looking like Conan.
Disposable Income –
“wall-to-wall male guests”
Yeah…two whole guests (Will Ferrell/Tom Hanks), it’s a anti-feminist conspiracy…
Also, the two biggest conan fans I know are female, he’ll do just fine…
Just don’t glam up Amy. You morons will make her look like a $10 hooker. Or, worse, Chelsea Handler.
Brilliant.
MY Fall 2009 10:00 p.m. viewing schedule:
Monday 10:00 p.m. – ABC Castle (with that yummy Nathan Fillion) – check
Tuesday 10:00 p.m. – Any Law & Order, SVU, Criminal Intent rerun I can find either on USA or TNT or wherever – check.
Wednesday 10:00 p.m. may check out Leno — save this night for the A-listers since they’ll want to promote their weekend opening movies then anyway.
Thurday 10:00 p.m. CBS The Mentalist (with that equally yummy Aussie Simon Baker — hey CBS can you do an episode where he gets konked on the head thinks he’s Australian and gets to speak with that sexy accent of his – and seriously, if he wasn’t married…!! (yes, there are still people out here in the heartland that have ethics and morals) – check
Friday – gad I hope I have a date and am not sitting at home watching ANY TV!
So frankly my dear, I could give a rat’s-ass who Jay has on, what Conan does or which executive at NBC rants about – whatever (rolls eyes)! Network TV doesn’t have much I want to watch anyway.
Luckily there’s HGTV & The Food Network – where at least I’m learning something.
why does nikki love amy pohler so much? i dont understand this. i don’t think most women love her as the article states. in fact, i think most women are annoyed by her.
That Chelsea Handler jab was so spot-on delightful, Nikki, I think you should be writing comedy…
But honest to God, the funniest show would be if cameras simply followed Jay as he stalked Conan and the Tonight Show staff every day. You think The Office generates belly laughs from awkward, uncomfortable moments? Get ready for unprecedented hilarity…
Short of that, I think we’re all missing the point: NBC doesn’t want a hit at 10:00 pm with Leno. What they want is to disarm a threat and protect their greatest asset: the Tonight Show franchise.
How do they do that?
Well, which is ultimately more costly/risky? Let Leno run to ABC or anywhere he could damage The Tonight Show as a beloved challenger with a built-in following at its height–or spend a few bucks letting him slowly bleed out at 10pm, where you have him under control, and then can eventually release him into the marketplace as damaged goods that no longer poses a competitive threat?
And all the while, NBC can officially look like the good guy: Hey, we love Jay and tried to keep him. It just didn’t work out.
It’s the deviously expedient play. Sure, you get a little bruising in the media for a while, but you split it with Leno himself–and the bruising that would come from allowing Leno to take Conan’s scalp for a rival network would surely be substantially worse (particularly financially) and get fielded by the executives alone.
Leno’s signature combination of self-serving ego and NBC-loyalty is the blind spot leading him to step cheerfully onto the trap door.
And why isn’t Conan freaking out? Because folks whisper what I just shared into his ear.
Look out below…
Chelsea Handler is no $10 hooker, Ted Harbert is worth a lot more than that.
Comment by Tom — June 4, 2009 @ 1:09 pm
But she’s not.
Richard,
“A 14 handicap is very good, probably in the top 25% or better of all golfers. Even if Ross is a scratch golfer, which is highly unlikely, Zucker would have no problem at all in keeping up with him.”
You must not play golf- a 14 handicap is NOT good- and the difference between a 0 handicap and a 2 is significant on the Golf course- Please- a 14 is good- lmao.
Did Andy Richter go to the Robin Quivers’ Laughing Academy, to prepare for his new role?
“When Jay starts whining like the pussy he is, tell him to man up and shut up.”
I have never seen a line that is so designed to have people say “wow, Nikki really tells it like it is. She speaks her mind. She’s so fearless.” That line was so predictable and forced. It sounds like something written by a Republican blogger from “the real America”. It’s a line that panders to people who think they’re badasses. Up until then I thought she made some great points. Only a Hollywood blogger could equate show business with manliness. Talk about messed up priorities. Calling someone a pussy and a whiner is really hack. Hack hack hack.
CT
NBC’s biggest problem is not Leno. Conan’s school-boy humor is already falling flat. His biggest laughs on night #3 were his self-mocking cracks about not getting the laughs he expected. Conan on Late NIght is one of the biggest mistakes in NBC history.
I like Jay fine but I prefer Conan myself and I’ve enjoyed watching the first few nights (on DVR the next day – kid duty is too tiring to stay up that late). This will be interesting to see how it plays out though, I’m not sure how it can work in the long run.
Dustintime’s Leno-the-stalker idea (above) made me think of HBO’s 1996 version of Bill Carter’s The Late Shift, in which Daniel Roebuck plays Leno-as-spy. Perhaps NBC should hire him; that is to say, Roebuck was (and could be again) more entertaining as Leno than Leno himself is.
Turning the 10 pm show into a showcase for new comedy talent is a good idea- but CONAN should host THAT show, and give TONIGHT back to Leno.Conan has much more street cred in comedy circles!
NBC deserves to have Leno tank. By putting Leno on five nights a week at 10, it takes away five hours of drama. That means over five hundred people lost jobs because Leno is on at 10 instead of the 1 hour dramas that should be there.
Anonymous @ 1:50 pm
Here we go. Cue predictable “feminist” insults and nonsensical attack. If you work on the show, it’s no wonder the script is stale.
LOL.
TEN DOLLAR HOOKER=BEN SILVERMAN.
Gimme Andy Richter in a dress, pleeeease.
Conan is already wearing thin and it’s only Thursday.
Who really gives a good f-ck about NBC in its current state of play? Seriously. Leno is the least of its worries. Zucker and Silverman are so far up one another’s arse, it’s just plain gross.
And this is the main reason why Zucker and Silverman still have jobs at NBC? Zucker is the ULTIMATE corporate kiss-ass and Silverman is Zucker’s little bitch and it’s amazing these two ass-clowns are still around but good to destroy whatever credibility this network still has going for them. can we say maybe 6th place anyone? Could happen as long as these two dicks are still there!
Paul, We thought the all male guests was odd too.
If he had all women guests guys would throw a hissy after the first night and call it a chick show.
We tuned in for a moment, got bored and tuned out
Whoever wrote the book ‘The Late Shift’ is going to have some great material for a sequel by the time all this shakes out. Is NBC repeating past mistakes?
Hello Anonymous – 1:50 — why you don’t critique the male commenter above. His thoughtful comment was suggestive of “conspiracy” as YOU name it, not the other. U R bully, oui?
I’d rather screw Chelsea Handler than a $10 hooker.
With Chelsea I still have $5 left.
(I had to slam CH in this post because NBC’s story is just too sad to mock.)
Conan is going to fail anyway. He and Fallon are a double dose of fail.
Leno doesn’t have to be involved at all.
The big winners are Letterman, Ferguson and Kimmel.
I am sorry to butt into such a lively discussion, but NBC deserves to be in 4th place. They have made poor decision even back in the 60’s. Star Trek a sort of campy show (special effects were still in someones mind) They cancel it and this year a new crew takes us back “where no one has gone before”. They cancel a show, and it is still alive and breathing these many, many year later. Judgement on what the public want is a bit lacking in the whole network. I love Brian Williams and believe what I hear on his news program. NBC lost Medium to CBS this fall season. CBS’s head honcho is smart. He has made his CSI franchise into a 5 and soon to be 6 hits. The actors are great the stories are exciting, the CBS’s failing in my eyes are the reality shows….give me a break. How can intelligent people get involved with nitwits on a tropical island trying to out smart the other ones.
As for Jay, he is a good man, no skeleton’s in his closets, he is faithfully married, he has get rapor with the A-list stars who some of which he is like a uncle to them they grew up appearing on his shows. Kevin and the band takes the place of a sidekick. Hopefully Kevin, Jay straight man will still be on the show. IF he leaves off “the stupid college kids and whose the stupidist tourament on this segment” it would serve him well.
He is known in Hollywood and I feel most guest a honored to be his guest. It not being on the Tonight Show won’t make that big of difference. Stars will go with the person they enjoy being interviewed with, Conan is a tall, silly, redhead, too bad he isn’t as talented as “H” in CSI Miami. I never could stand his comedy, his band is half decent but not as good as Kevin and his band. So IF NBC screws Leno on this deal then they really do have their heads up their asses. Leno is an institution and I for one along with my husband will be there watching Jay make his debut. In no time his numbers will overshadow those of that shallow Conan.
Jay is a everyone’s kind of man, down to earth, but rubs shoulders with the biggest star in Hollywood. He loves cars, at least it isn’t hookers. He doesn’t need any help in being funny.
Now after watching Leno, the local new, I will turn to CBS, Dave is better than Conan, a bit old fashioned but better than gagging at the silly redhead. They the cream de la cream will come on “Craig Ferguson” has more talent in his facial expressions than any of those other late night host with their jokes read off teleprompter or cards, including his boss. He does the show sort of “flying by the seat of his pants”, He doesn’t have a band, a studio that is the size of a walkin closet, but he has a lot of Ladies hearts aflutter just seeing that handsome face and those off the wall jokes.
My husband loves Leno, and until I realize he was reading his scrip off a teleprompter, it made me less impressed, but he will beat old ‘red’ with one hand behind his back. Sounds like NBC is doing just that.
I hate to say those horrible words repeat time and again, he a decent guy and he grew into Johnny shoes very well. He must have some decent deal with NBC or he wouldn’t have agreed to stay with them. He is a man, decent, giving open free standup shows to those who were caught up in the auto industry crisis. His might not be made of “steel” but he is no P***y. Shame on you….
@Anonymous at 1:50 – He didn’t have just one guest each night, he also had a musical act each night – both of them all male – which went nicely with the male host, male sidekick and male show band.
If you look at the guests for the entire week, there are a whopping 2 women out of 8 guests, along with 1 female musical act out of 5.
So on a show that is already hosted and staffed by wall to wall men, he has a first week ratio of 25% female guests and 20% female musical acts. Lame.
They should just be more honest and call it Awkward Nerdmen’s Late Nite Sausage Party.
The words ‘Kimmel’ and ‘Winner’, should never be used in the same sentence.
Kimmel won’t make it to 2010. Bet the farm on it.
In the end this move will be for the best. Its gonna be a rough 6-12 months, but in the end I think this is going to be a GREAT thing for television. I believe Conan will go on to do great, but I think it will take months before he really starts to take the reins (and the ratings). Leno will fail (and personally I think he deserves it). Then NBC exec heads will roll. Come 2010 a flurry of new line up shows will start back up under new NBC leadership, and all will be normal again until Letterman decides to retire two years later.
The solution is to put Leno back on the Tonight Show and Conan back on Late Night ASAP.
Jay Leno is loyal to a fault. He made a big mistake in judgment when he agreed to stay with NBC. He should have gone to ABC when he had the chance. Come to think of it, that’s what lawyers are for. Jay needs to be released from that ridiculous contract with NBC immediately. Get Leno to ABC asap and let Conan and Jimmy fall on their collective NBC swords. Conan stinks on The Tonight Show and the ratings will head downward with Jay gone. Jimmy Fallon was never funny on SNL and he’s worse on Late Night.
What a donnybrook this is becoming!
No Tina Fey = not funny Amy Poehler.
Always preferred Letterman to Leno, hands down (*ahem* as did Johnny Carson).
I didn’t tune into Conan regularly but I definitely like him—(he’s had some of the funniest skits over the years). Also Conan, like Dave, does come across as a genuinely good person (unlike Jay). Though for real funny, Craig Ferguson takes the cake (along with Stewart and Colbert).
Most people are getting to the point where they can DVR whichever frickin talkshows they want–or two at the same time—so there is no “latenight war” really. But there is fatigue–and the stars themselves–especially A-listers tend to get a little choosey esp with such an overloaded LA circuit. I’m definitely rooting for Conan though.
I’m also miffed five hours of NBC dramas at 10pm are gone from the lineup! talk about giving up on creating (or trying to create) real content. Soon NBC will be just a giant fluff network of advertisements and trailers for universal/GM/GE products.
In golfing circles, a 14 handicap is good, even if you are paired up with a scratch golfer. The problem is that our former Presidents are horrible golfers. I read that ormer President Clintion has an 80 handicap and that George H. W. Bush isn’t much better. I don’t know how good the son is at golfing though. Also, even with the 14 handicap, I am pretty sure that Jeff Zucker had a bad day on the links. Even Tiger Woods has a bad day once in a while.
As far as Jay is concerned, he needs to be near the people, hence the comedy club style set. However, the turning point in the late night wars was when Jay hosted the May 20, 1993 post finale party at the actual Cheers Bar in Boston with the cast involved. The other turning point is when Dave hosted the Oscars. The Hugh Grant ratings bonanza happened simply because CNN was looking for some news on a slow news day. Just wait until Susan Boyle goes stateside with an appearance on the Late Show.
Who the hell are you to be knocking Leno you P.O.S. If I were Leno I would say screw you to NBC & leave for ABC!
Chelsea Handler is the only successful female talk show host out there!
Sir. I disagree with EVERYTHING you just said. EVERYTHING. Not a single thing you just said was even remotely a good idea. Amy Pohler? Good? She isn’t even half-decent.
I like Jay Leno. I never watched the Conan Obrian show because I find him anoying with his stupid moves and redish hair. Leno’s new show this fall will destroy Conan’s ratings.
I don’t understand the significance of getting A-list guests. Most of the actors are on the show to pitch their movie and aren’t necessarily that interesting and I don’t find Leno, Letterman, or Conan to be that great at making an interview interesting.
Leno should look at a more creative format.
I don’t know if it’s my television or my hearing or what, but does Conan’s show seemed to be too high pitched (esp. the horns) and the volume and pitch of the audience too high also? He’s very funny but I have a hard time with the audio.
wow this post nba game kimmel things blows. abc – it’s JAY time!!!!
David Kawa’s statement is prejudice. Was Johnny Carson old? How long did his show go on???? His show was loved for umpteen years. Conan is so much younger? GAWD. Will you pllllleeeeeassssse judge a talented actor by his talent and stop counting the lines in his face? Why don’t you ask Prince who he likes more–Conan or Jay Leno -one of the most talented men in Hollywood and for that matter–the world. Stop the prejudice. Older actors have so much more to offer. Look at Britain with John Cleese…. Christopher Guest….the list goes on and on. You piss me off and I’m in my twenties. There is ROOM for all ages in television, internet, features.
What happened? Conan’s just not funny at 11:30.
It’s funny to read people predict Leon’s demise — the same people, no doubt, who predicted the same thing when he took over the Tonight Show, where he was number one for about 15 out of 17 years.
Let’s face it: nobody knows how this is going to shake out. Anyone who thinks otherwise is reacting not to facts but their personal feelings re: Conan and Leno.
God are some dillusional. Jay beats Nightline, Nightline beats Letterman and Letterman beats no one.
Cable has made all those shows irrelevant to a point. With 24 hour cable and tons of shows featuring “celebraties”, it is just the same old crap.
Sorry.
Talking about same old crap, SNL has been stinking it up for YEARS!
Conan has “street cred” with comedians?! Not a chance. They don’t even consider him a comedian. Ask Dom Irrera.
Nikki,
I’m sorry, but you are nuts!! Jay was the only funny thing on late night for YEARS!! Jimmy Fallon is getting there now, but seriously?????
NBC is about saving money not spending it and 5 nights of Jay will be very inexpensive to produce. No matter what it tries to be – a talk show or comedy show, 5 nights a week on prime time will just kill it. Too much of anything is too much – look at Who Wants to Be A Millionaire or Deal or No Deal for example. Carol Burnett and even Ed Sullivan were just one night a week. Ultimately, Jay’s new show must reassess a 5 night a week spot and become one night a week to even have a fighting chance. Else, The Jay Leno Show will be done before November.
Amy Poehler, a sidekick to Jay Leno? HA, what a waste that would be. She could carry her own late night show.
Monday on Leno should be Fun with Music day; Tuesday is Guest Star Day; Wednesday is Anything Can Happen Day; Thursday is Circus Day; and Friday is Talent Round-Up. I did that 50 years ago when Jay’s act was fresh and it worked swell, heh-heh.
Oh, dear. I in fact agree with several of Nikki’s opinions regarding Leno and NBC’s pattern of poor decision-making. But this entire “suggestion” for the future of his show, and how to build it, is replete with ideas one might expect from a yokel in the midwest with no clue as to the realities of television or the industry.
Amy Poehler shifting to be Leno’s # 2 on a 5-nights a week comedy/talk show? Um, yeah, that’ll happen.
And as for the sketches and comedy showcasing, I hadn’t realized Nikki had such a long history in creative development, television writing and show-running.
Look, this was such an embarrassing spew of ignorant “I know how to fix this” bad/undoable ideas that there have to be folks all over town cringing over what SHOULD be Finke’s embarrassment.
I’ll be glad to give props to NF for digging up scoops on the business, for holding the feet of the-powers-that-be to the fire for their bad judgments, their laziness and their reluctance to admit mistakes. But a credible show creator she is not.
Nikki – stick with that which is much easier: Reaping the many benefits of hindsight, working sources who are thrilled to share dirt, and recognizing when companies and people keep making the same mistakes over and over, and then exploit and enjoy their eagerness to hide those records. But creating a new show? Well, if you think you can do it, have at it. But put your career and reputation on the line – get into that business. Then let everyone else comment on the results.
This article is absolutely ridiculous.
First of all, the A-list celebrities will continue to come to a show hosted by Jay Leno. The main reason is that they LIKE him. Jay has been called the nicest man in show business by celebrities and non-celebrities alike. What do they think of Conan? Too early to tell, but his first week of guests on The Tonight Show should be somewhat of an indication. I can already see it now…Jay has a big movie star as a guest and Conan has that movie’s makeup artist or something like that.
Second, Jay does stand up. Conan does not. People want to hear jokes rather than see someone brush their hair and stare into the camera telling lame jokes. Jay’s monologue > Conan’s monologue.
NBC did not make a mistake with putting Conan on The Tonight Show because they were going for a younger demographic. Conan will do just fine and will probably bring in more viewers in the 15-29 age range. But Jay already has a loyal following. Unless something dramatic happens, Jay will always have more viewers than Conan.
For the record, I do like Conan. He can be funny. But Jay is a million times better.
I must be one of the old “Geezers” (hard to accept at 41) because I like Leno. I think his show could be successful if he does Leno. Oddly, that is likely what “his audience” expects. If “youth” is to be baited to NBC let Connan do it – isn’t that the whole idea. I think it is doubtful that the Youth of America is going to tune into Leno at 10pm – they wouldn’t do it at 1130.
I hope Leno does his version of a shorter Tonight Show from 10 to 1030 then something like a slightly more risky Rat Pack/ Burnett/ Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In/ longer entertainment scheme from 1030 – 11. That would satisfy his base, offer something different (albeit repeated from the 1950/60/70s), and allow him to showcase talent that is able to grab a LIVE mic and perform – leaving the lip singers to Conan.
You forgot, Zucker doesn’t give a rat’s pahtoot about ratings… it’s all about margin. If they can produce Leno’s show for ten cents less than the revenue it brings in, Jeff’s a happy guy.
Love your suggestions. Make Jay the king maker for young comics and slide the SNL folks in for early week previews of what Saturday’s show will be. Here’s another thought: have judges for the young comics and rate the weekly winner
Personally, I’m very happy that Leno is moving to the earlier 10pm slot, as a 30 yr old working mom and exec it works better for me. Most people I know who watch him have the same opinion. Leno isn’t the one who has to worry, it’s Conan. If NBC had any sense, they would let Leno conduct the show as he has for years, and force Conan to think outside the box.
Conan is a very likeable guy, but he still has much to prove as far as comedy (he needs to hire better writers) and capturing viewers attention. I tend to get bored and fall asleep during most of his shows.
Another advantage that Leno has is Kevin Eubanks, who happens to have a loyal base of African-Americans who are familiar with his music, like his personality and appreciate the fact that Leno has him on the show.
I read a few comments of people complaining that Leno’s old fashioned and won’t appeal to a younger audience. I beg to differ, old fashioned comedy isn’t a bad thing, Leno reminds me of a jolly Italian uncle that’s always making wisecracks.
Letterman is okay, but he seems to be annoyed all the time and he doesn’t appear to have a sincere “energy” between him and his band.
For me, it could be a regional preference, I reside in the Midwest and South Florida, I prefer a comedian that I could see being my friend, as opposed to a comedian that comes off as being an asshole.
To the guy before who said something along the lines of “Just go to the Comedy Store to see how bad comedians are these days”…that’s like saying “Just go to Canter’s to see how boring restaurants are these days.” Interesting stand up, by and large, has moved out of the big clubs of the 80s/90s and to more alternative venues like Upright Citizens Brigade. You know, places where they don’t charge you admission plus a two drink minimum for 10 dollar watered down drinks. There are a lot of great comedians out there, and it’s a great idea to get some of that comedic manpower to work. Unfortunately, every comedian I know finds Leno to be insufferably boring and unfunny. They all split down the line for Conan, Kimmel or choose neither and head over to Daily Show/Colbert or Adult Swim.
And this garbage of ABC airing that jackhole Kimmel on in primetime is just that…total crap! There are other ways to make due with the half-hour leading up to the Finals than airing this dweeb on the air. Leno should do whatever it takes and bolt to ABC if he still can. NBC is going to screw with him bigtime!
Leno is so much better than Conan, whose idea of humor is incessant mugging, “funny” faces, and a too cool for the room persona. The guy comes across as a pompous jackass who always wants the attention to be on him, not the guest(s) he’s interviewing.
I’m with ya on everything except the Amy Poehler part. Not a fan. TJ’s right: let her stay on her dreadful Parks show, out of out collective way.
spotlight: Don’t comedians find Ferguson funny? I do. All his OCD notwithstanding.
I have a better idea. Just cancel Leno once and for all. We don’t need more interviews, variety hours or reality TV. We need quality TV that actually sticks around for more than a season.
Leno is so much better than Conan, whose idea of humor is incessant mugging, “funny” faces, and a too cool for the room persona. The guy comes across as a pompous jackass who always wants the attention to be on him, not the guest(s) he’s interviewing…
Leno is the fast food of comedy – easily gobbled, satisfactory at first and NO nutrition – his jokes are so lame, so inisde the box – that’s why middle America loves him – nothing messy, nothing offensive, you don’t have to THINK about what he just said. A to B – easy laugh for the mindless. (When he was a young comic – he was angry and edgy and truly funny). But the true question is how has Zuker stayed so long at NBC? He must have pictures of Wright doing something awful – he continues to fail upward. He drove NBC from first place to 4th place. I truly think that NBC is struggling so much – here’s a thought – to save money – fire MOST OF THE EXECUTIVES in comedy and drama – what do you have to lose – do you really think the shows would lose quality? Of course not – god forbid some insipid and pedestrian notes aren’t given – try what MTM used to do successfully – hire talented writers and let them create what they want – with their own vision – most new shows fail anyway – why not try it this way? You would probably land some pop culture changing landmark on your net. Of course they will never do this because then the suits are admitting they aren’t needed – and THEY ARE NOT. Their interference is what is choking television.
Carol Burnett was not low-brow. Her show was a classic.
Good Lordy. So much ragging; so little pause for reality here.
I recall a maxim of sorts: Not many will declare their favorite ice cream is vanilla. But if you have to get ice cream for a large crowd — vanilla is the safest bet because most will eat it and be happy enough.
Jay is the vanilla for the masses. Dave and Conan are a bit more of an acquired taste and thus may not cover the “happy enough” areas so well. Jimmy Fallon is, well, avocado sherbet.
But if you were to think outside these names, as in, “who could replace any of these guys — and maybe even outdo them?” Who do you come up with? Your own favorite comic? Someone who likely honed and polished his same set for six months and used it again and again and it killed every time? Kevin Reilly, formerly of NBC, stated that “Late night talent is a rare commodity” when justifying NBC’s actions five years ago to preserve Conan for the network via the Tonight Show. And he’s right.
I hate to see people ragging on Jay Leno. He does the work, and it’s a TOUGH job! And he appeals to the broadest number of people. Maybe he’s not your favorite taste, but you can watch him easily enough.
Let’s say Jerry Seinfeld’s humor appeals to you MORE. Do you honestly think he could pull off a full Seinfeldian set every night for 17 years? Do you even think he’d WANT that job? It’s thankless in so many ways… just read so many of the comments here. Who do you know who could really DO what he’s done, and deliver the audiences he has? Do the words “number one in late night” mean anything to anyone here?
His show has been mainly “comedy” for the first half hour, and then guests and musical acts for the second half. He’s said he realizes the second half has to amp up the comedy — so what gets booted out? Well, likely what we’ll have at 10:00 won’t be a “talk show” at all. It will be a “comedy show.” He can do it. And I’m sure he’ll have help. Don’t count him out.
The worst part of the late night shifts is that Conan O’Brien really hasn’t replaced Jay Leno. Jimmy Fallon has. We still have Conan like “always” — we lost Jay and gained Jimmy. A moment of silence, please! How far into Jimmy’s run do people stop saying “Aw c’mon, give the kid a chance!” Isn’t now about as good a time as any?
Leno and Conan both suck. NBC has been run into the ground. Bury it already.
I beg to differ — the moment Hugh Grant went on the show — his ratings went through the roof and had stayed at number one since then. More people saw the show and liked it and he became the king of late night.
Will someone at NBC please get fired????
Nikki; you should be running that net!
Leno seems OK with being punked by Bong Silverman and Sucker..
However: Conan fails= Leno back to 1130. Conan suckseeds&Leno fails=Leno goes to ABC or Syndi at 11 30. Conan wins& Leno wins=
North Korea becomes 51st state.
The New Conan – Just more of the same, only an hour earlier. He’s a little more polished, but I didn’t need to see the string dance yet again. Will be interesting to see if Triumph is tamed – some of the 11:30 crowd won’t handle Triumph well.
I stopped watching the old Conan when he did a lame sketch that was in poor taste even for me. I switched to Ferguson and have stayed there.
I tried to watch Jimmy Failure at 12:30 a few times, but couldn’t even get through one entire show. He should be booted. How many old SNL people can you recycle as guests?
Letterman – I used to be a huge fan, but he tires me now. And the drone of Paul Shaffer is getting very old. I may go back though. There’s a void for me since Leno left.
On Leno – I am hoping he does great. I’m not worried about life for him should the new NBC gig falter. He has other interests, and could easily clean up at ABC.
Nightline is just worn too thin and not an 11:30 option for me anymore. Would love to see Jay there instead.
Conan isn’t funny and Jimmy Fallon needs to give up comedy altogether. In two short weeks, O’Brien has ruined The Tonight Show and the only way to fix it would be if Zucker and his band of NBC loonies admitted their mistake and returned Jay to his rightful place. That won’t happen though.
The long-term solution to the late night woes will happen when Jay Leno is released from that ridiculous NBC contract and moves to ABC. The only reason Zucker gave Leno a shot at 10:00 p.m. was to keep him from defecting to ABC and beating the pants off Conan O’Brien. Nightline and Jimmy Kimmel can’t compete with NBC. But bring on Jay Leno and watch his fans follow in droves as ABC’s ratings soar.
Note to Jay Leno: Have you called your attorney yet? Please do so posthaste and get thy buttocks to ABC. Your fans want to see you at 11:30, not 10:00 especially if Zucker tries to reserve all the A-list guests for their new not-funny kid on the block, Conan.
NOOOOO, I love Jay and counting the days ’til he comes back. Watched him most of the 17 yrs rejecting Dave unless he had a guest I wanted to see. Now Dave seems hilarious compared to the whiny,immature and unoriginal Conan. Well, I’m getting more sleep now which is good. Most of TV sucks and plays to a very low IQ. I watched all of Lonesome Dove recently and reveled in the quality of writing and acting. They’re turning us into blobs of ignorance people. Fight back. Loved Jay’s visits to people, getting them into skits. Was saddened by the stupidity of the Jaywalking people…college graduates who know nothing. Jay has integrity, admits he loves his wife, sets a standard. If NBC is too dumb to keep him, fine. I’ll follow him anywhere.
Part of what made the Carol Burnett show great was the ad-libbing. Networks are scared to death to allow that these days. Even SNL won’t allow it. I don’t think Leno would be very good at improv anyway.
Being a retired marketing executive and former Ad Agency CEO … I can only applaud your brilliance as to the format for the new Jay Leno comedy hour. You are spot on –and Lord knows the dearth of good comedy these days.
How sad that NBC-U is far too stupid to realize you have given them “the keys” to a boffo ratings success!
Shades of the poor (late) unlamented Helen Kushner.
Her biggest flaw was the realization of a lifelong
dream to be “on top of” the WORLD.
Like too many women, she let the IDEA of power go
to her head … A good object lesson for women
everywhere.
I also question how they attribute Hugh Grant’s interview as pushing Jay over the top permanently. I think it wasn’t just the reworking of the stage, but that Leno squeezed every bit of that lemon that was the O.J. Simpson trial. Letterman for too long avoided O.J. like it was a third rail.
It’s 2009 baby, Leno’s out and Conan is in. Speaking on behalf of the generation preparing to rise to the top, and more importantly the target group of all the late night shows, Conan is some what of a fresh face and his humor is tad more crude I’ve found.
But Jay’s fine, and he’ll stay fine…so long as he DOES NOT hire A.P.
I’m a little late at responding here because I actually was looking for comments on how bad Jimmy Fallon is. So I’ll first just mention here that he is easily the worst ever talk-show host – even makes Magic johnson look like comedy gold. I am a very non-violent person, but I think if i ran into Fallon on the street, I would feel compelled to punch him in his extremly unfunny mouth. Part of the reason is that he has one of the greatest hip-hop bands ever on his show and yet I cannot watch, so repulsive is Fallon. I’ve said this before elsewhere, I have met The Roots’ Ahmir ‘?uestlove’ Thompson, and I can guarantee you that he’s a million times funnier than Fallon. In fact, if NBC had the balls to do something really different, they could just have The Roots host the show – think of the total mindfuck that would be.
Meanwhile, as for Leno – yep, NBC made a huge mistake. While I have always found Letterman much funnier than Leno, I do believe as others have said that he is a genuinely likable person. BUT, this is 2009, and if any network wants ratings, they can’t do it with 1980’s style happy-happy humour. And doing this at the expense of their 10 PM dramas is just plain stupid. For all intents and purposes, maybe NBC should pull a “Fox” and have no programming at 10, and let their affiliates have the whole hour for news. Then, they could put Leno on at 11 PM, and have him do either a 30 min show or an hour show, either one of which would allow Conan to follow with possibly fewer people changing over from CBS or ABC (because they’d still have their 11:35 or 12:05 starting times). And then, after Conan, if they don’t go with “Late Night featuring The Roots”, then they should just sign off, as Carson Daly’s show has become even stupider than it ever was. Oh their so cool with their quick cuts and black & white, and visuals made to look like worn out film. Give me a break! And don’t get me started on late night poker!
make craig ferguson an offer he can’t refuse!!
They should replace Conan with Chelsea Handler she is funny. Jay Leno got a raw deal from NBC I was hoping he would have gone over to ABC or Fox.
Letterman gives me the creeps but he lucked out when they dropped Leno and forced Conan on everyone in that time period.
For those who cannot stand Conan, program your DVRs and record Leno at 10:00 p.m. Then play him back at 11:30 p.m. where, by the way, Leno would still be had it not been for Zucker’s short-sightedness.
For those who prefer the earlier hour, Jay has already declared 10:00 the new 11:30 p.m. Either way it’s a win-win situation for Leno fans.
this is jay’s new show and so far started off with a bang. from the time he started in late night, i’ve watched him and will continue to do so. he’s not just a the favorite of an older generation, he’s also a favorite for the new kids. i am a fan of conan and he is in his own league, different style of comedy and he draws a crowd. the only thing that is going to destroy these shows are critics like you who over analyse everything. there is no doubt that both leno and conan will have their off nights but, they’re gonna be fine. i was disappointed to see leno leave the tonight show but, he’s back. i watch both shows and i am happy with it.
I think that Jay Leno’s core audience tends to be the baby boomers, and baby boomers don’t generally stay up to watch a show that finishes at 12:35am when they’d rather be sleeping. The new time slot is terrific. I used to watch Jay’s monologue at the beginning of the Tonight Show and then go to sleep. Now I can catch the whole show.
I’m writing this comment from the future: 5 October 2009, and the Leno show is a disaster which is probably dragging on Conan’s ratings, as predicted in this article. They are also vying over A-List guests, as predicted in this article. Even worst, Leno is sitting in a primetime slot 5 nights a week, losing big bucks for NBC which is ailing as a network in general. Leno should start preparing his permanent room in Las Vegas or his theater in Branson, Missouri. ABC will probably duck any overtures from Leno for another show on their network. He should’a just retired.
To all the Leno haters: He’s just as funny at 10:00 p.m. as he was at 11:35. Conan still sucks at 11:35 just like he did at 12:35 p.m. That’s why TiVo owners record Jay at 10 and play him back at 11:35. This gives Leno fans more options besides the unfunny Conan or Letterman and his lame band leader Paul Schaffer.
Leno is biding his time at NBC like any good company man. He’ll be at ABC before you know it.