Competition For The Tonight Show
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Competition For The Tonight Show
The Good Old Days,
I remember when I used to sit up with my Mom; after the news we tune into Johnny Carson and “The Tonight Show. He was the king of late night TV with his relaxed yet irreverent humour and a parade of celebrities or interesting guests. There was never a competition for the Tonight Show – Johnny ruled.
But Reynolds was a pal and a frequent guest watch below:
Then Johnny retired and the competition for the Tonight Show began!
Everybody presumed “Late Night” host David Letterman would move up to the earlier time slot, including Letterman himself.
Instead, NBC tapped Leno, whose genial, bland form of humor put off many critics.
I don’t watch Leno but every once in a while, I catch the Jaywalks, which I do think are funny:
In the aftermath, Letterman left NBC to create his own “Late Show” on CBS.
The two hosts, once friendly colleagues, have rarely spoken since. They briefly reunited for a 2010 Super Bowl commercial with Oprah Winfrey, but Letterman continues to make digs about Leno to this day.
The Tonight Show War II
In 2004, Leno made the surprising announcement that in five years, Conan O’Brien (who’d taken over “Late Night” from Letterman), would succeed him as host. As he explained, they wanted to avoid the controversy that took place with Leno’s appointment.
But as the date approached, it was clear that Leno — still at the top of the ratings — didn’t want to leave.
NBC was nervous that he might jump to another network, so they gave him a daily 10 PM primetime comedy show. “The Jay Leno Show” which bombed with critics and audiences.
But O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” never really took off and NBC executives began to consider moving Leno’s show to 11:35, and “The Tonight Show” after midnight for the first time in its history.
O’Brien released an excoriating statement (which went viral) saying he would not host a “Tonight Show” at 12:05, as it would “seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting.”
NBC paid him off (huge amounts of money) to leave the show, then reinstalled Leno as host.
O’Brien, now with a groundswell of support, embarked on a comedy tour, then created his own late-night program on TBS.
Succession Plan 2.0 – A Tonight Show War?
Now the competition for the Tonight Show is heating back up again with reports of NBC’s newest succession plan.
Jimmy Fallon whose ”Late Night” is a “much more mainstream show” than O’Brien’s version, is now pegged for the late night prime time spot. [Related: Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon: A Comedy Love Story]
“Jimmy’s show translates very well to 11:30 … so I think if the ratings slip a little bit, but they see strong numbers in 18-49, they’ll let Fallon be in second place for a little while to Letterman,” Keller explains.
“Senior television executives” have told the New York Times that a deal is all but finalized that will giveThe Tonight Show to Jimmy Fallon by fall of 2014 at the latest.
With the deal, the classic late night talk show will move back to New York City where it hasn’t been taped since 1972 when Johnny Carson brought the show to Burbank, CA.
Which leaves Jay Leno left out in the cold — a place he’s more than familiar with.
Competition for prime time TV is rough!
Life in the Entertainment business is brutal!