Entries Tagged 'Leno' ↓

As I type these words I’m half-listening to an NBC conference call/press conference, live from 30 Rock, where Lorne Michaels and a bunch of NBC bigwigs are introducing Jimmy Fallon as the next host of "Late Night." Fallon’s appointment, though, has been widely reported for weeks if not months.
Former "Saturday Night Live" standout Fallon will take over Conan O’Brien’s "Late Night" chair sometime in the first half of 2009, but that’s about the only specific anyone has to give us. There are few scraps of info on what Fallon’s "Late Night" will be like - he says he’s not going to "reinvent the wheel," and that there will be comedy and interviews and music. He just said that one change he’s going to make is that "Late Night" will now be "a morning show." Rimshot please!
This, of course, is just the first of many shoes to drop as NBC […]

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NBC just called a press conference for Monday concerning "Late Night." Presumbly it’s the formal announcement of the plan to have Jimmy Fallon of "SNL" replace Conan O’Brien when Conan takes over for Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show." The only problem for NBC is grumbling from the Leno camp that maybe he doesn’t want to go - or that he’ll be happy to start a show on ABC or Fox once he leaves.
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Let’s see, a kickass "Survivor" - unless you prefer "Ugly Betty" or "My Name Is Earl" and "Scrubs" - followed by the first "The Office" since Jim showed us the engagement ring, followed by "30 Rock" - unless you prefer "Grey’s Anatomy" or "CSI" - followed by the return of "Lost." All new for the launch of May sweeps! And that’s not even mentioning "Without a Trace" or "Smallville" and the return of "Supernatural." Scripted television is back, baybee! On a night like this, that strike seems a distant memory. But we have a few hours to kill first. So here are a couple things to read…

Roger Friedman says Jimmy Fallon will take over for Conan when Conan takes over for Jay. (Fox News)
TV Squad says he’s talking through his hat. (TV Squad)
Friedman, by the way, also has some "Weeds" dish that fans won’t want to hear, way down […]

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Leno says he’s sorry for insulting gay people and at the same time annoying the hell out of Glitterati Gossip’s favorite actor, Ryan Philliipe. Damn right he’s sorry. He’s also not funny. Next!
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The writers strike is officially over. (United Hollywood)
By a wide margin, too. (United Hollywood)
The strike was good for cable ratings. (Mediaweek)
Fucking Ben Affleck is now worthy of a New York Times story. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaha.
Fans of NBC’s "Las Vegas" want a resolution to the cliffhanger. To quote Elvis Costello, I say, "Let ‘em dangle." These get-a-lifers want to send baby booties to NBC to make it happen. Lordy. (Buddy TV)
ABC is getting with the on-demand program. Welcome to the real world, you wacky dinosaurs. (GMMR)
Not mockery: "Raisin in the Sun" did really well for ABC Monday night. (TV Decoder)
The Jay Leno’s post-"Tonight Show" plot thickens. (NY Times)
Still hurt feelings over the Oscar videos. (Deadline Hollywood Daily)
Signs of the apocalypse: "According to Jim" may be renewed for another season. (Hollywood Reporter)

And finally, do you think Michael Bay knows what an asshat he looks like in those FIOS commercials where he calls everything […]

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The much ballyhooed - by us, among many others - return of late-night TV shows on Wednesday was, well, much the same as the old late-night scene, at least in terms of ratings.
Despite lacking writers due to the strike, NBC’s "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" topped the professionally written "Late Show With David Letterman" by about a million viewers in early ratings (5.8 million to 4.7 million). The other shows lined up about as usual. But everyone got a bigger audience than usual, too, thanks to the ballyhoo.
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The much ballyhooed - by us, among many others - return of late-night TV shows on Wednesday was, well, much the same as the old late-night scene, at least in terms of ratings.
Despite lacking writers due to the strike, NBC’s "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" topped the professionally written "Late Show With David Letterman" by about a million viewers in early ratings (5.8 million to 4.7 million). The other shows lined up about as usual. But everyone got a bigger audience than usual, too, thanks to the ballyhoo.
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Both late-night hosts went for writers strike jokes big-time. It was when they moved to other material that the difference became clear.

CBS’ "Late Show With David Letterman" and NBC’s "Tonight Show With Jay Leno" returned to the air tonight for the first time since the writers strike began Nov. 5, and the difference was that Letterman had writers - and Robin Williams. Both shows opened with a barrage of strike humor, and Leno - apparently writing his own monologue - had gags like "There are more people picketing NBC now than watching NBC." His most pointed piece was a tongue-in-cheek look at NBC honcho Jeff Zucker’s mansion and butler, compared to the squalid shanties of "Writer Town."

For his part, the newly bearded Dave went on about the pain of spending time with his family during the strike, and reassured his audience that the pickets outside weren’t angry writers but "people […]

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Tonight is the biggest night for the two-month-old writers strike since the producers stomped away from the table in December. With no talks scheduled and anger rising on both sides, the late night hosts will return to the airwaves with new shows for the first time since the WGA went to the picket lines on Nov. 5. (Yeah, yeah, Carson Daly’s back already, but that barely counts.)

What’s going to make it really interesting is that CBS’ "Late Show With David Letterman" and "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" will be staffed by writers under a special deal that Letterman struck with the WGA, while NBC’s "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and "Late Night With Conan O’Brien" and ABC’s "Jimmy Kimmel Live" will all be trying to entertain us without professional comedy scribes. Letterman and Ferguson may also have an easier time booking big-name star guests who don’t want to […]

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Looks like NBC might be walking into a "Tonight Show" buzz saw for the second time. NBC honcho Jeff Zucker insisted Monday in New York that Jay Leno is going to leave the late-night institution in 2009 as planned, making way for Conan O’Brien to take over the desk. But he spoke out because Leno hasn’t. Leno has maintained radio silence since an L.A. Times report a couple of weeks ago claiming that he doesn’t want to leave after all. Sources told the Times that Leno has changed his mind and feels NBC twisted his arm to make the deal a couple of years ago. And Leno didn’t deny it after the Times story ran; he didn’t say anything at all. Zucker says he’s hoping to convince Leno, a notorious workaholic, to become a primetime player, but that presumably would not involve a nightly show.

So if this deal falls apart, […]

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