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With Leno Off ‘Tonight,’ is There a New King of Late Night?

Nov 3, 2009

When Americans are looking to soothe their frazzled nerves after a long day, late-night TV shows have always been happy to oblige. But these days, the world of late night is as topsy-turvy as the real world we’re trying to tune out.

Just one year ago, Jay Leno was cruising along as the undisputed king of late night. Five million faithful watched the “Tonight” show host, as reliable as his restored Model T, night after night delivering A-list guests, John McCain jokes and wacky headlines.

A million viewers behind him was the urbane David Letterman, still considered the best in show by many, and everyone else followed in the wake of these two old pros. Conan O’Brien, Craig Ferguson, Jon Stewart and Jimmy Kimmel all had their multitudes, but the pecking order in late night was clear and it was unalterable.

Then it all came undone. Leno left NBC’s “Tonight” to prepare for his new 9 p.m. show. Conan moved to L.A. to take his place and promptly lost half of Leno’s audience. Back in New York, Jimmy Fallon took over Conan’s spot and lost a third of his audience.

That cleared the path for Letterman to reclaim the top spot in the ratings after surrendering his crown to Leno 14 years ago.

But how long will Dave be around to enjoy it? He has gotten himself into an unflattering, highly publicized romantic drama that might cost him support among the 58 percent of his audience that is female. And now we learn, courtesy of Newsday, that the “Late Show” host has yet to sign an extension to his CBS contract, which runs through 2010.

It no longer seems implausible that Dave might actually hang it up, settle down with his wife and raise their child out of the limelight. That would make Ferguson the most likely candidate to take over “Late Show” just about a year from now, not bad for a guy who until recently wasn’t even a U.S. citizen. (His memoir, “American on Purpose,” debuted recently at No. 4 on the New York Times best-seller list.)

The most stable part of late night has been the lowlands, where Kimmel, Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Charlie Rose and Chelsea Handler (look, a woman!) continue to draw smaller but still lucrative audiences.

Hoping to join their ranks are Wanda Sykes, whose weekly show airs at 10 p.m. Saturdays on Fox starting Nov. 7, and George Lopez, whose “Lopez Tonight” launches at 10 p.m. Nov. 9 and will air weeknights on TBS.

Indeed, the more you look at the growing menu of late-night options, the more clear it becomes that there are no more kings in late night. There are only senators, each with a well-heeled constituency.

That said, there always seems to be a sentimental desire among many TV critics to declare Letterman the leader again. He has by far the most viewers, averaging about 4.7 million a night, or nearly twice O’Brien’s audience. However, as far as advertisers are concerned — and they are the ones who actually determine a show’s success — Conan is king.

Why? Because even with half the audience, he still outdraws Dave among people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Advertisers pay dearly to reach those viewers.

Letterman, of all people, can appreciate this. In the 1980s NBC discovered that beer companies and movie studios preferred to advertise on his “Late Night” show, which was watched by college kids, instead of “The Tonight Show,” which was watched by their parents.

As for Leno, he’s still hosting a late-night show, no matter what NBC calls it. And he’s still more popular than Letterman, though with “The Jay Leno Show” airing five nights a week in prime time, it had better be.

The audience that really counts is made up of 200 local NBC station managers who nervously agreed to the network’s scheme to blow out the 10 o’clock hour (ET/PT) for a comedy program.

So far, according to Craig Allison of Kansas City’s KSHB, Leno is doing OK. Some nights the ratings have been disappointing, he says, but other nights Leno is doing much better than whatever NBC had in that time period a year ago. And Allison appreciates having a prime spot in the show to promote the station’s 10 p.m. newscast.

He does have one criticism. “The two chairs aren’t working for me,” Allison says, referring to the deskless area where Leno conducts his interviews. “They look uncomfortable. It was an immediate thing for me. I’m just used to a desk.”
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■ OVERALL
Best show: “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” on CBS. He hasn’t learned to talk in an Indiana accent, but that’s about the only thing the Scotsman has yet to accomplish since emerging as the dark-horse candidate for Craig Kilborn’s job five years ago. Versatile, literate, spontaneous, a man who has seen the world, Ferguson is a latter-day Jack Paar, but built for the long haul. He has taken “Late Late Show” where it has never been — first place — so if you still think Jon Stewart is the front-runner for David Letterman’s job, you don’t know Scot.

Worst show: “Last Call With Carson Daly.” NBC has been screwing around with “Last Call” for years, and it just seems to get worse. Currently it’s a low-budget, heavily edited interview show mostly shot at soundstages and hotels. Anyone could host it.
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MONOLOGUE
Best: Tie between “The Jay Leno Show,” left, and “The Colbert Report,” right. Colbert can take a single idea and carry it for five minutes — and all the while he’s channeling that character of his. Leno serves up jokes like a tennis-ball machine, but who does it better? No one, that’s who.

Worst: Dave’s. Actually, Jimmy Fallon’s standup routine is probably weaker, but I am soooooooo sick of jokes about New York City weather, Bernie Madoff and the horny celebrity of the month (even if it is him).
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INTERVIEWS
Best: Ferguson. Craig lets his life story — growing up near Glasgow, emigrating to L.A., getting sober, dealing with anger — inform and enlighten conversations. He shifts easily from laughter to intimacy with his guests and avoids scripted gags or other gimmicks.

Worst: “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.” Good news for Jimmy: Conan wasn’t any better with guests six months in.
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BEST STUNTS
“The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien.” From the host’s fantastic “feud” with Newark Mayor Cory Booker to the portable drum set that rode Max Weinberg out of the studio, Conan and his writers are earning their promotion.
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BEST USE OF TAPE
“Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Video has become an essential part of late-night comedy, but “JKL” does the most and gets the most out of it, whether mocking local TV, using animation to make a news clip funnier or bleeping random words so a clip sounds dirtier than it is.
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BEST RATINGS SPIN
ABC’s “Nightline” often declares victory over Dave and Conan by comparing its half-hour rating to their hour number. But if you use Dave’s rating from 10:30 to 11 p.m. (before his audience starts going to bed), he wins handily.
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BEST NEW-SHOW PROMO
The one where George Lopez is getting advice from President Barack Obama, who spurns Lopez’s entreaties to become his sidekick.
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BEST GUESTS
A tie — they all have the same guests. Or so
it seems.#

5 Comments

  1. Craig Ferguson gets my vote hands down! I don’t have cable & only watch Stewart online. But Ferguson is fresh, original and informative. All the things you need these days.
    But his puppet show is just OUTSTANDING! I wish I could get my puppets to sing & dance like his. If I could do that, I could get a TV show . . . who’d of thunk it!!!!

  2. CRAIG no notes FERGUSON. No contest.

  3. Conan O’Brien was not funny in his original time slot and certainly not funny now. He just doesn’t appeal to everyone.
    Leno come back to 11:30 we miss you! 10:00 is killing you!
    Kimmel kinda like ya…great guests! Uncle Frank & the crew kinda funny. A little more polish and you could take it all.
    Fallon by far the coolest, best band, GREAT GUESTS and terrific interaction with guests.Needs to iron out his bits..a lil more time in the oven should do it. Time slot is perfect for him
    Stewart you’re great on cable keep doing what you’re doing.
    Colbert ditto.
    Ferguson mezza, mezza something does not click can’t put my finger on it.

  4. I think bloging is the future dont you just love i

  5. Great article, public reports and bloggers are definitely changing the landscape for news thats for sure.

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