Late Show UK

Television producer Robert Halderman has admitted to trying to extort money from David Letterman.

Halderman stood in front of New York State Supreme Court and agreed to a plea bargain – he will serve six months in jail and have to carry out 1000 hours of community service.

CNN report “the 27-year CBS veteran had initially been charged with first-degree attempted grand larceny, to which he pleaded not guilty in October. He could have faced 15 years in prison if convicted on the charge”. Halderman will be formally sentenced in May.

Robert Halderman is the former producer for CBS series 48 Hours Mystery and Letterman revealed in October last year – during a taping of the Late Show – how he had tried to blackmail Dave into paying him $2 million in return for keeping his sex flings with Late Show staff secret.

BBC News say “in a statement to the court, the former producer apologised to both Mr Letterman and his family and acknowledged that he had delivered a threat, in the form of a script idea, to the chat show host’s driver” – Halderman went on to say “this so-called treatment was just a thinly veiled threat to ruin Mr Letterman if he did not pay me a lot of money”.

BBC News – “TV producer pleads guilty to Letterman blackmail”
CNN – “Man pleads guilty in Letterman blackmail case”

Jay Leno’s second tenure on The Tonight Show started last week amid much controversy over the ousting of former host Conan O’Brien.

The first show on Monday 1st March gained a huge amount of viewers for NBC who have been struggling of late – not just in late night but across the board. He said “It’s good to be home. I’m Jay Leno, your host… at least for a while… I’ll admit I’m a little bit nervous, not because it’s my first night back, but because I know Dave [Letterman] and Oprah [Winfrey] are watching”.

However, since that first show The Tonight Show has been falling behind and the Late Show With David Letterman is now leading the ratings war.

TV By The Numbers report ““The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (3.2/8 in metered-market households) trailed CBS’s “Late Show with David Letterman” (3.5/9) while topping ABC’s “Nightline (2.7/) and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (1.3/4) in Nielsen’s 56 metered markets” and “◦In the 25 markets with Local People Meters, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (1.1/5) ranked #1 among the major networks in the time period over “Late Show” (1.0/5), “Nightline” (1.1/4) and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (0.9/4)”.

However, certain guests like Sarah Palin have helped boost ratings for certain shows.

Will The Tonight Show With Jay Leno stand the test of time? I guess we’ll wait and see.

Digital Spy – “Leno: ‘It’s good to be back on Tonight’”
Examiner – “TV Ratings News: Leno’s ‘Tonight Show’ now trailing Letterman…”
TV By The Numbers – “Early Tuesday Results Indicate Split Decision…”

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report episodes can now be downloaded on iTunes for people in the UK.

This is the first time it’s been possible to download episodes through iTunes UK.

Thanks to Olivia Coghlan at Comedy Central UK for the headsup.

Go to www.comedycentral.co.uk/downloads for details on how to download the shows, or if you already have iTunes installed click the links below to open iTunes:

iTunes UK – The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
iTunes UK – The Colbert Report

The official NBC website for The Tonight Show With Jay Leno has launched. Visit www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show for all the latest videos, photos, news, blog posts and more.

Two new commercials have been made by NBC for the return of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. Leno returns to hosting duties this evening.

The first new advert is a new take on the original promo for The Jay Leno Show (Jay’s 10pm show) – it shows him driving in his “10″ car from that advert but the “10″ stickers on the car peel off to reveal “11:35″. The second new advert shows Jay talking about his passion for curling at the Winter Olympics.

Click here to watch the new commercials

The final CNBC reruns of The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien will air tonight (8pm and 8.45pm) and tomorrow night (11pm).

According to several TV listing services – including Radio Times – The Tonight Show With Jay Leno will take its place from Tuesday night. Radio Times show it will air at the normal 11pm 30-minute timeslot Monday-Friday. It’s thought it will be shown on a one-show delay (i.e. each week Monday night’s NBC show will air Tuesday nights on CNBC).

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno will premiere tomorrow night on NBC in America and the official website is also expected to launch tomorrow.

Conan O’Brien has joined Twitter. Follow him at www.twitter.com/ConanOBrien. His Twitter bio says “I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account”.

Guest listings have been announced for the first two weeks of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. The first show airs on the 1st March. Click here for The Tonight Show guest listings.

The new logo for The Tonight Show With Jay Leno has been revealed. The Tonight Show returns on the 1st March. The new logo was announced on the official website for the now defunct Jay Leno Show.

Also, click here to watch the NBC commercial for the return of The Tonight Show

Conan O’Brien is reportedly thinking about launching a live stage show in the interim period between now and September.

The NBC deal he signed to leave the network stated he wasn’t allowed to sign up with another television network until September, but a live stage show is the next best thing.

O’Brien is already drawing up plans for tour dates for a live show according to The New York Times.

The New York Times report the shows would take place in “theaters in major cities from California to New York, and perhaps parts further east and west–and maybe north”.

The New York Times – “Conan O’Brien’s Next Appearances Could Be on Stage”

Tina Fey will return to Saturday Night Live as guest host.

The former regular cast member of SNL will be back in April and it’s thought she might reprise her role as Sarah Palin, which brought her huge recognition throughout the US elections.

When asked about returning to SNL as the former Governor of Alaska she said “It’s inevitable that we’ll try it, at least… we’ll see if it makes it to air”.

Yahoo! News – “You betcha: Fey’s ‘SNL’ return as Palin is likely”

It’s being reported that Kevin Eubanks will be cutting his regular appearances on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno shortly after it returns in March.

The Los Angeles Times reports “NBC said Tuesday that Eubanks had expressed interest in personal touring and recording… he would be part of the show when it returns March 1, but his continued involvement was uncertain”.

The musician has been with Jay Leno since he started The Tonight Show in 1992 and was promoted to be band leader for The Tonight Show Band in 1995. Eubanks was also the band leader for The Primetime Band on The Jay Leno Show – Jay’s failed 10pm NBC show which was recently axed.

Kevin has responded on Twitter saying “I’ll still be around on the show, but less as of now. I’ll tweet when a definite plan is set. Thanks again guys”.

Los Angeles Times – “Kevin Eubanks’ ‘Tonight Show’ future in doubt”
Twitter – Kevin Eubanks

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart will resume on More 4 from the 23rd February at 8.30pm. There are no episodes this week due to reruns airing in the US. Global Edition will air on CNN International as normal this weekend (Saturday at 2.30pm/8.30pm and Sunday at 9.30am).

There are no 11pm reruns of The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien Monday-Thursday this week. Reruns will resume on Friday night at 11pm. Reruns are currently scheduled as normal for next week (Monday-Friday at 11pm) and weekend reruns remain unchanged (8pm and 8.45pm). There’s still no word on whether The Tonight Show With Jay Leno will air on CNBC when it starts in March.

Craig Ferguson has joined Twitter. The host of the Late Late Show started posting a few days ago. One of his first posts says “the fact that i am on twitter probably means its on the way out”. Follow him at www.twitter.com/craigyferg.

The final episode of The Jay Leno Show aired on NBC last night. The failed 10pm show wrapped up last night with host Jay Leno saying NBC had allowed it to end early “for good behavior” – “This show was supposed to last two years, but my sentence was reduced to five months for good behavior”.

During his final monologue he said “We were on the air five months – it seems like just yesterday I was telling NBC this is not going to work”. Ashton Kutcher, Gabourey Sidibe and Bob Costas were the guests on the final show, with Donald Trump appearing as a special guest via satellite.

MTV report the show ended quite abruptly for the NBC news programme. MTV report “before the talk-show host could give any closing comments to the gathered audience, the feed ended abruptly and transitioned directly into NBC’s scheduled news program… the show’s unceremonious sendoff offered a stark reminder that Leno’s departure from the airwaves is only temporary”.

Leno will go head-to-head with Letterman in the ratings war when he returns to The Tonight Show at 11.35pm from the 1st March. On the penultimate Jay Leno Show on Monday, Jay talked about the Super Bowl commercial he filmed with David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey, saying there was no animosity between Dave and himself.

NBC have now officially closed the website for The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien – www.thetonightshowwithconanobrien.com now just redirects to www.nbc.com.

TV Guide – “NBC Ends Jay Leno Show Early “For Good Behavior”"
MTV – “‘The Jay Leno Show’ Comes To An End”

Click here for to watch Leno talking about the Super Bowl commercial

Jimmy Fallon appeared on The Jay Leno Show on Wednesday to take part in the “10 @ 10″ feature.

Click here to watch Jimmy Fallon’s appearance