Late Show UK

Monday 15th February – Nicole Richie, the Daytona 500 winner, Fanfarlo
Tuesday 16th February – No data available at present
Wednesday 17th February – No data available at present
Thursday 18th February – No data available at present
Friday 19th February – No data available at present

David Letterman and Jay Leno have appeared together in a Super Bowl commercial with Oprah Winfrey. Reportedly they wanted Conan to appear as well, but he didn’t.

I think this is the first time Letterman and Leno have been on TV together in many years since the high-profile Tonight Show debacle of the 1990s. Jay and Dave used to be quite good friends and Leno would make appearances on Dave’s talk show from time to time.

The commercial which aired during last night’s Super Bowl on CBS showed David Letterman, Jay Leno and Oprah Winfrey sitting on a couch watching the Super Bowl (in a similar scene to Dave & Oprah’s previous Super Bowl commercial a while back) with Dave saying “this is the worst Super Bowl party ever” and Leno replying “you’re only saying that because I’m here”.

Very unexpected to see them sitting on the same couch after all this time. Also even more unexpected to see Leno in the commercial which has a promotion strap for the Late Show With David Letterman at the end considering he’s back on The Tonight Show next month.

The commercial was filmed in the balcony of the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York and it’s reported Leno arrived in a disguise to avoid being noticed by people outside.

Click here to watch the Super Bowl commercial

David Letterman celebrates his 28th year on television this week. Letterman’s original NBC talk show Late Night With David Letterman started on the 1st February 1982 and he moved to CBS in 1993 to host the Late Show.

The final episode of The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien was a huge ratings success.

Entertainment Weekly reports it “earned a whopping 7.0 rating/16 share in 55 of the country’s metered markets (the most immediate numbers available). Ratings for his fellow latenight hosts didn’t even come close: The Late Show with David Letterman averaged a mere 2.5/5, while Nightline earned a 2.8/6, and Jimmy Kimmel Live, a 1.3/4. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, however, was able to draft off of O’Brien’s success: his show averaged a respectible 3.3/10, easily beating Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (1.5/4)”.

If only those ratings were a regular thing and he might still be at NBC.

Entertainment Weekly (EW.com) – “Conan O’Brien’s farewell attracts big ratings”

Monday 8th February – Sandra Bullock, Josh Turner
Tuesday 9th Feb – Jennifer Garner, the “Sports Illustrated” swimsuit issue cover model, Sade
Wednesday 10th February – Jessica Biel, Christoph Waltz
Thursday 11th February – Regis and Joy Philbin, a Top Ten List presented by Benicio Del Toro
Friday 12th February – Jeff Bridges, Joe Wong, the Soft Pack

Updated 8th February 2010.

Monday 1st February – Bruce Willis, Ne-Yo
Tuesday 2nd February – John Travolta, Shaun White, Ben Harper & Relentless7
Wednesday 3rd February – Sarah Silverman, Jeremy Renner, Nneka, Top Ten with Paris Hilton
Thursday 4th February – Jamie Foxx, Amanda Seyfried, Robin Thicke
Friday 5th February – Jack Hanna, Joe Wong, The Swell Season

Updated 31st January 2010.

Monday 25th Jan – Bradley Cooper, Rachel Maddow, Nick Jonas & the Administration (Rerun)
Tuesday 26th January – Denzel Washington, Dr. O. Wayne Isom, the Low Anthem (Rerun)
Wednesday 27th January – Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Sudeikis, Findlay Brown (Rerun)
Thursday 28th January – Kiefer Sutherland, Keri Russell, the HotRats (Rerun)
Friday 29th January – Sigourney Weaver, Marv Albert, Julian Casablancas (Rerun)

Conan O’Brien will be able to join another US TV network from 1st September. His exit deal with NBC states he’s not allowed to sign up for any other US network until that date. Conan is examining his options – he could go to Fox, Comedy Central or Fox-owned channel FX.

Another detail of the NBC deal has been revealed – he won’t be able to bring his old characters like Triumph The Comic Dog and the Masturbating Bear with him to another network as NBC have claimed them as intellectual property. This reminds me of when Letterman left NBC and they wouldn’t let him take his segments like Viewer Mail – Letterman always joked that the word “intellectual” isn’t usually something you’d associate with NBC.

Leno – who is expected to return to The Tonight Show from the 1st March – said “I don’t believe the iceberg is that big, the biggest ship, this ship will never sink” with a reference to the Titanic. On The Tonight Show, Conan took more swipes at NBC saying one of the things he’s not allowed to do is “make fun of NBC programming… I have to let the programming speak for itself”. Conan’s final Tonight Show will air tonight in the US – you can see it on CNBC at 11pm on Monday.

Reuters – “Conan O’Brien exploring options after NBC split”
NBC Bay Area – “Jay Leno: “I Have Chosen to Stay on the Titanic”"

A World Food Programme appeal for people affected by the Haiti earthquake this week was launched on the Late Show With David Letterman last night. Please go to www.wfp.org/lateshow to donate if you can.

Click here to watch the Late Show appeal

Talk show hosts have been reacting to the recent news about The Jay Leno Show and what effect it has on The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and Last Call With Carson Daly.

David Letterman thinks it’s best if Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien shared The Tonight Show hosting duties together at 11.35pm every night instead of having two separate shows. Jimmy Kimmel dressed up as Jay Leno for his entire Jimmy Kimmel Live show last night and did an excellent Leno impression (albeit a Leno impression with a lisp). Conan O’Brien brought out Howie Mandel from Deal Or No Deal USA to help him make decisions about what to do next.

Click here to watch the videos

Conan O’Brien released a statement yesterday with regards to the current situation at NBC with The Jay Leno Show and – Conan’s show – The Tonight Show. As you undoubtedly know by now, The Jay Leno Show is being axed from the 10pm slot on NBC from February. NBC have proposed The Jay Leno Show is cut down to a 30 minute show and aired at 11.35pm with The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien shifting 30 minutes later at 12.05am. The Tonight Show has always aired at 11.35pm and Conan isn’t happy.

His statement is addressed to “people of Earth”. A segment of the statement is below;

“Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next”.

Click here to read Conan O’Brien’s statement in full at MSNBC.

Homer Simpson stopped by to read out the Top Ten list on the Late Show With David Letterman this week. The Top Ten list was “Top Ten Things I’ve Learned From the Last 20 Years of Television” – animated Fox show The Simpsons is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Highlights include “it’s better to be bald than have a hairpiece like Letterman”, “widescreen televisions were invented to accommodate Keith Olbermann’s enormous head” and “television is not a vast wasteland, it’s a cesspool”.

Click here to watch the Top Ten in full