Late Show UK

Thoughts are rolling in again as to who’s going to take over from Conan O’Brien on Late Night when Conan moves to The Tonight Show next year, and time is ticking away. Leno is, of course, retiring next year - unless NBC executives change their mind and keep him on for another year. Variety.com reports if that were to happen NBC “would have to pay O’Brien a penalty estimated at more than $40 million”. The most logical choice for Late Night - as has been said before - would be Jimmy Fallon who’s proved popular on Saturday Night Live. Not forgetting Carson Daly (currently host of Last Call which airs after Late Night With Conan O’Brien on NBC) - he could also be an obvious choice.

Variety.com says “some of the names floated for O’Brien’s replacement have included Jon Stewart, Dane Cook and Australian television star Rove McManus”. My personal favourite would be Jon Stewart. He’s become hugely well received on The Daily Show (Comedy Central) and also proves he’s liked on a mainstream level - the Academy Awards hosting duties for example. The last piece of the jigsaw for the talk shows in 2009 is whether or not The Tonight Show will stay in Burbank or if it will move to New York City - currently home to Late Night With Conan O’Brien (and the Late Show on CBS, of course). The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was based in New York. I feel The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien should be based in New York and perhaps moving Late Night With ???? to Burbank.

Variety - “Landing the next Conan”

There’s a lot of British guests coming up on the US chat shows in April and May - Russell Brand (on Letterman on the 23rd April), Craig Ferguson of the Late Late Show (on Letterman on the 25th April), Bear Grylls (on Letterman on the 1st May), Julie Andrews (on the Late Late Show on the 15th April), Morrissey (on the Late Late Show on the 18th April) and Ewan McGregor (on Leno on the 17th April). Russell Brand made his first appearance on The Tonight Show earlier this week, on the 8th April. If you missed the interview, click on the link below to view a clip. If you want to see it on TV, the Russell Brand episode of Leno is on CNBC tonight at 11pm, or you can see it on CNBC on Sunday at 8pm.

RedLasso - Russell Brand’s appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (Video)

Due to the start of British Summer Time from the early hours of 30th March, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno will now go back to its 11pm (UK time) slot on CNBC Monday-Friday. The weekend editions will remain at 8pm (UK time).

In a new AOL poll, Jay Leno got 41% of the vote as the favourite late night chat show host. David Letterman got 34% of the vote. The AOL poll also saw Ellen DeGeneres voted the best chat show host on TV for her daytime show - the NY Daily News website reports “DeGeneres garnered 46% of the vote to Winfrey’s 19%”.

NY Daily News - “Ellen DeGeneres is the toast of hosts in AOL poll”

Actor Ryan Phillippe appeared on The Tonight Show last week, and Jay’s comments towards him have caused an uproar online. Jay talked to Ryan about his first paid acting job in a soap called One Life To Live, in which he played a gay character, and Jay asked him “can you give me your gayest look?” TMZ reports “Broadway playwright Jeff Whitty is once again lashing out at Jay Leno”.

TMZ.com - “Hey Leno, How’s This for “Gayest Look”?!”
Defamer Australia - “Jay Leno Tickled By Ryan Phillippe’s Former Role As Gay Teen”

David Beckham will be on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno next Tuesday (1st April). This episode is scheduled to be going out on CNBC Europe on the 4th April. Victoria Beckham made her debut on The Tonight Show in July last year.

Further reading - Times Online - “LA Galaxy no limit for ambitious David Beckham”
Late Show UK - Guest Listings

Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth and Brian Williams will be appearing on the Late Show on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. Brit pop star (of X Factor fame) Leona Lewis will be on The Tonight Show this Monday (24th March). The Leona Lewis episode will be going out on CNBC on the 27th March at 10pm and on the 29th March at 8pm. Conan O’Brien will be on The Tonight Show this Thursday (27th March). Late Night With Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report are on reruns next week. Donald Sutherland, Trevor Eve, Natasha Kaplinsky and The Kooks will be on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross this Friday. Don’t forget to check out the Upcoming Shows box in the sidebar for the next shows to air on UK TV.

Conan O’Brien will be stopping by to appear on The Tonight Show on Thursday 27th March, along with Anderson Cooper. Conan will, of course, be taking over The Tonight Show next year when Jay Leno hands over the reigns. Don’t forget to tune in! The show will be airing on CNBC for us folk in the UK on Tuesday 1st April at 11pm (the show returns to the 11pm UK timeslot because British Summer Time begins at the end of March). Conan was also a guest on The Tonight Show on the 27th April last year.

Due to Daylight Saving Time starting for the US last weekend, all Monday-Friday episodes of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno now air at 10pm instead of 11pm. The 10pm airings will stay until the end of Daylight Saving Time. The change has been brought it to allow the NBC Nightly News to be streamed live on CNBC from the US - which now airs at 10.30pm UK time. Weekend episodes of The Tonight Show and Late Night stay at 8pm and 8.45pm respectively. Keep checking the Upcoming Shows box in the sidebar for guest details, or check out the Guest Listings section for US (NBC) airdates.

Late Show UK - Where To Watch

Letterman guest highlights: Jim Carrey and Paula Abdul will be dropping by to the Late Show on Monday, Snoop Dogg on Tuesday, Charlize Theron on Wednesday and Kate Beckinsale will be in the Ed Sullivan Theatre on Thursday. The always-funny Brian Regan will be on the Late Show on Friday - no doubt performing top-notch standup. Someone else who’s always pretty funny - Al Franken - will be on the show on the 18th March, along with British band The Cribs. If you’re watching the Late Show on Diva TV - Will Ferrell is on Monday at 9pm, Courteney Cox on Tuesday at 9pm, Natalie Portman (and the hilarious Kid Scientists segment) on Wednesday at 9pm, British chef & TV personality Jamie Oliver on Thursday at 9pm and Woody Harrelson will be on Friday’s show at 9pm.

Leno guest highlights: Dominic Monaghan and Sheryl Crow will be appearing on The Tonight Show on Monday, America Ferrera (from Ugly Betty) will be there on Tuesday, Bill Cosby & music from Gavin DeGraw will appear on Wednesday’s show and Deal Or No Deal’s Howie Mandel will be on Thursday’s show. Minnie Driver and Paula Abdul will be on with Jay on Thursday and Friday respectively. The following week sees Kate Beckinsale and New York band The Bravery stopping by. If you’re watching The Tonight Show on CNBC - Heidi Klum will be on the show on Monday at 10pm.

Conan guest highlights: Paul Giamatti and Snoop Dogg will be on Late Night on Monday and Wednesday respectively, and Meredith Vieira will make an appearance on Thursday’s show. The following week, Conan will be joined by Martha Stewart (17th March) and Ice-T (18th March) amongst other guests. 24th-28th March will be a week of reruns. If you’re watching Late Night on CNBC - Shows only air Saturdays and Sundays and the guests for these are to be confirmed.

Other shows: Craig Ferguson is on reruns next week, but when he returns on the 17th March he will be joined by Ray Romano and Kate Beckinsale on the 18th March. Friday Night With Jonathan Ross won’t be on BBC One next Friday (14th) because of BBC Sport Relief 2008 - Jonathan Ross will return the following week (guests TBC).

See guest listings in full at www.lateshowuk.com/guest-listings.

Once again, the rumour mill is in full swing with regards to Leno giving up The Tonight Show next year and what’s going to happen when he leaves and other subsequent changes at NBC. It’s been about 4 years since NBC announced Jay would be giving up The Tonight Show chair in 2009 but it seems Leno might be staying at NBC, with a brand new show, as NBC tries to sign him up to a new contract. Conan O’Brien would still get The Tonight Show gig and BND.com (New York Times) says “NBC has begun construction on a new studio for “Tonight,” as well as offices for O’Brien’s staff”.

According to reports, TV networks aren’t allowed to negotiate with Leno until November 2009. BND.com (New York Times) also suggest “executives who know the details of his contract said Leno would remain attached to NBC through the end of 2009, even though he probably would not be on the air for the last six months of the contract”. Jimmy Fallon - of Saturday Night Live fame - is thought to be the favourite to take over Late Night when Conan leaves, and it’s thought - if Jimmy were to get the job - Conan would leave Late Night several months before starting on The Tonight Show to give Fallon a good chance of settling in, with a lead-in from Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.

It’s also believed that - when Conan starts The Tonight Show next year - Leno wouldn’t be back on-screen hosting a new show until 2010, to give O’Brien time to get the show up and running without any competition from Leno. It’s not known whether Leno would get offered a primetime show on NBC, another late night programme on NBC or whether he would defect to another network to host a show - ABC, Fox and Sony Pictures Television are all interested in signing him up. If Sony Pictures Television got the deal, BND.com say they’re likely to offer him a “syndicated late-night show”. David Letterman is signed up to stay with the Late Show on CBS until 2010, and it’s not known whether he will retire after this, or renew with CBS - or another network - again.

BND.com - “Courting Leno, unofficially, for a new gig” (New York Times)

5th March 2008 update… More speculation;

The Columbus Dispatch - “Where will Jay Leno land next? Hard to tell”

The new programming block on CNBC Europe called ‘CNBC Life’ will start this weekend (23rd and 24th February). There have been rumours about what this new programming block might include, but it is now confirmed which shows will be part of it, and when the themed block will be on air. Guardian.co.uk say CNBC will air “sports, entertainment, travel and current affairs programmes under the CNBC Life banner between 1pm and 10pm every Saturday and Sunday from February 23″.

In essence, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and Late Night With Conan O’Brien will remain unchanged, as they will still be shown on weekends in their normal 8pm and 8.45pm (UK) timeslots respectively. These will be unedited - whereas the airings of Leno in the week are shortened to fill a 30 minute timeslot. Conan will continue not to air Monday-Friday, and will only be shown in the ‘best of the week’ slot on Saturdays and Sundays (8.45pm UK time). CNBC Life is being marketed as ‘luxury’ programming, including CNBC Sports, travel shows and spending programmes. Listings for this weekend can be found in full on the Radio Times website (free registration required).

CNBC Europe - CNBC Life (Official Page)
Guardian.co.uk - “CNBC Europe to screen ‘luxury’ shows”
Late Show UK - Where To Watch

The Associated Press is reporting the ratings for all the late night chat shows stayed very much the same throughout the writers strike. The AP says people “made little difference in their viewing habits” despite all the shows (except Letterman and Craig Ferguson) not having their writing teams onboard. The Associated Press report The Daily Show With Jon Stewart kept steady ratings as “the 1.6 million viewers he averaged during January was the same as he had last year”, and The Colbert Report’s “1.2 million last month was actually up 6 percent from the 2007 average”. Jay Leno “averaged 5.17 million viewers since his return” and Letterman “increased from 3.8 million pre-strike to 4.05 million after he went back on the air after the new year”. Conan O’Brien’s ratings remained largely unchanged averaging “just over 2 million people nightly” last month. The ratings data came from Nielsen Media Research. The strike ended yesterday, and all writers are now back at work, and “A Daily Show With Jon Stewart” changed it’s name back to “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” to signify the return of the writing staff.

The Associated Press - “Strike Barely Hits Late-Night Ratings”

After 14 weeks, the Writers Guild of America strike is now over. WGA members voted for a deal with the AMPTP and it’s reported the deal was approved by 92.5% of those members. Writers have been on strike in the US since early November 2007, following a dispute over the amount of money they get for online and DVD sales of their work. The new deal addresses those issues, and all writers return to work this week. The US TV industry has been cripplied by the strike, meaning such networks as Fox needing to bring in American Idol and other reality shows & unscripted programming to fill the gaps left behind by scripted comedy and drama that couldn’t be produced. The movie industry hasn’t been affected as much as TV, as films are made over a much longer timespan than TV series.

The BBC News website reports “the strike is said to have cost Los Angeles’ film and TV industry around $733m (£374m), with the wider economy losing around $1.3bn (£663m)” and that we can expect new programmes in “about two months”. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report all have their writing teams back and new shows are already being made. The Late Show With David Letterman and the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson have had their writing team since January, when David Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants Inc agreed an interim deal.

The Oscars (which are being hosted by The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart this year) can now go ahead as planned, with writers for the ceremony needing to produce immense numbers of scripts in a short timespan before the show airs on the 24th February. Speaking to the BBC, the boss of CBS Les Moonves said “At the end of the day, everybody won”. Media website Digital Spy report “The result - with nearly 3,500 for and 283 against the agreement - was announced yesterday evening Pacific Time, during the early hours of today GMT”.

BBC News - “Hollywood writers to end strike”
Digital Spy - “US writers’ strike officially ends”
BBC News - “Writers prepare to return to work”

The US writers strike appears to be coming to an end. The Writers Guild of America says they have reached a “tentative deal” and Reuters report “members will meet in New York and Los Angeles later on Saturday to discuss specific terms, the ratification process and ending the strike, the union added”. Media news website Digital Spy add “America’s television production industry could be back in business as early as Monday” and that “WGA East members will gather at 2pm Eastern time today in New York to discuss the agreement; the WGA West meeting is scheduled for 7pm Pacific in Los Angeles”.

This deal will end the strike, meaning all shows will get their writing team back. The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report have all been making shows without their original writers when they returned to the air in January. David Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants Inc reached an interim deal previously, meaning the Late Show With David Letterman and the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson have both had its writing team back since the show returned in January. The deal that’s been reached will now mean the Oscars awards ceremony can now go ahead as planned. Update: You can read the WGA statement here - which also gives full details of the terms & conditions of this new deal.

Reuters - “Striking writers reach tentative deal with studios”
Digital Spy - “WGA: “We have a tentative deal”"
Telegraph - “Oscars saved as Hollywood writers’ strike ends”
The Movie Blog - “The WGA Strike is Over”