Tonight possibly back to 90 minutes in 2015

[Austin]

I'm not sure if this is being discussed somewhere else on this board. I didn't see anything about it, so I thought I'd bring it up...

This weeks issue of TV Guide features a Q&A about late night television. One of the questions asks what might happen to Late Night if Jimmy transitions to The Tonight Show. The answer states that the 12:30 hour is no longer very profitable for NBC due to cable outlets. It goes on to say that Tonight could very well expand back to 90 minutes (not seen since 1980) and 1:00am and onward will be given back to the affiliates.

The article further states that if anything were to air after Tonight, it would have to be very cheap, with no house bands, no large team of comedy writers, and no expensive hosts (like the rumored Howard Stern).

I'd be all for this when (or if) Jimmy took over the show. I've been saying for a while that if that happened, it would be nice if the show went back to 90 minutes so Jimmy could have a longer monologue and longer interviews while still being able to do his desk skits as well as audience participation segments and guest participation segments.

What do you guys think?

Also, I'm only 20 and don't remember Johnny. What exactly was the format of his show when it was 90 minutes, and how did it change when the show went to 60 minutes?

Jay's format is currently:

1. Monologue
2. Skit
3. Interview 1
4. Interview 2
5. Musical Guest

Jimmy's is (usually):

1. Monologue
2. Desk Skit
3. Audience Participation Game
4. Interview 1
5. Guest Participation Game
6. Interview 2
7. Musical Guest (if there is one)

 

[FredLeonard]

Originally, under Steve Allen, Jack Parr and the first few years of Johnny, the Tonight Show as an hour and three-quarters (stations had the option of taking the show at 11:15 or joining at 11:30).

The early Tonight Show usually had several celebrity guests. There was a desk (with two chairs), a guest chair next to the desk and a sofa. When the second guest came out, the first guest would move to the sofa. When the third guest came out, the first and second guests (and Ed) would move down. Important guests got to sit behind the desk with Johnny. At this point, the show was more conversation among all the guests, not just straight interview. This often continued past 12:30.

The last half hour often included interviews with political figures or authors. I was sorry when this was dropped because I thought Johnny was one of the best serious interviewers I ever saw. He wasn't a journalist who had to show how smart he was. He seemed genuinely interested in listening to the guest. And his comedic background taught him how to be the straight man and set up somebody else to look good; he didn't try to top his guest.

The last half hour also often included new comics (if they did well, they got moved earlier in the show next time) and some music numbers.

In some ways, I thought the last half hour was smarter and hipper and more relaxed.

Much of the time the show went to 1:00, the Tonight Show originated in New York and had more of an edge, the way Letterman does now. And it was before Frederick DeCordova, an LA sitcom producer and B-movie comedy director, took over. In LA and under DeCordova the show became slicker and more predictable and more of the guests were people your parents used to listen to on the radio. It wasn't cool any more.

 

[kinphoenix2]

Maybe they could do with a new show- and not use anyone that's in the line up now.

Something like the how OLD Letterman used to be, when he used to interview non-celebrities, like weird farmers, etc. I barely watch it anymore since he has on nothing but nubile, vapid starlets. Late night TV could use something like the old shows- they worked and we loved them. I could care less for the next flash in the pan that thinks they're the greatest gift to the screen.

 

[1069_KIFR]

So Carson Daly will be cancelled?

Anyway Johnny Carson was, as mush as I can remember, with a 90 minute show
went something like this....

Monologue

Comedy bit

1st Guest

2nd Guest

Music Guest

Book Author

Second performance from the musical guest

Goodnight, roll credits and fade to black

 

[DToTheJ]

So Carson Daly will be cancelled?

And if this is the start of a trend, what happens to Craigy on CBS?

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Could some stations run Arsenio after Jimmy?

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

So Carson Daly will be cancelled?

And if this is the start of a trend, what happens to Craigy on CBS?

I would hope he sticks around, I find his comedy bits hilarious (most nights, I could care less about the interview guests). The Late Late Show runs (and has, historically run going back to Tom Snyder's version) a pretty lean ship. No house band, no side-kick (unless you count the animatronic robot, "Geoff" or the horse-costume clad stagehands "Secretariat"), and only an occasional appearance by a female actor in the role of an "executive producer" named "Liz."

The show can't be costing CBS that much money to produce, and they obviously cut corners in other ways (recall several recent incidents of power-outages in the studio that house "LLS").

 

[BD Sullivan]

So Carson Daly will be cancelled?

And if this is the start of a trend, what happens to Craigy on CBS?

I would hope he sticks around, I find his comedy bits hilarious (most nights, I could care less about the interview guests). The Late Late Show runs (and has, historically run going back to Tom Snyder's version) a pretty lean ship. No house band, no side-kick (unless you count the animatronic robot, "Geoff" or the horse-costume clad stagehands "Secretariat"), and only an occasional appearance by a female actor in the role of an "executive producer" named "Liz."

The show can't be costing CBS that much money to produce, and they obviously cut corners in other ways (recall several recent incidents of power-outages in the studio that house "LLS").

If Letterman has any say in its future after he leaves, then you know it will stay, since his company produces it.

 

[Robnoxious]

Craig will stay with The Late Late Show for as long as Craig wants to continue doing it, however he has expressed no desire to be the heir apparent at 11:30p when Letterman retires. His style of show wouldn't work an hour earlier anyways. Craig knows this and CBS brass knows it too.

 

[Gregg]

A few things...

1) I don't believe Tonight Show would go to 90 min. no matter who hosts it. Even if NBC doesn't make as much money in the 12:35 to 1:35 slot as before, they still make more money than if they gave the time back to the affiliates.

2) Let's remember that 12:35 is really 11:35 in the Central and Mountain Time Zones. Even if Tonight expanded to 90 minutes, do you really think the network wouldn't program after Midnight CT and MT? Consider that now, NBC provides all-night programming, with a repeat of the 10am hour of Today, a repeat of Mad Money from CNBC, and a 4am newscast. OK, that doesn't cost them much. But they still bring in some revenue.

3) Letterman specifically chooses hosts for 12:35 who are no threat to himself. Tom Snyder was an older guy who has since passed. And Craig Ferguson has a Scottish accent. We all know nobody with a foreign accent is going to get 11:35. The fact that Letterman has no heir apparent keeps CBS from even floating an idea of replacing him.

 

[justpassingthough]

So Carson Daly will be cancelled?

And if this is the start of a trend, what happens to Craigy on CBS?

I would hope he sticks around, I find his comedy bits hilarious (most nights, I could care less about the interview guests). The Late Late Show runs (and has, historically run going back to Tom Snyder's version) a pretty lean ship. No house band, no side-kick (unless you count the animatronic robot, "Geoff" or the horse-costume clad stagehands "Secretariat"), and only an occasional appearance by a female actor in the role of an "executive producer" named "Liz."

The show can't be costing CBS that much money to produce, and they obviously cut corners in other ways (recall several recent incidents of power-outages in the studio that house "LLS").

Craig Ferguson films at CBS Television City in the same complex where they film "the Price is Right", "Real Time with Bill Maher" and so on. Its a major entertainment complex at Beverly and Fairfax, right at the epicenter of the thirty mile zone (the TMZ), so its likely that any "power outages" were bits for the show and not actually outages, as he films in an important center for television production.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Re: "Tonight" possibly back to 90 minutes in 2015??

If Jimmy Fallon does get "Tonight" in 2015 (or whenever Jay Leno leaves), I could see "Tonight" going back to 90 minutes, with Carson Daly's "Last Call" coming on right after Fallon ends. "Late Night" (currently hosted by Fallon), as such, would cease to exist.

Should "Tonight" go back to 90 minutes, I think the only way "Late Night" survives after Fallon Leaves would be if NBC were to give back the 10-11 P.M. ET/PT hour to local stations, reclaim the 11-11:30 P.M. ET/PT half-hour, run "Tonight" from 11 P.M. to 12:30 A.M. ET/PT, and "Late Night" would remain in it's current timeslot.

 

[BD Sullivan]

There's no way NBC goes back to 90 minutes for the Tonight Show since the attention spans of the audience will fade away long before then.

 

[ajc_trw]

The article further states that if anything were to air after Tonight, it would have to be very cheap, with no house bands, no large team of comedy writers, and no expensive hosts (like the rumored Howard Stern).

IOW an NBC version of Craig's show.

 

[benwolf]

A few things...

1) I don't believe Tonight Show would go to 90 min. no matter who hosts it. Even if NBC doesn't make as much money in the 12:35 to 1:35 slot as before, they still make more money than if they gave the time back to the affiliates.

2) Let's remember that 12:35 is really 11:35 in the Central and Mountain Time Zones. Even if Tonight expanded to 90 minutes, do you really think the network wouldn't program after Midnight CT and MT? Consider that now, NBC provides all-night programming, with a repeat of the 10am hour of Today, a repeat of Mad Money from CNBC, and a 4am newscast. OK, that doesn't cost them much. But they still bring in some revenue.

3) Letterman specifically chooses hosts for 12:35 who are no threat to himself. Tom Snyder was an older guy who has since passed. And Craig Ferguson has a Scottish accent. We all know nobody with a foreign accent is going to get 11:35. The fact that Letterman has no heir apparent keeps CBS from even floating an idea of replacing him.

#3 is preposterous...CBS can go anywhere to find Dave's eventual replacement, like a Jon Stewart or Conan. I think he saw Craig as being a great talent, which he is.

 

[Robnoxious]

Craig Ferguson films at CBS Television City in the same complex where they film "the Price is Right", "Real Time with Bill Maher" and so on. Its a major entertainment complex at Beverly and Fairfax, right at the epicenter of the thirty mile zone (the TMZ), so its likely that any "power outages" were bits for the show and not actually outages, as he films in an important center for television production.

I've attended tapings of The Late Late Show in both of the studios (I was in the audience for the last show in the original studio and the very first show in the new digs); Studio 58 (the smaller one) and Studio 56 (his current one) are literally "in the rafters" of the CBS Television City complex. The differences between Studio 33 (Bob Barker Studio) and Craig's upstairs shantys are like night and day. First of all, Craig really isn't joking about the lighting being bad. It is dark up there. Both studios are very very small. Television makes it appear a bit grander but it really isn't, it's cramped and dark and almost clausterphobic. Studio 33 on the other hand is palacios in comparison. As well it should be, it's been the home to television's most memorable and beloved programs; All In The Family, The Carol Burnett Show, Match Game, Press Your Luck and TPIR to name a scant few.

The power outage show really did happen. The cameras and directors booth were on a separate power grid while the lighting was on a grid with a blown out transformer (probably by design to balance electrical load. Those lighting rigs consume quite a bit of juice). Craig being quick on his feet, the consummate professional and since he ad-libs his entire show anyways took on the challenge of the partial blackout to hilarious result. A few years back, during a significant rain event in L.A. Craig came out wearing a yellow rain slicker looking like the Gorton's fisherman since his studio was leaking water from the roof. I've seen it on Youtube it's out there with a quick search. The cheap and tackyness of The Late Late Show has become a big part of the show's charm.

 

[FredLeonard]

Checkout cbstelevisioncity.com. Very interesting historical information (under "Shows") going back the complex's opening in 1953.

Red Skelton in Studio 31.
Jack Benny in Studio 33.
Art Linkletter's House Party in Studio 41....

 

[easttxtv]

Also, I'm only 20 and don't remember Johnny.

If you haven't seen it (and even if you have), the American Masters show that PBS aired last year about Johnny is a great tribute and retrospective.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmas...f-late-night/watch-the-full-documentary/2093/

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

Craig Ferguson films at CBS Television City in the same complex where they film "the Price is Right", "Real Time with Bill Maher" and so on. Its a major entertainment complex at Beverly and Fairfax, right at the epicenter of the thirty mile zone (the TMZ), so its likely that any "power outages" were bits for the show and not actually outages, as he films in an important center for television production.

I've attended tapings of The Late Late Show in both of the studios (I was in the audience for the last show in the original studio and the very first show in the new digs); Studio 58 (the smaller one) and Studio 56 (his current one) are literally "in the rafters" of the CBS Television City complex.

Is Studio 58 the same one the show had broadcast from during Craig Kilborn's tenure? I went to a taping in 2001 (the week after 9/11) and was surprised at how small the studio was, then.

 

[F.M.Hertz]

A few things...

1) I don't believe Tonight Show would go to 90 min. no matter who hosts it. Even if NBC doesn't make as much money in the 12:35 to 1:35 slot as before, they still make more money than if they gave the time back to the affiliates.

2) Let's remember that 12:35 is really 11:35 in the Central and Mountain Time Zones. Even if Tonight expanded to 90 minutes, do you really think the network wouldn't program after Midnight CT and MT? Consider that now, NBC provides all-night programming, with a repeat of the 10am hour of Today, a repeat of Mad Money from CNBC, and a 4am newscast. OK, that doesn't cost them much. But they still bring in some revenue.

3) Letterman specifically chooses hosts for 12:35 who are no threat to himself. Tom Snyder was an older guy who has since passed. And Craig Ferguson has a Scottish accent. We all know nobody with a foreign accent is going to get 11:35. The fact that Letterman has no heir apparent keeps CBS from even floating an idea of replacing him.

#3 is preposterous...CBS can go anywhere to find Dave's eventual replacement, like a Jon Stewart or Conan. I think he saw Craig as being a great talent, which he is.

"We all know nobody with accent is going to get 11:35." Well, explain David Frost who did a show for Westinghouse back in the day.

I agree. Ferguson is a great talent, and is much like the old Letterman show from his NBC days; the anti-talk show talk show.

One question: Since Letterman owns the show, why hasn't he ever appeared as a guest? Either on the Craig Ferguson edition or the Craig Kilborn edition?