Over at NJ.com, I have an account of Jay Leno's press conference to discus his new primetime show. I'll say this about Leno: even though his comedy isn't my thing, and I doubt I'll watch his new show very much (and I'm irked that it's taking away so much real estate from scripted shows), the man knows how to work a room. He had the critics eating out of his hand.
Also, the question I asked about Letterman (mentioned in the NJ.com post) surprised him -- "I never thought of it like that before," he said -- and this is a guy who's been in showbiz so long he doesn't seem surprised by much. Maybe the rift between him and Dave is so vast that he couldn't even envision the two having something in common now.
9 comments:
You forgot to mention Jim Norton as another new face on the show.
Where is 'Stuttering' John? lol Thanks for all of you work Alan!
Guys, I only mentioned the correspondents that Jay referred to by name in the press conference.
I like Rachel Harris. Sounds like they're bringing in a bit of the "Daily Show" type bits to the show. With a softer edge, no doubt.
A good call.
One cannot doubt -- especially after reading The Late Shift -- that whatever his faults are in going for the easy and middlebrow jokes, that Jay Leno works his ass off at what he does.
Also, that he's good at press conferences.
He works his butt off to be mediocre?
Easy and middlebrow Leno's jokes may be, but Middle America eats them up, and he works hard at that, rarely takes time off, and when he does take time off, spends chunks of it doing comedy in Vegas.
I've thought for a while now that while the Leno show is likely to be critically lambasted, artistically dull as dishwater, and generally bland, it will nonetheless be a decent success, as there are very few "light" options at 10 PM. CBS has 4 nights of dour procedurals and Mentalist (the unintentional comedy of "CSI: Miami" doesn't count). ABC is a little better--"Castle" is fairly light, "Private Practice" can be light, and "Eastwick" will have at least some comic elements, I assume. Even so, the comedy demo is underserved at 10.
Sounds like he's borrowing from "The Daily Show" a bit with his proposed taped pieces. And for things "not fitting the Tonight Show brand" then why is Conan doing so many things not done under Leno? I agree he'll probably be a moderate success. Look at all the reality shows that pull in an audience week after week. Its not my cup of tea, but obviously I'm not the type the networks are chasing after
Planning on having D.L. Hughley anywhere near a show seems is a bad idea.
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