The Late Shift 2010: Kimmel does Leno

Last night on ABC, we saw a delightful high-concept show from Jimmy Kimmel once again on his late-night gabfest Jimmy Kimmel Live. In the past he's had Quentin Tarantino as a guest director, and as late-night goes he's game for a lot. As you can see here.



Kimmel did the entire show in-character as Jay, with his bandleader Cleto playing the role of Kevin Eubanks. The band's cues were spot-on to the point of preposterous, once again proving that the rule of threes isn't enough-- sometimes you need the rule of fourteens.

The Late Shift 2010: The Coco Letters

The continued shake-up/feud/brouhaha over at NBC concerning its Late Night Schedule continues, and today there was a pretty fantastic statement appearing around the web, which says:

"...I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is [the Tonight Show's] 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."

In short, he won't take the 12:05 AM slot, which makes sense, as that's technically "The Tomorrow Show" and Tom Snyder already had that gig. Twitter and social media outlets erupted in support of Mr. O'Brien, and while you all know we're big fans, we can't help but wonder how many of these people actually watch the show given the reports of Tonight's ratings as of late.

But Wait, What About Jay?
Over on The Naughty But Nice Blog, Mr. Leno may also be considering departing NBC, which raises all sorts of questions. (For example, "is any of this true?") It's an exciting time for comedy gossip, is it not?

File Under Rumor Mill
Another rumor going around, one we have yet to find a credit for beyond it appearing on a single blog and being repeated, is that NBC is talking to possible "guest hosts" for The Tonight Show in the near-term, which is something we haven't seen since the Carson era.

The Late Shift 2010: NBC Shuffles Late Night?

A big bomb hit the web today with rumors of a big shakeup on NBC's late night roster. Would Leno be dropped, or replace Conan? Well, apparently one great thing about the internet is that rumors travel fast and NBC was quick to dispel the disinformation. That is, if the New York Times is on your list of reliable sources. Here's the scoop, and it's weird.

Today:
Leno at 10:00 PM
Conan at 11:35 PM
Fallon at 12:35 AM
Carson Daly at 1:05 AM

Soon:
Leno at 11:35 PM
Conan at 12:05 AM
Fallon at 1:05 AM
Carson Daly...???

So basically, Leno gets his old slot back, Conan goes on later than now (but earlier than before), and Fallon and Carson Daly get pretty hosed. Will America stand for what might be about a sold hour of monologue and desk jokes each night?

This Week in Late Night: The Beginning of the End

So this week NBC’s giant potentially disastrous experiment begins, with Jay Leno and his oh-so-mayonnaise brand of comedy premiering in a cozy 10pm nightly spot, competing with, oh, every major primetime drama that airs during the week and potentially sapping both viewers and guests away from Conan and Jimmy Fallon.

There are a handful of reports out there from test show tapings and it all sounds like it’s going to be about as much fun as a stale loaf of Wonder bread, but we’ll be watching tonight to see just how blandtastic it is. At least Jerry Seinfeld is on.

To counter the Leno invasion, not only is Louis CK on Conan, this week is also the Glorious Return of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, and to make it even sweeter, Stewart has Ricky Gervais on this Thursday. So maybe that’ll wash the Leno taste out of your mouth.

CONAN

9.15 Ted Danson

9.17 Louis CK

FALLON

9.15 Anna Faris, Alan Cumming

9.18 Danny DeVito

STEWART

9.16 Ricky Gervais

KIMMEL

9.15 ‘Special Appearance’ Joel McHale

LENO

9.14 Jerry Seinfeld

9.16 Robin Williams

TELEVISION FOR THE UNEMPLOYED

THE VIEW

9.17 Joel McHale

9.18 Kathy Griffin

REGIS

9.18 Ricky Gervais