Late-night talk show

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Late-night talk shows often feature guest interviews. Here, U.S. President Barack Obama is interviewed by David Letterman.

A late-night talk show is a subgenre of the talk show genre. In American television at least, it is specifically a kind of comedy-oriented talk and variety show that airs late at night. Characteristics of the genre include topical monologues in which the host makes fun of the day's news, comedy sketches, celebrity interviews, and musical performances. The late night talk show format was popularized, though not invented, by Johnny Carson with The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on NBC. Unlike other kinds of talk and variety shows, late night talk shows always feature a desk, behind which the host sits to interview guests and present comedy bits. Most programs also have an old-fashioned prop microphone on the desk, which some hosts often use as a comedic device.

The popularity of late night shows in in the United States has been cited as a key factor why Americans do not get the requisite seven to eight hours of sleep per night.[1] Late-night talk shows compete for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.

Late night talk shows, for the most part, are not as prominent in other parts of the world. Shows that loosely resemble the format air in other countries, but generally air weekly as opposed to the nightly airings of those in the United States. They also generally air in time slots considered to be prime time in the United States. Most late night talk shows are normally recorded during the afternoon for broadcast at night. Because of this, references such as "this evening" and "earlier today" are made during taping.

History

United States

1940s–1960s

Late night talk shows had their genesis in early variety shows, such as The Ed Sullivan Show (originally known as Toast of the Town), which aired on CBS Sunday nights from 1948 to 1971 and was hosted by Ed Sullivan, and Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle, which aired on NBC from 1948 to 1956. These shows aired once a week in evening time slots that would come to be known as prime time. The first show to air in a late night time slot itself, Broadway Open House, aired on NBC in 1950 and was canceled a year later; not enough people owned television sets to make a late-night television series worthwhile. The first version of The Tonight Show, Tonight Starring Steve Allen, debuted in 1954 on NBC. The show created many modern talk show staples included an opening monologue, celebrity interviews, audience participation, comedy bits, and musical performances. By this point, the Federal Communications Commission had lifted a freeze on new television stations, which allowed new stations to pop up across the country, and television adoption soon grew exponentially. As a result, unlike Broadway Open House, Tonight proved to be a resounding success.

The success of the show led Allen to get another show, entitled The Steve Allen Show which would compete with The Ed Sullivan Show on Sunday nights. Meanwhile, hosting duties of The Tonight Show were split between Allen and Ernie Kovacs; Kovacs had defected to NBC from his own late-night show on the then-crumbling DuMont Television Network. Both Allen and Kovacs departed from Tonight in 1957 in order to focus on Allen's Sunday night show. After the two left, the format changed similar to that of the Today show and was renamed Tonight! America After Dark and was hosted first by Jack Lescoulie and then by Al Collins while interviews were performed by Hy Gardner, and a house band led by Lou Stein. The show was not popular leading to many NBC affiliates dropping the show. The show returned to the original format that year and was renamed Tonight Starring Jack Paar, with Jack Paar assuming hosting duties. The even greater success of the show during Paar's hosting resulted in many NBC affiliates re-airing the show. Paar introduced another talk show staple, the idea of guest hosts, and his regular guest host was Johnny Carson, who would go on to replace Paar as host of The Tonight Show in 1962. Paar also engaged in a feud with radio host Walter Winchell as well as Ed Sullivan, the feud which indirectly ended Winchell's career. Paar left the show in 1962 citing the reason that he could not handle the work load of The Tonight Show (at the time, the show ran 105 minutes a day, five days a week).

After Paar's departure, hosting duties were filled by Groucho Marx and Mort Sahl. Longtime guest host Johnny Carson took over as host of The Tonight Show in 1962 and the show was renamed The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Ed McMahon served as Carson's announcer while 1962 to 1966 the band was led by Skitch Henderson, who hired, among others, Doc Severinsen. He left and Milton DeLugg took over. Doc took over in 1967. <Wikipedia under Mitch Henderson>Doc Severinsen served as bandleader with the NBC Orchestra. The show originated from NBC Studios in New York City but moved to Burbank, California in 1972.

NBC's two other rivals during the early television era, CBS and ABC, did not attempt any major forays into late-night television until the 1960s. ABC's first effort at late-night TV was hosted by Les Crane, which pioneered the controversial tabloid talk show format that would not become popular until two decades later. Crane's show lasted only six months. Shorter still was The Las Vegas Show, a Las Vegas-based late-night show hosted by Bill Dana that was the only offering of the United Network that ever made it to air (because that network only had a handful of affiliates, it also syndicated to CBS, ABC and independent stations); it, along with the network, only lasted five weeks in summer 1967. Steve Allen himself returned to late-night in syndication in 1962; that effort lasted two years. CBS went without late-night TV until 1969, when it acquired The Merv Griffin Show from syndication. By this point, NBC had already cornered the market for late-night television viewing and would go on to dominate the ratings for several decades.

1970s–1980s

Much like Paar, Carson became tired of fulfilling the workload of 525 minutes a week, so as local newscasts expanded, The Tonight Show was shortened to 90 minutes and again to 60 minutes by 1982. In 1973, NBC launched The Tomorrow Show hosted by Tom Snyder immediately following Carson's Tonight Show at 1:00 a.m. ET. The show was different from The Tonight Show. For instance, the show featured no studio audience, while Snyder would conduct one-on-one interviews with a cigarette in hand. The show was cancelled in 1982 and was replaced by Late Night with David Letterman that aired at 12:30 a.m. immediately following Carson. During his tenure as host of The Tonight Show, Carson became known as The King of Late Night. While numerous hosts (Merv Griffin and Dick Cavett being the best-known) attempted to compete with Carson, none was ever successful in drawing more viewers than Carson did on Tonight. Because of a lack of competition, Carson was free to take time off (Carson, by 1982, was only hosting three new shows a week) and invite guest hosts to host the show on a weekly basis, including Joey Bishop, Joan Rivers, David Letterman, Bob Newhart, Jay Leno and Jerry Lewis.

Throughout the 1980s, Rivers served as Carson's permanent guest host. Many in 1986, including top executives at NBC, thought it was possible that Johnny Carson would retire after reaching his 25th anniversary on October 1, 1987, as it was such a logical cut-off point. In the spring of 1986, a confidential memo between top NBC executives listing about ten possible replacements in the event of Carson's retirement the next year was leaked. When Rivers saw it, she was shocked to see that she was nowhere on the list despite the fact that she had been The Tonight Show's permanent guest host since 1983. In 1986, Joan Rivers joined the brand new Fox network, where she would host her own late night talk show, The Late Show which competed directly against The Tonight Show. Clint Holmes served as Rivers' announcer while Mark Hudson served as bandleader. Rivers left the show in 1987 after abysmal ratings and a battle with network executives, leading her to be replaced by Arsenio Hall. Hall performed extremely well in the 18–49 demographic, however Fox had already greenlit The Wilton North Report to replace The Late Show, leading to Hall hosting his own late night talk show in syndication after The Late Show was cancelled in 1988. The Late Show continued with many unknown hosts until its cancellation. Hall's syndicated show, The Arsenio Hall Show, began in syndication in 1988, becoming more popular among younger viewers than Carson. The last network attempt at a Carson competitor, CBS's The Pat Sajak Show, lasted one season, debuting in 1989 and being cancelled in 1990.

1992–2009

Carson retired as host of The Tonight Show in 1992 following his 30th anniversary as host. This garnered major media attention and speculation on who would replace Carson. The two candidates were David Letterman (host of Late Night since 1982) and Jay Leno (Carson's regular guest host since 1987). Leno was eventually chosen, leading to Letterman leaving the network to launch his own late night talk show, the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS in 1993. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno debuted in 1992. Letterman was replaced by newcomer Conan O'Brien as host of Late Night. Arsenio Hall's show lost numerous affiliates after Letterman's debut and his show was canceled one year later. Fox returned to late night television in September 1993 with The Chevy Chase Show hosted by Saturday Night Live alumnus Chevy Chase. However, due to sagging ratings and disastrous reviews, the show was cancelled the following month. Even MTV entered the late night contest when it debuted The Jon Stewart Show, hosted by Jon Stewart, which ran until 1995. Letterman initially won the late night ratings battle but fell behind Leno in 1995; Leno has generally remained in first place ever since. To combat NBC's Late Night, David Letterman created The Late Late Show to follow Letterman at 12:37; the first host was former host of The Tomorrow Show Tom Snyder, who hosted the show until 1999, when he was replaced by Craig Kilborn. Kilborn had previously served as host of The Daily Show, a late night satirical news program on Comedy Central, and upon Kilborn's departure, Jon Stewart replaced him on that show. Perhaps one of the most unusual late night hosts to come out of this boom was basketball player and later entrepreneur Magic Johnson, whose syndicated The Magic Hour was a major flop and effectively ended any future efforts at a syndicated late night talk show at that point in time.

Many late night talk shows went off the air following the September 11 attacks in 2001. Letterman was the first to return on September 17, which he addressed the situation in his opening monologue. The show featured Dan Rather, Regis Philbin, and a musical performance from Tori Amos. The Tonight Show returned the following night featuring John McCain and a performance from Crosby, Stills, and Nash. ABC created its own talk show in 2003 entitled Jimmy Kimmel Live! following its longstanding news program Nightline at 12:05 a.m., and the show became an instant hit. Jake Sasseville entered the late night arena after his successful "I want my Jake after Jimmy on ABC" campaign got him clearance on ABC affiliates by local general managers in 2008. The Edge with Jake Sasseville aired after Jimmy Kimmel in markets reaching a total of 35 million homes, despite Disney's concerns.[2] Another syndicated show that earned significant clearance in the late 2000s was Comics Unleashed, a panel comedy show that lasted only one season, but remains in syndicated reruns, primarily on CBS affiliates during the overnight hours.

Scottish native Craig Ferguson succeeded Kilborn as host of The Late Late Show in 2006, renaming it The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. TBS entered the late night scene in 2009 when it debuted Lopez Tonight, hosted by comedian George Lopez. On September 27, 2004, the 50th anniversary of The Tonight Show's debut, NBC announced that Jay Leno would be succeeded by Conan O'Brien, in 2009. Leno explained that he did not want to see a repeat of the hard feelings and controversy that occurred when he was given the show over David Letterman following Carson's retirement.[3][4] O'Brien's last Late Night episode was taped on February 20, 2009, and Jimmy Fallon took over as host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 2.

2009–present

It was announced on July 21, 2008 that Jay Leno would host his final episode of The Tonight Show on May 29, 2009 with Conan O'Brien and James Taylor as his guests.[5] O'Brien took over hosting duties the following Monday, June 1, 2009. On December 9, 2008, it was announced that Jay Leno would be hosting a new nightly prime time show in September 2009, which aired at 10 p.m. ET. The Jay Leno Show ended after a short run on February 9, 2010, due to low ratings, which also affected viewership of its lead-out late newscasts on many NBC stations.[6]

On January 7, 2010, multiple media outlets reported that The Jay Leno Show would be moved from the 10 p.m. Eastern time slot to 11:35 p.m. and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien would be moved from 11:35 p.m. to 12:05 a.m. effective March 1, 2010.[7][8][9] On January 12, 2010, O'Brien publicly announced in an open letter that he intended to leave NBC if they moved The Tonight Show to 12:05 a.m. in order to accommodate moving The Jay Leno Show to 11:35 p.m. ET.[10] After several days of negotiations, O'Brien reached a settlement with NBC that allowed him to leave NBC and The Tonight Show on January 22, 2010.[11] Leno began his second tenure as host of The Tonight Show on March 1, 2010, after the 2010 Winter Olympics.[12] The show now originates from Studio 11 in Burbank, the former home of The Jay Leno Show, with a set similar to The Jay Leno Show. After leaving NBC, O'Brien began hosting his own late night talk show, Conan, on TBS.

In March 2013, news broke that NBC was expected to part ways with Leno after his contract expires in 2014, clearing the way for Fallon (whose tenure at Late Night had found success with a young, culturally savvy audience) to take over The Tonight Show beginning that year. NBC confirmed the change on April 3, 2013. Under Fallon, the show is expected to return to New York City, where the show originated from its 1954 debut until 1972; NBC no longer owns the former company-owned studios in Burbank where Carson and Leno's programs originated. On May 13, 2013, it was announced that Fallon's former SNL castmate Seth Meyers would take over as host of "Late Night" once Fallon joins The Tonight Show.[13] Letterman's contract with CBS expires in 2015; Late Show bandleader and sidekick Paul Shaffer made public his intent to retire at the end of the previous contract, which ends in 2014,[14] but has also stated he will stay on with the show if asked.[15]

Shows

United States

Main article: List of late-night American network TV programs

Former

United Kingdom

Former

Canada

Ukraine

  • Evening. Pasha. Dawn (Вечір. Паша. Зорі; K1; 2012–present)
  • Crazy Week (Шалений тиждень; TVi; 2012)

Russia

Ireland

Former

Germany

Austria

Switzerland

  • Giacobbo/Müller (Late Service Public, 2008–present)

Brazil

Upcoming

Former

Spain

  • Buenafuente (La Sexta; 2005–11)

Portugal

Philippines

Current hosts

References

  1. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8450575.stm "This diet of TV late at night is a key reason up to 40% of Americans get less than the "recommended" seven to eight hours of sleep, according to recent research from the University of Pennsylvania."
  2. ↑ Nolan, Clancy (February 10, 2008). "Late-Night Hustler". New York Magazine. 
  3. ↑ "Leno promises smooth transition to O'Brien". MSNBC. September 28, 2004. Retrieved May 12, 2008. 
  4. ↑ "O'Brien to replace Leno on 'The Tonight Show'". CNN. September 27, 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2010. 
  5. ↑ Elber, Lynn (May 14, 2009). Leno's last `Tonight' guest is Conan O'Brien. Associated Press via The Buffalo News. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
  6. ↑ "Jay Leno Taking Over 10 pm On NBC". BroadcastingCable. Retrieved December 9, 2008. 
  7. ↑ LA Times article: "Future For NBC's Tonight Show Up In The Air".
  8. ↑ Access Hollywood article: "Jay Leno Heading Back To Late Night, Conan O’Brien Weighing Options".
  9. ↑ Carter, Bill (January 24, 2010). "O’Brien Undone by His Media-Hopping Fans". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2010. 
  10. ↑ Conan O'Brien: I Won't Do "The Tonight Show" at 12:05AM, Zap2It.com, January 12, 2010
  11. ↑ NBC Dumps Conan for $45 Million Payoff; Reinstates Jay as "Tonight Show" Host, TV Guide, January 21, 2010
  12. ↑ Conan O'Brien: I Won't Do a 12:05AM "Tonight Show", Fancast.com, January 12, 2010
  13. ↑ http://news.yahoo.com/seth-meyers-replace-jimmy-fallon-124431646.html
  14. ↑ (October 15, 2012). Paul Shaffer could leave Late Show with David Letterman when contract expires. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  15. ↑ Buckman, Adam (October 16, 2012). UPDATED: Shaffer Now Says He’ll Stay ‘As Long As Dave Wants’. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
Current late night talk and comedy shows in the United States
Broadcast
ABC
CBS
NBC
PBS
Syndication
Cable
Adult Swim
Bravo
  • Watch What Happens Live
Comedy Central
E!
ESPN2
Fox News
HBO
Showtime
TBS
See also
Morning
Daytime talk
Evening news
Late night
Overnight news
Sunday talk
Newsmagazines
Tabloid
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