MovieChat Forums > The Late Shift (1996) Discussion > The true reason why Jay got the show.

The true reason why Jay got the show.

posted 10 years ago by LeroyBrown-2
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The real reason was greed. At the time both 'The Tonight Show' and 'Late Night' were big money makers for NBC, still are. Back then those shows gave NBC a monopoly on Late Night. Nightline was the only real competition and it's only a half hour long, and it would only win when there's big news. NBC thought they could keep both shows and both guys. The prevailing thought was that nobody was going to go up against 'The Tonight Show' because everyone who did, lost. Fox had tried with Joan Rivers, Then with Alan Thicke, and Chevy Chase ABC was not going to interrupt 'Nightline' it's the crown jewel of the News department, and CBS which at the time have fallen in the ratings would never take a big gamble. But that was what CBS did.
NBC believed that 'The Tonight Show' was invincible. But Arsenio proved otherwise, although he never beat Johnny consistently he had his nights and Jay Leno was no Johnny Carson, CBS was counting on it and they were right, for the first 18 months Dave beat Jay. But then the Hugh Grant interview and the rest was Jay over Dave for almost 2 decades.

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[–] a_l_i_e_n 10 years ago

According to N.Y. Times journalist Bill Carter, NBC considered Dave too experimental and were afraid the audience at 11:35 who'd watched Johnny for years wouldn't take to him as easily as they would Johnny's permanent guest host, Jay Leno. Although NBC did eventually offer Dave the show, he opted to go to CBS to prove that they were wrong not to have chosen him in the first place. And the way Dave clobbered Jay in the beginning certainly made it look like NBC had backed the wrong guy. The Hugh Grant appearance was definitely a coup for Jay, but something kept them coming back night after night for 15 years. So, despite Jay's very rocky start, he did in the end prove that NBC was smart to have chosen him over Dave. However, considering the way they ended up treating him, it was Jay who should not have chosen NBC.