I'm sure a lot of "end of the year" lists are going to have to be scrapped and started again because of this whole last-minute, December-to-remember announcement about Jay Leno getting the 10pm time slot every single night on NBC. In a year that saw the writers strike, the Fey/Palin stuff, and the election, this might turn out to be an even bigger story. But it could have been a rather different story if Leno had said yes to the first offer made by NBC.They were going to give him a half hour every night at 8pm.
That's one of the many revelations in this interview (link goes directly to audio) that Ryan Seacrest did with NBC chief Ben Silverman on his radio show yesterday. Silverman also offered Leno the chance to go either on cable or on syndication, but Leno said he wanted the 10pm slot. They also offered Leno 12 new cars, a free subscription to Martha Stewart Living, a brand new platinum bidet, and one year of meats from the Meat of the Month Club.
Seacrest also brings up the fact that the new reality show that he's producing, Momma's Boys, has a 10pm time slot. What's going to happen with that? Actually, the first season of that show will be over by the time Leno's show premieres (if it lasts that long), and if it comes back it will be moved to another time slot, as will shows like Law and Order: SVU.
Leno seems to be really screwing up the TV landscape with this move, though it's going to be fascinating to see how it all plays out. I wonder if Leno's new show will be a massive hit for about four weeks and then it will be old news and the ratings will come down a lot? Will NBC look at it as a new type of show, a new type of programming and not give it as much ratings scrutiny as scripted shows in the 10pm time slot? Is NBC keeping Leno around close to late night in case Conan falters?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-10-2008 @ 3:33PM
mike said...
Any way you look at it, Leno's new show will probably cost NBC a lot less than the usual hour long drama that sits in the 10:00 slot. Add in the fact that it will probably be owned/produced by NBC and it won't need anywhere near the ratings that a drama would to be a money maker for NBC. And that's all that counts.
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12-11-2008 @ 1:28PM
willy the impeached said...
EXACTLY. Its all about the $. NBC doesn't give a $hit about ratings or quality. Its just a matter of time till they have old drunks reading from the newspaper in prime time. (Hey Silvermann, thats my idea pi$$ off).
Really the best way to make NBC profitable would be to spend less time kissing Leno's behind and more time FIRING mental midgets like Silvermann. Other than the 3 auto execs, is there a bigger failure at anything in the world right now?
12-10-2008 @ 3:48PM
starky22 said...
Having lost interest in Leno years ago, this latest move by NBC takes the pressure off my 10:00 viewing choices. Now, I only have to consider what's on ABC or CBS at 10:00. Nice going NBC -- you just made my life a whole lot easier!
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12-10-2008 @ 3:55PM
Max said...
I would have rather have him on at 8. He could do a more family-friendly variety show. There isn't enough on at 8 that's suitable for entire families to watch. Growing up in the 60's there were always comedy-variety shows like Caorl Burnett or Jackie Gleason, or Ed Sullivan. Jay Leno would be just the person to bring that format back.
As it stands, at 10 he is more likely to just do a slightly-modified Tonight Show, and who needs to watch that? At 10 was the only time we were likely to find more-or-less "adult" drama on NBC.
As starky22 said, I too can just write NBC off at 10... of course, I have pretty much already done that, except maybe for SVU.
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12-10-2008 @ 4:04PM
Argus said...
Arghh... This is so confusing for those of us who use Atlantic Standard time. 10 is 11, 8 is 9... This works out better for me since all the American and Canadian prime time shows are over by 11 and so all this competes with is my local news. If countries began importing each other's shows more it would probably go a long way to fixing this problem however.
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12-10-2008 @ 4:10PM
James said...
Isn't it almost a given that NBC will have no other new show in the fall?
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12-10-2008 @ 4:13PM
Drex said...
Who cares? The real topic should be why does Leno clap for himself in his own head shots?
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12-10-2008 @ 4:43PM
Paul said...
I think the real story is... who cares? It's only a TV show on at a certain time. In this age of PVRs and the Internet, who really sets their life by what time a TV show is on?
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12-10-2008 @ 5:07PM
Modwild said...
I just think its a dumb move. One night a week, sure. Five? Don't think so. If they want to get out of the entertainment business, then sell the damned network and let someone else have a go.
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12-10-2008 @ 5:12PM
Ryan said...
Yeah, I'm pretty much unfazed by this thing. Like starky22 said, it just makes my viewing experience less stressful since I can cross this out on my list.
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12-10-2008 @ 5:31PM
Adam said...
As a Leno fan I'm psyched and bummed at the same time. I hope he involves cars and motorcycles in his show, and does some sort of Top Gear intergration. I'm afraid that he'll basically keep the same format, and I don't think that will work at 10. Since I don't watch much of CBS or ABC, cable will be keeping me busy.
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12-10-2008 @ 5:46PM
Tacocartguy said...
As another Leno fan, I'm actually kind of neutral about this. Sure, he'll be on at 10, but I watch him mostly on Hulu anyway, and that's not gonna change. I'll still watch even if it's The "Jay Leno Show Which Just Happens To Be On Tonight" or The "Shakey Head Funny Man" Show.
As for the restructuring of their primetime...most of my favorite shows are/were at the 10 spot (Law and Order, SVU, Studio 60), so it'll be interesting to see if they make a LAW AND ORDER SATURDOINK DOINK (imagine the promos guy saying that, and the classic L&O sound). Heck, if they actually call it the "Saturdoink-doink" think of the blogs, the word of mouth about the name itself, which is tantamount to potential viewers.
Another thing, I'd love to see 30 Rock's ratings get a boost on Thursdays because of it's sandwich between two ratings powerhouses (Toby and Kevin Eubanks). More people watching 30 Rock = more fans = more people who understand intelligent comedy = Two and a Half Men will be canceled! (Sorry that was off-topic, but still).
And finally, I just feel bad for Conan. There he was, about to take over the most coveted spot in late night (outside of Spike Feresten's seat), and then BOOM Jay's back at 10, and he's just like, "Great. Now my lead-in is the Butt Bandit." Sure, he's known about this decision for a long time, but that doesn't lessen the pain.
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12-10-2008 @ 6:58PM
0megapart!cle said...
You are not a real person. There is no real person who likes Jay, Studio 60, 30 Rock, and Spike Feresten at the same time. It is not physically possible. You are some kind of evil spirit that has invaded the TV Squad comments, and I say, begone!
12-10-2008 @ 8:55PM
Tacocartguy said...
Well obviously I'm a real person; real people don't have exclamation marks (points?) in their names unless it's like "FALLOUTBOYROXXORSMYSOXXORS!91" or "!bile" (pronounced *click made in African languages* - BEE-lay)
Other Shows I Love Which, If Given In List Format, Would Probably Make Your Head Explode:
-Sports Night
-Gary Unmarried
-Seinfeld (but not Friends) (If your head hasn't asploded by now...)
-The Unit
-24
-23: The New and Improved Version of 24; in this show, Jack doesn't take a shower or poop for the whole day, thus saving an hour (there were rumors that they were planning on making a 20 hour version of the show, but that would require everyone to just hold in their bowel movements and go hungry. When they shot some scenes, they noticed that everyone looked more uncomfortable than a racist Indian person in the middle of Compton, California)
-Frisky Dingo
-Arrested Development
So, ASPLODE! And if you haven't yet, might I suggest watching some good old fashioned Two and a Half Men?
12-10-2008 @ 11:25PM
Craig said...
Who gets first dibs on guests, since they will both be presumably taping out of the same building? This makes me skip Leno 90 minutes earlier. Hopefully this will help Letterman's ratings.
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12-12-2008 @ 5:58PM
chocolatfrog said...
in a positive note, we will go to bed earlier :)
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