The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy
Nov 2010 · Sold by Penguin
4.5star
17 reviews
Ebook
432
Pages
family_home
Eligible
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About this ebook
Bill Carter, executive producer of CNN’s docuseries The Story of Late Night and host of the Behind the Desk: Story of Late Night podcast, details the chaotic transition of The Tonight Show from host Jay Leno to Conan O’Brien—and back again.
In 2010, NBC’s CEO Jeff Zucker, had it all worked out when he moved Jay Leno from behind the desk at The Tonight Show, and handed the reins over to Conan O'Brien. But his decision was a spectacular failure. Ratings plummeted, affiliates were enraged—and when Zucker tried to put everything back the way it was, that plan backfired as well.
No one is more uniquely suited to document the story of a late-night travesty than veteran media reporter and bestselling author, Bill Carter. In candid detail, he charts the vortex that sucked in not just Leno and O'Brien—but also Letterman, Stewart, Fallon, Kimmel, and Ferguson—as frantic agents and network executives tried to manage a tectonic shift in television’s most beloved institution.
In 2010, NBC’s CEO Jeff Zucker, had it all worked out when he moved Jay Leno from behind the desk at The Tonight Show, and handed the reins over to Conan O'Brien. But his decision was a spectacular failure. Ratings plummeted, affiliates were enraged—and when Zucker tried to put everything back the way it was, that plan backfired as well.
No one is more uniquely suited to document the story of a late-night travesty than veteran media reporter and bestselling author, Bill Carter. In candid detail, he charts the vortex that sucked in not just Leno and O'Brien—but also Letterman, Stewart, Fallon, Kimmel, and Ferguson—as frantic agents and network executives tried to manage a tectonic shift in television’s most beloved institution.
Ratings and reviews
4.5
17 reviews
A Google user
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Picked it up with some reluctance - I'm not a fan of either Jay or Conan - but it turned out to be really interesting. Carter had incredible access, and he tells the story vividly, with detail that illuminates what the choices were and how they were made. His descriptions seemed honest but fair - no small accomplishment, given that the outcome wound up disappointing almost everyone involved. Well worth reading.
Jan Dumas
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May 17, 2016
I wish this book had been longer. Enough time has passed to look at what happened to late night after the NBC fesisco. How has Conan done on TBS, what the all new blood in late night has done to change anything. If Fox will ever become a network that can have a late night presence.
3 people found this review helpful
alizeko aliekeriya
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March 5, 2014
But poorly constructed and overpriced
2 people found this review helpful
About the author
Bill Carter joined The New York Times as a national media reporter in 1989. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Late Shift, two other books on the television industry, Monday Night Mayhem and Desperate Networks, and has written numerous articles for The New York Times Magazine and other publications. He has been a guest on Nightline, Today, CNN, Charlie Rose, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, and many other shows. He is the executive producer of CNN's docuseries The Story of Late Night and host of the Behind the Desk: Story of Late Night podcast.
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