Tonight Show – News Stories About Tonight Show - Page 8

New Leno Show
Numbingly
(or Pleasantly)
Familiar

REVIEW ROUND-UP

Sep 15, 2009 6:29 AM CDT

New Leno Show Numbingly (or Pleasantly) Familiar

It's pretty much the Tonight Show in a new time slot

(Newser) - The Jay Leno Show won't disappoint Leno fans looking for more of the same, say critics, but the only thing new or ground-breaking about it is the 10pm time slot.

James Poniewozik, Time: Leno and NBC aren't "out to win over critics who liked Letterman better. Instead, they're giving

...

Jay Leno Show:
More of the Same

TV PREVIEW

Sep 11, 2009 2:45 PM CDT

Jay Leno Show: More of the Same

Primetime debut likely won't stray far from late night formula

(Newser) - Two writers for Comedy.com who infiltrated a test taping of the new Jay Leno Show found it “muddled and confusing,” and they say Leno continues to “be a big ladle serving us more imitation comedy gruel.” Some insights:

The studio: "Basically the old Tonight

...

Don't Count
Conan Out
. . . Yet

OPINION

Aug 24, 2009 6:02 PM CDT

Don't Count Conan Out . . . Yet

(Newser) - Conan O'Brien's well-documented struggles to find his way as the host of the Tonight Show may be cause for alarm, but it's hardly time to punch the panic button, writes Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales. O'Brien "is to be congratulated for the way the show has been going,...

Phelps
Crashed
in 'Tranny
Hooker District'

GOSSIP ROUNDUP

Aug 14, 2009 10:52 AM CDT

Phelps Crashed in 'Tranny Hooker District'

Plus, Edwards might finally cop to love child

(Newser) - After analyzing the location of Michael Phelps’ car accident, a Gawker tipster reveals that the Olympic legend “may have been leaving the tranny hooker district” of Baltimore at the time, leading blogger the Cajun Boy to wonder, “Was Michael Phelps trolling for a tranny? It's highly doubtful, but...

Letterman Beats
Conan Again

Aug 7, 2009 12:41 PM CDT

Letterman Beats Conan Again

(Newser) - Dave beat Conan in the ratings again this week, garnering 3.38 million viewers to the Tonight Show’s 2.63 million, the New York Daily News reports. That makes four straight weeks Letterman’s come out on top, his longest streak since 1995. But NBC is quick to point...

Leno Spills Details
on New Show

GOSSIP ROUNDUP

Aug 6, 2009 9:43 AM CDT

Leno Spills Details on New Show

Plus, Kate Major is still talking...

(Newser) - The Jay Leno Show will bear few similarities to Leno’s tenure on the Tonight Show—for one, he won’t have a desk until the end of the fast-paced hour, if at all—but it will still feature celebrity guests (two max) and signature Leno comedy bits, according to...

Desperate NBC May Move Leno to 10:30: BBC Exec

Jul 30, 2009 1:56 PM CDT

Desperate NBC May Move Leno to 10:30: BBC Exec

(Newser) - After months of promoting Jay Leno's move to 10pm, NBC may shake up its prime-time schedule again, moving its late local news to 10 and Leno to 10:30, the network's onetime programming head speculates. Garth Ancier, now chief of BBC America, shared his speculation with critics at the summer...

Shatner Graces
Conan With
More Palin 'Poetry'

Jul 30, 2009 8:27 AM CDT

Shatner Graces Conan With More Palin 'Poetry'

This time, drawn from her Twitter feed

(Newser) - After realizing Sarah Palin’s incoherent resignation address was not actually a speech but rather poetry, Conan O’Brien started investigating her Twitter feed. “Some people have found her tweets to be a little rambling, confusing, and off-topic,” O’Brien said on last night’s Tonight Show, but...

Shatner Covers Palin's
Farewell Poem ... Er, Speech

Jul 28, 2009 12:24 PM CDT

Shatner Covers Palin's Farewell Poem ... Er, Speech

(Newser) - Sarah Palin’s farewell speech may have sounded like random meandering gibberish, but it was actually random meandering performance poetry, Conan O’Brien explained last night on NBC's Tonight Show. To celebrate her obvious gifts, he enlisted William Shatner for a Beat-style reading—and yes, it's as amazing as you...

For Struggling TV Networks, Obama's a Cash Cow

Jul 6, 2009 7:47 AM CDT

For Struggling TV Networks, Obama's a Cash Cow

(Newser) - The right might complain that television networks are in thrall to Barack Obama, but they have a good reason to be: the president is good for business. As Politico reports, Obama-related programs send ratings spiking—when he appeared on the Tonight Show, it had its best Friday night in 17...

Conan Woos Far Younger
Tonight Show Crowd

Jul 6, 2009 1:21 AM CDT

Conan Woos Far Younger Tonight Show Crowd

O'Brien lowers median age of Tonight viewers by 10 years

(Newser) - In just one month, Conan O’Brien has lowered the median age of the Tonight Show audience by 10 years, from 55 to 45, the New York Times reports. Conan has radically reshaped the demographics of the program by drawing an unprecedented number of new viewers aged 18 to 34—...

Impressionist
Travalena Dead at 66

OBITUARY

Jun 29, 2009 11:58 AM CDT

Impressionist Travalena Dead at 66

(Newser) - Fred Travalena, a master impressionist whose catalog of voices ranged from US presidents to Frank Sinatra doing Boy George, has died at 66 of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the Los Angeles Times reports. The actor-singer-mimic, known as the "Man of a Thousand Faces," opened for the likes of Shirley...

Iconic Sidekick
Ed McMahon
Dead at 86

obituary

Jun 23, 2009 8:11 AM CDT

Iconic Sidekick Ed McMahon Dead at 86

Former Tonight Show sidekick fought cancer

(Newser) - Ed McMahon died last night in Los Angeles. The former Johnny Carson sidekick, 86, had long fought cancer and was recently admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, WAPT reports. Besides his Tonight Show role, McMahon was known for hosting Star Search and appearing on commercials handing giant checks to American...

Letterman Overtakes Conan's Tonight in Ratings Game

Jun 10, 2009 3:20 PM CDT

Letterman Overtakes Conan's Tonight in Ratings Game

NBC ratings slip under new host

(Newser) - Just over a week after Conan O’Brien took over NBC’s Tonight Show, CBS rival David Letterman has overtaken him in the ratings, the Hollywood Reporter notes. The Late Show is up 13% from last week and 17% from last year; NBC’s ratings have been slipping under O’...

This Ain't
Your Dad's
Tonight Show

TV Review

Jun 2, 2009 7:28 AM CDT

This Ain't Your Dad's Tonight Show

(Newser) - It certainly wasn’t the same old Tonight Show that came on at 11:35 last night. Here’s what the critics are saying:

From the hilarious open on, Conan announced he “is not as interested in filling Jay's shoes as in buying a much newer pair,” writes

...

Crap, Now Who Do We Watch?

OPINION

Jun 1, 2009 12:56 PM CDT

Crap, Now Who Do We Watch?

(Newser) - Late-night TV stops making sense tonight. Letterman and Leno were such opposites that nobody had trouble deciding which to watch. If you’re like Gawker's Cajun Boy, you watched Letterman at 11:35 and Conan at 12:37. Now they’re going head-to-head, leaving him conflicted. “This is like...

Leno Takes Final Bow
on Tonight Show

May 30, 2009 4:51 AM CDT

Leno Takes Final Bow on Tonight Show

Torch passed to Conan O'Brien after 17-year run

(Newser) - Jay Leno said goodnight to the Tonight Show last night with a low-key farewell that included a look back at the host’s 17-year run, Variety reports. "When we started the show, my hair was black and the president was white," he quipped. The grand finale was an...

Leno's Leaving,
and Nobody Cares

opinion

May 29, 2009 11:09 AM CDT

Leno's Leaving, and Nobody Cares

He's all over the news, but no one seems too sad about it

(Newser) - Why is no one crying as Jay Leno leaves the Tonight Show, wonders the Cajun Boy on Gawker. Is it “because he's liked by the olds and people who live in red states”? No, it’s because Leno is nice. He's like “a lover that you just...

Conan Ready for Hollywood

GLOSSIES

May 21, 2009 8:03 PM CDT

Conan Ready for Hollywood

(Newser) - Conan O’Brien moves to the slot once occupied by his hero Johnny Carson next month, raising the question of whether his shtick will play to a wider—and presumably more mainstream—audience. “The biggest mistake would be to alter my signal to make sure that I reach all...

Leno's Last Guest: Conan

May 14, 2009 2:18 PM CDT

Leno's Last Guest: Conan

Star-studded lineup for final week

(Newser) - Conan O’Brien is sneaking onto the Tonight Show a little early. He and James Taylor are the guests for Jay Leno’s final episode, to air May 29, Acesss Hollywood reports. Leno’s lineup for that week includes Mel Gibson, Lyle Lovett, and Billy Crystal. “I really do...