NBC–the network that had sworn off upfronts, pilots, fall seasons and all other broadcasting conventions, will host a scaled down upfront this Monday in New York. They’re calling it a presentation or something; there will be no party.
CBS, Fox, ABC and The CW are also down playing their upfronts a little, most of them have canceled the night time party. Belt tightening, dontcha know.
The one area NBC is keen to promote is late night, and the speculation is that Monday they will make official what Bill Carter of the New York Times broke way back in February–that Jimmy Fallon, the SNL comic who has since been in the witness protection program after a couple of flop films, will take over Conan O’Brien’s Late Night spot in June of 2009.
Is that a good idea? In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, “What are you kids laughing at? And don’t say Jimmy Fallon because I’ll know you’re lying.”
I spoke with Carter this week who told me Lorne Michaels the Canadian-born SNL boss who also produces Late Night, told him himself that Fallon was his hand picked choice. You can read more about my conversation with Carter, along with an analysis of late night at the crossroads, in Saturday’s Toronto Star.
Here at TV Feeds My Family, readers overwhelmingly voted Johnny Carson as the all time King of late night, which seems about right. But Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Ferguson seem to have all the momentum at the moment–something that must be giving NBC–which orchestrated this whole O’Brien for Jay Leno thing four years ago–fits.
Even our own Sue Johanson, who I spoke with today, told me her new late night sweetie is not David Letterman–who she visited often–or Leno, or O’Brien, but Ferguson. And if Sue says you’re sexy, you’re sexy.
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