The War for Late Night
When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy
Narrator: Sean Kenin
Imprint: Books on Tape
Genre: Performing Arts - Television - History & Criticism
Release Date: November 04, 2010
15 Hours and 3 Minutes
List Price: $95
ISBN: 9781101977194
Categories:
Performing Arts - Television - History & Criticism, Social Science - Popular Culture, Social Science - Media Studies
A dramatic account of the politics and personalities behind NBC's calamitous attempt to reinvent late-night television.
When NBC decided to move Jay Leno into prime time to make room for Conan O'Brien to host the Tonight show-a job he had been promised five years earlier-skeptics anticipated a train wreck for the ages. It took, in fact, only a few months for the dire predictions to come true. Leno's show, panned by critics, dragged down the ratings—and the profits—of NBC's affiliates, while ratings for Conan's new Tonight show plummeted to the lowest levels in history. Conan's collapse, meanwhile, opened an unexpected door of opportunity for rival David Letterman. What followed was a boisterous, angry, frequently hilarious public battle that had millions of astonished viewers glued to their sets. In The War for Late Night, New York Times reporter Bill Carter offers a detailed behind-the-scenes account of the events of the unforgettable 2009/2010 late-night season as all of its players—performers, producers, agents, and network executives—maneuvered to find footing amid the shifting tectonic plates of television culture.
When NBC decided to move Jay Leno into prime time to make room for Conan O'Brien to host the Tonight show-a job he had been promised five years earlier-skeptics anticipated a train wreck for the ages. It took, in fact, only a few months for the dire predictions to come true. Leno's show, panned by critics, dragged down the ratings—and the profits—of NBC's affiliates, while ratings for Conan's new Tonight show plummeted to the lowest levels in history. Conan's collapse, meanwhile, opened an unexpected door of opportunity for rival David Letterman. What followed was a boisterous, angry, frequently hilarious public battle that had millions of astonished viewers glued to their sets. In The War for Late Night, New York Times reporter Bill Carter offers a detailed behind-the-scenes account of the events of the unforgettable 2009/2010 late-night season as all of its players—performers, producers, agents, and network executives—maneuvered to find footing amid the shifting tectonic plates of television culture.
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