‘s show.
From what I’ve heard, he’s a nice guy. Also, he supported the writers’ strike, and now the guild is screwing with him (which is totally unfair). He may be the most middle-of-the-road comedian in history, but he’s still a lot funnier than most of the guys in the office who hate him.
Despite all that, fuck his show.
The LA Times has a story about the many, many people who want The Jay Leno Show to fail. (Thanks to TV By the Numbers for the link.)
One particular quote caught my eye:
NBC executives dismiss the notion that Leno’s new gig is robbing the industry of jobs. “The Jay Leno Show” will have a staff of 22 writers who belong to the Writers Guild, which is far more than the typical drama, the network points out.
First of all, there’s a lot more at stake than writers’ jobs. A normal scripted show employs 100 to 150 cast and crew members. Even if this variety show has that large of a crew (unlikely), that still amounts to around 500 people out of work.
On top of that, even the writers are getting screwed. Scripted shows have a staff of between five and ten writers. At the low end of that estimate, three writers are still out of work.
I will concede NBC has a point with what they said next:
The show will produce 230 episodes a year, as opposed to 22 episodes for the average drama, which means the writers will be employed longer. And the show will be locally produced in Burbank, thus preventing the flight of jobs to Vancouver, Toronto or one of the other out-of-state locations where many scripted series are now shot.
That’s great, but they’ll be shooting on the NBC-Universal lot 90% of the time. All of the location fees, catering costs, and other ancillary businesses that depend on crew shooting in Los Angeles get cut out.
But here’s the thing. No matter how much the industry cries and screams and moans, The Jay Leno Show will be a success. How do I know?
My mom.
Sure, you could analyze the tracking numbers, or discuss how much the show costs versus how good the ratings are, but I’ve come to realize that the most reliable bellweather of success is my mom.
If my mom has heard of something, be it a book or a movie or a TV show, that means it has so permeated the culture as to be inescapable by even a grey-haired, retired school teacher whose favorite band is and always will be The Beatles.
Furthermore, if my mom’s eight old biddy friends all discuss a particular show, and profess a desire to watch it (like my mom told me they did last night), then that show will be huge.
And we’re all going to be out of work.
17 Responses
Soon to be 62 year old whippersnapper Leno is entitled to the Tonight Show for life. Where does NBC get off trying to Shitcan him after dozens of funny jokes for only half a billion dollars. Seriously Jay, go away, you haven’t been funny or semi-original since 1985. Get out of Carson’s chair already. Funny part is Dave is going to probably whine too if he gets told it’s over, been over for a decade. Move on old unfunny, phoning it in people. Too bad Jay took so much cash he couldn’t afford to hire better writers. same for CBS Letterman, Fallon and Kimmel too. More money=not funny. Ferguson is the only funny one and he’s got the budget of fruit stand. He’s the only one hungry for the job, like Conan and Letterman once were. Now they are set for ten lifetimes and looking for more cash.
Hey Playing Your Bass,
That’s a pretty vicious and dpwn right disgusting comment you madea bout Jay Leno. I don’t like Leno either, but I’d never wish death on him. You need to occupy your mind with something a little more worthwhile sir. Perhaps reading a book might help. And by the way, Leno’s auto collection is one of the greatest private automobile collections in the world. Are you just a bit jealous of that? I’d like to see the clunker you drive Mr. Bass Player!
Leno ought super glue his lips around the tailpipe of one of his numerous, shit-mobile cars and suck in the noxious fumes and die. Then all of his shit-mobiles can be sent to the crusher where they belong. Good riddance:)
Hey Jaden, you’re so full of shit! What a dickhead! Leno’s got talent you say? What you deem as talent and comedy rests in the corridors of benign, literally brain dead expressions of approval of the bullshit that litters the airwaves. By the way, Leno DOESN’T write his own material. Leno can’t wipe the shit off of his chin without the aid of one of his staff members. So go ahead and shit your brains out Jaden; laugh a plenty at retard Leno’s patently inferior monologues and seventh grade jabs. Leno sucks! And you sir, Jaden, you suck more than an Oreck!
What is it with you haters? You people are just jealous of Jay’s talent, looks, and success. You hateful people seriously need to get a life big time! Jay Leno positively rocks! I have a life and when I want to unwind after a long hard day at work I want to see Jay. His monologues are awesome! I laugh so hard at Jay’s jokes and routines that I have to keep tissues at my side. There has never been a funnier guy on TV than Jay. I know he writes his own material and that’s unique; that’s why his comedy is above all other comedians. Here’s hoping to many, many more years on NBC and the laughs will keep coming. Rock on Jay you’re rad!
It upsets me that Jay Leno thinks a fire truck w/ a seven foot ladder is funny cause it ain’t long enough. that aint funny at all. he needs help for real. it made me depressed that he wants to joke about a recall.
Jay Leno is so lame, he makes any televangelist a better show. He sucks so much, my prostitute quit. Leno is a see-through, profit-indulging, awful news anchor that dictated the establishment of his own show at a different time, then realized that his show was really thick, cheap, and awfully bad news.
Coco for the NBC show!!!
I just applied to be a Production Assistant on that show. Should I be worried? What should I look out for and how do I move up to be a writer on the show?
jay leno was never funny. he will never be funny. and every day he stays on the air only proves to fuel the end of culture as we know it. network t.v. should be ashamed of it self and everyone who watches it should feel the same.
Jay Leno sucks and it’s amazing that he is NBC’s priority. Why do they hold on to this drip? He sucks. How could they let Conan go and keep him? Madness.
I remember I started watching Conan and Jay a long time ago. I became a huge fan of Conans because he is not a liberal freakaroo such a Jay. I really got tired of Jay Leno when he had Obama and Company as guest on the show. I don’t find supportive gay jokes funny. Where are the funny straight white craker jokes? I don’t find honoring any of our politicians FUNNY, or interesting do you? I do like who Conan had as guests…and he is more in tune with the younger generation. I hope Conan comes back on the air as soon as he is able. Hey at least he wont have to fuck hundreds of whores like David Letterman in order for people to watch his show!!!
I just need to reiterate the comment above because it feels so good to say it…Fuck Jay Leno!!! In fact, let’s update a classic George Carlin quote (originally referring to Mickey Mouse)…”Fuck [Jay Leno]! Fuck him in the ass with a big rubber dick! Then break it off and beat him with it!” George Carlin was a real comedian and wouldn’t put up with a pathetic fuck-stick like that fat sore-loser Jay Leno. It seems like all the good comics are dead. Conan is our last hope in a late-night TV wasteland. Go CoCo!!!
Fuck Jay Leno! Go retire and enjoy your hundreds of cars and millions of dollars, you big-chinned freak. It’s time to step aside and let younger (funnier) people entertain us and get some of the cash you have raked in for far too long already. Go away you fucking media whore! Coco 4 life!
Who is the crack smoker at NBC that’s doing this. Leno is a nice guy . He’s a cool car guy and I’m a big car guy BUT conan is way funnier and since conan has takin over now I have to flip from my beloved letterman to conan. NBC killed off my name is Earl to free up a spot for the leno show . I am starting to feel like the Brett /packers retirement crap is starting all over
Hey, I remember that network know as NBC. Yeah, they used to have a pretty diverse palette of some great comedies, dramas and network movies. But that was sooooooo long ago. I haven’t visited NBC on my tube in eons. The same applies to CBS and ABC. These networks are all a mere shell of their former selves. Chocked full of mind numbing garbage ready to rape the intelligence out of the average TV viewer nowadays. The days of great TV shows is gone for ever. Where the classics of days of yore are getting more difficult to access, I’m finding that owing a television makes virtually no sense at all. Oh, and by the way, FUCK JAY LENO!
I blame you and me, and everyone who’s worked on dramatic television for the past 3 years. Don’t blame Jay Leno. Blame every show that didn’t succeed on NBC either because it was TERRIBLE or because they didn’t promote it well.
I’ve seen them all and I can totally see why this is happening. ER was the only thing keeping that network afloat.
It’s just that they’re morons. My name is Earl was one of the only funny shows left on NBC, it wasn’t losing money, it just wasn’t making enough for those fucking fat cats.