For seventeen years, Jay Leno ruled late-night with no serious contenders. Since relinquishing his throne to Conan O’Brien, the NBC suits have been faced by a complex conundrum – How to stop Coco’s ratings from tanking once Jay debuts in the fall?
Conan’s rendering of a show that is one of NBC’s biggest cash-cows has been judged as ‘more of the same,’ by the critics, and most are worried those in charge at the Peacock won’t dare mess with the mix when there’s big bucks at stake. Coco’s exec-producer, Jeff Ross, and NBC head, Jeff Zucker have proved themselves clueless, and with Jay due on-air in September, time for debate is something even they can’t afford.
Two chat shows on one network, booking guests the same nights is a guaranteed ratings disaster. And numbers are king to the brains in the boardroom. Having already told him which staff he can have, the NBC suits have now also decreed that Jay can’t book A-list celebs, as they’re now Conan’s meat.
In a further illustration of why their net’s in fourth place, both Zucker and his savant sidekick, Ben Silverman, have also been brow-beating Jay to make his new show radically different from what made them rich – but still make it hugely successful.
This is no easy task: The last time a show with Jay got some ‘botox’ was in 1993, when NBC hired creative tsunami, Don Ohlmeyer, as the new NBC chief. The changes he ordered not only doubled their profits in less than two years, but enabled Jay’s show to crush David Letterman from that day until Jay bowed out.
Many options for the new style have been floated, including restoring Johnny Carson’s stand-up showcase, in which upcoming unknowns got national air. The spot gave their debuts to such comic greats as Roseanne, Drew Carey, Steven Wright, Rita Rudner and of course, Jerry Seinfeld. But Jay killed it off once he took charge.
It’s even been mooted that Jay should get help. [No, not that kind – an assistant.] NBC owns SNL, a rich pool of new talent from which they could easily scoop people to co-host or guest. The result would be one ratings winner even ‘Coco’ won’t have. But so far, there’s been no word from on-high.
The clock is now running, and expectations are high. If you have an idea on how Jay could score ratings, leave a comment and let’s share some views…
Photo: Alan Light
