Oliver is an interesting option for the post-Dave "Late Show", but it does
beg the question whether a late-night blocked helmed by f'rrners. I mean,
I'm a huge fan of both Oliver and Ferguson, but...to use a hugely worn-out
cliche, will it play in Peoria? (Or, I suppose, really, Omaha or Topeka?)
Granted, it gives CBS some options with the marketing ("Our late night
lineup is classier because it has an accent!"), but will it turn off
whatever passes as a mainstream viewer at 11:35?
Another interesting aspect of the mystery behind Dave's successor - there
isn't an established host in the wings who could bring existing schtick
with them. Dave brought almost all of his existing segments with him when
he left NBC (albeit some segments - and one notable character - needed new
titles due to NBC copyrights), Leno's been milking the same desk segments
he's used since he was Carson's standby (maybe it's time to give
"Headlines" a rest, Jay?), Conan brought material from his run on Late
Night to Tonight and his TBS show, and Fallon will likely bring material
with him when he slides up an hour. We know that even if Ferguson decides
to exercise his Prince of Wales Clause (which, BTW, I would expect him to
do dressed in his Prince Charles costume), he couldn't possibly bring Sid
the Cussing Bunny, Secretariat and Geoff the Gay Robot Skeleton to 11:35;
of course, like Conan, he could develop new bits, but he could run into the
same problem Conan initially faced - his audience wanted to see the
material they knew and loved, the 11:35 audience wanted the old reliable,
and lots of people changed the channel. Conan was starting to pick up
steam when the re-Lenoing took place, but NBC just didn't have the faith in
him to give him the time he needed to find his voice as Tonight host.
That brings us back to the Late Show - assuming Ferguson doesn't want
11:35, there isn't another experienced late night host with established
material ready to sit in Dave's chair. Oliver brings experience in the
medium through his time on TDS, but even if he establishes himself with
some signature pieces this summer, they won't work in the variety show
format. (Remember Dennis Miller's late night run? Not the HBO show - his
syndicated late night show. The 'Weekend Update' style only goes so far in
that format.) Any new host is going to need time to establish themselves,
and that means the network needs to commit to a substantial pickup and get
out of the way - and THAT works best with WWP running the show.
On Tuesday, June 11, 2013 6:30:24 PM UTC-4, PGage wrote:
>
> On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 9:04 AM, Joe Hass <[email protected]<javascript:>
> > wrote:
>
>> Here I disagree, because the brand is Dave and not "The Late Show" as
>> evidenced by the fact that its been almost 20 years now and everyone still
>> slips occasionally and calls it "Late Night". "The Tonight Show" was a
>> brand. The unknown goes back to the first part of this: if the idea is the
>> next person is "Dave's Successor", then CBS wants WWP to be involved. If
>> it's a new show, then I would think CBS would be more likely to own the
>> property.
>>
>
> Well, that is a good point. Obviously, for me Late Night/Show is not a
> particularly important brand, I care about Dave. I don't watch NBC's
> post-Dave Late Night's because I really like the Late Night show. I watched
> it (occasionally) because I liked Conan, and hardly at all now because I
> don't really care for Fallon. If NPH took over Late Show I would
> be unlikely to watch more than casually, while if Oliver did (I just threw
> that out because I thought he did such a nice job last night, not because I
> have any reason to think it is likely) then I would remain a loyal viewer.
> Dave, and not Late Show, is the brand.
>
> OTOH, NBC seems to think there is a lot of value in the name "The Tonight
> Show" - but in my case I watched it when it was hosted by Carson (though to
> be honest I had already dropped down to occasional viewing in the last year
> or so before he switched into goodbye mode) and did not watch it when a guy
> I did not particularly like took over. In the end the host is always going
> to be the key, but I suspect that there are enough viewers for whom "The
> Late Show" might be familiar and attractive to make it a better platform
> from which to launch a new late night CBS host than some completely new
> name.
>
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