Report: NBC Discussing Leno Exit Strategy (Update: Fallon gets the job)*

Leno has been pretty consistently beating Letterman by a considerable margin for years. So even if Fallon does consistently beat Letterman, I don't see why that would be any more likely to "tank" Letterman's show than years of losing to Leno did. Unless your premise is that Fallon is going to beat Letterman by a significantly larger amount than Leno did... but I'd say that's a very questionable premise. This thread seems to have become quite the Fallon love-fest, but I'm skeptical he will even equal Leno's ratings, much less surpass them. I don't believe that Fallon is the second coming that some people seem to be ready to proclaim him. He's a likable guy who (IMO) is not that funny, nor an exceptional interviewer. I guess we'll see.

 

Dave's motivation is that he likes doing the show and doesn't want to retire. He likes having somewhere to go during the day, and he doesn't have anything else going on in show-business (unlike Leno, who's maintained his standup career). And he doesn't really have any interest in doing anything else. And unlike Carson, he isn't prideful about wanting to leave on top or not overstay his welcome. My guess is he'll continue doing the show until he is asked to step down or dies.

 

I agree that there seems to be a bit of ego in his tweet, which sort of fits with his interview style. He rarely sits back and just lets his guests be funny, he needs to continually prove he's funny too. He's not able to play it straight for a guest. Sometimes this style works well, and the back-and-forth between him and guest is quite funny. But sometimes it doesn't work, and creates the impression that he's uncomfortable ceding the spotlight to anyone else for too long, and is competing with his guest for the audience's attention.

 

Exactly. Until last night, Conan was the only person who had been the permanent host of both Late Night and The Tonight Show. It would be remiss to not mention that fact when wishing well the new hosts of the two shows.

 

When Conan took TTS, Letterman really stepped up his game for a while, and for a few months Late Show equalled the eariest of CBS days. That, with the Sarah Palin thing and his extortion deal, bumped his ratings.

Then NBC fouled it up, Leno slithered back to 11:30, and the creative juices on Letterman seemed to disappear.

But he did say in a recent interview with Howard Stern that there is a "gameplan."

 

Did you not see the new logo?

Did you not see the new set?

Did you not hear the new theme?

 

I missed his first episode. I hear the new set is "classy" though. I guess that should account for a few million viewers right there...

 

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