letterten 2009-10 fall preview | nbc

NBC Mon-Fri 10pm

debuts Monday, September 14, 10pm

concept from	Marking a new era in television, Jay Leno, recently named America's Favorite TV Personality by the 2009 Harris Poll, moves from late night to primetime on September 14 when The Jay Leno Show becomes the first-ever entertainment program to be stripped across primetime on broadcast network television. The Jay Leno Show promises more comedy in the 10 o'clock hour and will showcase many of the features that have made Leno America's late-night leader for more than a dozen years.
stars	Jay Leno
producers	Debbie Vickers, Jay Leno
studio	Big Dog Productions in association with Universal Media Studios

my take

Unless you've been dead or living in the woods, you know that NBC's tradition of great dramas in the 10pm slot has been suspended. After promising The Tonight Show to Conan O'Brien (he's seriously getting smacked around by Letterman and Nightline), NBC didn't want Jay to leave. Jeff Zucker, chief Peacock at NBCU, decided to do for Jay what they floated for Dave years ago: a 10pm Monday-Friday strip. Since broadcast TV really kicked off in the late '40s, a network has never stripped an entertainment program.

From a cost-basis, NBC's already a $12 million winner due to the cost of Leno vs. several dramas. All the business stuff aside, NBC did get their promos right: Comedy at 10. Fox and the CW are local, while ABC and CBS are showing dramas. If you like Jay, you'll like this. He's said it's going to be different that his 17 years on Tonight; a bit more longform (perhaps only one guest), more sketches and well, lots of Jay.

A potentially large problem is that reports are stating that competing networks (presumably ABC & CBS) are not going to allow their talent to appear on the show. It does make some legitimate sense. Why would you allow your talent to compete with yourself on another network? We'll see how that plays out. The ratings need to be a winner (at least financially) is much lower than a 10pm drama. One wonders just how much it'll suck viewers from Conan's Tonight.