Late-Night Ratings Love Finally Coming To David Letterman

I knew Conan would tank. Leno is just more "homey". People are way more comfortable with him. I miss him. Those dumsh*ts should have let him stay as long as he wanted.

myrightnut

Two things that are hurting Conan right now:

He is at the same timeslot as The Colbert Report. The two of them have a similar comedic style, which divides the audience base. Since the target demographic is the 18-34 demographic, the fact that Colbert is on a cable network doesn't decrease his impact on Conan as much because that is an age group that is more likely to have cable and watch it. Also, Colbert follows the Daily Show rather than the real news, people who are looking for laughs are likely to already be tuned into Comedy Central and less likely to change the channel for a similar experience to the one they are going to get on Comedy Central because, let's face it, people are lazy enough to not change the channel if they don't have to.

The long break after Leno left before Conan joined the show. People are only going to watch reruns for so long when another show is running new episodes. The couple of months spent running reruns of The Tonight Show gave other people a chance to get hooked on Letterman while they were waiting for Conan to start. It was a long enough break that people may have even forgot about the show or taken it out of their routine since a lot of the people who watch the late night shows are people doing it out of routine before going to bed.

@straightbuggin:If by drunkassness you mean his 17 year sobriety, then yes - and that makes me love him even more.

leytpr4

@NigelAstydameia: What I hated about the Leno version of the Tonight Show was, Leno was FAR funnier without the golden handcuffs. When he was free to swear, or get truly emotional about something, he was awesome, but he visibly was NOT that on that show.

Besides, how can you not love Conan?

Asterisks!!!

*Sad Fact: You can't do characters like The Coked-Up Werewolf and the Masturbating Bear on the Tonight Show.

*I've seen a handful of TS episodes since the launch. I just can't stand seeing my beloved Conan squirm under the pressure of catering to a comedically lame demographic.

*Craig Ferguson is freaking hilarious. I want him to blow up, but then I just want to keep his drunkassness all to myself.

*On another note, I'm finding Jimmy Fallon to be pretty funny. He's making his own niche on Late Night and I think in time, he'll have cornered his own chunk of the ratings race.

straightbuggin

i LOVE them both. think they are both better than leno by a long shot - leno himself was never very entertaining, he just surrounded himself with funnier people.
i hate to say it, but conan is too young and edgy (if you can even say that anymore) to host the tonight show. it's an old school institution. it needs white bread like jay leno. unfortunately, conan is more like that really good slice of raisin bread after a bong hit.

@mattchew03: I'm totally with you - the group-think here says "Conan=brilliant, Jay=trash" but Jay still did the best monologue since Carson, and I've been a fan of Leno's standup since the early 80s. Conan's ratings are down because he's just not that funny [duck]

weekly

Unapologetic Leno fan. Hmm. Is that like one of those AA steps you gotta abide by at meetings, some legal stuff required as prelude to sentencing, overheard in confessional, maybe? I wonder.

I.am.the.1

@Palmerlime: Oh yes. I love when he talks to the imaginary band.

Letterman produces his show and I think it's not quite was Dave was in the post-Tonight show slot but it is hilarious.

@Palmerlime: So true! Ferguson is the best. Even tho the format is the same as it's ever been, he's somehow able make it fresh. The opening monolgue/bits are freaking genius. Even stuff that should be crazy stupid--those nutty puppets!--they're effing FUNNY. He's got a spirit and sense of humor that are utterly unique. If it's not Scottish it's crap!

I'm sure NBC isn't thrilled but they can't be in full panic mode either. Leno didn't start beating Letterman until his Hugh Grant "Devine Brown" interview, which was 3 years after he got the Tonight Show.

I'll bet Conan is beating Dave in half of that time.

I can recognize that Craig Ferguson deserves praise for doing something a little off-beat, deviating from the standard talkshow template which Letterman makes beautiful, Conan has allowed himself to be suffocated under for the past few years, and Jimmy Fallon basically does the equivalent of getting lost on a go-kart track with.

That said I get the absolute creeps watching him, makes me feel like they gave a TV show to a boyfriend of my mom's who I don't like being around and will later learn tried to get her to swing

magnets

@mattchew03: While never nearly as enthusiastic as you, I, too, have gone to bat for Jay. I was never a regular watcher but found something comforting about his show. The guy has his flaws but is truly the hardest working man in show business. People in NY and LA love to bash him and pretend they never watch, but his ratings would suggest otherwise. I like Dave, too, and always thought that if you had their monologue jokes on paper it would be hard to tell who said what. Jay ain't perfect, but NBC made a huge mistake.

NigelAstydameia

@mattchew03: I just wish Leno was back because I found an article on "High School Musical" placed next to an article discussing Hooters girls in a newspaper.

SpacePope

Guess the folks in Nebraska didn't roar with laughter when "Bruno" basically shoved his crotch in Conan's face.

Ken Green

@Tietsu: Why do you presume that I'm little? :P

And the answer to your question is no. I like Conan, I don't like "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien."

Ferguson is a genius. He simply generates great stand up as if it were breathing. The rest of them are meh - Letterman being the least meh of them all.

Hey_mikey

@mattchew03: You are an very strange little man. Everyone is entitled to their opinions.

I prefer Conan...does that mean we are at war now?

@Pope John Peeps II: I feel you. In college, my roommates nicknamed me "Grandpa."

@nozer: No, and -- as I said already in the fucking paragraph you're referencing -- I don't give a shit if you disagree. The show entertained me, and that's all that matters.

@leytpr4: It's true. Ferguson is the only Season Passer at my house too. Try him for a week and you'll never go back!

@mattchew03: I'm confused. Was that first paragraph supposed to be ironic?

@allyzay: I always like those times when Paul wants to say something, but he can't get a word in over Dave's joke, or is trying to interrupt the guest, so all you get is a little "EH... ah... V... W..." in between some other words.

@mattchew03: I'm 29 but I have the crabiness and intellect of a 60 year old.

Well, you shouldn't expect an expanded demographic with skits like Twitter Tracker.

@allyzay: Old, but young at heart.

@leytpr4: Ferguson is on a TiVo season pass in my house; Letterman and Conan are not.
Letterman looked great last night: He knows he's on a roll and is enjoying every minute of it. Conan still looks like he's wearing underwear about six sizes too small, and Andy Richter managed to get fatter and less funny the last three years.

DeadFred

@Pope John Peeps II: You're also of the 18-34 demographic? Ha, why did I think you were much older?

Shouldn't have left Joel behind.

Conan is way too cerebral for the mainstream time slot.

smartster

I am an unapologetic Leno fan. There, I said it. And I don't give a shit if you think I'm a simpleton for liking someone who "isn't funny" or "doesn't know how to interview anyone" because the bottom line is that I actually ENJOYED watching him on "The Tonight Show." I tuned in because I wanted to, because I was excited to, not because there was nothing else on at 11:35 PM. I looked forward to it, recorded it when I wasn't able to watch at 11:35... I loved it, and I miss it.

Conan (and his style of humor) simply isn't fit for the earlier time slot, nor is the type of show he actually wants to make. "Late Night" was so great because it was the anti-Leno (yes, you're allowed to have liked them both). Now, Conan is trying to make the same show he always has, yet fit into what the network (and audience) expects for 11:35, and it's a disaster. He wants to do sketches, but can't do the ones that made "Late Night" so hilarious, so instead of abandoning it he does unfunny sketches. His interviews aren't as funny because they aren't as awkward, and they're not as awkward because it's "The Tonight Show" and they're not supposed to be. His monologue has some great jokes, but it's basically the "Late Night" monologue on steroids, and sooner or later people get tired of hearing one-liners unless you do something in between for a minute or so, and he chooses not to.

I would go on, but I want you all to be able to read through my entire comment before nightfall, when I'll be looking for something to watch besides "The Tonight Show" instead of giddily awaiting the clock to strike 11:35 so that I can hear "You're watching NBC, America's Late Night Leader!"

Not so much anymore, unfortunately.

@Palmerlime: Is it true that his opening monologues are almost entirely improvised? He is freakin hilarious.

leytpr4

@Pope John Peeps II: that isn't even what paul schaeffer does! he'd have a hilarious parody song, like for example he would take "the stroke" by billy squire but sing it about actually having a stroke!

I dunno. Letterman and Conan are still to by the book for my tastes. Craig Ferguson, for my money, is kicking late nite ass. Plus... he drinks out of a snake mug. A SNAKE MUG!!!

Palmerlime

@lobstr: No, they are around their peak near 4:30 PM. Just before dinner. And in Florida.

i suspect all the old Tonight Show watchers of Jay Leno are now way too busy writing crazy anti-Obama, anti-Democrat comments on blogs all night.

Letterman's people have stepped it up a bit. They booked Queen Latifah the day after she spoke at MJ's memorial service, and they had McCartney play on the Late Show marquee last night. They're trying to leverage some pop culture happenings and create some as well.

IAmDoingThis

The only sad thing about this is that you could derive that somehow, some way, people gave a shit about Jay Leno.

I guess the true litmus test will be when his 10pm pos debuts.. I reverse my original stance and now have a feeling it will be successful, as the olds loved him, and 10p is when the olds are at their peak. They thought this through for sure.

Letterman sucks. As someone of the 18-34 demographic, the only thing I'd tune in for is to watch him have a stroke. And even then, Paul Shaeffer would ruin it with a "HHHYYEEEYYYY OOOOOOO".

Sarah Palin is doing it for Letterman. She helped him by instigating that ridiculous feud.

letterman's been getting a ton of press, plus, uh, i get the feeling that you would just assume you'd have more time to catch conan, one day, than to catch letterman. he's kinda...old. so yeah this makes sense!

I really really hope The Youngs doesn't become a term used outside of Defamer.

goetz

The Tonight Show writers don't mesh with Conan's style.

@weekly: group-think? ugh please. I will grant you that there were certain segments of Jay's show that I found funny but his monologue certainly was not it. Indeed, I find that the monologues of most of the late nite shows generally fall flat but that's mostly due to the format they have adhered to; cramming a bunch of "have you heard about this..." into a 10 min period and not telling a compelling joke. What brings me back is the comedian's personality and I just like Conan over Jay in that particular match up.

Helio

@ellagood: for that beautiful and very apt description of Conan, I must heart you.

Unfortunately, tonight, I don't have raisin bread and will have to eat some banana walnut to substitute.

Helio