Turns out that the battle for late night success at NBC was more layered and complex than many of us thought. Thank you, Bill Carter, for bringing some much-needed detail and perspective to this ugly battle played out in the media. This was a battle with no clear winners but a lot of collateral damage.
Two major issues were at play during this brief yet heated battle for television survival: the first was the issue of what made good business sense, and the second was the question of honor. Unfortunately the two rarely co-exist harmoniously.
It turns out that re-installing Jay Leno in the 11:35 pm slot made good business sense primarily because the cost to NBC to have Jay taken off the air entirely after the failure of "The Jay Leno Show" at 10:00 pm would have been prohibitive. Jay Leno's contract was unique and unprecedented in late-night television history, and it was probably the most significant single factor of this whole sordid mess. And Conan O'Brien's contract was missing a crucial element, the importance of which was not lost on every other major late-night television host and left them mystified as to why Conan's managers and lawyers hadn't insisted on it. Ironically, there is the very real possibility that even if Conan's contract did include this provision the end result of this whole affair would have been roughly the same, though it likely would have all transpired with considerably less acrimony, drama, and hoopla.
But business sense aside, there is still the issue of honor. Did everyone involved act honorably during this, in an industry certainly not known for honorable and ethical behavior? Goodness, no. You can question the business decisions all you want, but those decisions were made for reasons financial and not artistic. But it would be hard to challenge the opinions held by many that the acts of pettiness and selfishness by many of the key players were made for reasons other than financial and were reflections of character, or rather a lack of character.
Carter's book is remarkably even-handed in its retelling and description of the events, and any reader with a preconceived idea of who was a hero and who was a villain in this matter might find his opinion challenged a bit. Though much of this fiasco played out on television and other media, this was not a scripted movie with simple characters, situations, motivations, or outcomes. This was a real event with real people, and - and as in real life - nothing was in simple black-and-white. It had much more nuance and complexity. It would be a disservice to everyone involved to take sides in this fight without knowing more details than could be gleaned from the heavy yet still oversimplified and superficial media coverage at the time.
So how did the principal players emerge from this whole affair? Jay Leno got "The Tonight Show" back but not without some damage to his reputation in the show business community, not that it was all that stellar a reputation to begin with. From all appearances, Leno doesn't have much of a life outside of doing "The Tonight Show" and working on his cars. Leno's resentment about being forced to give up "The Tonight Show" to Conan in 2009 could well be traced to his fear and insecurity about being cast out into a world where he had nothing else to do to fill the long hours he would normally spend putting his show together. Nearly everyone who spoke on record about Leno said that he had a very workman-like approach to the doing the show, and some even likened it to a political campaign where all that mattered was "getting the numbers" and that artistic integrity was never as important as the ratings. If Jay didn't have his show, some argued, he wouldn't have a life at all. "The Tonight Show" was the property of NBC, not Jay Leno. It was their show to do with as they pleased. But Leno seemed to adopt a sense of entitlement about the show, determining that the person who could get the best ratings should be the one to keep the show, and he had no doubts that he was the man for the job. With that criteria in mind, Leno could not understand why the show was taken from him in the first place. But he could certainly understand why he should jump at the chance to reclaim it when Conan's job was on the line. In this book, Leno comes across as a hard worker who is almost completely incapable of showing any emotion, compassion, or empathy. For him it is all about the work and any other considerations are secondary. That quality might make him successful at fine-tuning "The Tonight Show" for maximum ratings, but it also leaves him looking cold, calculating, borderline sociopathic, and horrifically insecure. His many supporters acknowledge his "factory assembly line" precision for regularly cranking out jokes for his nightly monologue and stand-up routine. But they are also quick to acknowledge that that same quality makes him a somewhat uninteresting and uninspiring talk show host. And perhaps therein lies the chief flaw of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". Leno also publicly announced in 2004 that he would hand off the show to Conan in 2009 and talked about what a great thrill it would be for Conan to get a turn behind the desk of such a storied franchise, and he even wished him well. Six years later he happily took it back, seemingly without consideration for the damage it might do to Conan or his own reputation. To Jay it was just a job opening, but to Conan it was his entire world. It is hard to see Jay as being anything other than disingenuous.
Conan O'Brien no doubt suffered the greatest damage during all this. His lifelong dream to host "The Tonight Show" (a hosting job that Leno, at least in later years, equated with mere employment and not the fulfillment of any kind of artistic dream) was rather unceremoniously shattered by various factors, not all of which were in his control. A case can be made from this book that he was a bit naïve and overly idealistic and trusting of NBC and of show business in general. Some on this book, including Jerry Seinfeld, argue that Conan's principles in stepping down and walking away from "The Tonight Show" (instead of simply living with the time slot change and "riding out the storm") were to some extent honorable and understandable but perhaps mostly just misguided. Conan stated that he could not in good conscience participate in what he saw to be the destruction of "The Tonight Show" by allowing it to be moved to a later time slot (which would also have ripple effects on other shows, another undesired impact for Conan). Others argued that the version of "The Tonight Show" that he cherished so much was in fact "The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson", and that show ceased to exist in 1992. Conan was campaigning to save a show that no longer existed. He was so enamored of the show's history that he failed to realize that in its present form it was probably no longer the institution it once was and thus was already damaged goods to begin with. Conan wanted to preserve an ideal that perhaps was not as relevant as it once was. The "institution" had changed and perhaps even already disappeared. It might have been noble of Conan to champion that ideal, but in the current entertainment environment it was perhaps ill-advised and an empty gesture. Had Conan agreed to the time slot change he might well have acquired enough staying power with "The Tonight Show" to brand it as his own, and maybe even last long enough to see Leno finally retire for real and see the show moved back to its original time slot. The harsh ugly realities of the business side of show business put a damper on his long-held and perhaps overly-romanticized image of what "The Tonight Show", at least for him, should be --- an unassailable good. To Conan, disrupting the decades-old schedule position of "The Tonight Show" was blasphemy and proof enough to him that NBC did not hold the show in the same high regard that he did. To many others in the industry, the show was just "another entertainment show" and subject to the laws of the show business jungle. Conan's love for his "dream job" may have blinded him to contemporary show business reality. Another illusion shattered.
Of course the book covers a great deal more ground than this, and all of it is fascinating. Again, I give credit to author Bill Carter for being fair and even-handed. But even if there might be just a SLIGHT bit of pro-Conan bias in his telling of the events, I think he paints a more than fair and credible picture of all the players involved. My personal take on the whole affair has been altered. I was decidedly pro-Conan and was quick to demonize Leno, Jeff Zucker, Dick Ebersol, and NBC as a whole. After reading this book and hearing from all sides, I can't be so quick to find unequivocal fault with certain parties anymore. I still feel badly for what I perceive as NBC's and Leno's ultimate betrayal of Conan O'Brien (and the millions of dollars that Conan received to walk away hold no bearing - the money is not and was not ever the point or at the center of all this).
This is ultimately a tragic story about the ruthless practices of show business and about betrayal, greed, ego, insecurity, and the loss of innocence. Everyone can identify with some or all of these issues. Anyone who dismisses the importance or impact of this because the major players are all millionaires is missing the point.
I looked forward to the release of this book for a long time because I was hoping I would get to read a juicy pro-Conan saga that laid waste to the petty and "despicable ways" of Jeff Zucker, NBC, and Jay Leno. But that is not what I got from this book and it would neither be fair nor accurate to characterize this book in that way. I still feel that at the end of the day Conan was given the short end of the stick and that Jay Leno, when given opportunities to take the high road, acted selfishly and exhibited very little class or decency. You may not agree with me and I will not insist that you do. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, of course. But your views on everyone involved will likely be modified somewhat. Even Jeff Zucker doesn't come off looking THAT bad, and that's saying a lot. Up to a point he was just doing what almost any corporate executive would do. You can't fault him for being corporate-minded. It's the nature of the beast. It would be like trying to find fault with a compass for pointing North.
The fact that NBC has all but erased Conan O'Brien's tenure on "The Tonight Show" from its company website, however, should give one pause. That should lay to rest any argument that this wall "all business" and not at all personal on NBC's part.
But I encourage you to read this Rashomon-like description of one of the most tragically fascinating episodes in the history of television. I particularly liked the epilogue - very insightful and well-written.
Highly recommended book.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start over
About the author
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
Top reviews from other countries
- ulisses botaReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 19, 2016
Five Stars
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase -
- Katie OmrodReviewed in Australia on March 3, 2025
Husband loved it!
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
