“You’ve heard the hype about The Jay Leno Show: It could change the idea of prime-time forever, it could destroy audiences’ appetites for David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel or Conan O’Brien an hour-and-a-half later, or it could be the funniest show NBC has launched in years…
You can understand Leno wanting to manage expectations. “NBC tried scripted programming at 10 o’clock: Lipstick Jungle, Kidnapped, My Own Worst Enemy, hugely expensive shows,” he says. “I thought they were OK, but for some reason, they didn’t catch on. So now you try something different.”…
TVGuide.com spoke to Leno about his “something different” — from the sounds of it, a hybrid of his former Tonight Show, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the Grammys and, er, NASCAR — to see what audiences have in store when the show premieres on Monday (weeknights at 10/9c, NBC). Read on for a primer:…
1. How will the new show be similar to Leno’s Tonight Show?
Leno has retained some familiar elements. Headlines will recur every Monday, and he’ll continue to hit the streets to film new Jaywalking segments. The new theme song was composed by Leno’s Tonight Show bandleader Kevin Eubanks, who will accompany Leno over at the new digs as well.
2. How will it be different?
With his new, earlier timeslot, tried-and-true comedy bits (like Headlines and Jaywalking) will appear at the end of the show, to give local news broadcasts a strong lead-in, instead of the beginning, where they were used on The Tonight Show to keep people sticking around for the interviews and musical performances.
3. Who else is joining Leno’s team?
Leno’s one-hour show puts comedy front and center. As such, he’ll have a rotating team of correspondents — including D.L. Hughley, Rachael Harris (The Hangover), Duane Perkins, Mikey Day, Liz Feldman, Dan Finnerty and the Dan Band and NBC news anchor Brian Williams — who will appear on the show to introduce their prerecorded segments. “It’ll look like America,” Leno says of the diverse group. Upcoming topics include Great White Moments in Black History by Perkins, teaching the elderly to Twitter by Feldman, money-saving tips for the recession by Harris and a regular feature about politics by Hughley.
4. Will there be celebrity guests?
There will be, but no desk, just two chairs on a redesigned stage. He hopes the celebs’ visits will be more interactive and not just the typical chit-chat. He’d like to incorporate them into comedy bits where possible and to get them to race miniature electric cars around his studio.
5. What’s this about racecars?
Leno has teamed up with Ford to construct an indoor track for electric cars on which he’ll face off against his celebrity guests. “We’ll have in-car cameras as well, so you can hear the celebrity swearing as they hit the wall and stuff; it’ll be fun,” he says with a chuckle. Drew Barrymore will be the first guest to christen the track on the Sept. 18 show.” (via tvguide.com) by Mickey O’Connor
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