The War for Late Night

When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy

By: Bill Carter

Narrated by: Sean Kenin

A dramatic account of the politics and personalities behind NBC's calamitous attempt to reinvent late-night television.

When NBC decided to move Jay Leno into prime time to make room for Conan O'Brien to host the Tonight show - a job he had been promised five years earlier - skeptics anticipated a train wreck for the ages. It took, in fact, only a few months for the dire predictions to come true. Leno's show, panned by critics, dragged down the ratings - and the profits - of NBC's affiliates, while ratings for Conan's new Tonight show plummeted to the lowest levels in history. Conan's collapse, meanwhile, opened an unexpected door of opportunity for rival David Letterman. What followed was a boisterous, angry, frequently hilarious public battle that had millions of astonished viewers glued to their sets. In The War for Late Night, New York Times reporter Bill Carter offers a detailed behind-the-scenes account of the events of the unforgettable 2009/2010 late-night season as all of its players- performers, producers, agents, and network executives-maneuvered to find footing amid the shifting tectonic plates of television culture.

©2010 Bill Carter (P)2010 Penguin Audio

shoulda been there

I think thus is so interesting coming from a college student on team Coco back in the day. There is my bias, not so sure if that added significantly to my enjoyment.

Excellent

Never knew the whole story of the late night debacle of NBC, this is an excellent road map to what made headlines and kept me watching as it unfolds. I loved this story and the narration

Amazing background

This was one I could not put down. I like late night tv and was amazed at the detail Bill Carter put in to the behind the scenes. I'm still amazed Jay Leno was branded the bad guy when he was being pushed out in the top of his game. Carter does a good job showing all sides and not pointing fingers but giving the facts.

Awesome retelling of the events!

Really great retelling of this modern epic showdown in show business... maybe the last of its kind.

Very entertaining book, excellently narrated

I heard the author on Sound of Young America talking about the book and was interested, but listening to this book far more entertaining than I ever imagined. I rarely watch late night TV, but getting this inside view of how the different characters interact and the demands of the business was very interesting. The author had so much inside information, I would have believed this was a novel. The story he weaved together was very compelling and hard to put down.

The book is excellently narrated. The fact that there are parts of comedy routines in the book made for some good chuckles, but the narrator did such a great job (not trying to do impressions, but just giving a subtle indication who is speaking) that the book is even better as a result.

Exhaustive and exhausting. Very well written.

A LOT of information here. More than most people probably know about the situation. Kind of bounces back and forth in time a bit, and anytime someone who’s even a background player in the story is introduced, you learn their life story. A bit much at times, but overall a very good book. My biggest complaint would be the narrator mispronouncing words or names (such as George Takei, over and over again), and sometimes the book tells you what someone was thinking during a private conversation: how would the author know? It seemed a little odd in that respect. That occurs a lot during this book. Recommended, with some misgivings.

Engaging drama behind the camera

As a devout fan of late-night TV, I was knocked out by this amazing book and have listened to it twice. Bill Carter gives us a completely fair and unbiased look at the Jay Leno/Conan O'Brien "Tonight Show" feud from the early 2010s. Carter is a master chronicler of the industry (why oh why is his wonderful "The Late Shift" not available on Audible? EDIT: It's now available!), and his fascination with the TV medium comes through. Sean Kenin's reading is riveting, and compliments Carter's writing perfectly. I recommend any of Bill Carter's other books about the TV industry as well, including "Top of the Rock" and "Desperate Networks."

So Cool It's Hot!

They say TV is a cool media. Bill Carter's astonishing research and powerful story telling talent have created a book to rival or maybe exceed Walter Isaacson's almost legendary bio on Steve Jobs! This is a dazzling tale of perhaps the end of a great era in broadcasting... late night network television broadcasting. If you thought you knew the ending of the Letterman/Leno/Conan/Kimmel/Stewart/Colbert/Chandler/Ferguson/Fallon duke-'em-out-after-11 PM saga... Well, you don't. Or at least you didn't know how all of their parts fit together through the inexorable pressures to deliver what business competitors need to survive.

What's wonderful about Carter's talent is that every single character in this masterpiece is sympathetic. There are no villains of the piece... unless it's scarcity. The fact is that there is only one "Tonight" show slot. Only really room for three major contenders for a viable audience slice immediately after 11. And many more talented/balanced/nuanced human beings to manage and to fill the hole. Carter makes it clear that scarcity demands that choices be made. And the UN-chosen will always be disappointed along with his/her fans.

This is a story of achievement and disappointment. that really ought to be read as an allegory for things well beyond TV, entertainment, the inter-generational clash of cultures, and Late Night. The message and the vehicle are huge.Bill Carter turns the cool medium's competition over a tiny portal to millions of homes into a hot message.

A strong book on its own less than stellar sequel

I enjoyed "The War For Late Night" I would like to see parts of it adapted for film, much like it's predecessor; "The Late Shift". However, the last third of this book seemed to drag a little bit. The book gives too much information about relative bit players within the drama. Also, there's too much information given after the apex of the story is told. Further, the narration in this book is not as lively or committed to as it was in "The Late Shift". All that having been said; I would still recommend this title to anyone who read/listened to "The Late Shift" or anyone who wants to know how NBC could have made the very same mistake all over again!

Engaging

An awesome expose into the inner workings of late night television. especially concerning Conan vs. Leno. Awesome narrator.