Just What Late Night TV Needs...

[kager]

Less Corden - More Colbert

James Corden is stepping away from late-night later this spring, and his exit could mark the end of The Late Late Show as a whole, bringing a close to three decades of the franchise.

[Plate Cap]

Leno than Letterman left, and balanced, intelligent humor that didn't have a distinct political bent left with it.

I left then.

[Deleted User 15924]

Leno than Letterman left, and balanced, intelligent humor that didn't have a distinct political bent left with it.

I left then.

Who's up at midnight?
I'm not. I don't know anyone who is. Seems if someone wants to watch TV that late, an intelligent conversation isn't what they are interested in. Mindless game show banter may be a better fit for folks as they are dozing off.

[Graham Wellington]

Leno than Letterman left, and balanced, intelligent humor that didn't have a distinct political bent left with it.

I left then.

Who's up at midnight?
I'm not. I don't know anyone who is. Seems if someone wants to watch TV that late, an intelligent conversation isn't what they are interested in. Mindless game show banter may be a better fit for folks as they are dozing off.

Doesn't necessarily need to be "intelligent", but maybe a little clever, or even funny? Now it's:

Trump bad! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Trumps orange! HAHAHA WOOO HAHA!

Republicans dumb! HAHAHA clap clap clap

Abortion! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[kager]

He can be a bit of an odd bird, but I'd like to see Craig Ferguson back in late night again...

[SD45]

I still watch old Craig Ferguson clips and interviews on YouTube. I was also a big Conan fan back his 12:35 days.

[km1125]

Everyone is trying to be Jon Stewart these days, and almost none of these folks are as funny or as charismatic as he was.

I, too, miss the irreverence and light-heartedness of how late night TV monologues used to be.

Jon had a way of avoiding being mean and spiteful when making his comments. He was/is certainly left-leaning, but his presentation and comments were not usually as objectionable like most of the late-night crew is now. They all have an anger about them that seethes through every "joke" they try and execute. Gets old really fast.

[Taco]

I often ask myself if late night TV is relevant anymore. Letterman and Leno were great. I don't think anyone has really filled their shoes and probably never will. TV viewership has largely shifted away from broadcast TV. Now we've got so many other ways to watch. The late night TV formula is from years past and it just doesn't have the same impact it once did.

[craig11152]

I can't seem to find Johnny carson. What channel? what time?

[teetoppz28]

I can't seem to find Johnny carson. What channel? what time?

I watch Johnny on AntennaTV @ 10pm on some nights. It's amazing the difference in humor from those days compared to now.

[thekman]

I can't seem to find Johnny carson. What channel? what time?

I watch Johnny on AntennaTV @ 10pm on some nights. It's amazing the difference in humor from those days compared to now.

I particularly enjoy Friday night or Saturday night, when Antenna TV shows the 1.5-hour long episodes from 1970’s. It has such a different pace than today’s shows. There’s no rush, Johnny is taking his time, longer interviews.

[Calvert DeForest]

I can't seem to find Johnny carson. What channel? what time?

There is a 24/7 Johnny Carson channel on the Pluto TV platform, which is free. You can get it on Roku and Fire Stick for your TV, and I believe there are mobile and web streams as well.

There's also the official Johnny Carson channel on YouTube which has a lot of classic clips. Not sure if it has full shows though.

Carson understood the purpose of late night TV. He kept it light, gave his audience a good laugh and helped people unwind at the end of the day. Johnny was like that glass of wine to relax and take the edge off. Letterman and Leno learned from his example and followed the formula. Modern late night TV is like a shot of expresso before bed. Who wants to feel angry and uptight about the events of the day just before they're ready to sleep?

[thekman]

Carson understood the purpose of late night TV. He kept it light, gave his audience a good laugh and helped people unwind at the end of the day. Johnny was like that glass of wine to relax and take the edge off. Letterman and Leno learned from his example and followed the formula. Modern late night TV is like a shot of expresso before bed. Who wants to feel angry and uptight about the events of the day just before they're ready to sleep?

So well said! That is the perfect analogy.

I don’t necessarily disagree with the politics of some late-night hosts, but I don’t want to get pissed off and fired up when I’m going to bed.

I’m probably the only person that preferred Craig Kilborn’s original version of The Daily Show to Jon Stewart, because it was just some silliness and irreverence. I’ve got all day to be pissed off, I don’t need that crap at night.

[Plate Cap]

Carson understood the purpose of late night TV. He kept it light, gave his audience a good laugh and helped people unwind at the end of the day. Johnny was like that glass of wine to relax and take the edge off. Letterman and Leno learned from his example and followed the formula. Modern late night TV is like a shot of expresso before bed. Who wants to feel angry and uptight about the events of the day just before they're ready to sleep?

Very elegantly put. Bravo.