Jay Leno has taken it on his sizable chin — again.
I’m here not to bury Leno prematurely — NBC’s corporate shovels are doing that quite nicely, thank you — but to praise him for the 20-plus years he’s given us on “The Tonight Show” with his topical, razor-sharp monologues and wacky sketches (“Jay Walking”) that recall his once-upon-a-time predecessor, Steve Allen.
It’s TV DNA that can’t be replicated.
Now Leno is being pushed aside by short-sighted bosses obsessed with “young” viewers — yet blind to the public sentiment that’s kept Leno on top since Bill Clinton’s first term. It’s not rocket science, folks: with apologies to Sally Field, people like Leno, they really like him. He’s a nonthreatening, late-night TV presence, the kind of guy you’d be glad to share a beer with — unlike his arch-frenemy, David Letterman, who’ll be a few rounds short of snark once Leno leaves next spring.
And, hey, nothing against Leno’s replacement, Jimmy Fallon, who’s been a breath of fresh air at 12:35 a.m. While it’s nice that NBC will bring “Tonight” back to New York, 42 years after Johnny Carson took his toys and fled to sunny Burbank, it’ll also leave behind a huge chunk of TV history — and everything Leno has built as the successor to Carson’s everyman approach.
At least we’ll have another year of Leno darts directed at his NBC bosses. Since the news broke that he was on his way out, Leno has unleashed a snider side that he’s managed to incorporate into his non-threatening armor. Poison wrapped in pablum. Yet somehow it suits him, and still keeps us laughing. You go, Jay!
Now, new NBC owner Comcast, panicky as its prime-time shows circle the ratings drain, will try to regain those young viewers Leno, 62, never lost — by moving Fallon to battle Jimmy Kimmel and Letterman at 11:35.
Yeah, good luck with that.
This whole business leaves a bad stink all around — with only Leno smelling like a rose. But that’s the world of TV, where it’s fixed if it ain’t broke.
Leno could make a good joke about that — and probably will.
I can’t wait.