The War for Late Night

When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy

By: Bill Carter

Narrated by: Sean Kenin

Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

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

So I guess Jay isn't THAT bad

A behind-the-scenes look at the Leno-Conan fiasco. It turns out that Leno is not such a machiavellian schemer and that the real creeps are Jeff Zucker and some other execs at NBC -- although in the end, Carter helps us to understand even their perspectives. All in all, a very fair account. I leave this book disliking Leno a little less, liking Conan about the same, and eager to read The Late Shift.

Not "The Late Shift", but still very good.

Didn't enjoy this quite as much as "The Late Shift", but overall very good. Fascinating story and good performance. Definitely worth the time.

Very interesting

I enjoyed it. I'm a big team Coco fan so this book did bring back memories.

Great listen!

I’m a big Letterman & Conan fan. I was fascinated by the story & all the behind the scenes machinations. The only thing I still do not get is the appeal of Leno. The epilogue is one of the best parts of the book and gives important insight into all of this.

who would want these jobs?

A little long. Would like 3 chapters on the Leno-Letterman feud as filler at the beginning instead of occasional referrals.

A great book

Really well done, and I appreciate how this books fills in the gaps to the story we saw play out on TV.

A must read for any TV fan & comedy fan.

Loved this book from start to finish. An exceptionally well-told story about a time when the TV world went bananas. Highly recommended.

Late Night Deja Vu!

I previously listened to the audio version of the first book in this late night series which was very good. This one was also great and fell more into my timeline of watching TV. Im a bit young for the Jay vs. Dave stuff but was smack in the right age for the Jay vs. Conan. Though for some reason I was always more of a Craig Ferguson guy. Weird right? The narrator was different than the first book which took me a little bit to get used to but then felt super natural.

A Great Follow Up

Though not a sequel to The Late Shift, this definitely has the feel of a spiritual successor. I was impressed with how in depth the book got with so many different late night hosts without ever feeling like it was over doing it. I was somewhat familiar with the drama that unfolded around the transition from Leno to Conan but appreciated the unbiased view of the events that the author took and the many interesting facts that were provided. At this point I only hope that there's enough material in the future to warrant a third book from Carter.

Very well Researched

A great behind the scenes look at all the puppets masters you get to see all the strings.