CNN
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Johnny Carson’s 30-plus year reign as the king of late-night television hosting “The Tonight Show” was a huge influence on the hosts who followed him, who behaved as if to achieve that ” throne” was the pinnacle of show business success, fighting for it accordingly.
Trevor Noah’s decision to leave “The Daily Show,” after James Corden announced his intention to leave CBS’ “Late Late Show” next year, signals that for a new generation of comedians, reaching end-of-life perch evening is no longer necessarily considered a life sentence.
Carson’s direct heirs, David Letterman and Jay Leno, clearly saw “The Tonight Show” as TV comedy’s most coveted award. The third member of the trio who rose as part of the late-night squad after Carson wished everyone ‘A Very Heartfelt Good Night’ in 1992, Conan O’Brien, showed the same mentality. workaholic, hanging out (albeit in different places), like his idol Letterman, for more than three decades.
Those who have taken over from this trio, spiritually if not literally, apparently remain just as committed to their seats, with Jimmy Kimmel recently extending his ABC contract for a 23rd season, and Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon settling at CBS and NBC, respectively.
Yet it reflects a mindset rooted in an earlier era of television, where people were seen as creatures of habit, going to bed watching Carson year after year, regardless of the guests or the number of weeks of vacation he took towards the end of his run.
In this sense, “Saturday Night Live”, although it is a somewhat different animal, represents a symbol of the inertia that reigned over television when it debuted under the administration of Gerald Ford, plugging new faces into the machinery but continuing as the show prepares to launch. its 48th season.
Still, after taking the reins from Jon Stewart seven years ago, Noah made it clear he still had comedic hills to climb that didn’t include sitting behind a desk.
“After seven years, I feel like it’s time,” he said. “I realized there is another part of my life that I want to keep exploring.”
On the positive side, more late night turnover will create opportunities for new voices and diverse talent, at a time when there has been some pushback in late night series after everyone seems pile into the boat.
Notably, the recent crop of late-night talent is dominated by those who started working on Stewart’s version of “The Daily Show,” including perennial Emmy-winning John Oliver Colbert, Noah and Samantha. Bee.
After a time in the wilderness, Stewart settled on his version of a second act, which has included plenty of activism for causes he believes in – underscored by his advocacy on behalf of veterans – as well as a show for Apple TV+. Letterman and Leno also didn’t emulate Carson’s choice to truly retire when he left “Tonight.”
It remains to be seen where Noah and Corden are going. However, compared to the late-night era defined by Carson, we entered a different Game of Thrones.