The logo for the Daily Beast's Obsessed website. It reads: 'Obsessed: What to Watch, Binge, See, & Skip'
DAILY BEAST
CrosswordNewsletters
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Obsessed
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDB's Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      CULTURE
      • Power Trip
      • Fashion
      • Books
      • Royalist
      TECH
      • Disinformation
      SCOUTED
      • Clothing
      • Technology
      • Beauty
      • Home
      • Pets
      • Kitchen
      • Fitness
      • I'm Looking For
      BEST PICKS
      • Best VPNs
      • Best Gaming PCs
      • Best Air Fryers
      COUPONS
      • Vistaprint Coupons
      • Ulta Coupons
      • Office Depot Coupons
      • Adidas Promo Codes
      • Walmart Promo Codes
      • H&M Coupons
      • Spanx Promo Codes
      • StubHub Promo Codes
      Products
      NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
      FOLLOW US
      GOT A TIP?

      SEARCH

      HOMEPAGE
      0

      The Other Lenos

      Tonight, Jay Leno premieres his revamped talk show—but he's not the only game in town. From Alexa Chung to Tavis Smiley, Jon Caramanica goes in search of variations on the form.

      Jon Caramanica

      Updated Jul. 14, 2017 5:08PM ET / Published Sep. 13, 2009 7:42PM ET 

      Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast

      This week, Jay Leno premiered his revamped talk show—but he's not the only game in town. From Alexa Chung to Tavis Smiley, Jon Caramanica goes in search of variations on the form.

      Whether or not Jay Leno succeeds in his new primetime slot won't be a referendum on the vitality of talk shows.

      It will depend on the relentlessness of NBC's marketing, maybe, or the fading steam of everyone else's. It will have at least a little something to do with Leno's capacity for reinvention. And it will fall upon the American audience's willingness to embrace Leno in a time slot in which they are not ordinarily obliged to watch him. It's the difference between eggs for breakfast and eggs for dinner, or the neighbor who used to live next door but has now moved a mile away: you can play by the new rules, but no one would begrudge you if you didn't.

      Click Image to View Our Gallery and Read the Story

      And it's not unreasonable to think that people want to watch talk shows more than they want to watch Jay Leno, and how lucky are those people that Leno's departure from this mortal late-night leaves no appreciable gap in the chit-chat space. Dave and Craig and Conan and Jimmy and Jimmy remain. (Carson Daly persists, too, unfettered by expectations.) Actors still have homes for their canned stories and film pitches. Zoo directors still have homes to show off their exotic animals.

      • Kim Masters: Hollywood vs. LenoBut even the appreciable tweaks that, say Jimmy Fallon has brought to the format have done little to alter the fundamental structure of the talk show, or its look: a white man, a desk, a couch, a hope that the trip from one commercial break to the next won't be onerous.

      Elsewhere, things are fresher. Talk has become one of the essential formats of the cable era, and many channels have their own entries in the space. And while some play by familiar rules, plenty are experimenting with deconstructions in tone and form. Here are 10 of the most invigorating.

      Jon Caramanica writes about music for the New York Times. The former music editor of Vibe, he's written for the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and XXL.

      Jon Caramanica

      Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.

      READ THIS LIST

      DAILY BEAST
      • Cheat Sheet
      • Politics
      • Entertainment
      • Media
      • World
      • Innovation
      • U.S. News
      • Scouted
      • Travel
      • Subscription
      • Crossword
      • Newsletters
      • Podcasts
      • About
      • Contact
      • Tips
      • Jobs
      • Advertise
      • Help
      • Privacy
      • Code of Ethics & Standards
      • Diversity
      • Terms & Conditions
      • Copyright & Trademark
      • Sitemap
      • Best Picks
      • Coupons
      • Coupons:
      • Dick's Sporting Goods Coupons
      • HP Coupon Codes
      • Chewy Promo Codes
      • Nordstrom Rack Coupons
      • NordVPN Coupons
      • JCPenny Coupons
      • Nordstrom Coupons
      • Samsung Promo Coupons
      • Home Depot Coupons
      • Hotwire Promo Codes
      • eBay Coupons
      • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
      © 2023 The Daily Beast Company LLC