The Story Of Late Night There may never be another Johnny Carson to dominate the field, but as this brisk and blissfully clip-heavy survey of the evolution of late-night TV reminds us, there will always be a place for after-hours conversation and comedy. Airing over six Sundays (barring breaking news), CNN’s The Story of Late Night traces a trajectory that began with the slapstick anarchy of Steve Allen on the embryonic Tonight Show (the inspiration for David Letterman’s wacky antics decades later) and matured with the prickly intelligence of erudite successor Jack Paar. Carson’s 30-year reign (1962-92) of show-business savvy set the standard during an earlier period of national tumult — one that gave rise to the satirical free-for-all of Lorne Michaels’ groundbreaking Saturday Night Live. More than a mere nostalgia romp, the series acknowledges the difficulty women and performers of color have had finding and sustaining a place behind the late-night desks. Famous feuds (Leno vs. Letterman, Leno vs. Conan) reveal how much drama lurks within these lucrative laugh factories. And today’s practitioners walk a more precarious tightrope of humor in politically polarized times. Even so, going to bed without them is unthinkable. — Matt Roush 4
Johnny Carson: © NBC/Everett Collection
CNN’s Six-Part Documentary Explores Carson, Letterman, Leno And More.
