Sunday, 15 August 2004
The Late Late world, post-Kilborn - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER - The unexpected news of last Thursday night was that CBS confirmed that Craig Kilborn, the host of the Late Late Show, would not seek a renewal of his contract, thus would be exiting after five years.
Kilborn, who has been a steady performer, following David Letterman, has not managed to outdo his competition at NBC, Conan O'Brien, as well kill off the ABC upstart Jimmy Kimmel. Nonetheless, Kilborn has gained notoriety as a lady-killer with a penchant for exuding metrosexuality in a Hollywood where the social fashion has reigned supreme. Kilborn, despite cultivating a strong following in the post-Letterman time slot, as well as appearing in such films as Old School, has largely eschewed the Hollywood social scene. Instead of partying with the supermodel babes he seemed to present nightly on the show, he preferred quiet nights in his Spanish-style mansion sipping chardonnay with an inconspicuous lady friend, listening to Errol Garner records, only stepping out to the horse track when invited by Larry King.
Craig Kilborn first gained nationwide attention when he hosted ESPN's Sportscentre. His smarmy and smart-alec delivery landed him a gig at Comedy Central, where he became the first host of the Daily Show. He left Comedy Central to host the Late Late Show when its first host Tom Snyder retired.
One gets the feeling that Kilborn was forever living in the shadows. When he recently celebrated his fifth anniversary, many rightfully wondered; for one, how he had gone on so long without being noticed. As well, it seemed more serious than not, whenever Kilborn would complain about how CBS seemed to gloss him over in promotions. And though it was conceivable that Kilborn could succeed David Letterman were he to retire, whether it would be possible was another story. It seems that everyone was consigned to the fact that Kilborn, though ideal at the 12.30 hour, would be content staying there. Conan O'Brien would overshadow Kilborn in notoriety and ratings, as well as in the chatter that it was he who would succeed Letterman one day, not Kilborn.
So who will CBS and Worldwide Pants, the Letterman production company who produces the Late Late Show, tap to succeed Craig Kilborn? As usual, there are many contenders, but no one comes out as a definite choice. When Ton Snyder retired, the search was on for a more comedic successor. Snyder's Late Late Show was a more sedated program, sort of like Charlie Rose with a bit more music. There was talk that Jon Stewart would succeed Snyder, but he would eventually succeed Kilborn at the Daily Show, as well as talk that he would succeed Garry Shandling in a spin-off to the HBO comedy, The Larry Sanders Show. Stewart, who once hosted a late night show in the mid-1990s was a shoo-in to follow the Letterman program, however he decided on the Daily Show, which turned out to be a more fortuitous choice. Kilborn did bring a more hip and younger program to the CBS network, as well as a program that was competitive with O'Brien's.
Conan O'Brien's name is being bandied about as a successor to David Letterman should he retire. But now that Kilborn is out, they're talking about CBS bringing over O'Brien, so that they could groom him as the heir apparent to David Letterman. Since NBC has re-upped Jay Leno well into the next decade, O'Brien is naturally restless. O'Brien is close to Letterman, as he is to Leno, so career wise he could set up some contingency at CBS, so he could succeed Letterman when he does decide to abdicate.
In the meantime, succeeding Kilborn is the question. If they did bring O'Brien over, it wouldn't be until 2005 when his contract is up at NBC. They could have reruns of Kilborn until then, yet it would be ill advised considering the fall season will begin soon. As well, finding a successor, in a month would be difficult.
So who then? Jimmy Kimmel could be lured over to CBS, but I suspect he's locked in at ABC for some time. Maybe they could get Dennis Miller to leave his largely ignored CNBC primetime talkfest; however, like Kimmel one would suspect he has a contract to uphold. What about Tom Green? He's a Letterman loyalist, and is on the path to rehabilitation from his cow-sucking days and marriage to Drew Barrymore. Moreover, wasn't his latest MTV talk show, lauded as decent, a far cry from those said cow-sucking days?
If movie acting isn't much of a grab, then perhaps Vince Vaughn could take a stab at hosting the Late Late Show. When he subbed for the ill Letterman last year, out of all the replacements, he was seen as the strongest and most able. They could try Letterman fave, Bonnie Hunt, whose Worldwide Pants produced Life with Bonnie was just cancelled by ABC. What about Amy Sedaris? The recent Letterman fave's name, along with comedian Jeffrey Ross, are the most bandied about to take over the Late Late Show. Having a woman at the helm will be late night television's most serious attempt since Joan Rivers.
Don't forget too that Jimmy Fallon's off Saturday Night Live now, so he could be a contender, as is the recently cancelled Tracy Morgan, or the recently fired (from the Broadway revival of The Frogs) Chris Kattan. One suspects though NBC has some non-compete clause for them. Another SNL-alum who's worthy of the post-Letterman slot could be Colin Quinn, who's making a name for himself hosting the post-Jon Stewart program on Comedy Central, Tough Crowd. What about Wayne Brady, whose daytime antics were honoured with Emmy's, yet cancelled to make room for, get this, Tony Danza? Ideally, they could lure Dame Edna Everage, or Ali G, but one doubts that's even being considered.
However, I'll miss Craig Kilborn, his affection for Gershwin, and the frequent appearances of people like Merv Griffin and the ultra-cool, Robert Evans. And I'll miss Gibby, Goldy, and of course, the asexual icon, Sebastian. Stay tuned is an apt decree, what with it being the television business and all.
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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .