![]() Producer Peter Lassally, close to both Carson and Letterman, finally convinces NBC to offer Letterman the Tonight Show position. Per Letterman's contract with NBC, the network still has several months to either match CBS's offer or present an acceptable counteroffer to keep Letterman. He provisionally accepts an offer from CBS that gives him an 11:30 p.m show, but continues to hold on to his lifelong dream of hosting The Tonight Show. True to Ovitz's word, Letterman is courted by all the major networks and syndicates. show, he will be offered it by every network. ![]() Letterman, devastated at being passed over, hires Hollywood superagent Michael Ovitz to negotiate on his behalf Ovitz promises that not only will Letterman be offered an 11:30 p.m. Later, Leno eavesdrops on an executive meeting in which NBC executives discuss the possibility of replacing him with Letterman. ![]() After a heated argument, Leno fires Kushnick and ends their friendship. Despite Kushnick's pleas to keep his promise to take care of her and her daughter, Leno is angry because she nearly cost him a dream job. Kushnick is dismissed by NBC and barred from the studio lot. NBC executives warn the mild-mannered Leno that they are going to fire Kushnick and, if he sides with her, he will be let go as well. Leno takes over on May 25, 1992, but Kushnick's bullying manner angers his colleagues, potential guests, and others to the point of interfering with network airtime and relationships. NBC executives inform an angry Letterman they have selected Leno to replace Carson. In the spring of 1991, Carson unexpectedly announces his retirement, effective the next year. Letterman continues to believe he is still in contention for the position. ![]() Surely enough, Kushnick secures the producer's position for herself at The Tonight Show, on the condition that no public announcement will be made. Kushnick harshly instructs Leno to just keep telling jokes and leave the business end to her. Leno is concerned that her methods might alienate Carson, but does not wish to be disloyal as he believes that she has been responsible for his success in addition, he had promised to take care of her after her husband's death. Leno's manager, Helen Kushnick, secures the spot for Leno with negotiating tactics that could be construed as either shrewd or unethical. They also would not have to deal with Letterman's stipulation for ownership rights to the show (which applied to his Late Night program). ( CT/ MT) slot, as well as easier for the network to control. It is widely assumed that Letterman is the hand-picked heir apparent whom Carson favors, but NBC executives privately speculate that Leno could be more popular with audiences in the 11:30 p.m. Carson's then-permanent guest host, Jay Leno, and the host of the show that follows Carson's each night, David Letterman, both vie for Carson's job. Johnny Carson has hosted The Tonight Show since 1962, but he and his audience are both growing older, leaving NBC to anticipate the day when a new host will be needed. In 1991, behind-the-scenes network politics embroil television executives responsible for NBC's late-night programming. Released by HBO Pictures and produced in conjunction with Northern Lights Entertainment, the film premiered on HBO on February 24, 1996.īased on Carter's 1994 book of the same name, the film chronicles the late-night television conflict between Jay Leno and David Letterman in the early 1990s, surrounding NBC's appointment of Leno to succeed Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show, and Late Night host Letterman's resulting efforts to negotiate out of his contract with the network to host his own competing talk show for CBS. The Late Shift is a 1996 American made-for-television biographical film directed by Betty Thomas, and written by George Armitage and New York Times media reporter Bill Carter.
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