THE LATEST SHIFT: Bill Carter of the NYT covers the business of television like no other, especially the machinations of the late-night wars. His book on the battle to be Johnny Carson's successor, The Late Shift, is an absolutely essential, gripping, more-entertaining-than-fiction read, one which happens to have been adapted into HBO's best made-for-tv movie except, maybe, for Cheaters, John Stockwell's wonderfully cynical take on the Steinmetz academic decathlon scandal, but I'm digressing.
Carter reports today on Jay Leno's new deal, but like a man who's looking for another book to write, he raises a good question: Will Conan wait five more years to take over The Tonight Show? Will he ever host an 11:30p show?
Also, seriously, how much does Jay Leno owe Hugh Grant? You know the story, I hope: pre-Divine Brown, Letterman consistently beat Leno in the ratings; since Grant's 1995 interview with Leno, it's been all about The Chin.
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