The Larry Sanders Show

With Stephen Colbert entering the late night talk show wars, audiences have another choice to wind down their day.  Late night, a programming block invented by NBC with Broadway Open House in 1950, spurred a slew of hosts. Steve Allen debuted Tonight, later...

The Studio 8H Launching Pad

Saturday Night Live has been and continues to be a launching pad for actors to break into the movies. Chevy Chase and Foul Play. John Belushi and Animal House. Eddie Murphy and 48 Hours. Mike Myers and Wayne’s World. Tina Fey and Mean Girls. But Saturday Night...

Letterman, Leno, and Late Night

Tonight, the first full week without David Letterman in late night television begins. Letterman, the informal successor to Johnny Carson as the ruler of the late night kingdom, began his television talk show hosting career with a morning show in 1980.  It won two Emmy...

Desperation in the Vast Wasteland

In 1961, FCC Chairman Newton Minow decried television as a vast wasteland.  Nearly a half-century later, Bill Carter analyzed the landscape, coalescing his findings into the 2006 book Desperate Networks. A television show reaching the prime time airwaves is a...