LATE SHOW NEWS #195 March 24, 1998 by Aaron Barnhart To join or leave the LATE-SHOW-NEWS mailing list, instructions are at end of message. Late-night comers Adam Carolla ("Loveline") and Jimmy Kimmel ("Win Ben Stein's Money") are creating some buzz after ABC ordered a pilot of an unusual comedy concept called "The Man Show" that they created with former Letterman and "Vibe" producer Daniel Kellison. Remember that old "Saturday Night Live" spoof on women's talk shows called "Not For Men Only"? Well, it's upon us for real. The concept, as explained by a source to LATE SHOW NEWS, is a live one-hour comedy-variety show hosted by Carolla and Kimmel that takes an unapologetic view of the lives of men. "There will be fishing, gambling, drinking, strippers," said the source. "The key word in this is *unapologetic.*" Hal Gurnee has apparently agreed to direct and former longtime Letterman head writer Steve O'Donnell and ex-"Daily Show" head writer Lizz Winstead are likely to join the staff. The format would consist of various taped pieces introduced by the hosts, who would also be on-camera in many of the taped bits. Interestingly, ABC referred my calls to their executive who produces "reality specials" rather than comedy, an indication that ABC realizes it has an unusual product on its hands. It seems unlikely that any network other than Comedy Central would have been interested in this concept a year ago, but that was before "South Park" arrived on Comedy Central and before ABC's ratings went even further in the tank. Obviously, a pilot does not a season order make, and even if the show is picked up, it's unclear whether ABC will commit to a series or several specials. But I'm sure glad to see Kimmel, one of the funniest new personalities on TV, offered a higher-profile venue for his talents. And seeing Carolla perform away from that hormone-charged "Loveline" environment could do wonders for his career as well. *** It's taken three weeks but I'm finally enjoying the unraveling of "The Larry Sanders Show." In our last episode, Larry announced at show's end he would be quitting the "show" when his contract expired in eight weeks. Then he marched offstage and fired his manager (whose dealings behind Larry's back invites obvious comparisons to Garry Shandling's portrayal of his relationship with Brad Grey, the manager *he* just fired). In this week's episode, it's the morning after, Hank is downing banana liqueur, Larry has gotten his desk and his sanity back and everyone else is heading for the exits. Hank tries a guest shot on "Caroline in the City," then has an epiphany while schmoozing with Andy Williams. Jim Gray and Bob Costas lock horns on the show. And every third line is a very funny tossed-off take on these unstable times we live in. The "Larry Sanders" writers seem to be dooming the program to instant obsolescence with references to such ether bait as "Keenen Ivory Wayans" (who allegedly was beating Larry in key demo's). But that's okay. As "Larry Sanders" has made brutally clear right from the start, all that really matters in this business is tonight's show. *** I chatted with Michael Moore during his recent visit to Kansas City to promote his movie "The Big One," which opens nationwide next month. He told me that a show much like "TV Nation" will be returning to U.S. airwaves soon, thanks to the UK's Channel Four, which ordered episodes and agreed to look for an American partner so that the shows could be viewed here. Moore's European partners in "TV Nation" had also been willing to extend that franchise but with no U.S. distributor Moore didn't want to move forward. Perhaps when Moore has a TV show again, Jay Leno and David Letterman will deign to invite him onto their shows. The two hosts passed up Moore -- again -- for "The Big One," even though he is a very funny promoter, a standup comic trapped inside a filmmaker's body. Moore also told me that CBS' Les Moonves has ordered a pilot of a sitcom Moore sketched out to me in late 1996, about a blue-collar town where no one, *no one,* has a job, and everyone schemes and dreams just to get by. Sort of an "Amos 'n' Andy" meets "Roseanne" concept. Also, a "TV Nation" companion book, done by his wife and show producer Kathleen Glynn, comes out in June. And oh by the way, there's not a hoot in hell you'll ever see that tape of O.J. Simpson appearing on Moore's late-night talk show pilot (see LSN #180) -- Moore said Columbia TriStar, which produced the pilot for Fox, won't release it and never will. *** "Nightline" averaged 7 percent and "Politically Incorrect" 4.5 percent of the U.S. following last night's Academy Awards on ABC. Despite their extremely late starts, both shows easily surpassed Leno's and Letterman's combined ratings, although to be fair those guys were showing reruns opposite the Oscars and Maher and Koppel were competing with overnight news and infomercials. I'm not a statistical genius but it appears last night's Oscarcast was a barnburner in the Nielsens -- at 10:30 Eastern last night the show was steaming along with 42.9 percent of homes and two hours later still clung onto 34.4 percent; compare that with last year's average of 27.4 percent and 1995's average, when Letterman was host, of 32.5 percent ... Tom Snyder finally gets a road trip! Sadly, it will not be to Green Bay, Wisc. The man who has anchored in L.A. and New York and hosted "The Tomorrow Show" from L.A. and New York and "Tom Snyder" for CNBC from L.A. and New York is leaving L.A. and going to -- tell me if I made this one too easy -- New York. He'll be using Donald Trump's unoccupied and ridiculously overpriced Central Park West penthouse to originate a week of "Late Late Shows" beginning April 20. (Note to Tom: Have you checked out the lovely view from Trump's terrace? Good luck finding one -- the Donald has a different definition of penthouse than the rest of New York) ... NBC has decided on the programs that will make up its new "entertainment overnight daypart," i.e., the stuff they're going to put on instead of "NBC Nightside." According to an affiliates' memo obtained by LATE SHOW NEWS, the new overnight block, known as "NBC All Night," is a response to cable TV, which is stealing valuable viewers from NBC in the wee hours. It will feature repeats of the "Tonight Show" and "Sunset Beach" (but not of that day's broadcasts) Monday through Friday nights, a classic "Saturday Night Live" immediately following the regular "Saturday Night Live" and a block of "Dateline NBC" and that day's "Meet the Press" on Sunday nights. "NBC All Night" goes into effect Sunday night/Monday morning, Sept. 20/21 ... In what may be the ultimate sign of respect, Comedy Central has told "The Daily Show" executive producer Madeleine Smithberg to go ahead and lock in a two-year lease on a new, expanded studio and office space for the program. "The Daily" has outgrown its current facility in the WNET building and will relocate to its as-yet-undetermined site somewhere on Manhattan this summer. Audience seating on the new set is expected to balloon from the present 60 to nearly a whopping 100 ... The New Yorker handed over its ordinarily lame "Shouts & Murmurs" page twice in the past three weeks to a pair of Letterman alumni: former segment producer (and Richard Nixon chronicler) Frank Gannon and ex-monologue guru Bill Scheft. Gannon suggests low-budget camcorder sequels to major motion pictures such as "LAST KNIGHT -- This film continues the story after the audience, appalled by Richard Gere's performance as Sir Lancelot, demands its money back. Lots of action." Scheft's piece, which imagines life as Saddam Hussein's publicist, follows a slightly less Mad Magazine-ish trajectory ... This week's "pick to click" appears to be "ABC News Nightline," which tonight begins a four-night look at the future of crime and punishment. Koppel will again travel into the belly of the beast, spending one day and one night inside the newest high-tech, high-security prison near Huntsville, Tex. The series will also ask whether these new methods of incarceration are really an improvement over the old ones and whether there aren't better, cheaper ways to work with the system's toughest criminals. In previous years Koppel has spent "time" inside a minimum-security prison in North Carolina and come to Huntsville to cover the execution of an inmate ... Ed Dravecky went to a preview of "Primary Colors" and was pleased to see Bill Maher and the *old* "Politically Incorrect" set make an appearance in the movie. Maher also filmed a scene for "Deep Impact," the comet-meets-earth movie that was also to include Letterman and Leno shutting down their shows on the eve of the apocalypse (see LSN #194) ... David Feland writes, "We've got a new entry in the late- night wars here in Canada: 'Open Mike with Mike Bullard.' It's been on a few months now and seems to be following a very similar format to vintage Dave from NBC. It's very Canadian, though -- the guests are nearly all from our country. Mike is very cynical and a pretty good interviewer. The show is carried on Canada's Comedy Network several times a day, with the new show Mon-Fri at 10pm EST" ... And race-car driver Tim Moser, who drives in the Indy Lights series (a development league for CART), will be sponsored by Worldwide Pants for the remainder of this season. David Letterman said he and Moser, 31, have been personal friends for several years. Letterman's still a minority owner of Bobby Rahal's team. (No TNIH this week. You can blame this one on Barnhart for actually filing the newsletter on time!) *** THE LINEUPS with Sue Trowbridge NOTE: "Pick to Click" means a must-watch show. LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN, CBS Tu 3/24 Dennis Hopper, Patricia Heaton, Robert Klein We 3/25 Ed Burns, Charles Grodin, Marcy Playground Th 3/26 Dolly Parton, Bob Hoskins Fr 3/27 Gary Oldman, Ani DiFranco Mo 3/30 Jayson Williams, Robbie Robertson Tu 3/31 Don Rickles, Mimi Rogers, Steve Mille We 4/1 Alec Baldwin, Heather Graham, Barenaked Ladies Th 4/2 Ice Cube, Natalie Imbruglia Fr 4/3 Tom Hanks, Harmony Korine, Scott Weiland THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO, NBC Tu 3/24 Burt Reynolds, Kate Winslet, Michelle Kwan (R 1/20/98) We 3/25 Kim Basinger, Greg Kinnear (R 1/6/98) Th 3/26 Michael Jordan, Kevin Spacey, Joan Cusack (R 9/16/97) Fr 3/27 Robin Williams, Tracey Ullman (R 1/8/98) Mo 3/30 Fran Drescher, Garth Brooks Tu 3/31 William Hurt, Denise Richards, Joe Cocker We 4/1 Damon Wayans, Dana Delany, Richie Sambora Th 4/2 TBA Fr 4/3 Denis Leary, Olivia Newton-John, the cast of "Bring in Da Noise" LATE LATE SHOW WITH TOM SNYDER, CBS Tu 3/24 TBA We 3/25 Peter Fonda, Charles Jaco Th 3/26 Martin Mull, Rosemary Bray Fr 3/27 Bob Hoskins LATE NIGHT WITH CONAN O'BRIEN, NBC Tu 3/24 Francis Ford Coppola, Bryant Gumbel, Green Day (R 11/11/97) We 3/25 Dan Aykroyd, Rebecca Romijn (R 2/5/98) Th 3/26 Ben Stiller, Dan Cortese, Domo (R 1/30/98) Fr 3/27 Michael Keaton, Angelina Jolie, Denver Broncos' 1997 offensive line (R 1/29/98) Mo 3/30 John Leguizamo, Ed McMahon, Victoria Williams (R 2/4/98) Tu 3/31 Al Franken, Ice-T, The Mavericks LATER, NBC [ lineups not available ] CHARLIE ROSE, PBS Please note that Charlie Rose listings are very tentative [ lineups not available ] POLITICALLY INCORRECT WITH BILL MAHER, ABC Tu 3/24 Dick Clark, Michael Bolton, Kathy Griffin, Jamie Dettmer We 3/25 Ron Silver, Bernie Siegel, Harlan Ellison Th 3/26 Vicki Lawrence, Frank Keating, Russell Banks Fr 3/27 Penn Jillette, Neil Patrick Harris, Cy Curnin, Kellyanne Fitzpatrick Mo 3/31 TBA Tu 4/1 Vincent Bugliosi, Ann Coulter We 4/2 TBA Th 4/3 Morgan Fairchild, Todd Rundgren Fr 4/4 Don Was, Elisa Donovan VIBE TV, syndicated Tu 3/24 Ice-T, Idalis De Leon, Allure We 3/25 Penn & Teller, Byron Allen, Fredro Starr, Onyx Th 3/26 TBA Fr 3/27 Steve Guttenberg, Chi McBride, Melinda Clarke, Tim Meadows Mo 3/31 Cast members of "Webster," Ol Skool with Keith Sweat and Xscape, DJ Jazzy Jeff Tu 4/1 Sharon Stone, Orlando Brown We 4/2 TBA Th 4/3 Gregory Hines, Ashford & Simpson KEENEN IVORY WAYANS, syndicated (and cancelled) Tu 3/24 Samuel L. Jackson, Nicolette Sheridan, Puff Daddy With Lil' Kim (R) We 3/25 Kenan & Kel, Kelly Packard, Mjg (R) Th 3/26 Damon Wayans, Daisy Fuentes, Ginuwine (R) Fr 3/27 Victoria Rowell, Joe Rogan, Mystro Clark, Chico Debarge (R) Mo 3/30 John Henton, Dr. Drew Pinsky & Adam Carolla, Jon B (R) Tu 3/31 Kim Coles, Mitch Mullany, Guy Torry, Queen Pen With Chauncey From Backstreet (R) We 4/1 Dave Chappelle, Leah Remini, WC (R) Th 4/2 David Alan Grier, Nikki Cox, Salt-N-Pepa (R) Fr 4/3 Puff Daddy Special Show With Surprise Guests, Mike Tyson, Heavy D (R) HOWARD STERN, E! Tu 3/24 David Schwimmer, Howard in L.A. Part 1 (R) We 3/25 World's Greatest Butt, Howard in L.A. Part 2 (R) Th 3/26 David Spade Returns Again, Jesus Twins Part 1 (R) Fr 3/27 Kielbasa Queen And Dallas, Jesus Twins Part 2 (R) Sa 3/28 Intern Beauty Contest Parts 1 and 2 (R) THE DAILY SHOW, Comedy Central Tu 3/24 Jeff Ross We 3/25 Olivia Newton-John Th 3/26 Vivica Fox DENNIS MILLER LIVE, HBO Fr 3/27 Tom Arnold on "Going Bald" Fr 4/3 Stephen King on "Fear of Flying" Fr 4/10 Judge Mills Lane on "Capital Punishment" SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, Cartoon Network Fr 3/27 Ice-T, Ernie - C, Fred Willard (R) Wylie Gustafson, Bill Manspeaker (R) Also on late nights: NIGHTLINE and WORLD NEWS NOW, ABC CHARLES GRODIN, CNBC MAD TV, Fox SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, NBC (this season) and Comedy Central (classics) THE RUPAUL SHOW, VH1 LOVELINE, MTV UP TO THE MINUTE, CBS NIGHTSIDE, NBC (going away soon) DIE HARALD SCHMIDT SHOW, SAT.1 Entire contents Copyright 1998 by Aaron Barnhart. All rights reserved. LATE SHOW NEWS is made possible with the generous assistance of ECHO, New York City's premiere online service. http://www.echonyc.com Send news for and comments about this newsletter to aaron@tvbarn.com