Friday, June 7, 2019

Conan Cuts His Late-Night Talk Show In Half; Nothing About The Bakken -- June 7, 2019

I watch Conan O'Brien very, very, very infrequently. I really don't care for him (much) at all. I enjoyed him years ago, but like many, he's a one-trick pony.

I was surprised to see his show go to 30 minutes. And he's squeezed in between sitcom re-runs: Seinfeld, Big Bang Theory. Really poor placement.

Here's the spin from The Hollywood Reporter: link here. Here are my thoughts:
  • it's a fact that the #1 coveted demographic, those aged 25 - 45, have moved from television to their mobile devices (including laptops)
  • Conan is correct; he's trying to find relevancy in a digital age
  • but his biggest problem -- he is silly and he has a silly program: people can only take so much silliness. 
  • silly? Maybe that explains why TBS placed him between sitcom re-runs -- they are just as silly (having said that, Seinfeld still really, really holds up well) 
  • Johnny Carson -- the king of late night TV had exactly the right mix -- and no one can match it
  • I never had the feeling that Johnny Carson was a one-trick pony -- like Letterman, one never knew what to expect on any given night -- he was always "the same" but he always seemed to be good -- although he did get a bit long in the tooth in his last few years -- but much of that seemed to be the fact that he simply seemed bored
  • the "top 3" of late night network television: way too political
  • but Conan: he's not political. He's just too "silly" 

No comments:

Post a Comment