Primetime welcomed Jay Leno back to television Monday, Sept. 14 with a new hour of television. “The Jay Leno Show” kicked off with a new, deskless set and flurry of ultra-popular celebrities. After a three-month absence, Leno’s new show promises to renew the late-night comedy scene of which NBC seems to be dominating. Though the talk show veteran has somewhat of a fresh approach, how long can the new-show magic last?
Leno began the show by walking out onto his brand new set and delivering a typical monologue filled with topical humor and video clips ready to enhance the otherwise dry image of a man standing and talking. Next, Dan Finnerty (the sexually suggestive wedding singer from “The Hangover”) presented an awkward and forgettable sketch delving into car wash entertainment that will with all likelihood return at some point to fill a portion of the five hours of material supplied each week.
Guests Jerry Seinfeld, Oprah Winfrey (via satellite), Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West all stopped by Leno’s Burbank studio to pay the host a visit. The sit-down formula was slightly altered form a desk-and-seat setup to a seat-to-seat setup. Sure, the tweaked format provides a more intimate feel, but it looked as if Leno was not used to this. He and Seinfeld ended the interview with a bizarre hug that seemed to only arise after the two men stood up and realized they were facing each other. In all fairness, they are good friends, and so all future hugs will be gauged by this first strange one.
A sheepish looking Kanye West also popped a squat in the hot seat, and addressed his recent faux pas with Taylor Swift at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The new set did allow Leno to pat West’s leg and transmit some solace; this was just after bringing up the shame the rapper’s actions would have caused his deceased mother and almost making him cry, and right before asking him to perform. Who said showbusiness was tactful?
“The Jay Leno Show” doesn’t do much to change up the way “The Tonight Show” did things. In fact, the rearrangement (or rather, mild shifting) of NBC’s nightly lineup may just be an effort to comfort the thirty and fourtysomethings that are becoming more socially marginalized by the day (they can’t be staying up so late anymore). Leno’s new hour isn’t so new, and viewers should ask themselves if more of the same is enough to sustain their need to laugh between primetime and late night.
“The Jay Leno Show” airs on NBC at 10/9 C Monday through Friday
