I haven’t really been following the latest NBC late-night behind-the-scenes drama, because it’s NBC. And it isn’t nearly as much fun as the Conan debacle. But now there may be a whole new wrinkle or two…
The NBC late-night saga continues. With the Tonight Show transition set, the attention is shifting to the other members of the network’s late-night lineup. NBC brass had been hinting of wholesale changes, and that may include the least-talked-about program in late-night, Last Call With Carson Daly, which has quietly made it to 12 seasons. The New York Times is reporting that NBC is in early talks with Alec Baldwin about potentially taking over the 1:35 AM half-hour. NBC has already laid the groundwork for a potential Baldwin late-night stint. Following his seven-year run on the network’s 30 Rock, the network kept the Emmy-winning actor in the fold with a two-year overall deal inked late last year.
I think it’s a great idea. Every night, he can do a segment where he calls down a black person from the audience to take his picture while he screams racial epithets at them.
Doesn’t 1:35 in the morning seem like the perfect place for somebody like Alec Baldwin? He can do his own thing, rant and scream about whatever he wants, and pick up a steady paycheck while flying completely under the radar. After all, when was the last time you thought about Carson Daly?
And Baldwin definitely needs that paycheck. He’s got bills to pay, and he’s not a wealthy person.
Here’s the part where I wanted to put up a video of Alec Baldwin talking to Conan O’Brien during the Lewinsky scandal, and Baldwin starts screaming about killing Henry Hyde and his family. But it’s been scrubbed from YouTube:
No need to apologize, YouTube. If I was a bigwig at NBC, I wouldn’t want people to see that either.