Jeff Gaspin, NBC Universal Television Entertainment chairman, announced Sunday that as of Feb. 12, The Jay Leno Show will no longer air at 10pm ET. This cuts short the 52-week trial balloon Gaspin had hoped to grant Leno’s primetime experiment, but affiliate pressure stemming from the negative effect Leno’s lead-in was having on local news broadcast forced the exec’s hand.
In shuffling the deck, however, Gaspin is hoping all his late-night cards remain in hand. He has proposed Leno move to 11:35pm, while Conan O’Brien would stay host of The Tonight Show at 12:05pm, and Jimmy Fallon would stay with Late Night at 1:05am. This would push Carson Daly’s talker Last Call into affiliate time, and Gaspin says the network hasn’t addressed what Daly’s role would be, but says he wants to keep him aboard.
None of the late-night hosts have agreed to the shakeup, Gaspin says, but they are still “thinking it over” this weekend. He called them “incredibly gracious and professional” about the situation. He also said the jokes he’s hearing on Leno and O’Brien’s shows by the hosts themselves are helpful, not hurtful.
Gaspin described the network’s new strategy as a “back-to-basics” approach that hints that the traditional broadcast model of scripted dramas and ad-based revenue still has more life left in it than previously thought. He stressed that the network was happy with the show, and that it was making money off the 10pm slot, but that discussions with affiliates “grew louder and stronger as time went on,” and that he was forced to make the difficult decision.
To fill the void, the Peacock is embarking on an ambitious development slate that Gaspin estimated would net two more hours of scripted programming per week, one more hour of reality programming, and perhaps more editions of Dateline.
Among the programs in development (no casting has been announced) are:
Prime Suspect: An American version of the hit British series about a tough female detective investigating complex mysteries in a politically explosive city. Hank Steinberg (Without a Trace) and Erwin Stoff (The Blind Side) are executive producers.
The Rockford Files: An update of the 1970s private eye drama that starred James Garner. Executive producers include David Shore (House) and Steve Carell.
The Event: Multiple points of view tell the story of a decent, regular fellow who battles against mysterious circumstances that envelope a larger conspiracy in this thriller from Nick Wauters (The 4400).
Undercovers: A husband and wife team come out of retirement to resume their lives as CIA agents in this actioner from J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Trek), who will helm the pilot.
Chase: Jerry Bruckheimer produces this action-procedural drama based on a real-life group of US Marshals who track down the nation’s most notorious criminals.
Kindreds: David E. Kelley (Boston Legal) is back with another legal drama, this time about a curmudgeonly ex-patent lawyer and his group of misfit associates who come together to form an unconventional law practice. Here’s hoping John Larroquette shows up on their radar.
Love Bites: Writer Cindy Chupack (Sex and the City) is among the executive producers of this hourlong romantic comedy. No word on whether vampires are involved.
Untitled Adam Carolla comedy: Carolla (The Man Show, The Hammer) stars as a contractor out to rebuild his life following a divorce.
Angela Bromstad, NBC and Universal Media’s president of prime-time entertainment, said the network has approached Law & Order creator Dick Wolf about producing an L.A. version of the show, and that Wolf has taken to calling the proposed project LOLA.
Already produced is a pilot for Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, starring former Doctor Who star David Tennant. Bromstad says execs will view the pilot Monday and it could conceivably air in the spring.
The network also announced a two-hour special to air in the fall. School Pride, executive produced by Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Denise Cramsey (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), will follow students, teachers and parents as they motivate their community to renovate a school.