The Jay Leno Show is an American prime time television variety show created by and starring Jay Leno, which premiered Monday, September 14, 2009 on NBC following the May 29, 2009 conclusion of Leno's tenure as host of The Tonight Show.^[1]

The Jay Leno Show will air weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT (9:00 p.m. CT/MT) from Studio 11^[2] of the NBC Studios in Burbank, California with the following format:^[3]

• After brief opening credits, a monologue of eight to 12 minutes.^[4]
• One celebrity guest, two at the most. The "car-themed" set^[5] adjusts to allow guests to get off the couch^[6] and participate in antics.
• Musical segments appear only twice a week, in the middle of the show,^[7] and sometimes feature multiple acts performing together.
• Comedy segments brought over from Tonight, such as "Headlines" and "Jaywalking", are reserved for the last 15 minutes^[8] of the show, the only time when Leno will use a desk.^[9]
• New segments include:
  • The "advertiser-friendly 'Green Car Challenge'". Two to three times each week, celebrities drive an electric Ford Focus and try to set records^[4] on a 1,100-feet dedicated outdoor track.^[2][10]. The segment is based^[11] on the "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car" segment on the popular British automotive series Top Gear, which Leno had previously appeared on.^[12][13]
  • "10 at 10", "in which celebs and other newsmakers . . . answer a rapid-fire series of 10 'ridiculous, celebrity-based questions.'"^[10]
  • Comic "correspondents" such as D. L. Hughley, Dan Finnerty, Mikey Day,^[2] Rachael Harris, and Jim Norton. Their segments are pretaped to avoid airing more live standup comedy in addition to Leno's monologue.^[10]
  • "Stories Not Good Enough For Nightly News" with NBC News anchor Brian Williams.^[3]

In addition to reserving comedy segments for the end, the network will air no commercials after the show and is "urging local affiliates to do the same"^[3] so that local news can start immediately, retaining as many Leno viewers as possible.^[8][10][9]

Jerry Seinfeld will be the celebrity guest on the debut episode.^[14] Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Kanye West will perform "Run This Town", in which all three are featured. ^[15]

Leno has a contract for four years for the show. NBC reportedly has an option to cancel after two years, but has committed to at least one^[8] or two^[9] years regardless of ratings. He could earn up to $30 million each year depending on ratings for Leno, compared to a $20 million annual salary during his last years at Tonight.^[16]

NBC expects to benefit by offering an inexpensive comedic alternative ("100% more comedy and 98% fewer murders!"^[6]) to the procedurals^[17] and other one-hour dramas that typically air at 10 pm, and by offering new episodes 46 weeks each year versus 22.^{[6][18][19][20]} While Leno may not be competitive with the higher-rated scripted shows on ABC and CBS in its time slot, its projected cost of production is far lower and thus is expected to be profitable to the network.^[21] Each airing of Leno will cost about $350,000^[22] to $400,000^[16] versus up to $3 million for an hour-long drama, saving NBC $13 million each week without the network needing the show to beat its competitors.^[16] Those costs include the services of 22 writers,^[10] who Leno called the "top 5% of the highest-paid . . . in the Guild."^[3]

Leno does not expect his show to beat competing first-run episodes, but to do better than reruns,^[3] in part because topical jokes will benefit from the "immediacy" of the time slot versus 11:30 pm.^[2] A television analyst predicted that Leno would finish in "a safe third place" every night.^[5] NBC research indicates that fans of Leno will watch the show two to three times a week.^[17]

NBC sees a 1.5 rating for Leno in the 18-49 demographic as "viable"^[23] and a 1.8 as a "home run."^[24] Tonight at 11:30 pm earned about a 1.3^[21] to 1.5;^[16] the television audience at 10 pm is 40% larger than at 11:30 pm, and the network hopes Leno's audience will also grow.^[20] Industry observers have cited a range of ratings, from 1.7^[22] to 2,^[16][25] as being necessary for the show to succeed at 10 pm. By comparison, 2.5 is generally necessary for a 10 pm drama to succeed;^[24] those that earned a 1.7 or less during the 2008-2009 season were canceled.^[23] NBC's prime-time dramas averaged about 2 during 2008-2009.^[16]

NBC is the first United States network in decades,^[26] or possibly ever,^[27] to strip a show during weekday prime time hours. Its executives called the decision "a transformational moment in the history of broadcasting" and "in effect, launching five shows."^[26] An industry observer said that Leno, "in all my years, is the biggest risk a network has ever taken."^[28] According to former NBC president Fred Silverman, "If the Leno Show works, it will be the most significant thing to happen in broadcast television in the last decade."^[9]

Although NBC has not developed a new hit show at 10 pm in years,^[9] industry executives criticized the network for abandoning a history of airing quality dramas at that hour such as Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and ER, which made NBC "the gold standard for sophisticated programming . . . the No. 1 network for affluent and well-educated young viewers"^[5] during the 1980s and 1990s.^[24][29] They predict that the decision will hurt NBC by undermining a reputation built on successful scripted shows such as "L.A. Law, Hill Street Blues, The Cosby Show, ER, Friends and Seinfeld".^[9] According to the executives the decision will also hurt the entire television industry, both because the network will air fewer dramas^[24][5] and because Leno will not be easily sold overseas or rerun.^[29]

Other networks believe NBC's decision has created an opportunity,^[9] and have planned their 2009-2010 schedules accordingly. CBS's popular procedural The Mentalist, for example, will compete with the show on Thursdays,^[24] joining fellow successes CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and Numb3rs.^[30] If Leno survives, however, other networks may also schedule less-expensive shows, such as Nightline, for the hour as well.^[24]

NBC announced in 2004 that Leno would leave Tonight in 2009, with Conan O'Brien as his replacement. Leno—who wanted to avoid an acrimonious transition like what he experienced when he inherited Tonight from Johnny Carson^[23]—said at the announcement, "You can do these things until they carry you out on a stretcher, or you can get out when you’re still doing good."^[31] He began to regret his decision to retire in 2007,^[31] and several networks and studios including ABC, Fox, Sony,^[21] and Tribune^[32] expressed interest in his services after leaving Tonight.

Jeff Zucker, President and CEO of NBC Universal, sought to keep Leno from defecting to a competitor. Leno rejected several NBC offers for daytime or cable slots, a series of recurring specials, and a half-hour show at 8 pm five nights a week featuring Leno's Tonight monologue.^[31] The network had in 1981 considered moving The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to 10 pm;^[18] Zucker, who in 2007 offered Oprah Winfrey an hour five nights a week at 8 pm,^[18] now offered Leno an hour five nights a week at 10 pm.^[31] Leno was announced on December 9, 2008.^[33]

At least one station, WHDH in Boston, Massachusetts, stated that it would not carry the program, claiming that Leno would be detrimental to the station's 11 pm news and that it would instead launch a local news program in the time slot. NBC said that such plans would amount to a flagrant violation of the network contract—a claim which WHDH disputed—and said that it would immediately remove its programming from WHDH if the station followed through with the plan. WHDH backed down on April 13, 2009 and announced that it would air Leno instead of the proposed program.^[34]

Though Leno is the first to move the entire five-day-a-week late night talk show to prime time, he is not the first Tonight alumnus to move from late night to a prime time talk show. Steve Allen, the first host, left the show to concentrate on the Steve Allen Show on Sunday nights, as it was a higher priority for NBC. Jack Paar, who hosted Tonight from 1957 to 1962, next hosted a weekly talk show that ran until 1965.^[35]

In 2004, Guadalupe Zambrano, a Texas real estate agent,^[36] registered the domain name thejaylenoshow.com to redirect to his real estate business. After the Leno announcement, Leno accused Zambrano of cybersquatting.^[37] Zambrano contended that he had owned the domain for five years, well before the announcement, thus precluding recovery. The UDRP proceedings ruled in favor of Leno, however, stating that Zambrano profited from the value of the Jay Leno trademark in bad faith.^[38]

In Canada, Citytv will simulcast Leno with NBC during the 2009-2010 season,^[39] requesting simultaneous substitution where applicable. In Australia, The Comedy Channel will air the show Weeknights at 7.30pm AEST.^[40]

• The Jay Leno Show Official Page
• The Jay Leno Show at IMDb
• The Jay Leno Show Overview at About.com