The Jay Leno Show: Is “More of the Same” A Bad Idea...?

I’m a  HUGE fan of Jay Leno’s comedy.  For 17 years, I would tune in to watch him perform his monologue and comedy bits as part of his “Tonight Show” hosting duties, and he would always crack me up (even on nights when the audience thought his jokes weren’t that funny, I’d be laughing my butt off at home).

Recently, Leno was replaced as the host of “The Tonight Show” by Conan O’Brien, formerly of NBC’s “Late Night” show (now hosted by Jimmy Fallon).  With no job to keep him at NBC, Jay started getting offers for his own show at other networks.  NBC, realizing how damaging it would be to have him hosting a show on another network at the same time as Conan, offered to give Jay Leno his own show (which he happily accepted), only it would air at 10 PM.

During the summer months, NBC promoted the show heavily, claiming over and over again that it would be “new,” “innovative,” and “totally different from how ‘The Tonight Show’” felt.  Last night, “The Jay Leno Show” finally premiered…

…and it felt exactly like his old “Tonight Show,” only an hour earlier.

The set-up was the same (monologue, video comedy bit, guest comedian videoed comedy bit, Jay interview with celeb, another video comedy bit, interview with musician, musical act, and yes, Monday headlines).  The band was the same (Kevin Eubanks and gang are back in tow).  Heck, even the studio is in the same location (although it has definitely seen a decoration overhaul).

The show was nothing more than a 90-minute early take on Jay’s “Tonight Show” gig with a few cosmetic touch-ups and a re-arranging of the order of the show’s set ups.  It was as if Jay just got back from a 3-month vacation, then said: “Okay, so, back to what we were doing before we left here.”

And I, for one, couldn’t be HAPPIER.

Frankly, I’ve always liked Leno for the comedian he is.  And, seeing as he dominated the ratings for “The Tonight Show” during most of his tenure, other people seem to like him as well.

Therefore, I think it would have been a HUGE mistake on NBC’s part to try and drastically change the way Leno does things, especially since he has an audience built up over 17 years’ time that likes how he operates.

If you, like me, have read any reviews of “The Jay Leno Show” debut, you would think the show is doomed to fail.  The general viewpoint is that the show isn’t innovative enough; it’s too much like “The Tonight Show;” and that the show isn’t keeping its word to be as different from other late night shows that it promised to be.

SO WHAT?

I wouldn’t have cared if they had taken 3 months off, then come back with the same set, theme music and comedy bits (which they did with “Headlines”), nor would have the rest of America.  If the formula he had before was working so well, why tamper with it?

Besides, there is one very important rule that will make this “new” Leno show work: people LIKE being sold something they already have.

Think about it: if you buy an artist’s CD, chances are you will buy more of their stuff in the future.  If you buy a pair of shoes, the next pair you pick out will have to be similar in feeling to how your current shoes feel.  Heck, even in relationships, people tend to date the same types of people over and over again (even if they aren’t conscious of it)!

Why, then, would it make sense for NBC to try and spend millions of dollars on making a “Jay Leno 2.0″ when the overall structure of the first version is still popular with the public? That would be like taking chocolate ice cream and trying to mix it with pizza flavor.  Sure, it might be innovative and “more dynamic,” but at the end of the day, more people are used to chocolate just as it is.

I don’t think Jay has too much to worry about, though.  He was never really a favorite of the critics, but he relates to enough of America to be popular. And if not, I know at least ONE person who will be watching his show every night!