Save television? Leno scoffs at new show’s hype

If Jay Leno is nervous about launching his new, nightly series, saving NBC, or saving all of television, as Time magazine recently suggested, he doesn’t show it.

The 59-year-old comedian laughed when the Time cover story was brought up during a recent conference call with critics.

“That’s hilarious,” he said of his new series being declared the Future of Television. “That shows you the trouble we are in.”

Leno, wisely, has tried to lower expectations, crank down the hype and generally just downplay all the fuss about the launch of “The Jay Leno Show” which begins Monday at 10 p.m. on NBC. As he keeps telling anyone who will listen, “It’s just a comedy show.”

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He was relaxed, trim (he’s lost 14 pounds running four miles a day) and playful last month at the annual TV critics press tour in Los Angeles. Later, at the NBC party, he grabbed a full plate of ribs, mingled with critics and shared a moment with another veteran NBC star — Chevy Chase — who still has skid marks up his back from getting run over in his own late-night attempt in the early 1990s.

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Both men have survived and stayed true to themselves in a very tough business. Asked if he was nervous about having to save the network, Leno shot back, “The network is on its own. Screw them.”

What gives him the confidence to be so flippant? Cracked Leno, “I’m rich now.”

This is true. Toward the end of his 17-year run, NBC reportedly paid Leno more than $20 million a year to host “The Tonight Show” — money he claims he’s never touched thanks to his robust touring schedule. He’s been guaranteed at least two more years to host “The Jay Leno Show.”

Don’t underestimate Leno
Leno told critics Tuesday he initially didn’t want the show to just carry his name. He favored calling it “Weeknights with Jay Leno,” so if it caught on, like “Today” or “Tonight,” “Weeknights” could become another NBC franchise. That’s Leno — always the company man, always thinking ahead.

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People who underestimate him — as many did back when he went head-to-head with David Letterman in the early ‘90s — do so at their peril.

He may seem laid-back, but Leno admits he has a competitive streak, joking that he’s half Sicilian. He says things like “never believe your good reviews or your bad reviews,” but he reads both, and remembers many. He brought up on the conference call a line CBS CEO Les Moonves delivered in the mid-‘90s when Leno finally caught and beat Letterman. Moonves said then it was an “aberration.” It was not: Leno won the late-night wars for 15 straight years.

Moonves and other network rivals have been quoted recently suggesting their 10 p.m. stars, such as the leads on “CSI: Miami” or “The Mentalist,” won’t play Leno’s new NBC showcase. Leno dismissed that as “trash talk,” saying he loves shows like “Lost” (which he caught up with on DVD this summer) and held out hope ABC and CBS stars will appear on his show. (His old pal Jerry Seinfeld is the first guest Monday, with Tom Cruise Tuesday). If network TV is really in this much trouble, he suggested, “why don’t we all just promote one another and see if we can stay in business?”

NBC has invested in making whatever guests they do get feel welcome. Leno has a brand new set on Studio 11 on the same Burbank, Calif., lot where he shot “Tonight.” (His successor, Conan O'Brien, works his show from nearby Universal Studios.) Car collector Leno's cool new toy is a test track outside his studio where a celebrity — Drew Barrymore looks like the first — will race the host in electric Ford Focuses.

Leno admits he stole the idea from one of his favorite British shows, “Top Gear.” The “green” aspect of using electric cars sits well with environmentally conscious celebs like Barrymore. Audiences will love it too, insists Leno, or as he puts it. “Who doesn’t want to see celebrities hit the wall and burst into flames?”

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