Jay Leno Calls Joe Rogan the New Johnny Carson as 200-Show Schedule Outlasts Late Night
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 19
Jay Leno Calls Joe Rogan the New Johnny Carson as 200-Show Schedule Outlasts Late Night
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 19
Summary
Joe Rogan is "the new Johnny Carson," Jay Leno said in a Deadline interview, arguing that podcasts have effectively replaced traditional talk shows.
Leno said Rogan's long, unfiltered conversations fill a gap left by late-night TV, where FCC limits and a heavier ad load have weakened the format.
42 minutes of show time remained by the end of Leno's Tonight Show run, he said, down from about 48 minutes as extra commercials were added after 11:30 p.m.
200 dates a year still keep Leno working after leaving The Tonight Show in 2014, alongside Jay Leno's Garage on YouTube, where he said viewer backlash over political guests does not concern him.
Funny is funny, Leno said, even as he argued audiences are less receptive to equal-opportunity political jokes and modern comedy now competes with an already outrageous culture.