The Late Shift (book)
Book cover
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| Author | Bill Carter |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Hyperion |
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Publication date
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1994 |
| Pages | 299 |
| ISBN | |
| Followed by | The War for Late Night |
The Late Shift: Letterman, Leno, and the Network Battle for the Night is a 1994 non-fiction book written by The New York Times media reporter Bill Carter. It chronicles the early 1990s conflict surrounding the American late-night talk show The Tonight Show. The book was later made into a film of the same name by HBO.
The book chronicles the behind-the-scenes corporate battle surrounding American late-night talk shows, leading up to, and after, Johnny Carson's 1992 retirement as host of NBC's The Tonight Show. The book primarily details the power struggle between David Letterman and Jay Leno to succeed Carson as the "King of Late Night", NBC choosing Leno over Letterman as the next Tonight Show host, and Letterman later moving to rival network CBS.
The following is a partial list of people featured in the book:
In a review of The Late Shift for The New York Times Book Review, Jon Katz wrote, "[This] is a reporter's book, unfailingly balanced, thoroughly researched, filled with scoops and fresh details. Even though CBS's wooing and winning of Mr. Letterman was the subject of enormous publicity, Mr. Carter's book makes clear that we knew less than we thought about what was really going on." Katz criticized the book for not going into more depth about Letterman's switch to CBS, writing, "As readable as it is, 'The Late Shift' needed to take a more critical, detached look at the long-term significance of Mr. Letterman's move. A number of questions are not addressed." He concluded, "'The Late Shift' is nonetheless a powerful story, and ultimately a sad one, filled with casualties as well as winners. Mr. Leno, who has been made to seem a second choice by the very people who elevated him, has been betrayed by his employers in the most basic of ways, and he has not yet recovered."
Kim Campbell reviewed the book for The Christian Science Monitor, and commented, "More than just a play-by-play account of the actions that followed Johnny Carson's 1991 retirement announcement, Carter's well-written book is a look at the history of the late-night franchise, and of the men who host the shows that we would rather watch instead of going to bed." Campbell described the book as revealing in its assessment of NBC's decision to pass over Letterman for The Tonight Show, concluding, "Carter's eye-opening book leaves the impression that NBC will be remembered more for its loss of Letterman, than for its role as creator of late-night television."
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