The Story of Late Night (2021) User Reviews

Another Great In-Depth Series

[genious-35413 · 9/10 · 11 May 2021]

It's painful seeing clips of Carson and Letterman and then immediately going to Fallon and Corden. It's sad how much of a dropoff there has been and now late night is just a contant pandering to the seals that applaud when the applause light goes on. There's rarely any genuine laughter - just a series of applause breaks during the monolgue and then the shilling for whatever movie/tv show is being plugged. And if it's a TV show, then that show is 90% likely to be on the same network that the talk show is on.

But that's beside the point. This is another great, comprehensive series that really goes deep without it seeming like it is stretched out for the purposes of creating more episodes... you know... the way Netflix now does. It's nice to hear from so many people who weren't necessarily the stars, to hear about what was going on in the background of it all.

Well made, interesting but misssing important shows/hosts

[thao · 8/10 · 24 November 2021]

I love late night TV. I watch more of late night shows than films or TV series, so this was something I knew I would love. It is very informantive, has many brilliant clips and good interviews but I was so disapointed by the fact that thy had nothing about Craig Ferguson, other than two 1 sec moments where they say that he was on air and that his show ended. If anyone deconstructed late night it was Craig Ferguson. And no one has been better at interviews than he was.

Also if you're going to talk about social conciousness how can you ignore Last Week Tonight with John Oliver? Or Real Time with Bill Maher?

CNN doc series

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 7 June 2021]

It's a fun little walk down the decades of late night TV shows. Most of it is non-controversial. There is a bit of lesser known side shows from the earlier years but it's mostly about the main stream. It's a CNN doc. The main spin happens in episode 4 & 5 where they take down Jay Leno. Obviously, Conan from sister company TBS is their man. This is a solid six hour long episodes. It's informative and a bit entertaining. There's also a healthy dose of nostalgia which leaves the last episode a bit less compelling.

Informative well done in depth educational and historical look at the iconic late night wars!

[blanbrn · 9/10 · 3 June 2021]

"CNN" has once again done it well with a culture historical like look at entertainment this latest "The Story of Late Night", from the early days of the 1950's and "The Tonight Show" with Steve Allen till the modern day digital computer era these episodes show vintage clips that tell it all. Plus interviews are given with insights and takes from network and studio bosses on the backroom deals and plots to change the landscape. And media critic and author Bill Carter gives his knowledgeable thoughts. From Carson, Leno, Letterman, Conan, Fallon, and Kimmel this is one funny business with constant changes as the series documents in fine fashion. The series goes in depth with time and change with each decade and era, most I can all recall. Really a must watch for any pop culture history buff or late night TV show fan it will bring back memories of yesterday.

What about Craig Ferguson??

[ivanparedest · 8/10 · 9 May 2022]

I would have given 'The Story of Late Night' 10 stars because it's really good but I can't because they only mention Craig Ferguson very briefly to introduce James Corden... Ferguson killed after Letterman for 10 years, his show was amazing and even though the format wasn't very different than other shows, he really changed the way of talking to the audience.

Interesting, but leaves too many people out

[mgentalen · 7/10 · 2 January 2022]

As a fan of the Late Night Wars, and read both of Bill Carter's book's, I just finished this mini series and am somewhat torn. I didn't hate it, but, it felt biased and un even maybe even uncomplete? We get a lot of Fallon ( maybe too much, he pops up too soon and too early on) and Amber Ruffin is on too much .

Another review said how there was no Craig Ferguson. They mention him, but, for someone who was on the air for a decade, on a major network, all you get is a quick 30 seconds?? Even Wanda Sykes, who's show lasted a season got more air time.

Another thing I found odd, Colbert is featured in archive only. I can't imagine he turned the opportunity down to speak. It was fairly good mini series though until the last 30 minutes, it becomes to political and woke.

Solid Look At The History Of A TV Institution

[zkonedog · 9/10 · 15 June 2021]

For basically as long as there has been television, there has existed the concept of "late night" programming hitting the airwaves after the local nightly news. A host, some jokes, a desk, a guest--the setup is now iconic. "The Story of Late Night" lives up to its moniker and does a wonderful job of telling that entire story.

When it comes to late night TV topics, there are three that will always garner the most attention (at least thus far): The institution in and of itself that Johnny Carson became, the David Letterman vs. Jay Leno feud to replace him, and the bungled plan--by network executives--to hand Leno's reigns over to Conan O'Brien. Each of those topics basically commands its own episode here, and are excellently approached in terms of historical context and new interviews with the key players.

Where "Story" really stands out, however, is its ability to "fill in the gaps", so to speak, outside of those main talking points. For example, the first episode was very informative on how the whole genre started and how certain lesser-known pioneers created tenets of the genre that still stand/work to this very day. Also, throughout each episode, context is given on how the late night genre treated people of color, women, and ultimately evolved into newer formats (current events-based, YouTube-driven, pandemic-surviving, etc.).

Overall, "The Story of Late Night" was a joy to watch each week. It made me reminisce, sure, but it also taught me many interesting nuggets about the hosts, producers, and network executives who were key players in the business for decades. Just an all-around, well-done examination of the topic as a whole.

An in depth, interesting series ruined by the last episode

[benwakefield93 · 7/10 · 26 August 2022]

5 episodes of history followed by 1 showing why late night is dying. Chelsea Handler literally criticises the interviewer for being a straight, white man. For some reason that is acceptable racism. The current late night hosts are all grovelling to the mob encouraging diversity but interestingly none of them have given up their job? This isn't diversity and inclusion it's quotas and segregation scaremongering. It's not entertaining and it will kill late night. There's a reason why podcasts are more popular. Ironically, even though this isn't what the episode intended to portray, it showed it very vividly and unintentionally shows the evolution of late night. Enjoyable and recommended.

Good Retrospective with Selective Omissions

[Thorbie · 8/10 · 13 November 2021]

I've been very interested in the history of late night tv since Bill Carter's The Late Shift. This documentary does a good job of showing the origins of late night through the Carson years and the Leno/Letterman war for Late Night. Naturally Conan's Tonight Show tenure was a fascinating parallel. The documentary does provide much needed insight on the shift of late night from nonpartisan to political with the rise of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, but the last episode felt like more time needed to pass before a real in-depth analysis could be had of the current Late Night lineup.

One thing that I found distracting as a viewer was not what they showed, but what they didn't show. Bill Maher is mentioned briefly in a negative light following the cancellation of Politically Incorrect for his post 9/11 commentary. I'm not a big fan, but he's been hosting Real Time on HBO for nearly 20 years now, but received no mention whatsoever following that event. There was also no mention, not one, about Dennis Miller who hosted two late night talk shows. John Oliver surprisingly was mentioned only once.

Likewise, Craig Kilborn of all people received more airtime on this documentary than Craig Ferguson who hosted the Late Late Show for almost 10 years. I would have loved to see some commentary on his deconstruction of the Late Night format, which includes puppets, a remote controlled robot skeleton sidekick and a two man horse costume that became regular segments on a show that felt very stripped down, yet effortlessly funny.

While a bit off the beaten path, Fox News' Red Eye (which aired at 3am Eastern) and successor show, Gutfeld! Did not receive a mention at all, despite Greg Gutfeld's recent ratings success, sometimes beating all network Late Night shows. I suspect it didn't fit the political narrative that series was painting, and Fox News is direct competition to CNN.

Saturday Night Live, which deserves its own stand alone documentary series, was also the lone sketch show profiled. MadTV and In Living Color received no mention at all. This was very clearly a NBC focused documentary series with The Tonight Show at the center.

Even though I'm a fan of late night tv, the series does feel a little too nostalgic towards the end. The format does feel a little outdated in today's 24/7 streaming world. I think highlighting Conan's departure from TBS would have been a great bookend to this series leaving the door open to what's next for this genre and format.

Missed the point...

[nakrugt · 4/10 · 6 July 2021]

In terms of information, the first three episodes are a nice introduction to late night history. The remaining 3, though, are very superficial.

Two very important points: First of all, except for the last episode, they do not even mention Craig Ferguson. There is only a 1 second still of his in the 3rd or 4th episode.

Second and most importantly, they do not understand why the audience turned to TV comedians for trusted journalism. CNN does not have any self-awareness or self-reflection on that matter. When Johnny Carson was the host of the Tonight Show, U. S. audience had outlets to get information from T. V..

However, in the time of "post-truth", the audience only had TV comedians. And today, as all the TV comedians have the same idea as if they were dictated with one script from one source, the audience runs from the TV comedians and to the online comedians and commentators. There is no longer time slots to fill. There is only content with insights to what is going on in the world and in the U. S. A.

The final episode of the CNN "programme" misses out on that point in quite an ironic way.

Potentially great doc totally ruined by idiotic and distracting sound mixing

[Keely · 4/10 · 4 July 2021]

Terrific interviews, clips, and insights into how and why late night has evolved. Unfortunately CNN in this, and in all its most recent documentaries that I've seen, thinks it's an asset to have nonstop loud, intrusive percussive music (if you can call it music) played on top of ANYONE who is being interviewed - and I mean everyone. The first time I heard it I thought I was watching an SNL parody of Investigative Reports. It is so predictable, so obnoxious, and such an assault on the ears that as soon as there was a scene that wasn't a historical clip, I turned off the sound and just read the subtitles. The music is actually ON TOP of the interviews, not under them. It is HUGELY distracting and unbalanced, with the effect of undermining the impact of the interviews rather than enhancing them - it's like a 5th grade kid's idea of how to make something dramatic that he got from playing video games.