The Story of Late Night (TV Series) Carson: King of Late Night (2021) User Reviews

Competition from Without and Within

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 10 May 2021]

The primary focus of this second episode is the immense power that Johnny Carson exerted over the entertainment industry. If a comedian could get three minutes on Carson and it worked, he or she (mostly he) was set for life. Some of those who prospered are shown here. We have seen documentaries featuring Johnny Carson, so he has been analyzed to death. But the reset of the show is delightful in an historical perspective. I had forgotten that Joey Bishop and Merv Griffin both ran shows opposite him. Neither was much of a success. PBS ran a show called SOUL which featured black performers. But Carson never slipped. This also covers his methods in facing the upheaval of the 1960's and 1970's politically. It also gets a brief taste of the beginnings of David Letterman.