DBWI: Letterman Didn't Get The Tonight Show

Of course, we all know David Letterman as the former host of The Tonight Show, which he took over from Johnny Carson in 1992, winning the so-called "Tonight Show War" against Jay Leno. Letterman is probably one of the best known national treasures currently alive in the United States, surely among the best-known talk show hosts in our history. What if Letterman didn't get the Tonight Show, and it went to Leno? Would he stay at Late Night, go to another big network, go into syndication?
 
Classic car seats as the furniture would be radical, but I can’t imagine it being as good as Letterman. Shrug, it’s not like Leno lost by much for the first few years so if he has the Tonight Show backing him instead… heck maybe Letterman crashes instead of coming close like Leno did.

I can easily see Leno the briefly undisputed successor to Carson, although that could propel a rival (but who?) or smaller niches forward ITTL. Fascinating, perhaps terrifying if you forget Leno’s generally excellent Carson spots.
 
Classic car seats as the furniture would be radical, but I can’t imagine it being as good as Letterman. Shrug, it’s not like Leno lost by much for the first few years so if he has the Tonight Show backing him instead… heck maybe Letterman crashes instead of coming close like Leno did.

I can easily see Leno the briefly undisputed successor to Carson, although that could propel a rival (but who?) or smaller niches forward ITTL. Fascinating, perhaps terrifying if you forget Leno’s generally excellent Carson spots.

Now that's a look for a set... Leno landed on his feet, after all. Leno would definitely be challenged as the host of The Tonight Show, though. He's not controversial like Letterman or father-like like Carson. I heard this story that people said his face would scare small children. Either way, I think Letterman or Tom Snyder would challenge a Leno-led show.
 
Letterman would have started a new show. He had enough fans to make it work.

With their different styles, I could see audiences watching the Leno monologue, then switching to Letterman for skits/features, and finally to the third network for guests.
 
I can't see another show working if Letterman left for another network. ABC probably wouldn't bump Nightline out of its 11:30 slot, and CBS has been such a mess for late night comedy after the failed Eddie Murphy show from the late 1990s. Plus, they've kind of hit their stride with their CBS Sportsnight wraparound show during that timeslot.

As an aside, if one of them did go to CBS, what horrible timing that would have been. When Fox got the NFL, CBS lost a ton of really high quality affiliates and it cratered ratings across the board, so that late night show's lead-in would have been really bruised by about 1995.
 
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