Last Call with Carson Daly

infobox television
show_name = Last Call with Carson Daly


format = Talk show, Variety show
runtime = 29 minutes per episode with commercials
starring = Carson Daly
country = USA
network = NBC
picture_format = 480i (SDTV)
first_aired = January 8, 2002
creator =
last_aired = present
num_episodes = 843 (as of December 20, 2007)
website = http://www.nbc.com/Last_Call_with_Carson_Daly/
imdb_id = 0305056 |

"Last Call with Carson Daly" is an American late night talk show that is broadcast on NBC. Hosted by former MTV VJ Carson Daly, the show features comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and stand-up comedy performances. "Last Call" airs weeknights at 1:36 a.m. Eastern / 12:36 a.m. Central in the United States.

The show is taped in Los Angeles and is a half-hour in length. "Last Call"'s house band is led by Joe Firstman who sometimes converses with Daly. The house band has featured such L.A. jazzmen as trumpeter Will Artope and sax player Zane Musa. In both 2003 and 2004, "Last Call" was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice TV Show - Late Night".

History

"Last Call" premiered in 2002, and is the successor to "Later". "Last Call" was initially aired Monday through Thursday until the cancellation of "Late Friday" in the summer of 2002.

"Last Call" was originally taped in Studio 8H of the GE Building in New York City, which was also the home studio of "Saturday Night Live". However, This required the producers to work around the schedule of the facility's main tenant, "Saturday Night Live". During this era, "Last Call" had a markedly different appearance from most other late night shows, having no house band and no jokes or monologue, going straight to the first guest at the beginning of the show.

"Last Call" was originally planned to begin taping in HDTV when Studio 8H was retrofitted for "Saturday Night Live"; however, instead, the show was relocated to Los Angeles in September 2005, and continues to air in standard definition. Since the move, "Last Call" has begun to resemble its counterparts, with the addition of the house band and a short monologue, and sometimes comedy desk bits.

2007 Writers' Strike

Production of new "Last Call" episodes was suspended for a month due to the Writers Guild of America strike, but on December 4, 2007, "Last Call" became the first late night talk show to resume production during the strike. On air, Daly explained that the only reason the show resumed production was that he was given the option to either return or have the show's 75 non-striking staff members be fired. The shows so far have not been scripted and have not included monologues. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been critical of Daly, accusing him of crossing picket lines and labeling him a scab. Daly is not a member of the WGA. [cite web |url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21998343 |publisher=MSNBC |title="Carson Daly to defy writers strike" |accessdate=2007-12-30 |date=2007-11-27 ] [cite web |url=http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/accusation-carson-daly-seeks-scabs |title="WGA Scolds Carson Daly For Returning 'To Support Staff' And Seeking Scab Jokes" |accessdate=2007-12-14 |author=Nikki Finke |publisher=Deadline Hollywood Daily |date=2007-11-27 ]

On November 27, 2007, he was accused by the WGA of soliciting jokes for his show through a telephone hotline. [cite web |url=http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/accusation-carson-daly-seeks-scabs |title="WGA Scolds Carson Daly For Returning 'To Support Staff' And Seeking Scab Jokes" |accessdate=2007-12-14 |author=Nikki Finke |publisher=Deadline Hollywood Daily |date=2007-11-27 ] [cite web |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/1127073carson1.html |publisher=The Smoking Gun |title="Carson Daly Seeking Scabs" |accessdate=2007-12-14 |date=2007-11-27 ]

On December 11, 2007, an organized group of WGA writers attended a taping of "Last Call". First, one heckled during an interview with Jerry Rice. After security removed the first writer, another spoke up disruptively, expressing sympathy with striking writers. A producer asked anyone planning to disrupt the show to leave or face prosecution; between five and twenty left. [cite web |url=http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/carson-dalys-taping-disrupted-by-writers |title="Carson Daly's Taping Disrupted by Writers" |accessdate=2007-12-14 |author=Nikki Finke |publisher=Deadline Hollywood Daily |date=2007-12-13 ]

See also

*Later
*List of late night network TV programs
*New Year's Eve with Carson Daly

External links

* [http://www.nbc.com/Last_Call_with_Carson_Daly/ NBC's official Last Call Web site]
* [http://imdb.com/title/tt0305056/ "Last Call with Carson Daly"] at the Internet Movie Database
* [http://www.joefirstman.com Joe Firstman's Official Website]

Notes