Posted in: TV | Tagged: david letterman, jay leno

Jay Leno on Reuniting with David Letterman: "Dave Might Be Awkward"

Jay Leno is open to reuniting with former late-night rival David Letterman, but making it happen might be a little "awkward" for Letterman.

For nearly two decades, Jay Leno and David Letterman became bitter late-night rivals after Leno was picked to succeed Johnny Carson as The Tonight Show host on NBC in 1993, when Letterman had the follow-up show in Late Night since 1982. With Carson's retirement in 1992 and Leno taking over, Letterman departed the network for rival CBS and hosted The Late Show. While Leno's original tenure lasted until 2009, paving the way for then Late Night host Conan O'Brien to take over, it would be short-lived as O'Brien was released from his contract after NBC attempted to renegotiate their late-night situation, and subsequently gave Leno back The Tonight Show and O'Brien taking his talents to cable and TBS while rivals Letterman and ABC's Jimmy Kimmel joined O'Brien in skewering NBC and Leno along the way. Since relinquishing The Tonight Show to Late Night's Jimmy Fallon in 2014 and Letterman's retirement from The Late Show in 2015, Leno appeared on In Depth with Graham Bensinger and was asked about reuniting with one-time friend-turned-rival.

Jay Leno Open to Reuniting with David Letterman: "Might Be Awkward"

When asked if a reunion was in the cards, "Oh, yeah, I would like to do that. I think I have no problem with it," Leno told host Graham Bensinger. "I think Dave might be awkward." The long-time host, who attempted to move to prime-time in 2009, called The Jay Leno Show, was slotted for 10 p.m. weeknights to lead into the local news before O'Brien's Tonight Show. NBC didn't see the results they desired, attempted to condense Leno's show to a half-hour, and move him back to his original spot at 11:30 p.m., when he initially hosted The Tonight Show before O'Brien balked at the idea, roasting the network and his predecessor on his way out at every opportunity.

When Leno took back The Tonight Show in 2010, he participated in some pretty "awkward moments" himself on TV, video conferencing with Kimmel on the set of his series Jimmy Kimmel Live! with the latter going for the comedic jugular, making an indirect reference to O'Brien on Leno's show. Letterman also took several shots at his rival and his signature chin with renewed vigor, given his spurning from NBC in the early '90s. Regarding Leno's time to crossover, the two filmed a series of commercials for Letterman's show alongside Oprah Winfrey for CBS's broadcast of Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. Leno arrived at The Ed Sullivan Theater, where The Late Show taped and filmed commercials. The ad starts with the three watching the game and Letterman declaring the Super Bowl was the "worst ever." Leno responds, "He's just saying that because I'm here," before Letterman mocks and repeats his voice. Winfrey throws her hands up, shakes her head in disappointment, and glances at him eating a chip.

Leno and Letterman's fight for The Tonight Show was chronicled in The Late Shift, which was adapted to a biopic by HBO in 1996. Leno told Bensinger that he and Letterman are "quirky" but on "opposite sides of the coin." Leno currently hosts his automotive-themed series Jay Leno's Garage, while Letterman's focused on his Netflix talk series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. For more, including Leno talking about his recent "awkward" visit with Letterman alongside comedian Wil Shriner, you can check out the video.

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