Courtesy of The Associated Press
The role of female talk show hosts in late-night TV broadcast network history, all 50-plus years of it, can be summed up in two words: Joan Rivers. It takes just another two – Arsenio Hall – to do the same for minorities.
There’s no indication that’s going to change in the latest round of musical chairs involving “Tonight” and “Late Night.” All the NBC, ABC and CBS showcase jobs at 11:30 p.m. Eastern and later appear likely to remain securely in white men’s hands.
Jay Leno is handing off to Jimmy Fallon, with speculation tagging Seth Meyers as his likely successor. Meanwhile, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson and Carson Daly are sitting pretty, without the faintest drumbeat of a pair of advancing high heels to signal a threat.
There have been alternatives bandied about – Chelsea Handler, black comedian-writer Aisha Tyler – but no hints they or others are getting traction.
“In real life it seems to me that women have definitely shown themselves to be able to carry on a conversation,” said Merrill Markoe, the Emmy Award-winning writer who helped David Letterman create “Late Night” at NBC. “Women have exhibited an interest in talking for centuries. I’m not sure how it is that no one has seemed to notice.”
