The Late Shift

This chronicle of the machinations behind the high-profile battle for control of "The Tonight Show" puts heavy emphasis on the wheeling and dealing behind the scenes of late-night television. The movie premiered on HBO in February of 1996, and was later released to home video.

Late night programming is a $70 million profit machine for the NBC television network. Johnny Carson (Rich Little) is the host of "The Tonight Show" and the undisputed king of the late shift. Jay Leno (Daniel Roebuck), the popular "permanent guest host" of Carson's show, and David Letterman (John Michael Higgins), a self-contained institution in the hour after Carson, both stand as heirs p...