The Late Shift poster
TV Movie

The Late Shift

1996·1h 35m·R
DramaComedy
IMDb Rating
★ 6.7/10
4,036 votes

A dramatization of the rivalry between David Letterman and Jay Leno over which of them would succeed Johnny Carson as the host of "The Tonight Show".

The Late Shift is a 1996 drama comedy movie directed by Betty Thomas, starring Bob Balaban, Kathy Bates, John Michael Higgins. It holds an IMDb rating of 6.7/10 from 4,036 votes and runs 1h 35m.

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Director
Betty Thomas
Stars
Bob Balaban
Kathy Bates
John Michael Higgins
Daniel Roebuck
Details
1996-02-24
95 min
TV Movie
R
★ United States
★ English
Keywords
little richard characterreference to george peppardluncheonreference to general electricrivalryjay leno characterreference to paramount pictures studiodavid letterman characterreference to michael eisnerreference to pat sajakswearingpaul shaffer characterwatching tvreference to naomi juddreference to sinead o'connorreference to johnny carsonnbcreference to richard nixonreference to niccolo machiavellitv lineupreference to billy crystalfemale business sharkcarnegie hall manhattan new york cityreference to ross perotreference to tony orlando and dawnlate night talk showstand up routinereference to maury povichreference to jascha heifetzwalk outtitle directed by femalereference to jack bennyshowbiz dramadisrespectfulreference to roger daltreylate night tvtelevisiontough female negotiatormotorcycle fantough negotiationsreference to vietnam warreference to lucille balllate night tv warsrupert murdoch characteramerican televisiontelevision comedianreference to henry kissingerthe tonight showleaked news storypolitical rallyreference to vladimir horowitzreference to venezuelawalt disney companytough femalereference to howard sternyear 1992retirementyear 1991business offercomediansreference to jay lenostrong arm tacticsaggressive womantough negotiatorfemale managertalk show hostreference to amy fisherreference to arsenio halltelevision hosttold in flashbackreference to phil donahueclient manager friendshipreference to hugh grantreference to tom brokawrivalsreference to arnie kleinermanager client fightpress conferencereference to ted koppelreference to kenny rogersreference to green bay wisconsincodafox television networkclient manager relationshipreference to jackie gleason1990stv executivespontaneous applausefemale tv executive producerreference to garth brooksreference to david lettermanreference to doritosdick ebersol characterjohnny carson charactercontract clausebusiness negotiationtelevision historycbsclient manager betrayalreference to travis trittdisrespectnbc national broadcasting company as subjectwalt disney company as subjectcbs columbia broadcasting system as subjectrivalthe tonight show as subjecttelevision networkreference to paramount picturesfox television network as subjectcar phonedialogue drivenbusiness deallosing a job