When Johnny Carson announces his retirement from the Tonight Show, it throws the networks, and their executives, two talk-show stars and millions of late night television viewers into a frenzy. Who could replace the most important talk-show host in history? It soon comes down to the Tonight Show's guest host Jay Leno, and the later late night star David Letterman in a fight to the finish. Take a peek behind television's most famous curtains to witness for yourself the madness, the mayhem and the money that made the battle for the Tonight Show hot-seat one of the most brutally contested- and hilarious- battles in television history. We all know who replaced Johnny Carson, but no one knew how he got there until now.

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Based on the non-fiction best-seller, The Late Shift is an irreverent, behind-the-scenes look at the conflict over who would succeed Johnny Carson as host of The Tonight Show, Jay Leno or David Letterman. Beginning with Carson's retirement, the made-for-cable film follows the backstage manueverings of both camps. When NBC chooses, Letterman refuses to lose quietly. Hosting The Tonight Show has been his life-long dream, and he is willing to do whatever it takes, even hiring an agent, to get what he wants. Indeed, Letterman soon finds himself working with ultra-powerful Hollywood agent Mike Ovitz and receiving huge offers from competing networks. Meanwhile, NBC has more trouble with the Leno Tonight Show than expected, thanks to Leno's manager Helen Kushnick (Kathy Bates). Kushnick's acerbic, foul-mouthed manner and increasingly petty behavior infuriates the higher-ups at NBC - so much so that some suggest they give the show to Letterman after all. A series of intense negotiations follows, under the shadow of ludicrously frenzied media attention. While the presentation of both Leno and Letterman (played by unknowns Daniel Roebuck and John Michael Higgins, respectively) is fairly sympathetic, the film is far-less charitable to Kushnick and NBC executives. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

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