14 DAY TRIAL // The news of David Letterman's retirement in 2015 came as a shock to most people, and now fans are scrambling to find a suitable replacement for the long-running talk show host. Among the many names that have been speculated, the strongest and yet the most unlikely to fill Letterman's shoes is newly fired Jay Leno.
Leno had dominated the scene with his Tonight Show, until he was promptly replaced in February by Jimmy Fallon, although he made his departure to outstanding ratings that reminded people of the glory days of late night entertainment.
Today, The NY Daily News puts Leno at the top of its list for the most likely replacement, and not many people can find something to argue with that. Among the other names on the list are other popular comedians who have proven their appeal with the public.
People like Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Conan O'Brien, Larry David, Louis C.K., Chelsea Handler and even Jerry Seinfled have made the list, but not all of them would be interested to take on CBS' long-running late night talk show.
Some of them already have highly lucrative jobs so they might be cut from the list right from the start, but people such as Jay Leno are just hungry enough to prove that they still have something good to offer to television.
For Leno, who has been in direct competition with Letterman for a number of years, acting as his successor could prove to be a sweet victory both over Letterman himself, as well as over NBC, as he would be battling in rankings with his former network.
This could be the best way to exact revenge on the young Jimmy Fallon, who triumphantly took over the Tonight Show and brought in serious ratings right from the start, with a mixture of his old material and skits from Late Night, but also with brand-new jokes from current events.
Meanwhile, Leno couldn't hold tears of sadness during his last episode, when a host of celebrities came out to do a little musical number in order to wish him well on his way. It included Billy Crystal, Oprah and Kim Kardashian, but the host looked as sad as ever for departing from his show after decades of work behind the anchor's desk.
So, for the moment, there are really no cons to Leno taking over Letterman's post. If he should be approached by the network, this then would be a no-brainer, but it remains to be seen if CBS will consider David's nemesis as a suitable substitute.