The Spin-off
Rick Ludwin Shares Years of Late-Night Insight
Special guest Rick Ludwin stops by to talk thoughts on the future of late night and lessons learned from more than 30 years in the TV industry. Ludwin ran Nate Night and Special Programming at NBC from 1980 until 2012.
By Michael Schneider • • 40m ListenYou may notice we're back a little soon to be doing another Spin-off. Well, we're happy to tell you we're now going to aim for two episodes a month. One episode will continue to be the format you know and love -- a deep dive into world of television with another TV journalist.
Then, as a bonus episode, Joe and Mike will sit down with someone from inside the industry - a person who can bring a unique perspective from their area of TV expertise. We're hoping to have showrunners, studio exes, writers, maybe even some on-screen talent.
Our first guest couldn't be more timely. Rick Ludwin oversaw Late Night and Special Programming at NBC for more than 30 years -- from 1980 until 2012. We pick his brain about Saturday Night Live, famous late night transitions and reflect on the one-year anniversary of Jimmy Fallon as the host of The Tonight Show.
We also look ahead in late night, and ask who could possibly replace Jon Stewart and why there's such a severe shortage of women late night hosts. And we talk about the way late night has evolved as television viewing habits has changed. Fortunately, Ludwin thinks late night still has a long future ahead of it, even if it doesn't look the same as it does now.
