Carson Daly's 'Last Call' Hosed By NBC

carsondaly.jpgRemember how Carson Daly took all that abuse for going back to work as the host of Last Call during the writers strike? Well, I've confirmed with the network that NBC has thanked him by cutting his show's budget and firing most of his writers. "This is obviously an NBC decision and it's not his decision," a source close to Carson complained to me. Specifically, the network confirm for me that this week it fired 9 Last Call employees, including 3 of the four writers whose contracts ran out during the strike. (The one scribe kept on still has 4 weeks remaining on his pact. The other 6 employees trimmed worked in other departments.) NBC sources insist that the Last Call budget cuts weren't done because of the strike and would have made regardless of the WGA labor action. This, after the network threatened to cancel the 5-year-old show altogether unless Carson went back to work. Which just goes to show that, in Hollywood, no "good" deed goes unpunished. Daly still has two years more to go on his contract, and his New Year's Eve special delivered its best-yet ratings -- but karma can be a bitch.

  1. Carson Daly's Taping Disrupted by Writers
  2. "Carson Daly Almost Ran Me Over at NBC"
  3. WGA Scolds Carson Daly For Returning 'To Support Staff' And Seeking Scab Jokes
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26 Comments »

  1. In time Zucker will get his. Time wounds all heels.

    Comment by just a thought — February 14, 2008 @ 4:18 pm

  2. hey writers, this is what you wanted. congratulations. hopefully we will see the same thing happening all over. HA HA HA

    Comment by greg o — February 14, 2008 @ 4:32 pm

  3. That show has writers?

    Comment by John — February 14, 2008 @ 4:54 pm

  4. Zucker does NOT forget when you cross him. Ever.

    And he is very patient. He will get back at the WGA, if it takes him 10 years. He will do it quietly and subtly, but Jeff will take his cut. It will be mixed with other changes, and other budget cuts, but eventually, the WGA look around and see that NBCUNi has 20 percent less writers on the books.

    Comment by Jamie — February 14, 2008 @ 5:08 pm

  5. I guess Zucker really wants the WGA to ratify (which hasn’t happened yet) the contract.

    And poor, poor Carson, not only does the WGA dislike him, but it seems NBC/Zucker aren’t overly fond of him either.

    Comment by jake Hollywood — February 14, 2008 @ 5:37 pm

  6. “That show has writers?

    Comment by John — February 14, 2008 @ 4:54 pm”

    Your comments Echo’ed my sentiments verbatum. What do they write? “Now here is a performance by Nelly?”

    Comment by Steve — February 14, 2008 @ 5:55 pm

  7. Carson deserved his abuse during the strike, but this takes the cake. There is no way that Jeff Zucker should be left to run a network. Let Dick Embersol take his place and the network can run as good as before with Lorne Michaels the entertainment president and Bob Costas running sports.

    Comment by Jessy S. — February 14, 2008 @ 6:18 pm

  8. I wonder if all NBC stock comes with a flier, “Our profits are secondary, our egos are paramount, buy vanity”

    Comment by Anon — February 14, 2008 @ 7:59 pm

  9. I understand the remarkably small ripple-effect of the strike as seen by these firings, but is this really newsworthy? The layoffs of nine whole individuals?

    I defy you to count how many BTL jobs were lost as a result of the strike. Yet you still seek the crucifixion of Jeff Zucker? Keep writing. We’ll keep reading between the lines.

    Comment by Pissed-Off PA — February 14, 2008 @ 7:59 pm

  10. Greg O –

    Enjoy executive assistant-hood buddy… we need you lifers.

    Comment by Dolly — February 14, 2008 @ 8:20 pm

  11. He was on Tom Green trying to be Mr. Nice Guy… I feel sorry for the employees, but this guy is just a d**che-bag. And a coward.

    Comment by Richard Walker — February 14, 2008 @ 8:29 pm

  12. Carson Daly has zero talent. He has zero charisma. He is a mistake who they thought was hip and hot because of his stupid MTV show. Send him back to the teenyboppers where he belongs. They’ll save a lot more money by axing him and his shit show and giving that 1:35 hour back to the local affiliates who will be happy to program whatever they want in that slot. Buh-bye Carson. You never deserved a late night show to start with. There are hundreds of comedians far more talented than you’ll ever be.

    Comment by Anonymous — February 14, 2008 @ 9:17 pm

  13. Hey Greg O and Pissed Off PA –

    While it stinks that anyone had to suffer financial hardship, I want to make something clear for people who continue to whine about the strike. The entertainment business is NOT steady work. Shows get cancelled, ratings tank, movies get shut down, shit happens, even strikes. If job security is what you’re looking for, I suggest you consider a different industry.

    And another thing? If the Teamsters or IATSE was offered a crap deal full of rollbacks you can bet they’d strike. And no one would dare say a word about it. So get off our backs.

    Comment by LB — February 14, 2008 @ 10:35 pm

  14. Dag.
    They cut the budget just as the big annual spring break show was being “written”.
    I would love to see this piece o’ crap show get the boot. 5 years was too long.

    Comment by Shelly — February 14, 2008 @ 11:00 pm

  15. I worked on “Last Call” during its run in NYC.

    They could not have found a more incompetent producer and director if they tried. (especially the director). The tapings would always start late, and the audience would sit there for 15mins or more during commercial breaks as the “producers” and Carson would try to figure out what to do next.

    While it is agreeably shitty to do what the network is doing to him, the show was a dog from Day 1. And NBC knows it. I watch a lot of NBC shows and I NEVER see it promo’d. It’s like the idiot, bastard child who’s never talked about after being sent off to the institution.

    The show is nothing but an endless parade of talentless, bimbo actresses and D+ rapper thugs. It was laughable how Carson would talk about these rappers as though they had just won the Nobel for Physics, or developed some revolutionary new techniques in pediatric neuro-surgery. In fact, all the music acts are execrable.

    Whatever the outcome, there’s never a shortage of infomercial on-camera talking heads. I’m sure he’ll land on his feet.

    Comment by snlworker — February 15, 2008 @ 1:50 am

  16. I don’t work there, but I’ve been in the industry a while and know some of the staff…

    People tend to be very dismissive of the writing on the show, but I will tell you that the writers are extremely talented on what ends up being a hard format for them to fully showcase their abilities. The fact that they’re being fired after 3 months of suffering is a shame, and they don’t deserve it.

    I don’t think Carson himself has much power to change the way his show is being run, there are some shady characters at the reigns. For the writers sake I hope the WGA can investigate and set things straight.

    Comment by era — February 15, 2008 @ 7:46 am

  17. carson had to go back to work during the strike or the show was going to be canceled. firing the writers was part of that eariler deal to keep the show. this is old news. he’s just doing what he has to do to stay on tv, thus securing his pipeline of trim. nothing needs to be said about his incredible lack of talent.

    Comment by wga-er — February 15, 2008 @ 9:22 am

  18. They already cut Carson’s show from one hour to a half hour because they make more money airing their Poker After Dark at 2 AM. Put anything on at 1:30 show old reruns of Friends and you’ll make more money.

    Comment by Anonymous — February 15, 2008 @ 10:14 am

  19. When you can air a show with no writers for 3 months I guess the lesson learned is why do you need 4 writers?

    Comment by derek — February 15, 2008 @ 11:43 am

  20. this is a brilliant move by NBC. During the strike he showed that the show can suck just as bad without the writing staff so why not save a few extra bucks by only have 1 guy/girl to concoct clumsy half baked jokes that ultimately fall flat on their faces?

    Zuckers a retarded oaf, but can you really blame him for this move? Really?

    @Comment by LB — February 14, 2008 @ 10:35 pm
    in fairness all of the arguments you listed could be used in reaction to writers complaining about low pay as well. It kinda cuts both ways, chief. I think we all agree that working in the industry sucks HARD as much as it is GREAT

    Comment by MT-vA — February 15, 2008 @ 4:05 pm

  21. Sure yeah. It’s legal to fire people for going on strike. Right?

    Comment by robot — February 15, 2008 @ 4:52 pm

  22. I will assume a complaint has already been filed with the NLRB. Some of this can even rise beyond civil to criminal action if there is an e-mail trail documenting the firings. We may have a Republican president but this is still America. Someone at NBC is going to regret this and drop a load in their pants when the Feds come and take their files and computers in a few weeks.

    Comment by Labor Lawyer — February 15, 2008 @ 9:49 pm

  23. How supportive you all have been of your fellow WRITERS on this show. In what way is all the talk of how terrible the writing is constructive to your cause? All the comments like ‘that show has writers?’ or ‘it could be written by monkeys.’ Do you guys realize how ignorant you sound? Why get in a huff that they were let go if they do such a terrible job anyway? United, indeed… as if!

    Comment by overit — February 16, 2008 @ 1:15 am

  24. Actually, as punitive as Zucker wants to be, according to the contract that’s about to be ratified, he can’t:

    Suspension and Extension of Contracts: Writing contracts in effect at the beginning of the
    strike have been suspended during the strike period. After the strike, a Company must extend a
    striking writer’s contract if: (1) the writer was working on a show when the strike began; (2) the
    show remains in production after the strike; and (3) the writer’s contact expired by its terms
    during the strike. A Company must also extend a writer’s contract if a notice or option date
    occurred during the strike and the Company exercised its right of termination. In both
    circumstances, the Company must extend the writer’s contract for a period equal to the portion
    of the contract term that elapsed during the strike.

    So, at least those writers on that crap show will some compensation after all.

    Comment by jake Hollywood — February 18, 2008 @ 8:23 am

  25. How about keeping the writers & firing Carson Daly???

    Comment by McEvil One — February 18, 2008 @ 9:39 am

  26. Fired the writers?

    Smart move. That show is un-watchable.

    Comment by Redfisher — February 24, 2008 @ 8:53 am

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