If Jay Leno were to have his NBC bosses on his show, he could ask them what he famously did Hugh Grant in 1995: "What the hell were you thinking?"
NBC made clear what the hell it was thinking in creating The Jay Leno Show . It was trying to adjust to the post–Big Media world. With cable, DVR and online media snagging viewers, programming a full night of expensive TV was a bygone luxury. Leno might get lower ratings than NBC's 10 p.m. dramas, but those were struggling anyway and cost much more.
