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Rolling out Leno’s return

NBC's new promo makes it clear where its favorite host belongs

Senior Writer

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Last month, NBC Entertainment Chairman Jeff Gaspin told EW.com that the network would trumpet Jay Leno’s move back to late night with “with some humor and a wink, not a sledgehammer. We will certainly be more subtle.” But it’s pretty clear NBC’s hopeful vision is a reunion whose awesomeness rivals that rainstorm scene in “The Notebook.”  Just take a gander at the network’s new promo.

Riffing on the original campaign that featured Leno roaring triumphantly into primetime, the host now zooms back to the 11:35 p.m. slot to the strains of the Beatles’ none-too-cheap-to-purchase-the-rights-of “Get Back.” What could be subtler than that? Maybe only if Leno’s license plate had read “UP YRS COCO.”

By Mary Elizabeth Williams

Mary Elizabeth Williams is a senior writer for Salon and author of "A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles." Follow her on Bluesky @maryelizabethw.


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