Comment on Why do all night show hosts sit and have their desk to the left of the interviewee?
cattywampas@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Probably because that’s how The Tonight Show Starting Johnny Carson was set up, and subsequent late night talk shows have generally emulated its style and setup.
JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 2 days ago
Hmm… did the Tonight Show desk-format change from what Steve Allen originally set up, or the Jack Paar period, before Carson came along?
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Jack Paar Tonight show
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Steve Allen Tonight show
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Both of which seem to have had a second chair to their left for guests or co-hosts, and the chair we think of today for the guest was the overflow. Possibly Carson standardized it.
JohnnyEnzyme@piefed.social 2 days ago
TBH, I’d be pretty shocked if the arrangement actually originated with The Tonight Show. In Western-languages cultures (and others), I’m thinking it probably goes back close to the origin of a guest & a host appearing in front of an audience, which could go back… many thousands of years, really.
All things being equal, I would suspect TV simply borrowed from a traditional arrangement that came long before.
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Fair enough, I just think the Tonight show probably had outsized influence.