SEINFELD TO BE JAY LENO’S FIRST GUEST

With Jay Leno’s unprecedented move to the 10 p.m. time slot (9:00 Central) this fall, a new late-night war has begun for booking guests.  Soon enough, Conan O’Brien must compete for A-list stars not only with David Letterman in New York City, but also with Leno in his own back yard.  And now NBC has announced that Leno’s first guest will be Jerry Seinfeld.

NBC announced Friday that Mr. Seinfeld would be the main guest on the new hourlong “Jay Leno Show,” which will have its premiere at 10 p.m. on Sept. 14. Mr. Seinfeld has long been close with Mr. Leno and the late-night star has cited him as one of his chief advisers when he was considering whether to accept NBC’s offer to start a new show at 10 on weeknights. [NYT]

Good Lord do I not care about this.  I’m apathetic about Seinfeld’s career, and the world would be a better place if Leno fell into a rusty industrial meat grinder.  He’s the only late-night host I can’t stand; everyone else has some redeeming quality.  Conan’s a genius; Letterman’s the best interviewer; Kimmel’s a little frat-ty for my taste, but he can be funny; Craig Ferguson is quietly brilliant; and Fallon can be surprisingly quick on his feet.  Leno’s just bland.  It’s like watching a jar of mayonnaise tell jokes.