A very strong wave of nostalgia swept Kyra by today as she went through a post remembering The Tonight Show Starring Jay Leno. The actress posted a picture of an old Tonight Show bag and captioned it ‘An oldie but a goodie 😉 who else misses Seeing The Tonight Show with Jay Leno?!’ And let’s just say people had THOUGHTS.
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The comments section became a battleground for who reigns supreme over late-night television, but some very surprising opinions surfaced along the way. Many were in line with Kyra by saying they missed Jay Leno and the late-night TV landscape minus him, while others dig much farther into history. “I miss the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson 😬,” wrote bridgette_tn, starting an entire thread with the Carson stans coming out of the woodwork. “@bridgette_tn The master!” seconded garys_hummingbird, while another user simply said “came here to say this” – proof that Carson’s shadow is still worth measuring decades later.
Also, some of the comments were totally unexpected. Like the one from paulinehayes474 who for no reason at all stated: ‘I miss The Closer’, Kyra’s hit, and suddenly prompted a string of comments from those who said they had binge-watched the show several times. ‘@paulinehayes474 Me too! Is it wrong to have 59 episodes on TiVo?’ posted one fan, to which we say… no judgment here!
Some of the nostalgia brought back the adoration once more for Leno, with shoutouts to his comic strip style. ‘Always loved Jay! So funny, without an edge,’ said lorriehertzberg, while others referenced how his show was less of a political arena than today’s late night shows. ‘It’s all politics now – and not funny jokes about it,’ complained sakraidam, a regular discontenter over today’s late-night TV.
A few wild cards popped up too- like leapintothewild, who boldly declared: ‘Nope, Letterman or Conan all the way!! But I absolutely love Jay Leno’s Garage 🚗.’ Because you can love cars and hate a talk show by the stars for sure.
The post surfaced some hidden Tonight Show merchandise hoarders. ‘Omg!!! I have had that same bag for years, minus the tonight show logo’ chronicled neverforgetmyson_31190 as jawaho11 chimed in with ‘I had that bag! It was the best!’ Who would have guessed there was an underground market for vintage late-night swag?
And then there was thethomasmacy hitting us with his touch of Wikipedia facts: “The program has been hosted by six comedians…” then he set the mic down with “The show’s been on the air about 70 years.” Thanks for the history lesson, Thomas!
From just a few lines of nostalgia has burgeoned a cultural conversation that includes comedy and history, along with people having their own choices of late-night entertainment. There are but mere examples of such connections turned strong because of these shows and hosts, let’s say Leno’s down-to-earth humor, Carson’s legendary status, or Kyra in The Closer; people keep watching these shows again and again for that reason.
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Kyra’s post would indeed inform the world increasingly that Jay Leno once resembled something even larger than mere television-shaped shared reality. In fact, people could be Team Carson, Team Leno, or clamoring for a Closer relaunch (yes, many people asked!), but one thing is for sure: late-night television sticks with you.
