Turning the channel to color late-night TV

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Content TURNING THE CHANNEL TO COLOR LATE-NIGHT TV

by

Lauren Alicia Mendoza

A Professional Project Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(PRINT JOURNALISM)

August 2010

Copyright 2010 Lauren Alicia Mendoza

ii
DEDICATION

To my family and friends for all their support

And to my professor, mentor and friend Felix Gutierrez

iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS

DEDICATION ii

ABSTRACT iv

TURNING THE CHANNEL TO COLOR LATE-NIGHT TV 1

BIBLIOGRAPHY 24

iv
ABSTRACT

Who are the faces of late night talk shows? Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, David Letterman,
Bill Maher, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson and Chelsea Handler. As diverse as this
country is, why is diversity not portrayed in mainstream media? Unfortunately, race and
ethnicity have been put on the back burner in mainstream media leaving people of color
wondering where they fit. As a result, people of color wait for the media to tell them
where they fit based on stereotypes as opposed to making their own path. But not George
Lopez. His new late night talk show, Lopez Tonight, which premiered in November
2009, adds some color to late night television, and not just in terms of the host, with
Lopez being the first Latino late-night host.

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TURNING THE CHANNEL TO COLOR LATE-NIGHT TV

It’s 2 p.m. and the line of people goes around the towering building. The crowd is
definitely dressed to impress: guys are wearing dark jeans and button-up shirts and ladies
have on high heels and skimpy skirts. You’d think they’re on Hollywood and Highland
to go club hopping…This is the place to be.
Once inside the building, you feel like you’re at an exclusive block party on the streets of
L.A. Buildings tower over you, bright lights flash as the music bumps and people start
moving their shoulders to the rhythm, anxiously waiting for the show to start.
Alex Rodriguez and Margaret Vasquez are definitely ready to party.
“I think it’s great to finally have someone who speaks Spanish on a late night show,” says
Rodriguez, a tall Latino dressed in a black and gray Mexican dress shirt.
“I watch the show, first of all because he’s Hispanic,” Vasquez echoes.
The lights flicker, the band’s cowbell clicks-and-clangs, and War’s Low Rider starts to
play as he waits behind one of the façade buildings.
The audience cheers…then he appears—dancing to his theme song: “All my friends call
me the low rider.”
He is George Lopez.
Late-night television is finally changing the mold and upgrading from a black-and-white
TV to one with a little more color.

2
When we entered into the new millennium, people of color composed a third of the U.S.
population, according to the U.S. Census. Now, as the demographics of the United States
have more color, shouldn’t that also change be reflected in what’s on TV?
Finally…history has been made on late night television thanks to cable station TBS’ first
Latino host, George Lopez.
“When I used to watch late night TV it was all kinda one color and it stayed one color
even though the country changed,” Lopez recalls a few hours before the show’s rehearsal.
“I didn’t really understand that we were different. I knew we were a different color but I
didn’t know that there were different styles of entertainment.”
Since November 9, 2009 Lopez has been bringing a different style of entertainment to all
aspects of his show, Lopez Tonight, which currently airs on TBS at 11 p.m. and will
switch to midnight next November.
On June 24, 2010, Lopez Tonight reached a milestone celebrating its 100
th
episode. And
what better way to celebrate than to bring back Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant,
who is not only a 2010 NBA Champion and MVP…but one of the first guests to appear
on Lopez’s opening show in November of last year.
From the energy of the show to his guests, the format of the show is younger and hipper
than the traditional late-night shows of the past and present. He has talking goats from
YouTube, guests that let their natural sides comes out instead of their regular poised and
polished public demeanor, and he drops so much Spanglish on the show, it’s the norm.

3
It’s that different style of entertainment that has set Lopez apart from other late night
hosts, such as Jay Leno, David Letterman, Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel.
As Eric Deggans, a TV/media critic with the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, points out,
Lopez brings a new voice to late night television and to the topic of race…one with more
spunk.
“So often in America, when we hear voices in media talking about race, it’s a black
person (most often) or a white person,” Deggans says. “We rarely hear a Hispanic voice
in a high profile platform.”
In only seven months of Lopez Tonight being on the air, not only is Lopez a breakout star
within the Latino community, but the show itself is cutting edge for cable television.
“It’s different, it has a Mexican thing. I’m half Mexican and nothing against white people
but it’s not like a white show. It’s ethnic. They have like little inside jokes,” says John, an
audience member in his 20s, dressed in a trendy ensemble.
“He is very funny, he is very sharp with his comedy,” says TV editor for the New York
Daily News, Richard Huff. “George is one of the best late night hosts out there. I think
this is a sort of hidden gem of sorts on TV right now.”
And Martha Vasquez, a Latina in her late-40s, just can’t get enough of it. “I love it. He’s
so funny…just everything about it,” says Vasquez.
Some even compare Lopez to the early 90s breakout star of its time, Arsenio Hall.

4
“What Arsenio Hall did in the 90s by breaking barriers and the dry Johnny Carson style
of comedy, he just kinda took it to a whole different level,” says Danny, a 30-year-old
Lopez Tonight audience member. “Latinos being the largest minority now, you take a
George Lopez in the 2000s and it’s taking it even to another level yet he’s still inclusive
of other minority groups.”
Hall came onto the late-night scene back in 1989-1994 and broke the color barrier being
the first man of color to change the face of late night. To Lopez, he is somewhat of a
role model.
“When Arsenio came on 20 years ago it was like the big, big show and it changed late
night. And its motto was like ‘this is not your dad’s tonight show,’” says Lopez, referring
to Johnny Carson’s late night show. “What he did changed TV.”
And Lopez isn’t the only one brining a new splash of diversity to late-night television
today. Comedian Monique’s new late-night talk show airs weeknights on BET while
actress and comedian Wanda Sykes has her late-night show on FOX. With this new
wave of diversity, Huff says it may open doors for others…if the channels were more
willing to evolve with the changing racial and ethnic demographics.
“Diversity is good all around,” says Huff. “It’s just TV executives are always hesitant to
take big chances.”
As Lopez changes television in the new millennium, there’s a fine line he has to walk
trying to be a successful talk show host and fitting in within the late night arena. And

5
realizing that his reputation is on the line with this late night show, Lopez must take
control of it…before it takes control of him.
While he works out the kinks, Lopez controls the pace of the show and stands his
ground…even if that means doing it in front of a studio full of audience members.
“What is that?” he asks as he points at the teleprompter during the pre-recorded taping of
the show. “Where did that come from?” We didn’t rehearse that.”
He walks towards the corner where three executive producers are seated as people in the
audience chuckle nervously.
It’s clear now that this isn’t part of the show as the audience squirms in their seats, some
still masking their confusion with laughter.
“Why do we have rehearsals if you guys are just going to put shit in there at the last
minute?” Lopez asks. “Take it out! Take it out and let’s do it again. The way we
rehearsed it.”
As producers scramble to delete whatever was on the teleprompter that made Lopez stop
the show, he tries to lighten the mood by interacting with the audience.
“Do you see this?” he asks one man in the front row. “It doesn’t say ‘Gringo’ Tonight up
there,” he says. “It says Lopez Tonight!” he exclaims pointing to the bright billboard.
The audience laughs and cheers as Lopez continues his rant.
“You see those three white dudes over there?” he asks the audience as he points to the

6
executive producers. “If any of you are coming back to the show later this week, there
might only be two white guys there next time.”
A mixture of gasps and boisterous laughter fills the air. “I’m sorry everybody we’re
going to do it again from the top,” he says as the audience prepares for another take of the
pre-recorded taping.
When all is said and done, writers, producers, the audience and even Lopez himself
knows it’s Lopez Tonight…and he calls the shots on and off the stage.
It’s this control and confidence that Lopez Tonight’s senior producer, Doug Forbes,
actually likes and respects about Lopez.
“George is really committed and he has very high expectations of everyone who works
for him,” says Forbes.
And although the jury is still out on the overall success of the show, TBS has clearly
shown its confidence in Lopez with the pivotal role he played in welcoming Conan
O’Brien to the network. He even agreed to move back an hour, to midnight, to
accommodate his new neighbor…again highlighting his confidence in himself and his
show.
“I’m in the George Lopez business. I believe that Conan O’Brien coming to TBS is good
for my business,” Lopez said in a Los Angeles Times interview on April 14, 2010. “I
thought that since I already have a younger demographic, with a smaller audience…it
would be a perfect match.”

7
It’s his different type of humor that connects Lopez with his audience and sets him apart
from other late-night hosts says Forbes.
“He forms such a bond, such loyalty with his audience. He’s very close to the skit and he
talks about things that are important to him in a humorous way,” Forbes says. “That’s
something that Jay Leno does not do. Jay tells jokes and he’s very good at it and that’s
great. But there’s a distinctly different style.”
This style is what makes Lopez and his quirky show a perfect fit to change the mold of
late night from the bottom-up.
One of the most noticeable differences is the studio layout of the show, which look more
like you’re on the streets of L.A. at night than the usual late-night show setup.
“I don’t want it to be robotic to where it looks like the same every night [or] look like you
can watch any night and have it be the same,” says Lopez.
Getting away from the conventional late-night platform of a one-shot stage focused on a
desk and sofa…Lopez Tonight spiced it up a bit with large cutout buildings surrounding a
stage with two white sofas in the middle, the band grooving on the left side and a patch of
audience members on the right.
“It doesn’t look like a talk show…it feels like a concert with a few interview segments
added,” Forbes says. “It really is kind of a party!”
The festive feel is the result of the pilot, which was shot outdoors on a Warner Brothers’
exterior lot one summer night. But due to weather concerns, they couldn’t do an outdoor

8
talk show on a regular basis, so they re-created the atmosphere on stage 29.
“The physical layout of the show is much bigger…breaking off the standard proscenium,
opening it up in a bigger stage,” Forbes says. “It really is a 360 degree set with buildings
behind the audience, which gives us a lot more flexibility visually in the show. We could
do comedy bits in the windows of the buildings as well as behind the stage.”
This means the camera and Lopez can make their way through the stadium-seating
audience, interact with them up close and personal or even follow the guests out onto the
stage as audience members give high-fives, like players coming out of a football tunnel.
And the atmosphere that comes with this innovative platform resonates through Lopez,
himself.
“George brings a different sensibility to late night. It’s a much more energetic, exciting
thing. He’s up and around on the floor, he’s got the guests going right up to the audience.
He’s bringing a different energy level to a show and to a format that’s been around since
the 60s,” says New York Daily News TV editor Huff.
What seems to charge Lopez’s energy is the type of people he sees out in the audience.
“As I stand here before you, I see what America looks like...like you. This is what
American looks like,” Lopez said on his opening night November 2009.
And as the months go by Huff has been able to see a mixture among Lopez’s audience
members.

9
“People sitting in the stands that they cut to a lot, a lot more it seems than the other
shows, they tend to be more ethnically diverse,” Huff says.
The same trend seems to be appearing in the make-up of viewers at home. The opening
week of Lopez Tonight, Hispanic viewers accounted for 33 percent, more than any late-
night talk show on the broadcast networks, according to Nielsen Media Research. That
didn’t surprise Lori Teig, head of the Talent Division at Lopez Tonight.
“I think you’d have to be blind not to see that George is going to bring a different
audience than a lot of these other shows,” Teig says.
Within the Hispanic demographic, the majority of them were in the young adult category:
40 percent were in the 18-34 group and 34 percent were 18-49. And African Americans
accounted for 24 percent of the show’s viewers, also fairly high.
But even though the show skews heavily towards Latinos and African Americans, it’s not
the show’s intention to target these groups, says Forbes…“it’s all about the humor.”
And it isn’t just Lopez doing all the work. The other half to this equation of success is
the different vibe each guest brings…especially when they hijack the show as Jennifer
Lopez tried to do when she was a guest in January.
“Welcome to Lopez Tonight where nobody gets fired, they just get replaced by a bigger
star with the same last name,” she says during rehearsal forty minutes before the show.
George sits in the audience as he enjoys watching his friend get loose on stage.

10
“Hey. So what do you think?” as he points to Jennifer on stage.
“It’s great. Definitely something different.”
“Yeah, she might even do a better job than me,” he chuckles as JLo delivers her next
blow.
“This week, Sarah Palin…la cabrona,” as she slips the slang for bitch under her breathe,
everyone who knows what it means bursts into laughter, including George who yells,
“Hey! Keep that in there! Keep that in there!”
The funny thing is, that wasn’t even the joke or part of the joke, but just an impromptu
muttering, which George could appreciate as she delivers the joke with a little gusto,
making it her own.
Not only did it get a reaction on the show, but the slang causes a stir on the web the next
morning…even on an English-language “oldies” radio station like K-Earth 101 in Los
Angeles.
The next day the Morning Show with Gary Bryan buzzes with what the word means?
Was it appropriate to use on television? Did it go over the edge? They even ask listeners
to call in to give their definition of the slang word.
“The literal meaning is a female goat…but in slang it means bitch,” one person says
bluntly.
“Well it’s kind of a compliment. Because it’s like bitch but like a bad-ass bitch,” another

11
caller says. “My mom calls me cabrona…it’s like endearing.”
Another caller even claims that the word derives from back-in-the-day when men would
cheat on their wives and sleep with goats.
This one word causes such a ruckus that even a radio station like K-Earth 101, whose
listeners are probably not typical Lopez Tonight audience members, takes the time to
discuss Lopez Tonight’s episode for a good 10 minutes.
This is definitely a different side of Jennifer Lopez that most viewers, like Danny who
has been watching the show since its premiere, aren’t accustomed to.
“More of the actors show their real personality and not the Hollywood one that you see
on Jay Leno or David Letterman,” he says.
Alex Rodriguez, an audience member, says it’s refreshing to see the guests relax.
“It’s more diverse to me and they don’t talk like it’s rehearsed,” he says. “They talk like
it’s everyday conversation, like us.”
Forbes says it’s the social environment of the show that makes guests feel so comfortable
being themselves.
“They don’t just come in and do their promo and leave. Most artists hang out, George
hangs out and it’s a relaxed thing,” he says. “And that I think conveys itself on the ease
on stage, people have a good time.”
And much like the make-up of the audience, the guests of Lopez Tonight are also

12
bringing a different look to late night.
“We’ve had a lot of people of color, a lot of artists who are more important in the
Hispanic community who don’t get as much exposure,” Forbes says. “The guests who
would be an anomaly or a novelty on another show, on our show it’s like, ‘Hey it’s Oscar
de la Hoya.’”
Huff notices these, so called novelties, as well and points out that the different forum
might be why these guests have found a place on late night.
“Maybe there’s some Latino guests that are getting on the show that wouldn’t get on
somewhere else because of some insight George has,” says Huff.
But he also warns that unless you were to conduct an analytical study there is no way to
know if their guest bookings are ethnically driven.
“He had Kat Von D on there, turned out Kat is Latino, which I had no idea before. I don’t
know that she was on because of that or she’s on because her shows launching,” he says.
“J-Lo is making the rounds now so I can’t sit here and say that they’re on TV because he
is looking for a diverse [guest list].”
The show also provides a forum for less prominent guests, or what some call B-list
guests, which appeals to some audience members.
“I think that he is giving people exposure that ordinarily wouldn’t get exposure. He gives
everyone a chance,” says Danny of the studio audience. “Jersey Shore is getting more
visibility now through George Lopez than they were with any of the other networks. And

13
they’re just one-hit wonders on MTV.”
Danny was in line waiting to see a show that would feature a comedian by the name of
Anjelah Johnson.
“I haven’t seen her on any other major television shows at all from Jimmy Kimmel,
David Letterman, Jay Leno and here she is with George Lopez on national TV,” he says.
In the broad sense of the word, some would consider this guest line-up as diverse…from
the color of their skin, the way they act to the caliber of guests.
But TV/media critic Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times is one who questions whether
Lopez Tonight is really bringing diversity with their guest selections. Instead, he claims
most of the guests are merely mainstream show-business people that Lopez has
connections with.
“If his point is to bring a new voice to late night, you aren’t really seeing these new
cultural figures that you’d never heard of [and] I’m not sure giving Eva Longoria yet
another late night appearance is doing that,” Deggans says.
However, even if guests are the typical stars you see on late night shows, they aren’t
talking about the same old promotional chit-chat like most late night shows.
What other late night show has Sandra Bullock getting a Chola make-over? Does David
Letterman talk to Lawrence Fishburn about his days on the Pee-Wee Herman show? And
did Jennifer Lopez ever hijack the Tonight Show?

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Not a chance.
Plus being a show with a significantly younger audience than most late night viewers,
Lopez Tonight has to keep up with what’s hip and cool for their audience to enjoy.
The show is even creating whole segments based on generational trends…like the
YouTube craze. A segment called Screaming Goat Spanglish Lessons was introduced
after a YouTube video was discovered of a goat that yells like a man by one of the
producers.
Adjusting the concept to fit the show and its audience, Lopez uses the goat to translate
some of the Spanglish words he frequently uses on the show. A Spanish word that
describes the news that former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards has a sex
tape: Escandaloso (translated: scandalous). A Spanglish word that described Edwards’
mistress: Sucia (translated: dirty girl).
According to Forbes, the Spanish slang works well for people that understand…and even
for those who don’t.
“It’s great. People that get it usually can figure out what it means from the context but if
they don’t and George sees blank looks in the audience on white faces he just says,
‘Google it.’ It’s cool,” he says.
Even Deggans, who has his doubts about the show, says the Spanglish adds flavor to the
show.
“I do remember someone complaining about the way George veers into Spanish during

15
his routines – but I think that’s important to get across the flavor of his cultural jibes,” he
says.
Sometimes even his own staff needs a Spanglish lesson from time to time.
“Okay, so, who do we have today?” he asks.
He scrolls down to Kim and Khloe Kardashian.
Using the new segment, Screaming Goat Spanglish Lesson, the plan is to introduce the
Kardashian sisters with a Spanish word.
“So right before they come out you’ll ask the Screaming Goat: Hey goat, how would you
describe our next guests? And the goat will scream out Preciosas, with the Spanish
translation precious underneath,” explains one of the producers.
Lopez shakes his head. “Nah! That word doesn’t work. We need something else. What
do you think?” he turns and asks me during rehearsal.
Playing the cautious card, the word Reinas, which mean queens in Spanish comes to
mind. “Like Kardashian Queens,” I mutter as one producer nods in agreement.
“No. I got it!” Lopez exclaims. “Nalgonas!” He laughs uncontrollably as the rest of the
producers in the room chuckle hesitantly then asks, “What does that mean?”
“Basically big butted….but in a good way,” Lopez explains.
As the joke clicks with the rest of the group, they laugh and nod.

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“That’s what we’ll use,” Lopez says confidently.
Not only was the joke itself funny, but the fact that Lopez took the original idea, modified
it to make it his own and then went through the process of explaining the joke to his staff
makes it even more hilarious. This seems to be a trend on how the show functions:
writers and producers come into meetings with Lopez, who are majority Anglo, pitch
jokes and ideas, which he bends to fit his humor…and fit with what the audience can
relate to.
It all goes back to the fact that Lopez Tonight aims at attracting a different audience than
the typical mold of late night shows.
According to Nielsen Media Research, the average Lopez Tonight viewer’s age is 33,
considerably younger than all competing late-night talk shows.
“Most of the other late night audience is running between late 40s and early 50s. We’re
delivering a younger audience that’s of great value to advertisers,” says Forbes.
In fact, Nielsen reported Lopez Tonight above current season averages of other late night
shows during its premiere week, including The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Late
Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live and
Last Call with Carson Daly. And next to the big dogs, like the Late Show with David
Letterman, Lopez Tonight beat out Letterman’s season-to-date averages among viewers
under 34.
Another trick Lopez brings that other late night hosts don’t is his edgy, in your face and

17
yet entertaining style.
Take the Naglona sisters for example, better known as the Kardashian sister.
Once the Nalgonas sit down for their interview, it’s only a matter of time before Lopez’s
unique style pokes its head out.
While Khloe Kardashian describes how much her new husband Lamar Odom loves
candy, Lopez clears his throat, “Now speaking of chocolate…what is it with you guys
and Black guys?” The Kardashian sisters giggle as the crowd laughs and cheers along
with them at the not-so-subtle question.
“Now that [is] very funny, he never let them answer so it was all about the joke. He can
say it, in a different manner, in a joking manner and get away with it,” Huff says about
the Kardashian interview.
Huff says the edgy feel of Lopez Tonight is something he wouldn’t see or hear on other
late-night hosts...which he considers refreshing.
“I think that brings an edge to the show that’s interesting and fun and dynamic. And I
don’t think you’re going to see David Letterman or Jay Leno say ‘What’s up with the
chocolate,’” Huff says as he chuckles. “If Jay Leno dropped the chocolate line it would
seem odd.”
Forbes refers to this talent of Lopez as a kind of “humor-jujitsu”.
“George has a remarkable skill to really get right in people’s face about things and then

18
soften it,” Forbes explains. “He uses their own weight and seriousness for them to fall
and laugh at themselves in the way they think about the bits.”
Would other late night hosts take this risky approach? Lopez doesn’t seem to think so.
“First of all I think Jay Leno would probably be afraid to do it and Letterman’s a little bit
older,” Lopez says. “Letterman’s not a working stand-up comedian, Jay Leno is but he’s
safe. I’m not safe. I’ll say it because I believe it.”
But what concerns Lopez is if other hosts do venture on edgy material, especially about
race, it’s not taken in the same context as if he were to use it.
“Sometimes Jay Leno could say something or Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart says
something and it’s satire, but if I say it it’s racism,” Lopez says. “So you just keep saying
it until they realize it and you call them on their own stuff, it’s not me.”
Ironically, the topic of race on Lopez Tonight is where Deggans says he thinks it’s a little
rough around the edges and needs a little more work to “make it all gel” in a way that
feels like a smooth entertaining show form beginning to end.
“In particular a lot of the humor he tries to do around race is clumsy,” he says “He has to
figure out a way to be smarter and smoother about how he makes those references.”
But Lopez says, with him being the host, a Latino who can’t control the color of his skin,
it’s inevitable that the topic of race comes up and he can only talk about it the best way
he knows how…in the context of a joke.

19
“You know, we’re different, we talk about race, it’s an issue,” Lopez says. “It’s not an
issue for Jon Stewart or Jay Leno but it’s an issue for me so we talk about it.”
And Forbes agrees that it’s easier to put the topic of race in a joke format…and
sometimes can be more effective.
“Richard Pryor founded his humor in racial content and the differences that we have; all
the great classics have,” he says. “Humor defuses the risk of looking at [race] so you can
look at it more easily and the more we talk about it the less powerful it becomes.”
Other comedians of color like Carlos Mencia, Cedric the Entertainer and Margaret Cho,
also used racially based humor, often playing off the stereotypes of their own culture, to
enter the general audience field
Plus there’s value in making people laugh, Forbes says. To those who think the show is
too this or too that Forbes says, “Get over yourself. Have a laugh.”
“People always devalue humor as a powerful social tool, or at least many people do, I
take the opposite opinion I think it’s one of the most powerful social tools,” says Forbes.
Also by talking about race openly, it also confronts the taboo-like feel that’s associated
with it that makes people feel it’s something you “get away with.”
“No way to say why he gets away with it. First, that suggests he's doing something
wrong. He's not. Also, and I don't know this, but perhaps to his viewers none of the things
he says or does are out,” Huff suggests.

20
Plus as Susan Scheibler, Associate Professor in Film and Television at Loyola
Marymount University, says you need that in your face voice to raise awareness of topics,
such as race.
“At some point you need that anger articulation, honest, open, in your face voice. Lopez
is articulating his humor,” she says. “And I mean that’s what comedy is. Comedy is in
your face, that’s where it came from, especially when you’re talking about satire and late-
night.”
Lopez recalls an interview on the View when Joy Behar asked him directly “how he gets
away with”…
“I told her: I believe it and when you believe it, you’re not hesitant,” he explains. “If you
don’t believe something and you say it you’re waiting to get in trouble. But I believe it.
And that’s what comedy is…it’s honesty.”
Although Lopez says he still has to be cautious about the show’s race factor.
“I think if the perception of it is that it’s too Brown, critics could hit you with that so I
have to make an effort to have it be about us…and by us I mean all of us, not just
Latinos.
In the end, all the show can do is focus on its viewers and those that enjoy the show.
“There’s people that don’t eat sushi and there’s people that eat Indian food,” Lopez
compares. “I just try an do an entertaining show and I think we’re doing that.”

21
And as the Leno’s and the Letterman’s of network television aim at the mass audience
appeal, maybe Lopez found his niche targeting on the younger and more racially diverse
crowd in his class media market of TBS.
“It’s just a different animal,” Huff says of cable television. “Could Project Runway exist
with 2 million viewers on a broadcast network, on a major broadcast network...no way.”
On TBS, Lopez Tonight doesn’t have to be as rating-driven as the network shows and can
focus on more important things, like content flexibility.
“It is late night television and because we’re cable we have a little more flexibility in
terms of how far you can go with material of adult-content nature. And we push it as far
as the network will let us,” says Forbes.
But there is a trade-off. Being on cable does allow more creative leeway in terms of
content but the trade-off is fewer viewers are reached although Forbes says even with
those barriers the show is still doing very well.
“The audience penetration of the cable network we’re on, TBS, is about 80 percent…80-
82 percent of households in America have access to TBS, where broadcast networks are
at 99 percent,” Forbes explains. “So we’re at about a 20 percent disadvantage in terms of
just raw rating numbers. Which is all the more reason why we’re pretty excited that
we’ve been very consistently running number two in terms of viewers 18-49.”
Lastly, a major contribution to Lopez Tonight changing the mold of late night television
is the fact that society is rapidly changing and craving for that change to appear on

22
television.
In the 90s when Arsenio Hall was the must-see late-night show some thought outside
factors contributed to people tuning in: the onset of hip-hop and urban music, the 90s
riots in Los Angeles and the Rodney King beating in 1991.
In 2010, Lopez thinks there’s definitely outside factors adding to the show’s momentum.
“I think the shows a reflection of tension and of humor in this country and of unifying
and dividing at the same time. There’s people that love it and there’s people that hate it,”
Lopez says. “And when you’ve had a strangle hold on the population for a long time,
change doesn’t come easy because you’re relinquishing power,” Lopez says of the so-
called minority groups of society. “But people are fighting.”
In the end, can Lopez Tonight really compete in the late-night boxing arena?
“Absolutely. We’re going to kick their ass,” says Forbes.
Huff echoes Lopez’s possible triumph: “I think quality wise George is up there with the
others. He is on his game.”
“Late night is very colorful now and I think he’ll continue to change the face of late
night,” says professor Scheibler. “I think the era is fading for the white guys.”
And his audience would have to agree…he’s a breathe of fresh air in the late-night line-
up.
“My mom, she’s what, 88-years-old, she stays up with me to watch it,” says Martha

23
Vasquez, which shows how much his humor bridges generations and connects to a wide
range of people.
For Lopez, as long as his humor and smile is in tact, he can do anything.
“One thing that’s never failed me is my sense of humor. It’s never not provided me with
material or something to do or something to say” he says. “And if I smile I can do
anything, even risqué.”
The bottom line is that it’s time for a change on late-night television and Lopez is
contributing to that change through his humor.
“I just thought we could do something different. There’s people that don’t like it but you
know, there’s people of color that really like it,” Lopez says. “I think there’s a place for
it and I think it’s time for it to work…with everybody having the same heart to make it
work.”

24
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Danny. Audience Member. Lopez Tonight. 3 March 2010

Deggans, Eric. TV/Media Critic. St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. Phone Interview. 1 March
2010.

Forbes, Doug. Senior Producer. Lopez Tonight. Personal Interview. 28 Jan. 2010.

Huff, Richard. TV Editor. New York Daily News. Phone Interview. 17 March 2010.

John. Audience Member. Lopez Tonight. 3 March 2010

Lopez, George. Host, Comedian, Actor. Lopez Tonight. Personal Interview. 23 Feb.
2010.

Osborne-Thompson, Heather. Assistant Professor, Department of Radio-TV-Film.
California State University Fullerton. Phone Interview. 14 April 2010

Rodriguez, Alex. Audience Member. Lopez Tonight. 3 March 2010

Scheibler, Susan. Associate Professor, Film and Television. Loyola Marymount
University. Personal Interview. 22 March 2010.

Teig, Lori. Head of Talent Division. Lopez Tonight. Phone Interview. 25 Feb. 2010

Vasquez, Margaret. Audience Member. Lopez Tonight. 3 March 2010

Vasquez, Martha. Audience Member. Lopez Tonight. 3 March 2010

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Who are the faces of late night talk shows? Jimmy Fallon, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Bill Maher, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Ferguson and Chelsea Handler. As diverse as this country is, why is diversity not portrayed in mainstream media? Unfortunately, race and ethnicity have been put on the back burner in mainstream media leaving people of color wondering where they fit. As a result, people of color wait for the media to tell them where they fit based on stereotypes as opposed to making their own path. But not George Lopez. His new late night talk show, Lopez Tonight, which premiered in November 2009, adds some color to late night television, and not just in terms of the host, with Lopez being the first Latino late-night host.

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Creator Mendoza, Lauren Alicia (author)

Core Title Turning the channel to color late-night TV

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Journalism (Print Journalism)

Publication Date 08/05/2010

Defense Date 06/30/2010

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag diversity,George Lopez,late-night,OAI-PMH Harvest,television

Place Name USA (countries)

Language English

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Advisor Gutierrez, Felix (committee chair), Celis, William (committee member), Smith, Erna (committee member)

Creator Email lamendoz@usc.edu,lamendoza024@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m3305

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