Funniest man on TV: Craig Ferguson
I don’t watch much TV, but one of my favorite things to watch is Craig Ferguson’s Late Late show on CBS.
He’s been on after Letterman there for years and despite how funny he is, and how good the show is, very people seem to have ever heard of the guy.
The LA Times just did a great piece about him and the show that captures much of why I like it so much:
“We have no promotion, we’ve got no money — it’s the cheapest budget of any of the late-night shows — probably Carson Daly’s too. We get nothing. But we do have a huge advantage in that they let us do what we want. And I would take that trade.”
The lack of autonomy always explains mediocrity. In companies, in teams, in movies and on TV. It’s often the corners, where fewer people are looking, that the good stuff is happening.
Given the freedom he clearly has, there is something wonderfully unhinged and real about his behavior on the show, something unlike anything else on major television. His monologues in particular are more like live stand-up comedy with an A-list comic working a B-list town, free to take risks, than the top tier late night shows where the star and the staff can’t hide the weight of national Nielsen ratings on every syllable. He’s something of an opposite of Jay Leno, who has always seemed so stiff and formulaic to me. Conan I always liked, but Ferguson is a bit darker, with a sharper blade, and it’s never quite clear what’s going to happen.
Read the full article here, or jump right in and check out his show.