Paul Reiser - H 2014
AP ImagesPaul Reiser is partnering with Carson Entertainment Group on a project that will include footage from the Johnny Carson-hosted Tonight Show, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
While many details about the project remain unknown, including what form it will take, the collaboration, which involves an unprecedented level of access to the Tonight Show library, is designed to bring the Johnny Carson late-night program to a new generation.
“As a comic, there was no greater honor than getting Johnny Carson’s approval, and having been a frequent guest on his show, I came to appreciate first-hand his singular skills, and just why he was the king of late-night TV in a way that has not, and likely will not, ever be equaled,” Reiser said. “That the Carson company has given us their blessing and entrusted us to share the legacy of the Tonight Show means the world to me. For so many of us, Johnny was a huge part of our life for so many years. So I am excited to not only revisit that time with them, but also to introduce that show to a whole new generation.”
Reiser is working with his longtime producing partner Craig Knizek and with writer David Steven Simon, who worked with Reiser and Knizek on Mad About You, on the script. Carson Entertainment Group president Jeff Sotzing is also involved.
Reiser stars in Amazon’s original series Red Oaks and will next be seen in Sony’s NFL head-trauma film Concussion.
Reiser is repped by Gersh, New Wave Entertainment and Del, Shaw, Moonves, Tanaka, Finkelstein & Lezcano. Simon is with Alan Gasmer and Friends.
