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Orlando Jones Takes on Late-Night TV
Sun May 25,11:15 AM ET Add Entertainment - Reuters TV to My Yahoo!


By Gail Mitchell

LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Lenny Kravitz (news). The Neptunes' Pharrell Williams. Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.



This eclectic lineup is not just the jump-start of the June 16 premiere of FX Network's "The Orlando Jones Show." It is also a portent of Jones' pledge to open the door to a multi-racial music world generally not seen -- or addressed -- on late-night TV.


"Many celebrities in music, spoken word, TV, and film don't have a place on Leno, Letterman, Conan, or Kimmel," the actor/comedian/writer says. "No one wants to sit on the sofa with Missy Elliott and talk. Where are Erykah Badu (news), Jill Scott (news), Fishbone, or OutKast?


"Late-night TV and TV on the whole has skipped over those guys who can't get on MTV or aren't on BET yet. Younger musicians have no place. Until they sell 4 million albums, they can't go anywhere. I'm interested more in talent vs. record sales."


Jones' late-night vision draws inspiration from three predecessors: Playboy After Dark, The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson (news), and The Arsenio Hall (news) Show. Words and phrases like "sexy," "banging vibe," and "freaking it" punctuate Jones' description of his talk/variety series.


"This show is what late-night is supposed to be: like early Johnny Carson, introducing new guys to you," he says. "It wasn't so much about name recognition. It didn't have that MTV feel: bubble-gum, pressed, and packaged."


The half-hour weeknight series (11 p.m. ET/PT) is executive-produced by Eddie Feldmann and Erwin Stoff. Grammy Award-winning producer Dallas Austin (Pink, Usher, Madonna (news - web sites), TLC) is the music director. DJ Ruckus, who spins for clubs like Los Angeles' Deep and Miami's Cru, adds turntable accompaniment.


To better acquaint an audience with an act, the cable show will occasionally go backstage as the talent sets up or rehearses.


"Late-night TV has hit a plateau," Austin says. "People need more information about today's musical artists. We're just bringing our collective efforts together and being ourselves."


Jones and Austin have worked together before: Jones appeared in the 2002 Austin-inspired Fox film Drumline.


"Arsenio helped musical guests," Austin adds. "After a performance on his show, you'd see record sales increase the next day. We'll be doing the same thing but in a modern way. For example, every now and then we'll bring in a guest producer like Rodney Jerkins."


It's not just about music. The program will also feature a 90-second animated segment with two Latino kid characters. Instead of an opening monologue, Jones will portray a diverse range of characters either in sketches or interacting with people in the audience and on the street.


Underscoring the program's alternative take on talk, current on-air promos tout "no white guy, no desk, no band." The in-the-round set will have video monitors positioned around its perimeter.


Jones envisions his audience as the 18-35 group that "has grown up with a wider breadth of influences." Feldmann, formerly co-executive producer and writer on HBO's Dennis Miller (news) Live, cites Jones' appeal beyond that demo.


" transcends race and age," Feldmann says. "Today's urban audience is someone hip to new bands, new comedy. They want to be the first to see or hear something. At the same time, there are 40-year-old guys who know Orlando from the films Evolution and Drumline."


Jones will tape the show live in Los Angeles in front of a studio audience. A former writer and member of Fox's parody series MAD TV, he is jazzed about launching what he calls the next generation of late-night TV.


"We may rock one night, do a back-in-the-day funk club, discuss politics, or talk trash. It's about creating a voice, vibe, and attitude in late-night that hasn't been there for a while."





Reuters/Billboard