NBC is developing a mini-series based on the life of Johnny Carson. There's a limit to how much I believe in prejudging a project but I'm skeptical, first of all, that they can make Johnny's life interesting enough to be a mini-series; not unless they delve into scandal, marital dirt and affairs, Johnny's ruthless side, etc. Otherwise, it's not a story of struggles so much as of ongoing success. Yeah, Johnny had some career setbacks before The Tonight Show — actually, before Who Do You Trust? — but not many. Will people want to watch a mini-series about a guy who managed his career really, really well and had pretty much nothing but varying degrees of success for most of his life? Will the production treat as great drama those moments when he was fighting with NBC execs for another million a year in salary or worrying because his ratings were dipping slightly?
But the big problem for me is: Who the heck do you get to play Carson? The man is so well known and bio-pics rarely work if the viewers can close their eyes and see the real guy, then open them and see that how much the fellow on the screen doesn't look like him, sound like him, act like him, etc. Since the most interesting part of Carson's life would be his early days when he did struggle (a little), they'll probably want to hire a young actor. Then they could age him as the story progressed, which is easier than hiring an older actor and trying to "young" him up. And are they also going to hire acts to play Doc and Ed and Don Rickles and Charles Nelson Reilly and folks like that? Sounds to me like a casting nightmare…
I'm eager to read the Bill Zehme book on which it's to be based but a dramatization…? I dunno about this…