I enjoyed the Tony Awards. I'm kind of in awe of how hard James Corden works. Just in terms of how much time on The Late Late Show obviously goes into rehearsal and remotes, I suspect he's the hardest-working late night host ever. Add in the fact that he also does prime-time specials, shows like the Tony Awards and he did that The World's Best series…and the guy makes Steve Harvey look like a loafer. Corden's also really good at everything except not fawning too much over his guests.
Apparently, there is some concern on the 'net that now that Les Moonves is no longer at CBS, the Tonys may not be televised there. Before Moonves was in command, they almost seemed to be running the show under duress and cramming it into a too-short time slot and the show was forbidden to run even a minute over. Moonves was the guy who loved the event and let it run longer and at a loss. Each telecast, they always got a shot of him in the audience as a kind of "thank you."
There's a contract in place to keep the Tony Awards on CBS through 2026 but of course, there could come a point where someone in charge there would say, "Let's get out of that deal." TV networks have whole legal squadrons that specialize in weaseling out on deals.
Early reports say the ratings were notably down from last year…and last year, they weren't so hot. It may turn out to be the lowest-rated Tony telecast in some time. Also, some of the reviews this morning strike me as unfairly harsh. I would agree though with those who said it could have used more of its host and fewer presenters brought to the stage by the fine voiceover skills of Randi Thomas.
The concern may be unwarranted. We haven't heard anyone at CBS say that maybe it's time to re-examine the network's commitment to the Tony Awards. But someone's got to at least be thinking it…
By the way: I erred when I said I didn't see any of the nominated shows. Amber and I went to see Ain't Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations during its pre-Broadway Los Angeles engagement.