Turner Classic Movies just signed a deal to repackage some classic Johnny Carson Tonight Show interviews into a series of hour-long specials. The LA Times reports that TCM will create 10 one-hour specials under the name “Carson on TCM†and begin airing them in the summer of 2013. TCM will also be running Carson interviews individually in between its programs, pairing the interviews with movies that feature the actor or actress interviewed. Classic Carson interviews that will be packaged into these specials include ones with Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, Drew Barrymore, Steve Martin and Elizabeth Taylor, and it’ll be the first time many of these clips have aired since their original NBC debut. This is a great idea as it’s kind of a bummer that old late night shows don’t get played on TV ever. Sure, topical monologue jokes don’t age so well, but interviews and other segments fare better. Here’s hopin’ this Carson resurgence kicks off a trend and we’re able to see classic episodes of Letterman, Dick Cavett, and Conan on TV someday.
