No official fight bell will clang when the two latest entries in the late-night talk-show arena, "Vibe" and "The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show," square off at 11 p.m. Monday.
But publicists, agents and talent managers are getting their scorecards ready for what they say will be one of the fiercest late-night showdowns since CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman" first went toe to toe with NBC's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" in 1993.
"Vibe" and "The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show"--both syndicated one-hour programs--are competing to put the funk back in late night, employing comedy, music and fashion to bring an urban flavor to the post-prime-time period missing since Arsenio Hall ended his talk show in 1994.
"Vibe," which will air locally on KCOP-TV Channel 13, is the latest venture by entertainment mogul Quincy Jones and is spun off from his popular urban music magazine of the same name. "Vibe's" host is Chris Spencer, a relatively unknown comic and actor who Jones says is destined to be a big star.
"The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show," which will air in Los Angeles on KTTV-TV Channel 11, marks the return to television of the creator and star of "In Living Color," the Emmy Award-winning sketch comedy series that aired on Fox from 1990 to 1994 and helped launch the careers of Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier and Damon Wayans, among others.
On the surface, "Vibe," from Clumbia/TriStar Television Distribution, and "Keenen Ivory Wayans," from Buena Vista Television, have much in common. Both are being produced by major African American entertainers with impressive track records. Both have African American comedians as hosts. Both are taping in Los Angeles, only miles apart. And both shows use the term "cutting-edge" in publicity materials to describe their content and attitude. And in many cases, they are going after the same top-name film, television and movie stars for guest slots.
("Vibe's" opening-week guests are said to include singer Brandy, R&B group Blackstreet, actors Mel Gibson and Jimmy Smits, supermodel Naomi Campbell and basketball star Shaquille O'Neal of the L.A. Lakers. The Wayans camp declined to name its guests.)
Most important, the two shows are jockeying for the same young, hip audience--one that tends to prefer sitcoms, cable programs or no TV at all to Letterman and Leno. The audiences for those late-night mainstays, insiders say, include only about 8% African Americans and skew toward the upper range of the 18-to-49 age demographic coveted by the networks and their advertisers.
