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Movie
Poster for The Late Shift

The Late Shift

1996 · 95 min

A wry, inside-baseball look at backstage network scheming, more boardroom chess match than laugh-out-loud comedy, with a quietly bitter aftertaste.

Directed by
Betty Thomas
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Tv movie
Starring
John Michael Higgins, Daniel Roebuck, Kathy Bates
Tagline
Two heads fighting for the late night crown - One head's gotta roll.
Overview
David Letterman vies with Jay Leno and his manager to succeed Johnny Carson, retiring from "The Tonight Show."

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Stream in the UK
  • HBO Max Amazon Channel
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Betty Thomas
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Tv movie
Starring
John Michael Higgins, Daniel Roebuck, Kathy Bates
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • satiricalstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • ambition
  • power
  • betrayal
  • loyalty
  • media
Places
  • workplace
  • big city
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action2
Horror0
Humour5
Realism8
Romance1
Tension6
Darkness5
Complexity6
Emotional weight5

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • HBO Max Amazon Channel

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, drama, tv movie
Directed by
Betty Thomas
Written by
George Armitage, Bill Carter
Starring
John Michael Higgins, Daniel Roebuck, Kathy Bates, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr., Peter Jurasik, Reni Santoni, John Kapelos
Music
Ira Newborn
Cinematography
Mac Ahlberg
Runtime
95 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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