Late-night TV is starting to look more like America

Wanda Sykes livens up Saturday nights.

The wind of change is blowing through late-night talk television.

What once seemed the exclusive domain of old white men sitting behind desks is suddenly more diverse with the arrival of The Wanda Sykes Show (Saturday, Fox at 11 p.m.) and Lopez Tonight (Monday, TBS and TLN at 10 p.m.), new shows hosted by a black gay woman and a Mexican-American man, respectively. Had this happened in 1979 – which is highly unlikely – Johnny Carson would have probably gone for the obvious punchline: There goes the neighbourhood.

Of course, America has undergone a few changes since the heyday of Carson's The Tonight Show . Those corny Carnac the Magnificent routines would be woefully out of place today; for that matter, even Arsenio Hall, whose syndicated show began in 1989, now seems painfully dated.

Along with the recent addition of The Mo'Nique Show – BET's nightly talker showcasing the plus-sized African-American comedian – the new talk-fests hosted by Sykes and George Lopez are simply representative of U.S. society, and of the efforts of lower-tier broadcasters to capitalize on those expanding demographics.

Working in their favour is also the current late-night landscape. NBC's decision to shift Jay Leno to prime time was a bold idea that now is dying slowly on the vine. The Late Show with David Letterman weathered last month's sex semi-scandal, but it's unlikely the host garnered any new female fans in the process (the median age of a Letterman viewer, according to the U.S. Nielsen company, is 57).

And Conan O'Brien? Why, in only four months, the red-haired upstart has managed to shed nearly half the viewing audience held by The Tonight Show under Leno. Earlier this week Leno told Broadcasting & Cable magazine that he'd gladly return to The Tonight Show chair, should NBC come calling.

All of which heightens interest in Sykes. Fox's plan is to test her show on Saturday night, with hopes of rolling it out weeknights next year. Best known for her raucous standup act and regular support roles on The New Adventures of Old Christine and HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm , Sykes comes to the talk-show arena as a complete neophyte, which she sees as an advantage.

“This is all really new to me, so my plan is to stick to keeping it real," said Sykes at the recent TV critics tour in Los Angeles. “I'm a woman with a point of view. I've always tried to keep it honest, but from the humour perspective. I always put funny first. I just happen to have boobs."

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