Cliff Lipson/CBS, NBC/Paul Drinkwater"There's no laughs at 10 o'clock," Jay Leno told reporters last week.
For a change, the comic wasn't kidding.
When the broadcast networks set their fall schedules last week, NBC's rivals sicced the police on the pending prime-time talk host. And the detectives...And the forensic scientists...
So, what is it exactly about the idea of Leno at 10 p.m. that has ABC and CBS seeing blood red?
"Good counterprogramming strategy," says TV historian Ed Robertson.
Or, to put it another way: Leno may be funnier than, say, Simon Baker's Patrick Jane, but he won't solve nearly as many crimes as the keen, wavy-haired observer. (Nobody's expecting Leno to book nearly as many viewers, either.)
Come September, The Mentalist will move to Thursday at 10 p.m., and join an alliance of 10 p.m. crime shows to include CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Numb3rs and Castle.
Aside from the doctors of Private Practice and the witches of the new Eastwick, Leno, who ends his Tonight Show run tonight, will be the only time-slot resident who doesn't speak CSI. Even 20/20, the long-running newsmagazine to air at 10 p.m., Fridays, has been known to tell a true-crime tale or two.
According to Robertson, there's a reason 10 p.m. historically has been an hour for drama.
"[Those shows] lead into heavy news stories at the top of the hour at 11 p.m.," Robertson says "With Leno, that screws everything up."
Unless, of course, "Jaywalking" starts making citizen's arrests.