“I mean, podcasts really are the new talk show. Joe Rogan<\/a> is the new Johnny Carson,” Leno told the outlet<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n While crowning the new king of talk, Leno pointed to Rogan\u2019s ability to host interviews that included meaningful conversations \u2014 something that he believes is lacking in modern-day television shows.<\/p>\n “Joe talks to everybody about everything,” Leno told Deadline, adding, “There\u2019s no FCC to step in and say what you say and can\u2019t say, so you really do get an unfiltered idea of what everybody thinks. So yeah, I mean, to me, that\u2019s what\u2019s also changed late-night<\/a>.”<\/p>\n JOE ROGAN’S FIVE MOST NOTEWORTHY MOMENTS THAT SHAPED AMERICA IN 2024<\/a><\/p>\n Jay Leno attends the private unveiling of the Meyers Manx electric automobile at Little Beach House Malibu in Malibu, Calif., on Aug. 8, 2022. (Michael Tullberg\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Although Leno departed<\/a> the “Tonight Show” in 2014, the comic said he has remained busy while adapting to the changing media landscape \u2014 including hosting the YouTube show, “Jay Leno’s Garage.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “The day \u2018The Tonight Show\u2019 ended, I was back on the road the next night in Florida<\/a> for five nights, and that\u2019s what I do now,” Leno said. “<\/p>\n So for me, nothing really has changed. People always think, \u2018How\u2019s retirement?\u2019 Well, I\u2019m not retired. I do 200 dates a year, and I do think I do a good show. I\u2019ve got a few other things going on, like the \u2018Garage\u2019 show, that I enjoy. I have a good life after late-night.”<\/p>\n JAY LENO LAMENTS THAT MODERN COMEDY IS OVERSHADOWED BY THE ‘OUTRAGEOUS’ SOCIETY WE LIVE IN<\/a><\/p>\n Joe Rogan attends an executive order signing in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 18, 2026. (Allison Robbert\/The Washington Post\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Leno blames the loss in popularity of late-night<\/a> television partially on the amount of ads aired during each show.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Here\u2019s the thing that I think hurt late-night the most: too many commercials<\/a>,” Leno said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “They passed some new rules before my tenure at \u2018The Tonight Show,\u2019 that after 11:30 at night you could add another five or six minutes to the hour,” he continued. “It came in waves, but by the end of my time [at \u2018The Tonight Show\u2019], instead of doing like 48 minutes of show, it was only like 42 and broken up more.”<\/p>\n ‘SNL’ LEGENDS SAY COMEDY HAS BECOME BIGGER, \u2018SNARKIER\u2019 AND MORE POLITICAL<\/a><\/p>\n Comedian Jay Leno spoke with host Johnny Carson during an interview on “The Tonight Show” on June 22, 1988. (Chris Haston\/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “Yeah, so when I turn on late-night now, regardless of how I\u2019m watching, if I see Jake from State Farm again, I\u2019m gonna shoot myself in the f—ing head,” Leno said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Leno also brushed off Republicans who criticized him over his cozy interviews with political figures, like Joe Biden<\/a>, while speaking to “Deadline.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE<\/a><\/p>\n “They\u2019ll write and say, \u2018I will never watch your program again,\u2019” Leno said. “Yeah, I got it.”<\/p>\n “But here\u2019s the thing, first of all, it\u2019s free on YouTube. I don\u2019t really care if you watch it or not, you know? But there\u2019ll be all these people that you know will go on that Biden\u2019s a crook, blah blah. That I just had his point of view on Trump, it wasn\u2019t the whole gamut. Whatever. It\u2019s just us driving around. I don\u2019t really worry about it.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n However, Leno acknowledged that while times have changed regarding the public\u2019s tolerance level for political comedy<\/a>, the sentiment does not bother him as he tries to stick to his roots.\u00a0<\/p>\n “Like I said, we used to brag about the fact that Johnny and I would try to make fun of both sides equally<\/a>,” Leno said. “Looks like that doesn\u2019t work anymore. The audience is all over the place. I just think the most important thing is to remember [that] funny is funny.”<\/p>\n![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/jay-leno-radio-kirk.jpg\")
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