Probably because that’s how The Tonight Show Starting Johnny Carson was set up, and subsequent late night talk shows have generally emulated its style and setup.
Both of which seem to have had a second chair to their left for guests or co-hosts, and the chair we think of today for the guest was the overflow. Possibly Carson standardized it.
TBH, I’d be pretty shocked if the arrangement actually originated with The Tonight Show. In Western-languages cultures (and others), I’m thinking it probably goes back close to the origin of a guest & a host appearing in front of an audience, which could go back… many thousands of years, really.
All things being equal, I would suspect TV simply borrowed from a traditional arrangement that came long before.
Probably because that’s how The Tonight Show Starting Johnny Carson was set up, and subsequent late night talk shows have generally emulated its style and setup.
Hmm… did the Tonight Show desk-format change from what Steve Allen originally set up, or the Jack Paar period, before newcomer Carson arrived?
Jack Paar Tonight show
Steve Allen Tonight show
Both of which seem to have had a second chair to their left for guests or co-hosts, and the chair we think of today for the guest was the overflow. Possibly Carson standardized it.
TBH, I’d be pretty shocked if the arrangement actually originated with The Tonight Show. In Western-languages cultures (and others), I’m thinking it probably goes back close to the origin of a guest & a host appearing in front of an audience, which could go back… many thousands of years, really.
All things being equal, I would suspect TV simply borrowed from a traditional arrangement that came long before.
Fair enough, I just think the Tonight show probably had outsized influence.
*shrug*