Paul Reiser’s ‘There’s Johnny!’ Goes Backstage at Carson’s ‘Tonight Show’

Actor Paul Reiser (“Mad About You,” “Stranger Things,” “The Kominsky Method”) takes viewers behind the scenes at “The Tonight Show” in the comedy series “There’s Johnny!” now streaming on Peacock.tv. Reiser, who created, wrote and executive produced the series with David Steven Simon, spotlights the 1970s heyday of the classic late-night talk show, focusing on the staff of producers, writers and assistants that work on it at NBC in Burbank. Johnny Carson appears only in vintage “Tonight” clips, as do celebrity guests including George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield, Albert Brooks and Steve Martin.

The cast includes Jane Levy (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”) as junior producer Joy Greenfield, “Who’s the Boss?” star Tony Danza as producer Fred De Cordova, and Ian Nelson as wide-eyed newbie Any Klavin, a fish out of water who just arrived from Nebraska. The show is set in 1972, soon after “Tonight” moved west from New York.

“It’s about NBC, the golden age of ‘The Tonight Show.’ For anybody who did standup, Johnny was the guy. Getting on his show was the goal,” said Reiser, who appeared on “Tonight” several times. “Johnny Carson and ‘The Tonight Show” was such an integral part of my life growing up, and creating ‘There’s Johnny!’ has been such a long labor of love for me. It was enormously gratifying that Jeff Sotzing and The Carson Entertainment Group have entrusted us to honor Johnny’s legacy this way, and that it has now landed at Peacock feels like the show has finally found the perfect–and rightful–home.”

Reiser will return to the other side of the camera in the third season of “The Kominsky Method” and the fourth season of “Stranger Things” in 2021.