Joseph Gordon-Levitt to Play Johnny Carson in New Miniseries — Did They Get the Casting Right?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Johnny Carson
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Vulture; Keystone Features/Getty Images

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been tapped to play a TV legend in his latest series role as Johnny Carson in a project titled King of Late Night.

According to Deadline, the series is written by Deadwood‘s David Milch and will be directed by Jay Roach. A co-production between wiip and Anonymous Content, King of Late Night will reportedly reveal how Johnny’s connection with his audience overlapped with a desire for a basic quality of life. The show will also explore how his onscreen persona conflicted with aspects of his personal life.

Johnny Carson

(Credit: Keystone Features/Getty Images)

No network or streaming service is currently attached to the show about the former Tonight Show host who helmed NBC’s late-night program from 1962 to 1992. The project originally surfaced five years ago with Milch and has since gone on to recruit Roach and Gordon-Levitt.

Milch, who is best known for Deadwood, NYPD Blue, and True Detective, had been working on the script for a couple of years before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2019. And so, with that material, Roach and Gordon-Levitt will bring the vision of Milch’s to life.

The biggest question is, did they get the casting right? Gordon-Levitt, whose recent TV credits include Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber and Mr. Corman, certainly has a striking resemblance to Carson, but should another performer have been considered? We want to hear from our readers — let us know who you’d like to see as Johnny Carson in the comments section below, and stay tuned for news on this project as it continues to take shape.