The CBS honcho clarifies Harris' statement that he was approached to replace David Letterman and says there are no talks with Joel McHale about the 12:30 slot.
- May 16, 2014
AceShowbiz - A day after Neil Patrick Harris confirmed he was considered as David Letterman's possible replacement for the "Late Night" show, CBS chief Leslie Moonves clarified it in an interview with Bloomberg. Moonves denied that they had extended an offer to the actor, claiming that Harris' story was "not exactly true."
"We said, 'All right Neil, what do you want to do? What are the possibilities? Want to come do a new series with us? And we knew probably Letterman and 12:30 might be open, late night. What do you think about that?' " he recalled his conversation with Harris after he completed the production of CBS' sitcom "How I Met Your Mother".
"So, it was a very general topic. I wouldn't say we didn't talk about it, but he wasn't offered it per se," Moonves explained. He added that he wanted Harris back in the CBS family in "any way" he would like to do it, including a variety show that Harris suggested or another comedy.
He also addressed "Late Late Show" rumors that mentioned Joel McHale and Chelsea Handler as candidates to replace Craig Ferguson. While saying that "there was no discussion about 12:30" with the "Community" actor despite a photo of him with his wife Julie Chen and McHale at a party, Moonves didn't completely rule out the possibility of Handler joining the network.
"The only reason we said not is because she was tweeting out these pictures with CBS logos and all that," he said, referring to CBS' statement that denied there were any conversations with the "Chelsea Lately" host. He added, "But Chelsea's great. There are a lot of possibilities. There are a lot of terrific people there."
