The Late Shift (Expression) Refers to the political wrangling involved in the late-night talk show wars, originating from a book from the same title about the 1992 late night wars after Johnny Carson retired. 

So, the late shift is heating up again. NBC announced yesterday that Jay Leno's last night on the air will be May 29th, 2009, while Conan O'Brien will take over the "Tonight Show" on June 1st. Meanwhile, Jimmy Fallon will take over for Conan O'Brien in March or April of 2009, though he'll start airing 10 minute episodes online several months ahead of his airdate. Additionally, Leno has already indicated that he won't be retiring, and that either ABC or FOX will get a crack at signing him up for their 11:30 spot. Because FOX stations go off the air at 10 p.m., ABC will likely "win" the services of Leno, which will push Jimmy Kimmel back a half hour, probably result in the cancellation of "Nightline" and set up one helluva shitstorm at the 11:30 time slot between O'Brien, Leno, Letterman, and Colbert, not to mention the "war" between Fallon, Kimmel, and Craig Ferguson, which will likely see Fallon as an early casualty.

And the winner? Probably Jon Stewart. At 11 p.m. he doesn't face any competition from the moves. Plus, O'Brien and Leno will probably split their audience while Letterman rises to the top, ratings-wise, which will set up Jon Stewart perfectly for taking over "The Late Show" in 2018. Not that he's up for it, but I think everyone knows that Stewart will, eventually, take over for Dave, after Dave keels over (he'll never retire, nor should he). It's the natural progression of things -- Stewart is obviously the heir apparent, if not in name, then in spirit.

And, after 12 years of the Empire Strikes Back in the late night wars, with the evil Leno winning the race, good will finally come out on top in the form of Jon Stewart, which was prophecied in 1995, after Jon Stewart's MTV talk show was cancelled.