NBC is developing a Johnny Carson miniseries

Heeeerrrrre’s Johnny! NBC announced Thursday it is developing a miniseries about late night pioneer Johnny Carson.

The project will be based on Bill Zehme’s “Carson the Magnificent: An Intimate Portrait” (2010). The journalist spent time with Carson after his retirement.

The miniseries will look at the showman’s three-decade run (1962-92) on the “Tonight Show.” And while Carson was known for his privacy, the telepic will attempt to offer a peek at what his life outside the seminal set was like, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The call-up comes as the late night cavalcade -- and its drama -- has advanced to epic proportions. Carson, who died in January 2005 at 79, has long held the torch as one of the greatest showmen in history -- and one of the busiest talk-show hosts in history, having logged 22,000 guest interviews in New York and Burbank.

Zehme, who wrote an in-depth Esquire profile in 2002 on the one-time “Tonight Show” king and was production consultant on PBS‘ “Johnny Carson: King of Late Night” documentary, will be the executive producer on the project alongside John Davies (“A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman”).

Casting for the key role will be announced at a later date.

NBC announced this year its plans to invest in limited series. Let’s just hope things progress better than they have for NBC’s other planned mini-series project.

-- Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times

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