Will ‘Hip’ Equal ‘Hit’?

No official fight bell will clang when the two latest entries in the late-night talk-show arena, “Vibe” and “The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show,” square off at 11 p.m. Monday.

But publicists, agents and talent managers are getting their scorecards ready for what they say will be one of the fiercest late-night showdowns since CBS’ “Late Show With David Letterman” first went toe to toe with NBC’s “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” in 1993.

“Vibe” and “The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show”--both syndicated one-hour programs--are competing to put the funk back in late night, employing comedy, music and fashion to bring an urban flavor to the post-prime-time period missing since Arsenio Hall ended his talk show in 1994.

“Vibe,” which will air locally on KCOP-TV Channel 13, is the latest venture by entertainment mogul Quincy Jones and is spun off from his popular urban music magazine of the same name. “Vibe’s” host is Chris Spencer, a relatively unknown comic and actor who Jones says is destined to be a big star.

“The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show,” which will air in Los Angeles on KTTV-TV Channel 11, marks the return to television of the creator and star of “In Living Color,” the Emmy Award-winning sketch comedy series that aired on Fox from 1990 to 1994 and helped launch the careers of Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx, David Alan Grier and Damon Wayans, among others.

On the surface, “Vibe,” from Clumbia/TriStar Television Distribution, and “Keenen Ivory Wayans,” from Buena Vista Television, have much in common. Both are being produced by major African American entertainers with impressive track records. Both have African American comedians as hosts. Both are taping in Los Angeles, only miles apart. And both shows use the term “cutting-edge” in publicity materials to describe their content and attitude. And in many cases, they are going after the same top-name film, television and movie stars for guest slots.

(“Vibe’s” opening-week guests are said to include singer Brandy, R&B; group Blackstreet, actors Mel Gibson and Jimmy Smits, supermodel Naomi Campbell and basketball star Shaquille O’Neal of the L.A. Lakers. The Wayans camp declined to name its guests.)

Most important, the two shows are jockeying for the same young, hip audience--one that tends to prefer sitcoms, cable programs or no TV at all to Letterman and Leno. The audiences for those late-night mainstays, insiders say, include only about 8% African Americans and skew toward the upper range of the 18-to-49 age demographic coveted by the networks and their advertisers.

“Since Arsenio went off the air, there has not been a late-night entertainment talk show that takes the urban perspective in the choosing of their guests or of what’s going on with current events,” said David E. Salzman, an executive producer of “Vibe.” “Late night has been void of serious conversation, of substance and emotion. As great as Leno and Letterman are, there is a certain sameness.”

Wayans, in a separate interview, said: “There is an audience out there that is being under-served. Even the audience that is being served is not that happy with what they’re getting. I think people now just have low expectations in late night. It’s like, ‘Why stay up?’ ”

But those similarities have fueled speculation among industry insiders about whether two urban-flavored talk shows can have enough mainstream appeal to survive.

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With the arrival next year of a variety-talk show from Twentieth Television hosted by Laker legend Magic Johnson--amid reports of turmoil on the set of “Keenen Ivory Wayans”--several are predicting that either “Vibe” or “Wayans” will meet the same fate as short-lived post-Hall shows hosted by Chevy Chase and Stephanie Miller.

“We will be looking very closely at this situation to see what our marketing plan is going to be,” said Rick Jacobson, president of Twentieth Television, the syndication unit of Fox.

Jacobson, who said Johnson’s show, “The Magic Hour,” would have wide crossover appeal, added: “Odds are both [new] shows won’t work.”

Meanwhile, producers for the respective shows have been working to get an early edge by frantically pulling together various comedic and musical elements into their shows while aggressively wooing A-list stars and musical acts to appear--preferably before they appear on the rival’s program.

Some publicists and talent managers say the mudslinging between the two shows has already started, with a resumption of the booking wars that erupted in 1992 when then-”Tonight Show” executive producer Helen Kushnick pressured managers, agents and publicists to book their talent first with Leno or risk being banned in the future.

“I’m hearing from my team that . . . both shows are being very aggressive about booking guests first,” said one prominent publicist. “They’re very competitive right now. It’s not nasty yet, but it has the potential to be.”

Said Pamela Golum, executive vice president of the Lippin Group, a corporate and entertainment public relations and marketing firm: “As far as ‘Keenen’ and ‘Vibe’ are concerned, I think a lot of people are waiting to see how the shows progress and what kind of ratings they get. Obviously if one breaks out, it will get the better guests.”

But producers at both shows say they are too concerned about putting together a great product to fret about rumors. They said that talk of cutthroat tactics and booking wars is untrue and that the competition remains friendly.

They maintain that “Vibe” and “Wayans” can coexist in the same relatively peaceful and nonconfrontational fashion as Leno and Letterman do today and that the new shows’ differences far transcend their similarities.

“If everybody does a good show, there’s room for everybody,” Jones proclaimed.

Jones has surrounded himself with a respected and experienced crew on “Vibe.” His fellow executive producers are frequent partner and veteran producer Salzman and Daniel Kellison, who was a segment producer for Letterman’s “Late Show” before leaving to launch the successful “Rosie O’Donnell” daytime talkfest.

Also on board are respected veterans from Leno’s “Tonight,” in head writer T. Sean Shannon and talent executive Bill Royce. Sandra Fullerton, who directed “The Arsenio Hall Show,” is the director. The house band, Mouse and the Mousetrap, is led by acclaimed session keyboardist Greg Phillinganes.

The stylish set resembles a living room, complete with a panoramic Hollywood backdrop and a covered cylindrical elevator that host Spencer will ride to the stage and emerge from each evening.

Jones described “Vibe” as a show with attitude that, along with will transcend the traditional talk-show format and go to film premieres, music video shoots, “wherever the vibe is.”

If Spencer is feeling nervous about being the unknown comic who has much of the weight of “Vibe” on his shoulders, he has become adept at hiding his fear. The personable 29-year-old displayed an assured but likable confidence during rehearsals.

“I’m having a great time,” he said. “I don’t feel any pressure at all. I like competition. Only through competition can you achieve greatness.”

Coincidentally, Wayans has been a key force in Spencer’s career. The comedian appeared on “In Living Color” and was featured in “A Low Down Dirty Shame,” a 1994 film that Wayans wrote, directed and starred in, and the 1995 spoof “Don’t Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood,” which was produced by Wayans and starred Spencer’s close friends Shawn and Marlon Wayans.

“There is no bad blood between me and Keenen,” Spencer said. “I’m very close to Shawn and Marlon. I’ve been an honorary member of the Wayans family.”

As for whether his rookie status will be a disadvantage, Spencer laughed.

“Arsenio Hall was unknown at one time,” he said. “Johnny Carson used to be an unknown. And when he got famous, he took a chance on David Letterman, who was a road comedian and a weatherman. So, yeah, I like the rookie slot.”

Jones, for his part, says he is taking a very hands-on approach to “Vibe.”

“This is my baby, man,” he said in his office during a rare slow moment in his schedule. “I love this embryonic process of getting something started.” He compared “Vibe” to the start-up of two of his most famous ventures--the 1990-96 TV series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and the 1985 film “The Color Purple.”

Jones is expected to use his considerable clout in Hollywood to attract A-list guests to “Vibe.” But he downplayed their importance.

“Everybody has guests, but you have to have more depth than that,” he said. “You have to create an atmosphere. Whether these stars are my friends or not, they’re not going to come by if it’s not happening.”

With “The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show,” the host, 39, finds himself in an ironic spot. On “In Living Color,” he often did a wicked impression of Arsenio Hall, complete with inflated rear end, oversized teeth and outrageous mannerisms. Hall was reportedly not pleased with the impression.

“Now I hope some young comic doesn’t figure out a way to do me,” joked Wayans, who has concentrated on feature films since leaving “In Living Color.” “If he does, I’ll have to have him on the show. When you dish it out, you have to be able to take it.”

Wayans is also making a reconciliation with Fox, whose stations will broadcast his new show. Wayans angrily departed “In Living Color” in 1992, believing that the network was overexposing the show by packaging reruns, thereby lessening its value in syndication.

He said of the reunion: “I think there is a realization on both parties’ part that something special was lost in the process. Now we’ve figured out a way to get past it.”

While he was more secretive about the look and content of his new show, Wayans, who also executive producer, said it would feature the same comic sensibility and inventiveness that characterized “In Living Color.” In the tradition of that series’ Fly Girl dancers, there will be an all-female band. And the show will also feature a “new discovery” segment each week that will showcase an unknown talent.

“You will never know what the show is,” Wayans said. “You’ll see in the pacing of the show--we’ll have more things in a shorter time. Nothing will be standard. One night it will be me coming out and talking about different subjects. Another night it will be a cold opening. Another night it will be a field piece. We want people to feel they’re coming to something special every night.”

In what is being called an odd pairing, Wayans is partnered in the venture with Planet 24, a London-based producer of irreverent shows in the United Kingdom. These include “The Word,” a “notorious late-night pop culture/talk show on the forefront of showcasing emerging bands,” according to the show’s publicists, and the morning program “The Big Breakfast.”

Wayans had not set out to do a talk show. He was between movie projects, he said, and “it was a good opportunity to think about producing some of the ideas in my head. One of them was for a late-night talk show.”

He had meetings with Mort Marcus, president of Buena Vista Television, and Michael Davies, senior vice president of development for Buena Vista Productions. Davies thought that Planet 24 and Wayans might make a good match and ran some of the company’s shows for the star.

“They were very much in sync with the type of show I was thinking about,” Wayans said. “Everybody got excited creatively, then someone said, ‘Who’s going to host it?’ I was thinking, ‘I’ve got a movie career, I’m not hosting a TV show.’ But the more I got dragged into it creatively, it soon came time to cast a host. Then I said, ‘I’ll do it,’ before I even knew what I was saying.”

Said Davies: “We’re aiming to do something that is a generation ahead of what TV is now. We’re approaching the production in a very different way. It’s an organized version of chaos. There are a lot more producers on this show than there are writers. So much of what we’re doing is execution-based, we needed those producers.”

Wayans, who still plans to make one film a year while the show is on the air, wrote and is starring in “Most Wanted,” an action thriller due out this fall from New Line Cinema.

Both Buena Vista and Columbia/TriStar say they are committed to their respective new programs for at least a year.

The arrival of the two shows is being applauded by urban music industry executives, who envision more exposure for their artists than has been available since Hall’s departure.

Audrey LaCatis, head of media and artists relations for Tommy Boy Records, which handles rappers Coolio and Naughty by Nature, said it is difficult for artists who aren’t blockbuster successes to get on other talk shows.

“From my point of view, I’m totally delighted that there are more outlets available for urban artists who might not have the criteria to get on the other shows,” she said. “We couldn’t be happier.”

But industry insiders seem to be divided over which show has the greatest chance to succeed. “Vibe” is being aired on more stations--202 (covering 97% of the country) versus 140 (covering 90%)--but “Keenen Ivory Wayans” may benefit from stronger lead-in programming on its outlets, most of which are with Fox.

Some say Wayans has an advantage because of his “In Living Color” legacy and because he is better known than Spencer.

“Quincy is the big name with ‘Vibe,’ but he’s not going to be in front of the camera,” said one film and television producer.

However, reports of escalating conflict between Wayans and Buena Vista have been circulating, and the show reportedly has been struggling to meet a rushed production schedule. Others have pointed to the recent abrupt departure of supervising producer Todd Yasui, who had left his job as a segment producer and booker at “Tonight” to join Wayans, as a sign that the Wayans show is in trouble. Yasui could not be reached for comment.

Representatives for the production denied that there are any special difficulties and said that staff transitions are not unusual in the ambitious start-up of a new show.

Other pundits have said that “Vibe” has the edge, if only because of Jones’ dazzling list of contacts and his track record with stars Michael Jackson, Will Smith and numerous others.

Yet Scott Friedland, president of Friedland Jacobs Communications, an entertainment advertising agency, said:

“When it comes to late night, bookings don’t mean that much. The audience won’t be tuning in to see who is booked but to see what show is funny, witty and entertaining. There’s a lot of anticipation about these shows. We are anxious for them to get here.”