O'Brien
A critical darling for years, O'Brien's "Late Night" had never won an Emmy -- until this year. The TV establishment's validation comes as O'Brien draws ever closer to a planned 2009 takeover of "The Tonight Show" (assuming Jay Leno doesn't find a way to hold on to the gig).
O'Brien is mostly ignoring the media drama over Leno and is instead focused on keeping his 12:30 show as fresh as ever. A well-received five-night stand in San Francisco showed O'Brien has completed the transformation from college cult figure and now ranks as a latenight icon in his own right. Now, if he'd only agree to host the Emmys again ...
Point of view
O'Brien doesn't think his comedy has changed that much over the years. Instead, he argues that his audience has evolved with him. "I'm the same person I always was," he says. "My mantra in comedy has always been, 'Don't overthink it.' I'm always looking for a funny idea that makes me laugh, that makes everyone in the room laugh. If you do that, it'll probably make people laugh in the real world."
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