Editing Last Call with Carson Daly (section)

===2002–2006===
''Last Call'' premiered on January 8, 2002, as the successor to ''[[Later (talk show)|Later]]''. ''Last Call'' initially aired Monday through Thursday until the cancellation of ''[[Late Friday]]'' in late May 2002; it was aired five nights a week since. Its premiere was delayed one day at the last minute due to a contract dispute, with a rebroadcast of [[Second City Television|SCTV]] airing in its place on the night it was scheduled to premiere.<ref>{{cite web |last=Huff |first=Richard |date=2002-01-09 |title=Daly's 'call' Is A No-show |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2002/01/09/dalys-call-is-a-no-show/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224084949/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/daly-call-no-show-article-1.476249 |archive-date=February 24, 2015 |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=[[New York Daily News]]}}</ref>

''Last Call'' was originally taped in [[Studio 8H]] of the [[GE Building]] in [[New York City]], which was also the home studio of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''. However, this required the producers to work around the schedule of ''Saturday Night Live''.  During this phase, ''Last Call'' had no [[house band]] and no jokes or monologue, going straight to the first guest at the beginning of the show.  The stage was set up in an empty [[black box theater]] style, save for two low-slung chairs and a small table.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}  Each week, a different unsigned band was brought in to do the music, in addition to any musical act at the end.  Gradually, the set acquired more furnishings and decor, much of which was influenced by the occasional week-long trips to [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} In 2003 and 2004, ''Last Call'' was nominated for a [[Teen Choice Award]] for "Choice TV Show&nbsp;– Late Night".

''Last Call'' was originally planned to broadcast in [[High-definition television|high-definition]] when Studio 8H was retrofitted for ''Saturday Night Live''; however, instead, the show was relocated to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] in September 2005, and continued to air in [[Standard-definition television|standard-definition]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}}  After the move, ''Last Call'' began to resemble its counterparts, with a more traditional set, permanent house band led by [[Joe Firstman]], short monologue and occasional comedy bits.

In November 2005, [[Joe Firstman]] became the official house band leader for ''Last Call.'' Notable members of his band include [[Kamasi Washington]], [[Thundercat (musician)|Thundercat]], [[Kenny Aronoff]], Mike Miley ([[Rival Sons]]), [[Brian Wright (musician)|Brian Wright]], [[Zane Musa]], Zane Carney, [[Mark Bryan]], [[Marc Ford]], and Ryan Porter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saxophonist Kamasi Washington, fresh from Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, steps into the limelight |url=http://www.easyreadernews.com/94618/kamasi-washington/ |access-date=October 5, 2015 |website=Easy Reader & Peninsula}}</ref> Firstman wrote the majority of the material the band performed.