Well, not Jay Leno specifically, but what his new show represents. "Jay Leno's shtick—timely, cheap, and marginally funny—is just the right mix for a new age of network primetime," reads a caption under a picture of Leno in the March issue of The Atlantic. In an article called "The Future Is Cheese," columnist Michael Hirschorn (and TV cheesemonger) explains why we'll see more Leno and less Heroes in the future of American network television. He writes:
As network television takes up a lower-brow position in the cultural pecking order, the higher-quality, more expensive shows will become increasingly independent of the networks that broadcast them… Eventually, networks will stop being brands and start becoming, at least in part, mere "distribution platforms."
So it means the continued rise of HBO and Showtime, while the networks get more populist and, uh, sucky. And those who don't have cable will get "the television equivalent of AM talk radio." (Which reminds me: My DirecTV bill is due.)
You can read the whole article here.