The largest entertainment news for the past week has been the future shuffling around of NBC's late night TV lineup. For those not in "the know" here's a quick recap. Jay Leno officially handed over the reigns of The Tonight Show to Conan O'Brien seven months ago. After announcing his "retirement," Leno got his own primetime show starting at 10 PM on NBC. Flash forward to the present where the Jay Leno Show is ranking last in its time slot and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien has coughed up the top late night ratings spot to David Letterman. All of this has prompted Jeff Zucker, the head of NBC, to throw a major wrench in the gears of NBC's late night line up -- and now it's all falling apart.
Zucker's brilliant solution to this problem is to reinstate Leno in the late night fraternity by giving him a show that would start immediately after the local news at 11:35 PM. It would be condensed to a 30 minute show and bump The Tonight Show back to 12:05 AM. Naturally this represents a problem. Namely that The Tonight Show wouldn't be on "tonight" anymore. It's also a question of shaking up a show that has been the epitome of late night talk for over 55 years and as close to a historical landmark as you can get on TV. There was also the problem with not telling the current Tonight Show host, Conan O'Brien, that any of this was happening.
Understandably Conan was fairly upset. He has been a late night host since 1993 when he was signed to the Late Show (which follows The Tonight Show on NBC). Previous to his hiring he was a writer for The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live -- both shows that have been around for over 20 years (35 in SNL's case). Although Conan's initial ratings with the Late Show were fairly abysmal, he developed an audience over the years and ended his final season with 1.98 million viewers. During his 17 year stint on The Late Show, Conan has proven himself to be, what many would argue, the funniest man after 11:30.
Conan has made no secret that his ultimate goal has been to host The Tonight Show -- a show he sees as "the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting."
After Jay Leno signed off from his last show, Conan officially took control of The Tonight Show and moved from his New York studio to the Universal Studios in Hollywood. Conan also relocated his entire crew and their families across the continent to begin working on the show. Now, only seven months later, he's willing to walk away from hosting his dream job for a word most people don't use, or at the very least don't practice, anymore -- integrity.
In a statement released on January 13th to "the people of Earth," Conan outlined what a great travesty the late night shakeup was to the history and future of The Tonight Show. "I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision." He continued to outline what he thought is the only way for The Tonight Show to succeed -- "It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the
benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings
support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at
11:30 is impossible without both."
Conan's decision was finally made out of love for a show he had grown up admiring. "I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and
what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider
losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very
proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction." And with that Conan made his intentions known to NBC -- if they proceed to push The Tonight Show back to a tomorrow morning slot, Conan will no longer be a part of it.
Since then both Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien have been making public comments about the situation in their nightly monologues. And that's where the hilarity has come into play.
"My name is Conan O'Brien, and I may soon be available for children's parties." –Conan O'Brien
"My people are upset. Conan's people are upset. Hey, NBC said it wanted drama at 10:00 -- now they've got it!" –Jay Leno
"There's a rumor that NBC is so upset with me that want to keep me off
the air for three years. My response to that is if NBC doesn't want
people to see me, just leave me on NBC." -Conan O'Brien
"Sure you heard these rumors that NBC is talking about canceling our
show. You know what that means? I didn't sleep with any of my staff for
nothing." –Jay Leno
"Hosting The Tonight Show has been the fulfillment of a life-long
dream for me. And I just want to say to the kids out their watching,
you can do anything you want in life. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it,
too." –Conan O'Brien
Even other late night hosts are getting their jibs in. Jimmy Kimmel, host of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, came out dressed as Jay Leno on his show the other night. "Hello, my name is Jay Leno. You might have known, I'm taking over all
of the shows in late night. Even this one. Great to be here on ABC. You
know what ABC stands for? Always Bump Conan. That's right. Anyway,
Conan O'Brien today announced he's leaving NBC. He released a statement
that said, I won't participate in the destruction of the Tonight
Show. Fortunately, though, I will." –Jimmy Kimmel (as Jay Leno).
That prompted David Letterman, Leno's rival on CBS, to say, "Last night on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel did the entire show as Jay Leno. Jimmy Kimmel was so convincing as Jay Leno, they canceled him."
The final cherry on this entire situation looks to be deserving placed by Conan O'Brien who yesterday posted The Tonight Show for sale on Craigslist. Listed in the "collectibles" section, it read, "4 SALE: BARELY-USED LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW -- MAKE ME AN OFFER!!!" and continued to list the amenities and sales pitch:
"This is a chance of a lifetime to own your very own late night talk show -- guaranteed to last for up to seven months!! Really must see to appreciate."
"Information for potential buyers: Measures 100' x 100' x 32' -- plenty of room for a futon! Designed for 11:35 but can be easily moved. Band can be sold separately. Buyer must honor Barry Manilow booking next Thursday. MAKE ME YOUR BEST OFFER!!!!! (Also willing to trade for Coldplay tickets)."
Unfortunately the Craigslist ad was removed early this morning, but it solidifies, at least for this author, that Conan is the funniest host of the bunch. And while the entire situation has devolved to a Conan vs. Jay contest, it's really NBC and David Zucker who is the loser. However this shakes out, I'm on Team Coco.
Update: Right after posting this news spread that NBC has bought out Conan's contract. He will be leaving NBC and is free to pursue other networks. It's rather sad as Conan is still getting fired from the best job he's ever wanted, but we're sure he'll be making us laugh for a long, long time wherever he goes.