Leno In Conan Out of Tonight Show?

[the_village]

i havent seen it at all

msotly out of fear

and also not having a TV

dude, let me tell you about hulu

[grayfox]

i've only watched conan on hulu

[hiddenicon]

nyt now reporting that the leading plan has leno for a half-hour at 11:30 and conan on at 12 for an hour and then i guess fallon would do an hour and his show would end at 2

of all the retarded ideas this is probably the retardedest

yup... it sounds like both conan and leno may be putting up a fight. apparently leno has a two year guarantee on his contract, that if broken, would cost NBC $100 million dollars. toss in conan's big contract and the possibility that NBC may have irreparably ruined their relationship with both while still having the lowest rated primetime on tv...

christ, what a clusterfuck. desilu was ran better.

[complete]

I'll bet 3rd shift building security have some opinions about this.

[Bananafish]

Seth Macfarlane would be the ideal host. Make it happen NBC.

Proven success.

[Bananafish]

Leno opened up some whoop ass on his show tonight.

Classic Leno.

As you may have heard, there is a rumor floating around that we were cancelled. I heard it coming in this morning on the radio. So far no one has said anything to me. But, Kev, if we did get cancelled, it will give us time to do some traveling. I understand that Fox is beautiful this time of year.

I don’t think there is any truth to the rumors. See, it’s always been my experience that NBC only cancels you when you're in first place. So we are fine. We are OK...

You know what happened? NBC found four guns in my locker. I was suspended. [Kevin says, “I’m glad they didn’t find them in my locker.”]

[Later, Leno returns to NBC yet again.] The Justice Department announced they will conduct an anti-trust review of Comcast's proposed deal to merge with NBC. An anti-trust review. Which is the relationship i have with NBC. Anti-trust. Hey Kev, what does NBC stand for? Never believe your contract."

And more from TMZ:

As TMZ first reported, after the Olympics, Jay Leno will get his 11:30 PM time period back. We're told network execs have told Conan they will let him decide if he wants the midnight to 1:00 AM time slot. If he does, Leno's show will only be a half hour. If Conan walks, Leno will get a full hour, informed sources tell TMZ.

Our sources say Conan has not decided what he wants. We do know he's pissed, because he was given no advanced warning this was coming. Conan's people told NBC they are considering the offer. Translation: Mr. O'Brien -- I have Rupert Murdoch on line one, Stephen McPherson on line two, John Landgraf on line three, Jeff Wachtel on line four ...

We're told if Conan gets another offer, even though NBC could block the move, they will let him go and give Leno the full hour.

The peacock has been ruined for me on this one. As excited and nostalgia-filled as I was to see Conan take up the mantle that Carson once bore, Conan needs to pull a Letterman and desecrate NBC in the press for this one, then find a network and timeslot where he can do what he does best. Conan really deserved The Tonight Show - he's the consummate performer and I really wish he could've become a household name like Carson, but I guess TV culture is just too different these days.

[Here Comes Treble]

Did Conan say anything?

[hiddenicon]

how could NBC block the move?... they'd be breaking the contract.

[Bananafish]

how could NBC block the move?... they'd be breaking the contract.

There's probably some kind of non-compete clause.

[hiddenicon]

nothing like alienating the young demographic to get advertisers excited...

[sam]

We need to think of the legacy of the peacock here, guys.

[kranky]

yes yes, we are all young.

[Bananafish]

We need to think of the legacy of the peacock here, guys.

Yeahyeahyeah, I've got this hardwired nostalgic thing for it. Like Time Life commercials or ice cream parlors.

[Buzz Fledderjohn]

can't wait to see how nbc markets all of this

[worrywort]

did you see that time life commercial with bowzer from sha na na

[Bananafish]

NBC needs to buy Lopez Tonight from TBS. The Latino viewership changes everything.

[worrywort]

[Bananafish]

Friends forever

[Percy Dovetonsils]

That pic looks like a dude with his retarded little brother. I mean they're even dressed the same.

[aVoider]

if leno takes over for conan, there's one big problem...

letterman has gained 2 million viewers. and his show has been amazing lately. beginning with the palin feud and storming through the adultery scandal, dave has become way edgier and relevant than leno will ever be.

sure, leno would take back a chunk of his former audience from letterman...but i think a lot of people have made the switch for good.

[KALM]

That pic looks like a dude with his retarded little brother. I mean they're even dressed the same.

Oh man, it really does.

[evan]

he's also weirdly passive aggressive towards people and strikes me as kind of a bitchy dude in general

Completely off-base.

Behind the scenes, he is the nicest guy ever. He doesn't drink the Koolaid at all. Very family-minded, normal guy. (And I get the impression he's always been a family-minded guy, even when he was single.)

The only thing that worries me about his lack of ego is that he won't fight Leno/NBC and will be quick to cave because NBC gave him his late-night career. I think NBC thinks they have Conan by the balls because he brought 99% of his NYC staffers with him and the execs know 1) Conan doesn't want to lose his incredibly close-knit production team that just transplanted their lives and families to the West Coast and 2) Conan doesn't want to send his staffers into the unemployment lines.

Based on some texting I did this afternoon, I think Conan and his staff were somewhat blindsided by this TMZ story because I was told at first that it was just a silly tabloid story that would be discredited shortly thereafter. And responses got more and more dramatic/surprised/pissed off into the evening.

[Erik Joy]

That pic looks like a dude with his retarded little brother. I mean they're even dressed the same.

Oh man, it really does.

I'm just not sure which one's supposed to be the retarded little brother.

[universe]

The little one.

[Erik Joy]

Conan?

[universe]

Who is Conan?

[Erik Joy]

No, Leno's on First. Who's on second!

[grayfox]

Man those leno jokes about the rumours are god awful

[Luke]

Man those leno jokes are god awful

[grammatron]

Based on some texting I did this afternoon,

I really, really love this.