14 DAY TRIAL // The NBC situation that has been dragging along for the past couple of days, much to the disappointment of fans, is nearing a happy conclusion – for Jay Leno. Ongoing reports say Leno has already agreed to host The Tonight Show in the new timeslot proposed by the network, at 11:35 p.m., which means Conan O’Brien is effectively out of the picture, TMZ confirms.
Early this week, NBC announced that, because of the drop in ratings of O’Brien’s The Tonight Show, the entire night programming would be overhauled, with Leno, O’Brien and Jimmy Fallon pushed well up into the night. Conan, in his turn, said that a later The Tonight Show would not be the same Show, hinting he’d be walking if NBC insisted with the change. As it turns out, not only will NBC get to see the change happen, but it has already found a replacement for O’Brien in the person of Leno himself.
Rumors are picking up that Leno has agreed to return to The Tonight Show in the new timeslot, which means O’Brian is literally done for and has been (not too gently) pushed aside. “Jay Leno has made a new deal with NBC, which gives him The Tonight Show from 11:35 - 12:35... sources tell TMZ. As we first reported, under the contract Jay had been working under, he was guaranteed the 10 PM hour. By moving him to 11:35, NBC was in breach of his contract and needed to negotiate a new deal. That is now done, sources tell TMZ. So Conan O’Brien is out, and Jay is restored,” TMZ writes.
As of now, NBC has not made any comment as regards the new deal, save to say people should wait for the official announcement and not lend an ear to rumors and speculation. In the meanwhile, the two continue with their respective shows, while taking sharp swipes at each other in their opening monologues – as this video will illustrate. While Leno only says NBC is more dysfunctional than the Gosselin family, O’Brien says his example should inspire children to believe they can achieve anything – unless Leno also happens to be out to get the same thing.
January 22 is supposedly the date when O’Brien will be hosting his last The Tonight Show, reports in the US media further say. For the way it handled the situation, NBC is now under serious fire from other television personalities, from David Letterman to Jimmy Kimmel and Rosie O’Donnell.