Insiders close to “The Tonight Show” host Conan O’Brien say he is unhappy with NBC’s proposal to move “The Jay Leno Show” to the 11:35PM slot, reports Variety.
Under the proposal, “Tonight” would move back a half hour to 12:05AM, effectively becoming “the tomorrow show.”
“It’s radically unfair what happened to him,” said a source to Variety. “He turned down a massive offer six years ago with the promise of eventually getting the ‘Tonight Show.’ And then he never really got the ‘Tonight Show.
O’Brien reportedly turned down lucrative overtures from FOX in 2004 under the notion that he would replace Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show” in 2009. While O’Brien did indeed assume the reins, the promotion did not mean as much as it should have–soon after O’Brien debuted at 11:35PM, “The Jay Leno Show” moved to NBC’s primetime schedule with a daily airing at 10PM, effectively becoming the flagship talk show for NBC.
With “Leno” failing to deliver in its 10PM timeslot, NBC made the decision this week to pull the show from primetime and re-situate the veteran host in the late night block.
Though Variety’s insiders note that O’Brien was “stung” by NBC’s decision to move “Leno” back to the key late night slot, it remains unclear how O’Brien will ultimately react to NBC’s proposal. Beyond questions about whether or not he could contractually exit NBC, there is also the issue of whether or not a better home exists.
FOX has expressed preliminary interest, and some cable networks would certainly entertain the idea, but interest and deal-making initiative are quite different.
NBC and Conan’s camp will meet again Monday to discuss the future of the late-night schedule. Though NBC’s Jeff Gaspin admitted no deal had yet been reached when discussing the news at the TCA press tour, he expressed confidence that the proposal should come across as a fair compromise to O’Brien.
“I think Conan’s motivation will become more clear as time goes on, but what was important to me is that I gave Conan something that was very important to him, which was The Tonight Show,” said Gaspin.
If accepted, the move would produce a new late-night schedule for NBC: “Leno” at 11:35, “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” at 12:05 and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” at 1:05. Where Carson Daly’s late-night talker would fit into the schedule is unclear.
That is complete bullshit. Jay Leno needs to hang up his hat and call it a night, he decided to leave the show, so he needs to let it go. I havent watched the new Jay Leno show at all, in fact I was irritated that it has to come one every freaking day, taking slots that used to be for shows worth watching, like SVU, and I hope that if this happens people will stop watching him all together.
Well i agree. Jay is getting older everyday haha BUT i think they both know each other better than most think. BOOM BABY
When I first heard that Jay Leno was losing the Tonight Show I thought that he was being unfairly dealt with and I hoped that he’d tell NBC to piss up a rope and take himself elsewhere, since he’s consistently led in the ratings in the time slot (since the Hugh Grant interview). I figured he could pretty much write his own ticket. Then when NBC decided to put him on every night in prime time I immediately smelled disaster. I just didn’t see how a talk show could maintain interest five nights a week in prime time. However, I’m old enough to remember after Jack Paar left the Tonight Show, he enjoyed a successful run on Friday, in prime time for some years, I thought that that was what they should offer Jay Leno.
With one show a week, he and his writers would have a chance to come up with a much more polished product, book the very best guests, etc. that could possibly be put together five nights a week.
Actually the more I think about it, I think that they might be better off offering such a show to Conan. I think that he may be more ready for prime time than Leno will ever be, and I think that after moving his whole operation, family, etc. 3000 miles, he deserves all of the consideration that NBC can give him.
Anyone who’s read THE LATE SHIFT chronicling the original battle for THE TONIGHT SHOW between Jay Leno and David Letterman should know that Leno is not to be trusted, despite his “nice guy” image. He’s created this whole mess by refusing to retire after making a big brouhaha over passing the baton to Conan to avoid a repeat of the infamous Leno/Letterman debacle. Look, he announced his intention to step down, give the show to Conan, and that’s that. He needs to move on and go play with his car collection. The guy’s obviously got some obsessive compulsive issues with needing to work 24/7. Give it a rest, Jay. You had your moment in the sun, let someone else shine.