This is officially still in the "rumor" category, but it comes from a source with some connections in late night. Bill Simmons, aka The Sports Guy, says that sources have told him that next week is Conan O'Brien's last week on The Tonight Show.I'm not sure what sources Simmons has at The Tonight Show, but he does know people over at Jimmy Kimmel Live, and I'm sure this type of news is going through all of the late night talk show staffs like a lightning bolt. Simmons says that Conan is trying to line up some big guest stars for the final week.
Oh, in case all of this is foreign to you, The Jay Leno Show has been canceled and NBC wants him back at 11:35. Didja hear?
Update: NBC says that no one has said anything about the show shutting down next week. They're not selling tickets for the following week, but I'm not sure if that's because it's his last week or if it was going to be a repeat week anyway.
Update #2: The Tonight Show blog is asking viewers to vote for their favorite moments on the show.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-14-2010 @ 1:15PM
EbonyDad said...
This is a darn shame. I say everyone should just boycott the Winter Olympics from 11:35p/10:35p to 12:30a/11:30p ET/CT.
I think NBC will get the point when no one is watching.
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1-14-2010 @ 2:07PM
ac said...
I can do one better and not the Olympics at all except for the torch lighting and snowboarding. Plus I think NBC is used to people not watching them.
1-14-2010 @ 1:23PM
Jay said...
HuffPost is reporting that Jeff Zucker is threatning Conan to keep him off the air for the next 3.5 years. Or at the very least, keep Conan bogged down in contract disputes that would prevent him from appearing anywhere else for at least 6 months while he lets Jay Leno come back to the Tonight Show.
Zucker is pure garbage. And Leno TRYING to pretend that he's throwing rocks at NBC along with the rest of us has agreed to all of this backroom dealing and backstabbing. Leno should be dragged through the mud just like all the other NBC execs.
Only Jay Leno could walk into a room full of people that hate his guts and pretend to be naive.
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1-14-2010 @ 4:04PM
khamel said...
that seems only likely if Conan is going to get paid as if he were still on the air. i'd love someone to pay me for 3.5 years with the only condition being NOT going to work.
None the less, i hope both Conan and Jay leave and NBC has to air Deal or No Deal re-runs or put sacrifice Jimmy Fallon on-air for ratings during sweeps.
1-14-2010 @ 1:25PM
Adrian said...
NBC also immediately denied the rumors that the Jay Leno Show was being canceled (from this same source) last week, when just hours later the news broke that NBC was planning on canceling Leno in prime time. Just something to think about.
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1-14-2010 @ 1:37PM
Exidor said...
They don't sell tickets. They give them away.
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1-14-2010 @ 1:47PM
Fann said...
Let's face it NBC has shot it's self in the foot one too many times. sooner or later Nbc is going to die of it's own self inflicted wounds,Conan is just one more bleeder
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1-14-2010 @ 2:55PM
Rebecca said...
http://www.weirdscience.se/?p=7642#comments
= a good insight about the debacle from a swedish blog. just press google translate if you don't understand....
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1-14-2010 @ 5:18PM
CJ said...
Conan was never middle of the road material that was going to pull in the ratings that Jay has done...and neither is Letterman. But with Jay gone people showed they liked his banter a lot more. Carson recognized that Jay was the middle of the road comic that wouldn't really offend anyone, that's why he endorsed Jay to fill in for him.
I don't blame Jay, I blame NBC for being stupid to put a time limit on Jay's time on the TONIGHT SHOW because they didn't want to loose O'Brien.
What about a compromise? Jay on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday..and O'Brien gets M, T and Friday. When either are on vacation the other gets the whole week?
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1-14-2010 @ 4:31PM
scott said...
TMZ is reporting that Leno has gotten the tonight show back.
what a prick.
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1-14-2010 @ 6:02PM
Fran said...
Jay Leno has been my favorite since day one. However, I think that he should not return to the show. I was never a fan of Conan, but I think that he is getting a raw deal. He should only be asked to step down if NBC gives him a deal worth leaving the Tonight Show for. I am very sad to see that Jay has only learned bad habits from all the years in the business. He has already become rich and famous beyond his wildest dreams. Give someone else the chance to do the same. After all, wasn't it NBC who treated him badly in the past. He should feel some empathy for Conan.
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1-17-2010 @ 7:23AM
chrissthomas said...
I have started a cause of facebook to boycott NBC during sweeps. If we can get enough people to stop watching and it effects their ratings then maybe they will realize pushing Conan out was a bad move. If you are on facebook go to causes and search "Boytcott NBC for Sweeps" join and then invite all your friends to join.
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