TVSquad

The late night race for Conan's hosting gig is on. Conan O'Brien will be leaving his 12:30 post for Jay Leno's 11:30 slot in 2009. That gives executives only two years to bandy about an improbably long and unlikely list of names as possible replacements. Last week Carson Daly threw his hat into the ring. Today the New York Times announced that former SNL cast member Jimmy Fallon may enter into a "holding deal" with NBC.

The deal would essentially tie Fallon to NBC for future television productions, which could take the shape of a sitcom, a sketch show or a late night talk show. Whether Fallon would want to give up his fledging film career for television remains to be seen. (Insert your own joke about Taxi here.) Fallon's name will not be the last one we hear over the course of the next two years, and NBC could always pull a Conan and send in a dark horse at the last minute. Expect to see more candidates considered in this race than in the '08 primaries.