Jay Leno moving back to the Tonight Show?

[Chris B]

Oh please. Jay Leno wanted to leave when it was announced, but changed his mind. When ABC wanted him, NBC probably offered more money and a plum primetime guaranteed timeslot. As soon as the ratings fell in the toilets you started reading reports saying Leno wanted his old timeslot back. Guess what? He has his timeslot back. That was the plan and it's done. He's just as much to blame as Zucker. As The Sats' said in their latest single, "You need to have a sit down with your ego." This entire thing could've been handled so much better. In general I don't understand why Leno couldn't have a weekly variety show. Not Tonight Show-lite, but a true variety show with sketches, musical acts, his monologue, etc. That may have been sustainable. Yes, Rosie tried it and failed, but her show was poorly produced, cast and written.

I can't wait to see what Conan does. This is very exciting! Late Night is finally matching Daytime with the craziness. I'm just glad Kimmel is safe. He's the funniest of the lot, IMO.

[bellcurve]

Leno could have done that in his daily 10PM slot. But he has no imagination, is short sighted, and relies on his same pathetic, tired delivery night after night. Leno could have had a show that, although may not have been as highly rated as Private Practice, it could have had at least one or two shows that had good ratings. Leno could have stepped outside the box and brought on more politicians, noteworthy people, etc. Become more like Larry King with a studio audience. But that would require Leno to do something unpredictable and the buffoon hasn't done anything off the cuff since his early stand up days.

It's too bad NBC wanted to cut costs. I bet having Dateline air at 10 nightly with Predator specials and investigative stories would have fared way better in that timeslot. Nightline's ratings spikes prove that, although there are people who want to be entertained, there are others who are interested in what is going on out there.

[Chris B]

The best and most underrated late night host gave it to Leno!

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/01/14/jay-leno-takes-it-on-the-chin-from-jimmy-kimmel/

You need to see the interview to understand! Jimmy's delivery was great and Jay clearly was pissed and kept trying to move the conversation away from that topic. Kimmel is smart and kept throwing Jay off before coming in for the kill. I never thought he'd top his recent smackdown on Melissa Joan Hart, but that was good!

[bellcurve]

JESUS, really? That was downright scathing!

And delicious. I love it!

[JaneAusten]

I don't think anyone will ever know what happened. But he did agree when they signed Conan to that new contract to retire in 5 years. I think it was a stupid move by NBC but he agreed. This was a situation created by NBC no question, but 2 wrongs don't make a right and too much of this brings back what happened with Letterman years back.

[DaytimeFan]

Conan is very well liked by those who work with him and those who work on his show. He's simply an easy person to work with. He doesn't care to be the 'star'.

[Sylph]

Conan was always way out of his league in this part of the business. Being polite and honest and loved by the people he works closely with, it was just a matter of time when they would run him over. He actually never stood a chance of hosting The Tonight, and definitely not for decades or whatever. His sophisticated humour isn't meant for that "middle America" Jay Leno knows oh-so-well to deceive. And he was just plainly a wrong choice. He doesn't have mass-appeal.

The whole saga was so stupid, stupid epically, that one can just sit back and watch it unfold startled.

Jay Leno leaving Tonight was such a baaad decision. And I don't like him, but he was obviously successful there.

Nikki Finke is reporting that Zucker had Conan arrested while they were attending Harvard.

[Sylph]

+7

:lol:

I can only imagine his Tonight audience must be delighted to see him back and many are pretending to be on Conan's side. They just want NBC to sack him. And no surprise there, hipocrisy is the word of the day every day in Hollywood.

[Juliajms]

Thanks DaytimeFan.

[Juliajms]

Wow. Now NBC is taking it to the next level. Saying this is Conan's fault and that he's a failure: http://www.tvguide.com/News/NBC-Conan-Failure-1013694.aspx

[Sylph]

CarlD2 posted about Ebersol on the previous page, I believe. First, Ebersol needs to shut up. Second, there are truths in what he says in The New York Times' article. For example that Letterman is an old, bitter goat who needs to let go (of Leno getting TTS and not him). It speaks load about a person if after all this time the resentful emotions are still there.

On the other hand, Leno would do the same if Letterman were in the situation Leno is in now.

[Juliajms]

I missed it. I'm surprised the the top dogs at NBC are feeding into this. It would be better if they would all just be quiet now and make the transition happen ASAP.

I do think Conan didn't have a fair chance since Leno was on at 10. I bet a significant group of people just watched Jay and went to bed, instead of watching the news and then falling asleep to The Late Show like they might have if he wasn't on at 10.

[Sylph]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/av-sinensky/how-to-pass-the-torch-or_b_418746.html

[All My Shadows]

This is all so hilarious to me because, for the life of me, I can't think of a single person I know or have ever known who actually watches any of this [!@#$%^&*]!

[bellcurve]

Well, to be fair, Leno really started the attacks FIRST by saying, "I didn't sleep my staff for nothin'." An obvious jab at Letterman. I don't blame Dave for hating Jay after all these years. Jay never plays fair.