TELEVISION: Highlights of Conan O’Brien’s Final ‘Tonight Show’ Appearance

January 24th, 2010 | By Rick From Chicago

Check out some footage of Conan O’Brien’s final appearance as host of ‘The Tonight Show’.

Conan O’Brien thanks his loyal audience for 17 years of support.

Conan looks back at a montage of the best of the last 7 months! (Original Link)

Conan explains what will happen to the studio after the show ends…(Original Link)

Steve Carell stops by to conduct Conan’s exit interview! (Original Link)

MAGAZINE COVER: Jay Leno appears on 01/29/10 cover of Entertainment Weekly

January 21st, 2010 | By Rick From Chicago

TELEVISION: Confirmed – Conan O’Brien Leaving NBC

January 21st, 2010 | By Rick From Chicago

Conan O’Brien has officially reached an agreement to leave The Tonight Show and NBC…at a price tag of $45 Million.

TELEVISION: Conan O’Brien exit agreement pushed back — again

January 21st, 2010 | By Rick From Chicago

Announcement expected Thursday morning

It’s coming down to the wire for Conan O’Brien.

As lawyers continued to haggle over final deal points — including compensation for soon-to-be-displaced “Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien” staffers — an exit agreement was pushed back another day late Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the late night wars got even nastier on Wednesday night, as friends-turned-rivals David Letterman and Jay Leno sharpened their knives and went after each other — as the gloves apparently have permanently come off. READ MORE



TELEVISION: Jennifer Lopez takes over Lopez Tonight

January 19th, 2010 | By Rick From Chicago

Jenny Lo takes over late night for one night…watch out Conan and Leno!

TELEVISION: Conan O’Brien set to exit ‘Tonight Show’

January 16th, 2010 | By Rick From Chicago

Just seven months after inheriting the “Tonight Show,” Conan O’Brien — faced with a timeslot demotion — is close to finalizing his exit from NBC.

O’Brien’s short tenure as host of the storied late-night franchise is expected to conclude next Friday. That means Jay Leno will regain the reins of “The Tonight Show,” moving back to the 11:35 p.m. timeslot effective March 1 — the night after the Winter Olympics concludes.

O’Brien’s exit from NBC was being hammered out Friday, after days of negotiations and plenty of press speculation.

Details of the agreement — expected to be signed over the weekend — were not immediately disclosed. But it’s believed that as part of the settlement, O’Brien will be paid a sum worth more than eight figures — as much as between $30 million and $40 million.

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TELEVISION: Conan O’Brien to NBC – Drop Dead

January 13th, 2010 | By Rick From Chicago

Conan O’Brien to NBC: Drop dead.

O’Brien broke his silence on Tuesday with a lengthy statement that left no doubt about his unhappiness over NBC’s plan to move “The Tonight Show” to 12:05 a.m. — declaring he could not “participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction.” But the host did leave doubts about his next move given NBC’s stated determination to move the show.

Insiders said O’Brien had no intention of resigning and would continue to show up for work and do his show. Biz observers said that NBC and O’Brien now appear to be in a game of chicken, with NBC trying to force O’Brien to quit, while O’Brien appears to be looking to force the network to fire him if it proceeds with the 12:05 move. How O’Brien’s contract is settled out is likely to vary greatly depending on whether he quits or is let go.

O’Brien’s release of the statement adds another bizarre chapter to an extraordinary public drama that has unfolded during the past six days, ever since word surfaced of NBC’s plans to reroute the failing “Jay Leno Show” from its nightly 10 p.m. berth to back to his old 11:35 p.m. time- slot, albeit in a half-hour format.

“For 60 years the ‘Tonight Show’ has aired immediately following the late local news,” O’Brien wrote in the statement addressed tongue-in-cheek to “people of Earth.”"I sincerely believe that delaying the ‘Tonight Show’ into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The ‘Tonight Show’ at 12:05 simply isn’t the ‘Tonight Show.’”

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TELEVISION: Jay Leno’s Primetime Show Canceled, Conan O’Brien not happy about potential ‘Tonight Show’ bump to 12:05 time slot

January 11th, 2010 | By Rick From Chicago

Conan O’Brien was stung by NBC’s decision to downgrade him to after midnight, insiders close to the host said over the weekend.

While it’s still unclear whether O’Brien will accept the NBC proposal, it’s pretty clear the host – who only assumed the “Tonight Show” chair in June – is not happy about it.

“It’s radically unfair what happened to him,” one source said. “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.’”

It was Fox’s overtures to O’Brien in 2004 – with a salary believed to be as much as three times what he was making at NBC – that led to the Peacock’s unusual five-year “Tonight Show” succession plan.

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