Most of you have probably heard a little bit about this by now. There is a huge debacle going on with NBC late night. It's so crazy and such a giant screw up with so much money involved that it's far more interesting than anything that's been going on, on any of the late night shows over the past few years.
Back in 2004 Conan O'Brien signed a deal with NBC that he would get to host the Tonight Show starting in 2009. He had waited patiently and passed up lucrative offers to live his ultimate dream of taking the seat where Johnny Carson once sat. Now it seems more likely we'll see him on Fox a year from now and NBC will be nothing, but a memory.
From 2004 to 2009 there were no problems. Everything moved along smoothly. That is until Jay Leno decided he didn't want to retire.
NBC panicked. Knowing they had promised Conan the show and not wanting to let Jay go to a competitor they undertook the stupidest experiment in television history. Everyone older than 4 knew is would be a disaster except for Jeff Zucker who has single handedly made NBC a last place network with the bottom about to fall out. Yet still has a job somehow.
That experiment was to scrap an hour of primetime programming every night at the 10pm hour (where NBC used to excel with its dramas such as Law and Order and ER) and give it to Jay Leno. This is how they first dicked over Conan. Because Jay could not possibly get the ratings that a drama would at that hour, it would hurt his ratings and not really give him a fair chance to compete with the well established Letterman.
Still, NBC figured since they would be paying so little for the Jay Leno show in comparison to the dramas, the ratings hit wouldn't hurt them financially.
Well, surprise surprise it did. And finally NBC affiliates began complaining that the Jay Leno show was hurting their local news ratings and if something wasn't done they'd stop airing the Jay Leno show.
NBC reacted by saying they were canceling the Jay Leno show and moving it to 11:35 pm, which is Conan's timeslot and the timeslot the Tonight Show has had for decades pushing Conan's Tonight Show to 12:05 am (which means it is no longer tonight and should really be called the Tomorrow Show) and essentially throwing a brick through his 7 month run at 11:35. 7 months being infancy for a show that hosts tend to stick to for 15 years or more.
That also means pushing Jimmy Fallon (who took over Conan's old slot) back to 1:05 am and pushing Carson Daly back to .... eh ... well ... is Carson Daly still alive?
Ultimately NBC has lost an insane amount of money (and potentially stands to lose $40 million more on Conan's contract) and has completely dicked over Conan so hard he's probably bleeding profusely.
This has turned into the ultimate fodder for the very late night shows this governs as every host has taken time to rip NBC mercilessly and often rip Jay Leno as well.
Conan released a statement the other day saying that he would not follow Leno at 12:05 in the classiest way possible.
Now, NBC is in a lurch and really has no way out and most people are predicting that Conan winds up on Fox at 11pm.
That's pretty fucking dramatic and just a little confusing.
What side are you on? Where do you think Conan is in a year?
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Comments (58)
He'll be on FOX. And NBC has no one to blame but themselves. This is a trainwreck I'm going to enjoy watching.
I am on CBS's side.... no one messes with my Craig Ferguson and I am FINE. LOL....
Anyhow...personally im worried if conan goes to fox and then FLOPS..its just sad news alll over again...and him without a job...can FOX really carry a late show? and THEN...
while dumbass jay leno (WHOM WAS TO RETIRE) gets his old job back!
I'm not a fan of FOX in general, so I'd be kind of bummed if Conan ended up with them. Ultimately though, I think he's WAY better than Leno, so I'll watch him no matter where he ends up!
Lemme throw this on the fire...looking back at Letterman's first comments on the matter [available on YouTube, among other locales], did anybody else get a sense that Dave was sending a subtle invitation to Conan? The two have respected each other's work for a long time, and also share [or seem to share] a dislike for Leno's show. Remember, Dave will probably own a piece of whatever replaces him [as Carson did with Letterman's NBC show]; I think he might see Conan as a better replacement that Craig Ferguson (I do, too, although I am a fan of Ferguson). I don't think Dave's necessarily ready to leave; I do think he's ready to discuss the possibility, if Conan is interested...
Thanks for explaining and giving the whole story! I don't watch any of these shows, so I was kind of confused as to what exactly was going on.
Conan FTW!
I feel bad for Conan. NBC's blaming him and his rep's but that's just an excuse for the network.
I hope Conan finds something better for himself.. better than FOX!@escaping_logic@xanga - Craig ftw!
I'm with Coco (that picture is actually my Facebook profile picture)! He's so much funnier and classier than Leno.
Hopefully, NBC will see that everyone (even other night show hosts!) are on Conan's side and won't make the mistake that sinks the network.
Going over to Fox? Really?
That's cold, man. No one deserves that.
I'm with COCO.
I don't watch his shows.
this is not good at all. NBC has to make up it's mind on who to keep. cause in the end someone has to go.
thank god, i was hoping this would come up and didn't want to have to write it myself.
did you watch the show last night? conan fucking murdered NBC, i really don't even see a way they can recover their reputation at this point with all the shit everyone is talking. ultimately, everyone knows conan is the best and that he's getting screwed, so i would think we'll all be on his side and follow him wherever he goes (aka fox...with seth mcfarlane doing his voice). it would be interesting to see if NBC pussied out and told leno to fuck off and let conan keep his show. though i'm not sure they'd still want to work with each other at this point. either way, i'm watching enthralled every night waiting for the plot to unfold.Conan is the man. All the young people love him. He got fucked over hard and NBC deserves what's coming to them.
Who fucking cares?! As far as I'm concerned this nonsense is just as pointless as all of the Jon and Kate Plus 8 bullshit. Seriously people, get a real life and watch something that matters.
@Your Mom - Agreed.
I like Conan. I'll watch him occasionally, but I'll stick with Nat Geo and Discovery. Yeah, you don't see a lemur and a crocodile bitching about ratings and who goes where do you? Ok... that may be a matter of the croc just eating the lemur, but still.
No matter what happens, I hope Conan ends up somewhere nice. It still won't make me watch him more.
"You can do anything you want in life. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it too." TEAM CONAN ALL THE WAY BAY-BAY!
@Your Mom - I bet you kick sandcastles and shit on birthday cakes in your free time.
I think Conan has a big enough following to go to Fox and survive. Did you see the shows when he went on the road, like to Chicago, when he was still in the late night spot?
The crowds wouldn't stop cheering.
I dunno. I am for Conan all the way, no matter where he ends up.
I've never much cared for Conan. As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't have the talent to do the job, and promising him the Tonight Show was NBC's big mistake, since that's what set all of this in motion. I won't shed any tears over him moving to Fox, and I still won't be watching his show if I can help it. NBC definately does need to get their act together.
I love Conan. I can't count all the times he's had me tearing up with laughter. He is currently my favorite talk show host. We share the same humor and it's refreshing to watch him as there's no one else like him. I wish Conan the best of luck where ever he may end up.
I definitely feel bad for conan, though I knew it was a terrible idea since the stupid Leno slot forced Chuck to be cut into a half season
@pinkpeekaboo@xanga - hahahahha
@The_Brink_of_Omniscience@xanga - hahahahahhahahahhahah@BobRichter@xanga - i will fight you to the death with a spear.
ok, first off this is all NBC fault. not lenos not Jays NBC. There are a lot of emotions going on know through Conan and he doesnt know how to deal with them. His show will end next friday and with no plans to go anywhere.that will be it. Leno will get his tonight show back.
and wrong agaion Leno wanted to retire NBC wanted to keep him on the air. this is all NBC for being the crappiest network ever (except the Office)
stupid NBC peroid.