Conan O'Brien Reportedly Leaving NBC Next Week

By PopEater Staff Posted Jan 14th 2010 03:45PM

Conan O'Brien's last night as host of 'The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien' will likely be next Friday, January 22, a source close to O'Brien tells PEOPLE. "Conan does not currently plan on doing any more new shows after next week," says the source. To add to rumbles, NBC released its post-Winter Olympics schedule -- which did not include the 'Tonight Show.' Though his departure is looking increasingly likely, NBC is insisting a departure date is not yet set.

But if Jan. 22 is indeed O'Brien's final broadcast, the show will have ended two weeks before NBC's scheduled preemption for its 2010 Winter Olympics coverage. Meanwhile, TMZ is reporting that Jay Leno has made a new deal with NBC, which gives him 'The Tonight Show' from 11:35 - 12:35.

On Tuesday, the host released a statement saying that he would not go along with NBC's plan for him to host a relocated Tonight Show at 12:05 a.m., following The Jay Leno Show at 11:35 p.m.

"I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is [The Tonight Show's] destruction," said O'Brien.

In his statement, O'Brien expresses deep respect for the 'Tonight Show' legacy, which includes such icons as Johnny Carson and Jack Paar, and flatly states he cannot participate in what he believes is the franchise's systematic dismantling.

"My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction."

Tags: conan obrien, ConanObrien, nbc, the tonight show with conan obrien, TheTonightShowWithConanObrien

Comments

(497)

Thursday 14 January

By Richard

Lowest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

NBC may get a bailout from Obama you think? Hell why not...for they love the Messiah.

By Richard4

Hey Barack Bail NBC out they support you right?

By Jesse

Don't let the door hit you on your way out, Conan... you brought shame and miserable failure to NBC with your very poor ratings... Maybe you should have worked in Walmart and told jokes to all the mexicans ... they would laugh at anything

By conan

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

okay not only is that totally racist toward mexicans, conan went to harvard and could probably get a job where ever he wanted to, so u can kiss his ass

By Fenom

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

what they need to do is get rid of jimmy fallon and just return everything to how it was before

By Mary Ann Capps

Conan is doing EXACTLY the right thing. And I say, when Conan goes, my viewership goes--I mean for the whole damned network. NBC is backing Leno and Leno's hour of triumph has long since passed. NBC take the sheet off your face--it's a brand new day. And I cannot watch a network that won't give Conan longer than seven months to make his mark. I mean, what is that? How can you ruin the legacy the Tonight Show has? Johnny Carson would have been horrified. And he too, like Conan, would have taken his marbles and gone home if the executives at NBC didn't want to play fair. NBC--Never Backed Conan.

By happyhouse

I never cared for Conan when he followed the Tonight Show. When Conan moved to the 11:35 p.m. time slot, however, he gradually got better, but then Jay Leno's 10:00 show started to stink a bit. Jay Leno is seasoned well enough that he will survive at whatever time he is on TV, - BUT - the NBC executives should have stood behind their original time change decisions and their signed contracts with these guys and helped both shows get better show material together so both of them could have succeeded in their respective new time slots during this first year's showings @ 10:00 p.m. and 11:35 p.m. It's the network that screwed up everything, not Jay or Conan. NBC has made a terrible knee-jerk mistake pulling the rug out from under Conan AND Jay at this point in time just because the ratings were down. Hey, the NBC ratings have never been wonderful! This crap will probably run a lot more people away from the network and its lousy programming decisions.

By Leon

Vote down Vote up Report this

Don't really see what one sees in Conan, he is childish, and more than likely is geared for teenagers, or adults who havent grown up yet.

By colleen

I have a hard time feeling too sorry for either of them. These guys have lost touch with the real hardships Americans are facing and are not taking advantage of their opportuninty to make people laugh when there isn't much to smile about in the world. I don't think either of them are very funny and I would like to see NBC bring in someone new.

By Bob

Leno is the real deal...Conan is an idiot "child"

If Conan goes to the Fox network he will do very well. I'm sure he will get paid royally by both Fox and NBC, and lots of people will follow him just because of the way he was treated by NBC. He got the shaft and that's not fair.

By jj48isgreat

Good Riddance! He wasn't funny anyway!

By Dave

Don't worry Conan- you will have more than enough fans following you to Fox, screw Jay & NBC!

Friday 15 January

By marc

Yeah, they can put him there with the simpsons. Which is funnier than Conan. In the midwest they were threatning to remove him because it was causing their other shows to lose ratings. I don't know what was the matter with that producer who thought a washed up SNL writer (his jokes sucked there too) was a better choice than someone who was number one in the ratings.

MARC

By RBJ

Jay is done,Conan sucks,Jimmy Fallon really sucks,Letterman is a has been from way back. It`s time for Ferguson front and center.

By gmbp44

Agreed. Ferguson is better than any of them.

By james claypool

Low Ranked Vote down Vote up Report this

Poor jay needs the money

By Jim

Why is it that whenever anyone writes anything about the Tonight Show these days, they mention such "icons" as Jack Paar and Johnny Carson, but always leave out the man who started it all, Steve Allen? BTW, Steve, like Jay Leno, left the show to host a prime-time variety show... only his was successful both artistically and in the ratings.

By bobatthelake

Why don't they share the week, one does three days a week, the other two days a week, and alternate. That way if you prefer one to the other, you watch on the night your favorite is on. That way their staffs will keep their jobs. We don't need more people out of work.

By ShiningStar

Conan needs to take his lost and bow out gracefully. I never could figure out why NBC put him on the Tonight Show in the first place. I knew from the beginning that he wouldn't last on the Tonight Show. He doesn't have what it takes to successfully follow in the footsteps of Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, and even Jay Leno. NBC has realized their mistake and now they are trying to fix it. If NBC had left Jay Leno on the Tonight Show and everything the way that it was, they wouldn't be going through this debacle. Now they have to "pay" for their mistake.

Page 5 of 25