Leno Back At 11:30, Conan Undecided

With word coming in yesterday that Jay Leno would be reclaiming his 11:30 p.m. time slot on NBC, the question mark was where Conan O'Brien would land in the shake up. TMZ now reports that network execs are letting him decide if he wants the midnight to 1:00 a.m. slot; "if he does, Leno's show will only be a half hour. If Conan walks, Leno will get a full hour."

Reportedly Conan is "pissed" after being blindsided on the change, and according to sources is unsure of his decision at this time. His contract, which earns him about $25 million a year, has a $40 million penalty fee NBC would need to pay out if they forced him from his "Tonight Show" desk. The NY Times reports that negotiations were still ongoing through the night, and notes that he "could be offered an earlier slot at a different network, most likely the Fox network."

The network has released a statement saying, "We remain committed to keeping Conan O’Brien on NBC. He is a valued part of our late-night line-up, as he has been for more than 16 years, and is one of the most respected entertainers on television." However, TMZ was told if Conan gets another offer, the network will let him go, even though they could block him.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on January 8, 2010 9:00 AM

Comments [rss]

Dan

I don't think it's a bad idea for Leno to get in for half an hour & spice things up a bit......

bts220

POOR CONAN if he gets fired he gets $40million. which is more money than all of us combine will ever see in our lives.I get more laughs watching sue simmons bungle every report she does than watching these 3

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

What's going on with Sue, sometimes I think she's drunk.

SeasTooFarToReach

Conan should do a Letterman. This is a lack of respect for him. He is not a toy, if he agrees to this, I'd lose respect for him.

I have to step in to defend Jimmy Fallon (unthinkable about a year ago), but he's been doing a lot better. His scripted skits are funnier than the other shows and he's starting to look a bit more comfortable in interviews and even the monologue. In short: let Jimmy be!

As for those talking about Letterman, last year he signed a contract until 2012. Then I guess he will retire.

thewildpansy

What the FUCK are you talking about "he's not a toy". It's not a bout being a toy, it's about putting shows and arranging them where they will work best and make the most money. This is business, not an attack on Leno.

NannyState

Conan has a contract too. Contracts are made to be broken.

NannyState

Apparently, NBC is satisfied with Jimmy Fallon's .000213 rating and .000114 share.

WuttuPJesus

How about we just cancel all this late-night sh!t anyway?

Leno's facial expressions make me CRINGE in sympathy for him. Poor dude. Clearly doesn't know good humor. If he did, he'd get the ^&#*(*$ off tv.

etypical

Someone should just kill Leno and put us all out of his misery. He is the least funny person in late night, that's why his show tanks. If he were funny he'd be funny at any hour. NBC is rahtarded to have this loser on 5 nights a week.

Politburo

If my employer did something that might make me $40 million richer, I'd be pissed too.

Dirk

First Leno screws potentially 5-10 different television show productions by having his crappy show run five nights a week in primetime. Now he wants his old time slot back, screwing over Conan's production, who just packed up their lives and moved from NYC to LA.

NannyState

To be fair, NBC pushed the early Leno timeslot to save money because no one there can pick a hit and hour-long dramas are too expensive for the no.4 network. NBC is an absolute disaster thanks to Jeff Zucker. When he got his first big step up, NBC was no.1 in nearly every category. Now NBC is at the bottom and had to be sold off by GE. Comcast ought to go into 30 Rock with a flamethrower.

PKMKII

Plus, what the hell is NBC going to put in the 10 pm slot, 5 nights a week, on 2-3 weeks' notice? A shoddy reality show? Re-runs of the 8 pm slot? If Leno's 10 pm show was a bad lead-in, whatever they replace it with is going to be much, much worse.

thewildpansy

How the fuck is that screwing Conan's production if he has to run 30 minutes later? Shut your whiny mouth.

Dirk

It's all about hierarchy and status in Hollywood. Moving to the 11:30 slot for Conan was supposed to be a promotion. Leno was out and Conan was in. Now they've essentially demoted him to under Leno.

That being said, why are you such a douche?

hotstepper

which do you prefer? unfunny white guy A or unfunny white guy B.

you be the decider.

Mr Mel

Even thirty minutes of Leno is too much.

Jen S

Leno's show is godawful. My grandma doesn't think he's funny.

butterbutter

Actually I thought that Leno would do great in daytime television time slots, for that daytime crowd.

O'brien would do better earlier nearer the Family Guy time slot.

Fallon is the most unfunny ever. Should be canceled immediately, or change the format more like SNL.

The population of talk show hosts are too big and people don't really care that much, at least I don't.

Letterman, O'brien, Fallon, Kimmel, Leno, Daly, Ferguson, Stewart, Colbert and that's just the evening.

Banks, Oprah, Ellen, Dr. Phil, Goldberg, Couric, M. Stewart, Jones, and I'm sure I'm missing some...

It wouldn't be a bad thing to pink slip a few of them...