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The question once
again of Jay Leno

Fallon slips into O’Brien's chair on 'Late Night'

By Diego Vasquez
May 13, 2008

We are about to see the second coming of the late-night wars.

Yesterday NBC named former “Saturday Night Live” star Jimmy Fallon to take over Conan O’Brien’s “Late Night” gig when O’Brien moves on to the “Tonight Show” next year, where he will replace Jay Leno.

That seems to lay to rest any lingering questions over whether NBC would move forward with Leno’s succession, despite reports that Leno wants to retain his late-night slot.

NBC named O’Brien his successor four years ago in order to keep him at the network and avoid the turmoil that followed Johnny Carson’s retirement, when Leno and then-NBC “Late Night” host David Letterman both wanted the slot.

When Letterman was passed over, he skipped off to CBS and the first round of late-night wars ensued, with the two men engaging in a bitter rivalry in everything from ratings to guests.

Leno long ago pulled ahead in the ratings and since the writers’ strike ended has been an average 35 percent ahead of CBS’s “Late Show” among adults 18-49.

At the same time, while O’Brien is still ahead of late-night competitors “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on ABC and CBS’s “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” his leading margin has shrunk compared with last year.

Though NBC has said many times that it hoped Leno would remain at the network, perhaps hosting primetime specials, that seems less and less likely.

An infamous workaholic, Leno is not ready to ease into part-time work and is quite ready to stick around as a late night host, working for whomever.

ABC and Fox are rumored to be interested in him, as is Sony Pictures Television, which has floated a syndicated program. This time next year, one of those three could well be introducing its new Leno show to compete with O’Brien’s “Tonight Show,” launching in June 2009. Leno's contract expires in early 2010.

It would likely turn into another long struggle for late night's top dog. Leno is now just 58. Carson was 66 when he retired, and he left at the top after 30 years as "Tonight's" host.

On tonight’s “Late Night,” “The Office” star Steve Carell guests to promote his show’s season finale Thursday night.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
TUESDAY, MAY 13
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	William Shatner and Shia LaBeouf both guest.
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	It’s down to the final three, will anyone slip up?
8 p.m.	CBS	“NCIS” (D)	The crew has reason to believe Jimmy Palmer is the target of an assassination attempt.
9 p.m.	CW	“Reaper” (D)	Sam tracks down a soul that’s escaped from hell on more than one occasion.
10 p.m.	NBC	“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (D)	Season finale. Lake reopens a teen girl’s murder case.
10 p.m.	Oxygen	“Bad Girls Club” (R)	Season finale. The women deal with the aftermath of a fight at a club.
10 p.m.	VH1	“Sex: The Revolution” (N)	The second part of VH1’s look at liberal sex in the 1960s.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 14
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Tony Danza and “Supernanny” star Jo Frost guest.
8 p.m.	CW	“America’s Next Top Model” (R)	Season finale. One of the final three is bounced, and later the winner is selected.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Wife Swap” (R)	Has had some success in the watered-down timeslot, can it build more momentum?
8 p.m.	Versus	“NHL Hockey” (S)	Game four of the Western Conference Finals between Dallas and Detroit.
9 p.m.	CBS	“Criminal Minds” (D)	A murder suspect wakes up from a coma and doesn’t remember his crimes.
9 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	Tonight’s results show will reveal the final two contestants.
10 p.m.	MTV	“The Real World” (R)	Dave brings a girl home and Kim’s not too happy about it.
THURSDAY, MAY 15
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Angelina Jolie, Jack Black and Candace Cameron all guest.
8 p.m.	CW	“Smallville” (D)	Season finale. Brainiac brings Lex to the Fortress to face Clark.
8 p.m.	NBC	“My Name is Earl” (C)	Season finale. Earl looks for relationship advice from his friends. Good luck with that.
9 p.m.	CBS	“CSI” (D)	Season finale. Warrick is accused of murdering a mobster.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Grey’s Anatomy” (D)	Alex finds out the truth about Rebecca.
9 p.m.	NBC	“The Office” (C)	Season finale. Toby leaves the company, then his replacement shows up and is hazed.
10 p.m.	ABC	“Lost” (D)	A battle between the survivors and the freighter group begins.
FRIDAY, MAY 16
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Blast from the past: New Kids on the Block guest.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Ghost Whisperer” (D)	Season finale. Melinda finds out why her father disappeared and why her mom kept it from her.
8 p.m.	ESPN	“NBA Basketball” (S)	Either a late conference semifinal game or an early conference finals matchup.
9 p.m.	CBS	“Moonlight” (D)	Season finale. Mick and Josef try to protect the identities of other vampires in the area.
9 p.m.	CMT	“Mobile Home Disaster” (R)	Series premiere. Can be described as “Extreme Makeover: Mobile Home Edition.”
10 p.m.	CBS	“Numb3rs” (D)	Season finale. The team faces a crisis, but Megan leaves regardless.
SATURDAY, MAY 17
Time	Network	Program	Description
1:30 p.m.	NBC	“NHL Hockey” (S)	A Stanley Cup playoffs conference final game.
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Third round of the AT&T Classic from Duluth, Ga.
3:30 p.m.	Fox	“Major League Baseball” (S)	It’s Brewers-BoSox, Dodgers-Angels or Indians-Reds.
4:30 p.m.	NBC	“Horse Racing” (S)	The second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	A much-loved “Stupid Criminals” edition.
11:30 p.m.	NBC	“Saturday Night Live” (C)	Season finale. Steve Carrell hosts, Usher performs.
SUNDAY, MAY 18
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Coverage of the final round of the AT&T Classic, won last year by Zach Johnson.
7 p.m.	ABC	“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” (R)	Season finale. Two-hour season-ender has Ty and Co. head to New Orleans to help with Katrina rebuilding.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Academy of Country Music Awards” (A)	The 43rd annual event, hosted this year by Reba McEntire.
9 p.m.	CW	“The Game” (C)	Season finale. Derwin and Jerome get into a fight over Melanie.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Desperate Housewives” (D)	Season finale. Lynette is accused of child abuse and a round of death threats trouble Wisteria Lane.
10 p.m.	E!	“Keeping Up with the Kardashians” (R)	The girls travel to New Orleans for a charity pool tournament.
10 p.m.	VH1	“Viva Hollywood!” (R)	Daisy Fuentes teach the contestants how to be seductive.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.


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