The latest: Leno
may also say no to NBC
Comedian reportedly will reject move to 11:35
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jan 14, 2010
The latest rumor in the NBC-Jay Leno-Conan O'Brien saga is that Leno, too, is going to reject NBC's plan to move him back to late night.
So says the New York Post, which claims that the comedian is "furious" over NBC's treatment of him, and also of O'Brien, whose "Tonight Show" would be bumped to 12:05 a.m. to make way for "The Jay Leno Show's" move from 10 to 11:35 p.m.
The story claims Leno may walk away from NBC, amid worries that if his show doesn't immediately perk up late night, he'll be canceled.
An "NBC insider" also tells the Post that Leno is sick of being made the fall guy in this drama, like a bully trying to knock O'Brien off his perch.
While it may be true, it mostly sounds like someone in Leno's camp engaging in a bit of spin. Leno did not want to leave late night in the first place and would seem to be in position to reclaim his old show if, as expected, O'Brien and Leno part ways.
Still, the insider seems to be right about what this debacle is doing to perceptions of Leno. There's been immense support for O'Brien in the Twitterverse, and a group calling itself "Team Conan" has sprung up online.
Fellow late-night comedians Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman have done withering impressions of Leno on their late-night shows while mostly sparing O'Brien. And a lone protester held a sign in front of "Tonight's" studios earlier this week urging NBC to keep Conan and dismiss Jay.
But things are getting more heated between the two hosts themselves as well.
One needs look no further than their nightly monologues to gauge the comedians' moods. Last night, they seemed to be turning the ire that has been aimed at NBC at each other.
Said O'Brien: "Hosting 'The Tonight Show' has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me – and I just want to say to the kids out there watching: You can do anything you want in life. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it, too."
Earlier in the night, Leno led off his program noting that O'Brien had complained about only getting seven months on "Tonight" to prove himself. "Seven months!" Leno exclaimed. "How did he get that deal? We only got four."
CBS's Letterman also weighed in on the situation, as he's been doing every night.
"Isn't it lousy cold outside today? You know, they say, from the weather bureau, they say it's caused by an Arctic chill between Jay and Conan."
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