The Tonight Show controversy

Should Conan remain as host?

Recently, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien has had it’s bright future pulled, as NBC now wants to move Jay Leno back to late-night for a 30-minute show, Conan moving to 12:05 am for an hour, and Jimmy Fallon moving to 1:05 am. This is purely because of The Jay Leno Show’s and Conan’s low ratings, and the situation has sparked an online frenzy.

On January 10, NBC confirmed they will be moving Jay Leno out of primetime on February 12 and intend to move him to late-night as soon as possible. TMZ reported that O’Brien was given no advance notice of the change, and that NBC has offered him two choices: the hour-long 12:05am time slot, or the option to leave the network. If O’Brien does choose to leave, Leno will likely regain the Tonight Show title as well as the full 11:35pm to 12:35am time slot. Another theoretical possibility is that NBC could pay O’Brien to refrain from working for another network, remain off-air, then have him resume as host once Leno retires. The day after the change was announced, the New York Times spoke with an anonymous FOX executive, who said that the company feels O’Brien “would be a great fit for Fox.” ABC has stated they feel no need to add O’Brien to their late night schedule, which already contains Nightline and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

On January 12, O’Brien released a press release that stated he will not continue on with the NBC program if it moves to a 12:05am time slot, saying, “I believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.”

O’Brien is yet to seriously comment about the changes during his show, and has so far only made jokes about the possible changes during his monologues.

The New York Times has reported online support is overwhelmingly in favor of O’Brien. Tens of thousands of Twitter and Facebook posts were made siding with the late night host, and thousands joined various “Team Conan” groups. Dozens of celebrities expressed support for O’Brien, including Roger Ebert, Jim Gaffigan, Paul F. Tompkins, Doug Benson, and Alyssa Milano. Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt has expressly backed O’Brien, saying, “Comedians who don’t like Jay Leno now, and I’m one of them, we’re not like, ‘Jay Leno sucks;’ it’s that we’re so hurt and disappointed that one of the best comedians of our generation… willfully has shut [off O’Brien].”

I have been supportive of Conan from the beginning, when I first heard he was going to take over. I have watched every episode of the show. Now, after only seven months on the air, he is faced with the possiblty of losing the show and leaving the network. I am sickened at NBC - they have not been making good business decisions for quite some time - and, now in fourth place among networks, this is their move to get better ratings. I am deeply saddened as well.

Here’s what Conan said on the matter in an official statement:

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over “The Tonight Show” in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004, I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my “Tonight Show” in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the “Tonight Show” to 12:05 to accommodate the “Jay Leno Show” at 11:35. For 60 years, the “Tonight Show” has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the “Tonight Show” into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The “Tonight Show” at 12:05 simply isn’t the “Tonight Show.” Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the “Late Night” show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. 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. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet, a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the “Tonight Show,” I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,
Conan

I desperately don’t want him to leave, and Jay is also furious with NBC with the way they are treating both him and Conan, and will reportedly leave as well. NBC not only didn’t give Conan a chance, they gave Jay no chance, and now it appears that we will soon no longer see The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.

What is your opinion on this controversy?

I’m with “Team CoCo” all the way.

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Um, YES. I’m totally with CoCo on this one, and will support him with his decision. I can’t say I blame him. Now, for the sake of diplomacy, I won’t say what my opinions on Jay are (but me saying that at all gives you an idea of how I feel). But I will say I’m definitely upset with the NBC execs who seem to be more in love with Leno than FOX is with Seth MacFarlane. This is totally unfair to Conan, and actually unfair to Jimmy and Carson as well.

Conan’s statement was very professional, and I agree with him. He shouldn’t have to move his show just because Jay at 10PM didn’t work. Not to mention Conan and his staff pretty much uprooted themselves and their families from NYC to LA. I was really happy for him when he got the job, and I’m very frustrated that the chance he was given when he got Late Night isn’t being given to him now.

I hope he gets a decent gig wherever he ends up going.

I just keep hearing more about this controversy every day, but what I find ironic is the fact that this is the same stunt that was pulled over on David Letterman about sixteen years ago…personally, since Fox has been asking for Leno nearly forever, it would make sense for him to go over to their channel instead, which would possibly teach NBC a lesson in all of this…

Well, apparently Conan’s last show will be next week…

I’m not really one for late night talk shows, but I really liked Conan. He always had cooler guests than Jay Leno. My favourite of his skits were the Walker Texas Ranger Lever, Desk Driving, Pale Force, as well as his more recent on-going “feud” with the mayor of Newark. It would be great if Conan and his team could move over to another network. Fingers crossed.

Take a look at this:

allheadlinenews.com/articles … .5%20Years

deadline.com/hollywood/jeff- … -12-years/

thewrap.com/ind-column/conan … fall-13010

It’s most likely too late now, but I found this:

petitiononline.com/conan11/petition.html

If you support Conan, as I do, please sign it.

Well, I guess its elementary now. Conan’s last show is tonight. He gets $33 million to leave and his staff will split $12 million. If another network wants him, he could be back on TV as early as September. Jay will go back to hosting The Tonight Show March 1st.

I wanted to share this with you. Last night, Conan has this to say:

“Ladies and gentleman, before we bring this rodeo to a close, I think a couple of things should be said. There’s been a lot of speculation in the press about what I legally can and can’t say about NBC, and, this isn’t a joke, to set the record straight, and this is true, tonight I’m allowed to say anything I want. Um, and… no, this is not a joke, but thanks, sir. Tonight, I really am allowed to say whatever I want, and what I want to say is this. Between my time at Saturday Night Live, the Late Night show, and my brief run here on The Tonight Show, I’ve worked with NBC for over 20 years. Yes, we have our differences right now. Yes, we’re going our seperate ways. But this company has been my home for most of my adult life. I am enormously proud of the work we’ve done together, and I want to thank NBC for making it all possible, I really do. A lot of people have been asking me about my state of mind, and I’ll be honest with you - walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world. I absolutely love doing it, and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium, I will fight anybody who says I don’t, uh, but no one would. But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian, every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show, and for seven months, I got to do it. And I did it my way, with people I love. I do not regret one second of anything that we’ve done here. And, yeah, and I encounter people when I walk on the street now who give me sort of a sad look. I have had more good fortune than anybody I know. And if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-Eleven parking lot, we will find a way to make it fun, we really will, I have no problems. And, I don’t want to do it in a 7-Eleven parking lot… but, whatever. Finally, I have something to say to our fans. This massive outpouring of support and passion from so many people has been overwhelming for me. The rallies, the signs, all this goofy outrageous creativity on the Internet, uh, the fact that people have traveled long distances, and camped out all night in the pouring rain… it’s pouring. It’s been pouring for days, and they’re camping out to be in our audience. Really, you, here’s what all of you have done… you made a sad situation joyous and inspirational. So, to all the people watching, I can never, ever thank you enough for the kindness to me… I’ll think about it for the rest of my life, and all I ask is one thing, and this is, I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch… please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it’s my least favorite quality, it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard, and you’re kind, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you… it’s just true. As proof, ladies and gentleman, let’s make something amazing happen right now. Here to close out our show are a few good friends led by Mr. Will Ferrell.”