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Late Night Wars - Conan's last Tonight Show was TONIGHT a long time ago

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V

VGChampion

Member
:(

Whatever Conan decides to do next, I hope he's back on television asap. Preferably with Andy and the rest of his cast and crew.

2pqpelu.jpg

And the pic since it's a new page.
 
T

Thomper

Member
Clevinger said:
Stupid title.
Click to expand...
What, the Conan's quitting part? It's very much what it seems like. NBC is apparently looking for guest hosts for the Tonight Show already, and TMZ is reporting that Jay Leno will get the Tonight Show back real soon. Sure, technically Conan might keep the show if Leno decides to step down - but it really, really, reaaaaally doesn't look like that's happening.
 
T

tokkun

Member
legend166 said:
Letterman was competing against Jay Leno, who at the time, as you said, hadn't had his own show.

Conan is competing against David Lettermn, a guy who's been around for decades and is a late night institution.
Click to expand...

That's a fair point. However, it seems to me that what we are talking about is Conan losing Tonight Show viewers - people who had already made the choice not to watch Letterman, who as you said, has been around for a very long time.
 
Red Scarlet

Red Scarlet

Member
My top of the hour Associated Press news said Conan quit today, so I'm going with that for now..

IF someone makes a new thread with links to these old ones, I'll close the others.
 
B

Barrett2

Member
NewLib said:
People who keep bringing up Conan's ratings are missing the point on why this is happening.

The problem that NBC was having was because of Jay Leno Show not getting good ratings (which was fine with them because it was cheap) and angering affiliates. Affiliates put pressure on NBC to cancel the Jay Leno Show. They did so but dont want to lose Jay Leno so they are trying to move him back to 11:35 for a 30 minute show.

If the Jay Leno Show never existed, Conan would likely be in no danger of being replaced on the Tonight show or losing his spot. This entire situation springs from 1) The failure of the Jay Leno Show and 2) NBC's reluctance to lose Jay Leno.
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This can't be stressed enough. All the numbnuts randomly wandering into the thread with "bu bu Conan low ratings" are missing the point entirely.
 
D

Downhome

Member
Yeah, here is the TMZ story on the latest:

http://www.tmz.com/2010/01/12/the-t...l-leaving-late-night-network-television-deal/

Jay Leno will get his one-hour show back, and it will be called "The Tonight Show".... sources tell TMZ.

We're told NBC honchos still have to sit down with Jay's rep and put the finishing touches on a new deal, but NBC has signed off on the plan if Conan O'Brien leaves ... and Conan has made it clear that he's leaving the network, and not on good terms.

O'Brien took several cheap shots at Leno in his blistering letter, denigrating Leno's show as a "comedy program."

Sources tell TMZ Jay and Conan have not spoken with each other since NBC announced the switch.

It's looking increasingly like Conan may be making a deal with Fox for a late night show from 11:00 PM to midnight.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/#ixzz0cRhBWk3I
Click to expand...
 
P

Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
VistraNorrez said:
Wrong. Leno killed the lead in. He did and it's simple Logic.

I don't know why this is so hard to see. Poor ratings in his slot lead to poor ratings in Conan's. Not to mention why would anyone take Conan seriously when they could already get their talk show fix with Leno. Conan had to compete with his old boss and Letterman essentially. And with that said Conan still tied Dave in the 18-49 Demo last quarter and his show skews about 10 years younger than both Dave's and Leno's shows.

Conan is not doing great but he is not a disaster in his timeslot. Leno is a disaster in his timeslot, and it's doing a lot of damage to NBC.
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Don't forget, NBC has advertised Leno's show way more heavily than Conan's. Even before Leno began his show.

Anyone have a breakdown of the show guests as well? I wouldn't be surprised if Leno also received the better ones. Conan seemed to always get B-list interviews.
 
C

Click

Banned
rhfb said:
Conan needs to find the magic that he lost when the show left NYC. It just hasn't been the same, and that really makes me sad. Late Night was the cream of the crop, but Conan's new show just doesn't capture the magic of his old show for some reason.
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It's hard to redo Late Night because that show was much more silly and "no holds barred." Conan basically did whatever he felt like and it was great. But once he moved the Tonight Show, I think he felt he needed to tone the show down a notch or two... even though he said he wouldn't "grow up," for the Tonight Show. The audience just isn't the same for the Tonight Show time slot.
 
T

Tobor

Member
Conan will be able to do whatever he want's on Fox at 11PM, so I'm fine with that if it goes down. Coco unleashed.
 
D

Downhome

Member
Click said:
But once he moved the Tonight Show, I think he felt he needed to tone the show down a notch or two... even though he said he wouldn't "grow up," for the Tonight Show.
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In my mind I imagine him dealing with the same morons that drive Krusty insane on The Simpsons, animated versions and all.

This is weird too:

http://www.thewrap.com/ind-column/conan-crisis-nbc-looking-tonight-show-guest-hosts-12879

NBC may be looking for guests hosts for "The Tonight Show."

A talent rep with knowledge of the situation said the network is making calls to reps about possible candidates to fill in for Conan O'Brien. The report couldn't be immediately be confirmed and may yet prove to be a by-product of the late-night confusion and crisis mode currently surrounding NBC.

NBC has said O'Brien will host tonight's "Tonight." But if this report is true, it could be a sign the network is gearing up for full-on war with O'Brien.

If it's not true, chalk up to the madness of the situation.
Click to expand...
 
J

JGS

Banned
Zeliard said:
Did Leno originally leave the 11:35 slot because his contract had ended or because he was pushed out?

Edit: Wow, Letterman is not the biggest Carson Daly fan. :lol
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Both. Leno pre-retired in 04 or 05. NBC kind of nudged him because he was being wishy-washy and they didn't want to lose Conan who was starting to get offers. However, if Leno had stated he wanted to stay at the Tonight Show for another 20 years, they would have let him- no questions asked.

Well, Leno did have second thoughts, but NBC had already committed to Conan (I was not aware Conan had actually signed a contract that far back until i read his letter). I think NBC thought it was going to take 2 or 3 years to catch on. I'm sure they would have avoided this short term business, but the local affiliates had to step in and protest - rightfully so.

I agree with others that Conan's rating aren't the issue, it's Jay's. However, they like Jay's 10:00 rating at 11:30 just fine.
 
W

whytemyke

Honorary Canadian.
I wonder if all the talent will walk with Conan. I'm sure Andy will go, and I'm sure Max and the band would go since I believe this is just a side-gig for all of them anyways. And then Conan is like Letterman in his loyalty to the writers, so I'm sure most of those guys would leave with him, too.

Maybe if Fox moves the new conan show back to New York they can even bring back Joel Goddard. :lol



(By the by, I think that if NBC hadn't made Conan move EVERYTHING across the country just for this to happen, there wouldn't be nearly as much bad blood going on right now.)

Also, with Jay, it's like he just doesn't get it. He didn't get it with Letterman, and it doesn't seem like he's getting it with Conan. Dude should have finished high school :lol
 
S

S1lent

Member
Jay Leno will get his one-hour show back, and it will be called "The Tonight Show".... sources tell TMZ.

We're told NBC honchos still have to sit down with Jay's rep and put the finishing touches on a new deal, but NBC has signed off on the plan if Conan O'Brien leaves ... and Conan has made it clear that he's leaving the network, and not on good terms.

O'Brien took several cheap shots at Leno in his blistering letter, denigrating Leno's show as a "comedy program."

Sources tell TMZ Jay and Conan have not spoken with each other since NBC announced the switch.

It's looking increasingly like Conan may be making a deal with Fox for a late night show from 11:00 PM to midnight.
Click to expand...

Are they talking about the letter in the OP? Because I'm not seeing any such "cheap shots." He refers to Leno's show as "another comedy program," which in the context looks to me like he's calling his own show a comedy program as well. Is TMZ just full of shit, or what?
 
C

Count of Monte Sawed-Off

un33dab@dpu$$y
Conan definitely was a bit toned down on the tonight show. Hopefully if he does go to a new show, which looks very likely, he'll have more freedom to do what he once. And Fox would probably allow that freedom. This could be a good thing. Oh, and fuck NBC.
 
C

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
joshcryer said:
But TMZ these days is almost always dead on accurate.
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They haven't been accurate at all in this story though, even when it was breaking. I'll trust deadline 100000% more than TMZ any day.

Speaking of Deadline...

I've learned about a meeting that began at 1:45 PM at NBC Universal about The Conan War: On one side of the room -- NBCU bigwigs Jeff Gaspin and Marc Graboff. On the other -- O'Brien's reps: manager Gavin Palone, WME agent and board member Rick Rosen, and the newest member of Team O'Brien, Hollywood litigator Patty Glaser, who was hired on Sunday and is WME's legal shark of choice. I wouldn't want to be Gaspin or Graboff right now: Gavin can be as mean as a rabid dog, Rick's agency reps 60% of the TV talent, and Glaser is a pitbull. This is bloodsport.

I've learned both NBCU chief Jeff Zucker as well as Gaspin were told that, before it went out, Conan was publicly making that statement (see below). My insiders say O'Brien's reps didn't want him to do it. "They were not thrilled. They told him it would undercut his negotiating leverage," one source revealed to me. "But Conan wouldn't listen to them. He wanted to make it." When Conan read the statement to the staff, "he broke up. He began to cry," one of my insiders reveals. "Because for 17 years he was working towards The Tonight Show, and now he says he's prepared to walk away from it. That's an amazing thing. An amazing thing. But he takes very seriously the fact that The Tonight Show baton was passed to him."

Meanwhile, Hollywood creatives are already starting to show support for Conan against NBC. At the Television Critics Association confab, near the end of the session with ABC TV showrunners, TV showrunners Steve Levitan (Modern Family) and Bill Lawrence (Cougar Town) said almost in unison: "Hey, did you guys read Conan's letter?" Lawrence added: "I love it. Man, it was just ballsy. It's just the way I hoped it would be."
Click to expand...
 
B

BenjaminBirdie

Banned
Himuro said:
I think Conan is done here.

If Fox gives him a show (which would probably take a few years to set up anyways) it'd probably BOMB next to Leno and Letterman. If he goes to CBS and is given a show he'll probably have to fight his old show, which probably won't be happening.

ABC probably doesn't want him, and that'd take a while to set up as well. Unless Leno walks and Conan is left with The Tonight Show, I don't see any foreseeable way for him to continue as a late night host on the big four.

He should hang it up, with his dignity intact and do something else.

Which sucks, but it seems like the most realistic set of options to me. Hopefully he starts work on new Simpsons episodes again.
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Not on your life. It might not happen immediately, but he'll beat Jay eventually. The dude is now the Darth Vader of Late Night. I'm sure I'm not the first person to float the idea of going to his show audience just to boo him, and I'm sure a couple of them actually live in LA and can pull it off.

Yes, Leno will (might?) get back his old audience, but Conan is now a fucking hero to an entire demographic.

He's the Barack Obama of television.
 
benjipwns

benjipwns

Banned
Dunno if posted...From Letterman, Law and Order: Leno Victims Unit... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msC3uu4KZbg

Also, http://www.popeater.com/2010/01/13/jay-leno-leaving-nbc/
First Conan O'Brien Leaves, Now Jay Leno?

Sources close to former 'Tonight Show' host Jay Leno tell me he is furious with the way NBC has treated him and Conan O'Brien and is considering walking away from the entire mess with his head held high. "Now that Conan has made it clear he is leaving the troubled network, Jay is considering doing the same. They have put Jay in a terrible position. It looks like he is the reason that Conan is now without a job. Jay is a great guy and it's not fair that due to NBC's stupidity he looks like the bad guy," a TV insider tells me.

"Plus, what happens when Jay does return to the 11:35 slot if his audience doesn't immediately follow? How can he possibly trust the same network that canceled Conan after only seven months?"
Click to expand...
 
I

Igo

Member
This thread is jokes. Do people really think NBC is just going to let Jay walk to FOX where he would destroy the Tonight Show and probably go back to beating Letterman again? This is what happens if NBC cancels the Leno show. This is why they initially gave him the 10pm slot in the first place. It didn't work out but probably still better than the alternative for NBC.

I'm not getting the Leno hate. The guy just wants to work. Why do people think he should just pack it in. Letterman is older and doesn't look like he's going to quit any time soon so why do people expect Leno to?

Sucks for Conan because I loved his old show but NBC needs guaranteed ratings now, not in 2-3 years. Perfect response though.
 
Kibbles

Kibbles

Member
I don't see why the time slot is such a big deal. Hell, I get the tonight show at 10:35 and Jimmy Fallon an hour later. I always thought Late Night with Conan was better anyways.
 
C

Clevinger

Member
S1lent said:
Are they talking about the letter in the OP? Because I'm not seeing any such "cheap shots." He refers to Leno's show as "another comedy program," which in the context looks to me like he's calling his own show a comedy program as well. Is TMZ just full of shit, or what?
Click to expand...

Just playing up the drama.
 
C

Click

Banned
Himuro said:
I think Conan is done here.

If Fox gives him a show (which would probably take a few years to set up anyways) it'd probably BOMB next to Leno and Letterman. If he goes to CBS and is given a show he'll probably have to fight his old show, which probably won't be happening.

ABC probably doesn't want him, and that'd take a while to set up as well. Unless Leno walks and Conan is left with The Tonight Show, I don't see any foreseeable way for him to continue as a late night host on the big four.

He should hang it up, with his dignity intact and do something else.

Which sucks, but it seems like the most realistic set of options to me. Hopefully he starts work on new Simpsons episodes again.
Click to expand...

You're smoking crack dude. Really bad crack.
 
J

Jubs

Member
So, are they going to give Jay the new Tonight Show studio, built for Conan? Or tear it down, pretend it never existed?

Either way, talk about a slap to the face.
 
D

DMczaf

Member
"They were not thrilled. They told him it would undercut his negotiating leverage," one source revealed to me. "But Conan wouldn't listen to them. He wanted to make it." When Conan read the statement to the staff, "he broke up. He began to cry," one of my insiders reveals. "Because for 17 years he was working towards The Tonight Show, and now he says he's prepared to walk away from it. That's an amazing thing. An amazing thing. But he takes very seriously the fact that The Tonight Show baton was passed to him."
Click to expand...

:(
 
J

joshcryer

it's ok, you're all right now
chubigans said:
They haven't been accurate at all in this story though, even when it was breaking. I'll trust deadline 100000% more than TMZ any day.

Speaking of Deadline...
Click to expand...

You think TMZ is jumping the gun here? I think NBC is probably renegotiating with Leno, however, I question the state of "The Jay Leno Show." If it isn't going to move to 11:35, then obviously Conan will stay. Otherwise the whole conspiracy about pushing Conan out is amazingly revealed to be true.

No words, really.
 
B

Barrett2

Member
Igo said:
I'm not getting the Leno hate. The guy just wants to work. Why do people think he should just pack it in. Letterman is older and doesn't look like he's going to quit any time soon so why do people expect Leno to?

.
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Engaging in repeated complicit back-stabbing is not "just wanting to work." Leno screwed Conan when he agreed to do his 10pm show, and he's screwing him now.

Just because someone else offers you the knife, you don't have to jam it into the other person's back. Obviously its all just business, but I don't see how anyone in their right mind could think Leno looks like anything other than an enormous douche in this whole mess.
 
T

Thomper

Member
chubigans said:
They haven't been accurate at all in this story though, even when it was breaking. I'll trust deadline 100000% more than TMZ any day.

Speaking of Deadline...
Click to expand...
This is the big thing to me. I think there's very few, if any at all, people who care as much about the Tonight Show 'name' as Conan does. He has, literally, been working to get there for the past 17 years. And not just him: there's a 100+ people with him, who have probably been working with him almost as long. They even moved with him from New York to LA. NBC can claim all they want with their contract-loopholes, but they're still screwing over a life's dream for a large, large group of people.

(And yes, I get that I don't need to feel *that* bad for Conan: he still has millions of dollars. But he seems to care about comedy, and him being screwed over like this is very undeserving.)
 
T

Teddman

Member
S1lent said:
Are they talking about the letter in the OP? Because I'm not seeing any such "cheap shots." He refers to Leno's show as "another comedy program," which in the context looks to me like he's calling his own show a comedy program as well. Is TMZ just full of shit, or what?
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He refers to terrible difficulties in NBC's prime time and no ratings support from the lead-in... But I didn't think he went out of his way to fire on Leno.
 
B

Brinbe

Member
chubigans said:
They haven't been accurate at all in this story though, even when it was breaking. I'll trust deadline 100000% more than TMZ any day.

Speaking of Deadline...
Click to expand...
Awesome, just shows how much respect Conan has for that late-night institution. He really cares. But I said it before, I would love if he moved to Fox. Let the sinking ship of NBC carry on with boring-old Leno, and let Conan start fresh on Fox. That's what Dave did with CBS and he certainly turned out okay.
 
J

joshcryer

it's ok, you're all right now
lawblob said:
Engaging in repeated complicit Conan back-stabbing is not quite "just wanting to work." Leno screwed Conan when he agreed to do his 10pm show, and he's screwing him now.
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If PopEater is right then that's not the case, is it?
 
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