Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien

[Paul Ramone]

If the Leno @11:30, Conan @12 thing is true, it is still shitty and awful, but the one smart thing I will give to that idea is it would allow Conan to maintain the young demographic. Those kids can watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and flip right over to the start of Conan. But it still a horrible idea.

But still, I don't understand what putting Leno back at 11:30 does for the any concept of the future of NBC, unless they're assuming they won't even be a be network in existence in 5 years when Jay Leno realizes he actually is old and wants to retire.

[CarolineEAnd]

did somebody say.. FALLON?

Michael Blieden
Anthony Jeselnik
Seth Herzog
Steve Higgins
and..
The Greatest Band in Late Night, THE ROOTS.

Would it be weird if I professed my love to you?

But seriously, if Jay wants Carson Daly's spot that's fine, but dont mess with Conan or Fallon!

[nadsat droog]

If I'm Conan, I say fuck that compromise. And from what's being reported now, I think that's what might have happened earlier today.

[RubelT]

This is why Jay Leno didn't get verklempt or shed tears on his final show.

[Monty]

Well ... I like the part about cutting Leno to a half hour. That's something we can build on.

[funnyclown]

I think it's a smart move, personally. It lets NBC save face in a big way, and I could easily see a half hour of Leno monologue jokes beating the 1st half hour of Letterman--and significantly outperforming what Conan's done. Not a knock against Conan so much as a knock against the bourgeoisie. And anyway, Conan's audience isn't going to be bothered by having to stay up until 1. It's sort of weird that he'll kind of be going up against Kimmel and sort of Letterman, but how much do time slots even matter at this point? Mass media is in its greatest transitional phase since the invention of papyrus and/or the printing press or at least pens. By 2020, we'll have nothing but ads for loan consolidation companies running across our eyes all day and night. These little details will be long forgotten.

[suavepebble]

Kings was a really interesting show, better and more imaginative than almost anything else NBC put on last year that I can think of. I don't think any network should be faulted for taking risks on a show like that.

--Jouster, last remaining Kings fan, posting off-topic

I was a big fan of Kings, as well. But I may have been blinded by the undying devotion I have for my hero Ian Mcshane. I'd watch Deal or No Deal if McShane hosted it, so I dunno.

Also, fuck Jay Leno. Jay Leno is literally the anti-Ian McShane. The Anti-McShane.

[suavepebble]

Well ... I like the part about cutting Leno to a half hour. That's something we can build on.

Maybe Leno will become the Late Night with Conan O'brien's version of Andy Rooney. After 58 minutes of interesting television, they can wheel out Leno and let him tell the audience how upset he is over not understanding anything anymore.

[metal2000]

This is all INSANE.

As someone who watches TV and follows TV extensively, NBC is a BROKEN NETWORK. And it's not just the shows -- because in a lot of respects, they have quite a lot of quality shows. It's the way they slowly programmed themselves into 4th place, and have done nothing imaginative to get OUT of 4th place.

You know how to get out of 4th place? Ask ABC. Or FOX. You find ONE HIT to go along with a stable of vets, and then slowly replace those vets with new shows to build around your hit. People may hate or loathe American Idol (I know I do), but it's almost solely responsible for the successful launches (or last-ditch re-launches) of some of its best shows, including House and Fringe. People aren't just going to randomly tune into a network they've stopped watching. It's hard to get them back.

Do you think Conan's ratings losses to Letterman are all due to his show? Could it be because NBC was at a point where many people were left ONLY watching Jay's show at 11:30 and nothing else on the network? And when he left, they decided that was it for NBC. And nobody's watching Conan because nobody's watching anything else on NBC, either, and eventually it's going to affect your late night schedule?

I don't think anyone just keeps their TVs on the same channel anymore, so it's not like the "old days" -- solid lead-ins aren't AS important as they used to be. But a solid network schedule all-around is terribly important, and it's why CBS has been the network leader for so many years. NBC seemed on the verge of coming back when Heroes was bringing in huge ratings in its first season, and The Office was the talk of the comedy world. But then they continued to give us mostly shit around it, and at the same time let their shows lose something creatively along the way (especially Heroes). So now you're left with a laughing-stock of a network that used to be the home of Hill Street Blues and The Cosby Show and Cheers and Seinfeld.

Sorry for ranting, but this business angers me so much, because it's the real reason hilarious people like Conan and his staff end up getting shit on. It's the reason why shows like Commumity and Parks & Recreation will probably not see a new season. It's the reason why Letterman left for CBS 17 years ago. And it's just damn frustrating, because I just want to laugh at funny people, damnit!

[John?]

I hope someone gets shot in the face if this decision turns out to be true.

[sharilyn]

Somewhere, Ben Silverman is laughing his ass off right now.

[isoS]

It's worth noting that Conan won his time slot with 18-49 in the last quarter, and that was with Leno taking one big-name guest after another away from him night in and night out. If you watch NBC during prime time (as I am right now), you see one Leno promo after another, and nothing about the Tonight Show (I'm sure that's not always true, but it is tonight). NBC gave Conan the Tonight Show, then immediately sabotaged him, and he's still giving them exactly what they hired him to give them: the most coveted demographic and a younger audience than his predecessor delivered. Imagine how well he would do if he didn't have to compete with Leno for guests and had the support of his network's marketing department.

[isoS]

It just occurred to me how weird it is that this clip was posted on NBC.com, and before the episode even aired.

[metal2000]

It just occurred to me how weird it is that this clip was posted on NBC.com, and before the episode even aired.

To NBC, any publicity is good publicity.

They're wrong, of course, but this is how they think.

[John?]

Don't you guys see it?! Leno IS NBC!!

[Krudler]

It's worth noting that Conan won his time slot with 18-49 in the last quarter, and that was with Leno taking one big-name guest after another away from him night in and night out. If you watch NBC during prime time (as I am right now), you see one Leno promo after another, and nothing about the Tonight Show (I'm sure that's not always true, but it is tonight). NBC gave Conan the Tonight Show, then immediately sabotaged him, and he's still giving them exactly what they hired him to give them: the most coveted demographic and a younger audience than his predecessor delivered. Imagine how well he would do if he didn't have to compete with Leno for guests and had the support of his network's marketing department.

I googled "sad but true" and was directed to this post.

Honestly, I've never agreed so whole-heartedly with an opinion/analysis (Matt's above) of something I love ...and then immediately fallen into a resulting depression before.

[suavepebble]

It's also possible that this is all a ruse to regain an enthusiasm for O'brien that they feel might possibly be waning. The reason I think this is possible is due to Letterman's personal problems probably garnering an increased viewership (This could be totally wrong, I admit that). I also think a rogue element of our government killed the Kennedy brothers, so take this with a grain of salt.

[Newt Floss]

It's the reason why shows like Commumity and Parks & Recreation will probably not see a new season.

Wait, huh?

[Embiggen]

I can't find the clip now, but a little while ago I watched a video on cnn.com where an analyst delved into the reasons why NBC found itself in this mess, and it seemed to bear a lot of similarities to the subprime mortgage meltdown. They talked about the fact that they promised Conan the Tonight Show five years ago to keep him from leaving NBC back then, apparently not thinking about the fact that in five years Leno might not be willing to get out of the spotlight. Suddenly their 5/1 ARM is up, and their mortgage rate just jumped from 4.5% to 7%, or some more appropriate real estate analogy, and they're realizing they never had a backup plan in place in case Leno was still starved for attention. At this point, NBC has made their allegiances known, and I'm hoping Conan leaves of his own volition and lets NBC slowly dig their own grave by prioritizing Leno's narcissism over the future of their network.

[Embiggen]

...and by "I'm hoping Conan leaves," I of course meant I hope he goes to another network that values him and gives him and his cast the support they need to be successful.