Leno retiring in 2009, Conan gets his gig

[trekgeezer]

This is interesting news and the deal has already been made.

Leno retires

[Dave Munger]

Who should get Conan's job? I nominate Triumph, Pierre Bernard, and the sidekick guy (he should be looking for work by that time).

[Susan]

damn - you mean i have to put up with leno for 5 more years?
Talk show scene hasn't been the same since Carson, Letterman is still out there but has gone more mainstream. I always hated leno, whenever a guest host sat in for carson i always changed it when leno was on. Heck i even watched joan rivers over him. what would the great carnack say..

[Dave Munger]

Does anyone remember Alan Havey? I liked him, he had a show on the Comedy Channel (I think this may have been when it was called HA!). When all the shows were getting shuffled around, it sounded like he might be the new Tonight Show guy, or the late show guy maybe. The he just dissapeared. I think this is something that usually happens, I heard what's her name, the funny lady from Strangers With Candy, mentioned as what's-his-face-pretty-boy's replacement on the Late Show, so she'll probably dissapear now.

[AndyC]

Agreed. I'd take Carson over Leno any day. The only guest host I really liked was Gary Shandling.

Can't believe Leno is already planning his retirement. Doesn't seem that long ago that Carson retired and Leno was the young guy who took his place. Where does the time go?

[Kory]

I heard that Leno was REALLY funny... until he got the Late Show gig.  Apparantly, the studio completely pussified him.  I really hope that doesn't happen with Conan.

[Dave Munger]

Conan isn't really exactly a gifted comic, IMHO, but he tries lots of things and what works, he makes a permanent feature of the show, like Triumph or the Walker Texas Ranger lever. I hope he brings all that stuff with him instead of starting all over from scratch, could have another rough first few seasons.

[Ash]

You guys are all nuts!
Leno is hilarious.
I laugh my ass off during every single one of his shows.

It's Letterman I never liked.
I can watch an entire episode of Letterman's show and not laugh once.



Post Edited (09-30-04 01:34)

[Yaddo42]

There was a NYT magazine article about Conan a few months ago, he seemed to be growing restless in his timeslot as his ratings and popularity have increased, much like Letterman did. Also his NBC contract was set to expire in about a year and a half. The article said other networks were interested in hiring him, even though officially no one could talk to or negociate with him, the feelers were out there.

NBC probably knows that the best (or only) way to keep Conan was to offer him "The Tonight Show" in a somewhat reasonable time frame. That show is the goal so many hosts aspire to - taking on the mantle of Allen, Paar, and of course Johnny Carson -  remember how badly Letterman wanted it. Conan can get a sweetheart deal (money, development deals for outside projects, etc) from pretty much any network, but only NBC can offer "The Tonight Show".

Patton Oswald was on "Fresh Air" recently and he said that he and others respect Leno's standup but that so many comedians, including him, hate that Leno has made the choice to tone down things for the show, because he still cuts loose when he does his comedy act on weekends and when he works during breaks in the show. Leno is something of a workaholic, so I'll bet the network leaned on him to leave in 2009, or let him know that they wouldn't keep him on anyway. They plan for the future, and were probably forecasting if his popularity or his ad rates would still hold up years from now. Carson's ad rates had fallen and his demographics were older thanks to Arsenio Hall, but he was still the big dog on the block.

Leno will do something, tour and play Vegas probably, since that's what he does during those weekends and breaks. He's not hurting for money. I'm just wonder, like I've read elsewhere if things won't have changed so much in 5 years to make picking Conan a bad choice. Other talents could come along, Jon Stewart's contract with Comedy Central ends in 2007, I think. Someone younger and unknown could become a sensation during this time. Conan could lose his edge, etc.

Amy Sedaris as a possible replacement for Craig Kilborn? I had heard her name mentioned, but I hope not. I'm not a fan of her comedy anyway. That Piggy "character" I've seen her do on Conan's show for example. Wow. Putting scotch tape on your nose and screaming obscenities. So kids I knew who did that in elementary school got in trouble, and she's a comedy genius for the same thing? Networks make the mistake quite often of thinking people who can make entertaining guests can be good talk show hosts. Charles Grodin, John MacEnroe, Ben Stein, Magic Johnson, Chevy Chase, Tom Arnold all prove that wrong.

I saw Michael Ian Black hosting "The Late, Late Show" the other day, after ten minutes of obvious jokes and a lame detective spoof skit I said enough and changed it.

[trekgeezer]

I saw  Jay Leno on Inside the Actors Studion and he said standup was his first love . He actually spends none of his Tonight Show money. He lives off the money made from stand up.  He is a workaholic, he only sleeps 4 hours a day.

[Susan]

the only sad thing is leno in retirement won't dissapear like carson did. He'll have gigs. He's too jokey, and not all that funny. I used to like carsons reaction when his jokes bombed

Carson wasn't kidding when he said he was going to retire. It was sad to see him go, I wished he would appear on interviews or hosting the oscars or SOMETHING.

[blkrider]

Letterman hasn't been the same since leaving NBC.  I read that book THE LATE SHIFT several years ago and I think I remember something where Carson told Letterman "If they had treated me the way they treated you, I would leave in a heartbeat" or something like that, and that Letterman had been Carson's choice for a replacement.  

I like what I've seen of Conan, but I have a feeling he will have to change drastically for the earlier timeslot.  

Eh, I never watch any of these shows anymore now...