Good for Conan

Y

YoLaDu

Guest
The Link

Screw NBC and Jay Leno.



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
 
It's unbelievable what NBC is doing to Conan.
Don't blame him one bit.
I'm sure he will land on his feet somewhere else.
Leno sucks, Conan = greatness
 
what a clusterfuck NBC is.

They had Leno winning all the time, and decide to throw a change up, resulting in chaos.
 
Sucks for Conan. I watch his show almost everyday. If he goes somewhere else to do his show then I'll just watch it there. NBC is becoming a lost cause.
 
How odd that NBC is hooked on the idea of Leno's star power. I would think his miserable failure in prime time might have tarnished whatever element he added to the Tonight Show.

NBC's biggest error was not giving Tonight to Letterman. Letterman led in ratings in the early going and aired the only talk show to have long term success against Tonight.

Leno was an amusing guest on Letterman on Late NIght, I never liked him as host of the Tonight Show.
 
Leno has never amused me much. Apparently America agrees.

It's too bad that NBC is such a clusterfuck, because there are some really good shows on that abortion of a network: 30 Rock, Community, Parks and Rec, The Office.
 
The Jay Leno Show's ratings have been awful. When a show's ratings are awful, you cancel it. Period.

Jay Leno or not, a failed "one-year experiment show" has no business changing 60 years of late night precedent.
 
I don't really watch any of the late shows with any regularity but I sure as hell will NOT be watching Leno ever again. I'll intentionally tune to Conan from now on. He is seriously getting screwed.
 
I think Leno takes the high road and retires. There's no way a dude as generous and thoughtful as him screws over Conan, after planning for this moment for 6 years.

I think Leno goes to the 11:35 EST slot, does two weeks worth of shows, and then calls it quits after the Olympics.
 
I think Ferguson had the best take on it. This isn't about Conan or Leno. This is about the criminal stupidity in charge of NBC.
 
This is not that complicated to unravel. Leno regularly beat Letterman in the ratings. Letterman now beats Conan. NBC wants the ratings back. It should be interesting for awhile at least to watch all 3 go head to head if Fox puts Conan on in the same slot.

That said, this whole situation was handled about as poorly as it could have been. The team that leads NBC has been horrible for years. It's hard to believe they have been allowed to run this once great network into the ground. They sort of remind me of US automakers in their management malfeasance. My only explanation is that these guys are very political and whoever at GE really likes their politics.

Hopefully Comcast will clean house. It takes an organization like NBC to make Comcast look good.
 
The one truly great show on NBC, Friday Night Lights, they can't even figure out how to market. They didn't even try, instead they trot out Knight Rider out for their schedule.
 
I love Conan.

I remember when I traveled to NY to visit my sister during Spring Break. It was pouring down snow and verrrryyyy cold. But still - I wanted to see Conan.

If you dont know how you get tickets to a show like this.. there are 2 options. The first, send an email wayyyy in advance to NBC saying you will be in the NY area during a certain week and you would love to be a guest in the audience.

Or - You can wait in line, and hope that you get a spot that someone doesnt show up for.

So at 4 am, I show up outside NBC studios in the pouring snow... Waiting for 5 hours to get a number.

I was #16.

We were told to come back at 5:00 pm to see if there were spots open for us. Sadly, they only took 5 people. The rest of us 50 who stood in line... better luck next time.


Needless to say - I love Conan. Jay Leno has been on a downward spiral for years and years. The only thing he has going for him are his skits. The interviewing dumb people outside, the newsclippings that are funny... all of those are great. Everything else he does - sucks.

NBC has everything that is good on TV right now, IMO.

Heroes, 30 Rock, The Office, Community, Parks and Rec, Friday Night Lights, SNL... Do I need to keep going?

Top that off with Jay Leno or Conan. Who do you want leading your channel on a 2:00 minute drive from your own 1yd line with the NC on the line?

Not Jay Leno. Thats for damn sure.
 
I'm probably in the minority here that liked Leno on the Tonight Show, but I agree his new show is horrible. I watched it for a couple of weeks and gave up.

I do applaud Conan for standing up for his principles, though. I agree that NBC management is an absolute clusterfuck. Comcast stepping in can only help; as it stands I don't think it could get much worse. I imagine probably nobody under 30 remembers when NBC was top notch, with shows like St. Elsewhere, Hill Street Blues, Cosby, Family Ties, Miami Vice, Cheers, etc. They do have a few good shows on now like the Office, but pretty much everybody universally associates NBC with fail these days. How sad.

As for Leno, perhaps he could take over the daytime TV talk segment after Oprah moves on.

Lately I have taken to DVRing the Daily Show and watching it after the 10 PM news. I miss Johnny Carson.
 
NBC is run by a bunch of jackoffs. I prefer Conan, but I can't spite Leno in this one bit. NBC has mismanaged this situation for the last 6 years, and Leno and Conan both got screwed for it.

Conan's ratings were down, but that was to be expected in the first year while he set his feet. That situation wasn't helped by the fact that NBC managed to melt down the final hour of prime time trying to placate Leno. Running a talk show at 10, killed the lead in for the News, which in turn killed the lead in for Tonight. The result is nobody is getting their ratings, and the only fault is on NBC for mismanaging their schedule.
 
I totally forgot Conan was even still on tv. I forgot he took over that time slot where Leno was until this whole ordeal unfolded. He was sooooo funny about ten years ago where Letterman was even longer ago than that. Late night sucks.
 
Zucker: "I'll Keep You Off The Air For 3 1/2 Years"

Conan's Rep: "This Will End Up In Front Of A Judge If NBC Doesn't Wise Up" and "Someone's got to show NBCU that big greedy corporate dickheads can't win,"


Article
 
A few people were turned off by Letterman's political predilections, Joe Fan, but that had little impact in why Leno would edge out Letterman nightly.

Leno's success over Letterman had little to do with politics and more to do with disparate comedy styles.

Leno takes less chances, is less edgy, has a more familar style which many people gravite toward. Leno is eager to please and way more pallitable to a wider range of people and demographics.

Letterman is more: this is what i think is funny. If you like it, great, come aboard. Letterman is edgier, grumpier, moodier and caustic.

Neither style is definitively good or bad. I prefer Letterman. Others prefer Leno.
 
If you dont think Letterman is partisian then its time to put down the koolaid. The guy was and still is pretty obsessive when it came to Bush (if its not he, then its Palin). Even tonight by coincidence he inserted a Bush dig into his Top10. I guess he cant see any humor in someone like Pelosi or Reid. No possible material there.
rolleyes.gif
Has Dave ever told a single biting joke about the current President?

What you guys call edgy comes off as bitter to the rest of us. And bitter is not funny. That Dave is bitter is not really suprising in the light of the way he has been living his life these past couple decades. Its a type fit for a serial sexual harasser. People like that usually have some element of self-hatred which they direct at others. I think we can all agree on who Dave directed his at.
 
Never been a big fan of Conan, Leno, or late night shows in general since Carson retired, but I can certainly sympathize with O'Brien on this.
 
Letterman makes fun of presidents. He was relentless in digging at Clinton. I haven't seen his show in a long time, so I can't answer your question about the current prez.

Enjoy grinding your axe, Joe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top