Conan is Getting Screwed

[Yeti]

NBC is canceling Leno's 10 pm show and it sounds like they are moving him back to 11:30. I can't believe anyone likes Leno and his snarky comments. He is the worlds worst interviewer and I don't find him funny.

[Bob]

bill hicks figured that out ages ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbUlvlHF9Ys (nsfw)

[Audio.]

I'm embarrassed to think this was about Conan the Barbarian.

[Echewta]

CROOOOMMM!

[roosta]

i saw Jackie Chan on Conan the other night, it was pure gold.

I think he's way better then Leno, way less smug and nicely odd.

[Yeti]

I read today that they are thinking of having Leno host a 30 minute show and have Conan do a show at 12:05. I bet that either Conan or Leno will leave and pursue a show on Fox.

I have seen both Leno and Conan live. The audience at Leno was dumbfounded by his humor. The hype man and the audience applause signs were the only things that caused a reaction.
Conan on the other hand came out before the show and joked with the audience. He was hysterical and the skits were funny.

[Guy Incognito]

bill hicks figured that out ages ago http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbUlvlHF9Ys (nsfw)

i had heard this clip but went looking at other related stuff and i didnt know that letterman did that mary hicks thing. it was a bit of an awkwrd interview tho.

[cj hood]

i saw leno and conan live to. i was supposed to be a guest on leno in 2000...didn't pan out, but got to hang out in the green room....met a bunch of people. at the end i met leno...he talked to me but didn't even make eye contact. not a fan. conan's better.

[hpdrifter]

Since he's been on at 10pm I've seen his show more often then I ever did when he was on later. Did he always make this many cheesy one-liner badum bum crash type jokes? Cuz it's like painful to watch.

[Rodie]

I've never liked Leno, but Conan's stint on the Tonight Show has been underwhelming. I used to love his show, but anytime I watch his Tonight Show I'm never as entertained as I was with his old show. He deserves better though and should seriously leave NBC.

[Documad]

Isn't this simply about ratings?

[Audio.]

George Lopez made pretty much few jokes on Conan O'Brien's schedule change which didnt go so well since the majority of the audience showed they are Conan fans. The funny thing was George pretty much expected that kind of reaction. Haha dont make fun of the funny guy and George knew it but went with it anyways. He did mention that Conan is gonna go to FOX and should leave NBC cause they never back him up.

[jabumbo]

Since he's been on at 10pm I've seen his show more often then I ever did when he was on later. Did he always make this many cheesy one-liner badum bum crash type jokes? Cuz it's like painful to watch.


i thought the new show was supposed to be a different type of show, and of the bits and pieces i've seen, it really doesn't seem like anything different. i mean, doesn't he still do the jaywalking and headline stuff?

i haven't watched much late night tv in a while, but of the times i have stayed up to watch conan, i have enjoyed it. although all of this could be a good shakeup for late night tv. maybe this will inspire something a little more invigorating?

[Laver1969]

Isn't this simply about ratings?

It's about how screwed up NBC is. They took Leno, who was beating Letterman, and doing quite well and decided to experiment with an earlier prime time spot. At the same time, they took Conan who wasn't beating his rival, Craig Ferguson, and decided to put him up against Letterman. Well, Leno's ratings sucked and Conan started losing to Letterman.

They also gave Conan the rights to the name "The Tonight Show" but they want to move everything around again.

It's a bit of a joke because they had a formula that was working and they created this mess for no reason. So now they're trying to figure out what to do.

[Documad]

Yeah, as I understand it, they were worried about losing Conan to a fourth network so they gave him a sweet contract that allowed him to have the tonight show. But I don't get why they were more worried about losing Conan than about losing Leno -- Leno was the cash cow. Why did they think Conan would suddenly get more popular after being on the air for so long?

[Kid Presentable]

As a piece of foreign muck in this thread, Conan wrote the monorail episode which = insta win. And Bill Hicks went in on Leno and delivered ether from the ether (yes mikizee I can handle Hicks and Tool you win)

My wife leaves the DVD recorder running for hours and we often get stray eps of the new Jay Leno show. Dude can eat my ass with a spoon.

[yeahwho]

I like the letter Conan came up with in response to NBC's decision,

NYTimes 1/12/09 (http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-says-he-wont-do-tonight-show-following-leno/?hp);

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

Pretty classy, and point on

[BBboy20]

Who ever thought the fate of comedy late-night shows can be so dramatic.

[yeahwho]

Who ever thought the fate of comedy late-night shows can be so dramatic.

It's sort of cool watching NBC fail on such an enormous scale. To cut corners and save money they decided to put actors, writers, set workers and hundreds of employees who make a "real show" out of work.

Then they put Jay Leno on prime time to do weak jokes and awkward interviews. It seemed calloused and shortsided at the time. Now it's proven to be actually more damaging to the network than they even imagined.

The karma of the Letterman/Leno wars has come back to haunt them again.

Anyway I find all the maneuvering and damage created by uncreative CEO's to be actually good drama and more entertaining than the late night talk shows.

[Documad]

Who ever thought the fate of comedy late-night shows can be so dramatic.

I enjoyed the hell out of it last time. I was a bigger entertainment junky back then. There was this book that was made into a horrible movie. I want to say an HBO movie? Letterman complained about the guy who played him -- made him look like an even bigger dork than he is in real life.

Interesting blog from Conan. I wish I liked his show. I think it's virutally unwatchable. He's got that too-needy thing that turns me off most comics but he seems like a decent guy.

[saz]

Why did they think Conan would suddenly get more popular after being on the air for so long?

because he has a large cult following and is hysterical

[mikizee]

Conan wrote the monorail episode which = insta win.

I rest my case.

Oh, I mean case closed.

[yeahwho]

I actually find Jay Leno to be kind of offensive, if memory serves me right, he said a full two years in advance he would be leaving the Tonight Show, handing it over to Conan and would continue on in other endeavors.

He now is willing to placate NBC, go back on his word and re-take the 11:35 PM slot?

How does this make me anymore of a fan of his shtick?

I always liked Jay in small doses, if he could condense a years worth of monologues into 12 minutes he is hilarious. Once he stretches beyond 12 minutes and into a nightly ordeal he becomes annoying.

Like Seinfeld and other great comedians, he needs to back away and regroup a bit. Do some Vegas, perhaps tour across the Country and re-connect with his roots.

Just don't be an ass or accessory to NBC's crisis management.

[BBboy20]

http://www.sirmikeofmitchell.com/imwithcoco/

[yeahwho]

http://www.hulu.com/watch/120032/the-tonight-show-with-conan-obrien-conans-options

[Documad]

because he has a large cult following and is hysterical

Yeah, but apparently his audience doesn't actually watch his show via NBC affiliates. You people who watch via other means don't matter. (I think that some of his bits are hilarious but most of the time he makes me cringe. He's a smart funny guy but I don't like him. My opinion doesn't matter though. I wouldn't watch a network talk show unless my favorite band was on and even then I'd just DVR and skip to the performance.)

I actually find Jay Leno to be kind of offensive, if memory serves me right, he said a full two years in advance he would be leaving the Tonight Show, handing it over to Conan and would continue on in other endeavors.

He now is willing to placate NBC, go back on his word and re-take the 11:35 PM slot?

I don't really know the facts, but it seemed to me that Leno never wanted to leave the tonight show. NBC pushed him out the door even though he had terrific ratings. I hate Leno but it never made sense to me. Just like it never made sense when they pushed Carson out.

[Rodie]

I actually find Jay Leno to be kind of offensive, if memory serves me right, he said a full two years in advance he would be leaving the Tonight Show, handing it over to Conan and would continue on in other endeavors.

He now is willing to placate NBC, go back on his word and re-take the 11:35 PM slot?


Actually, NBC pushed him out of The Tonight Show because Conan wanted an earlier slot and they did not want to lose him. Of course when Leno's retirement came up he didn't want to quit doing his thing so NBC came up with the brilliant 10:00 idea.

[Documad]

If this had worked, then NBC would have looked brilliant and we wouldn't have any dramas at 9 central time (10 p.m. to the rest of you). NBC gave that slot to Leno because he's cheaper than a Lost and they didn't want him to go elsewhere. Conan's got a point I suppose. The weaker lead in from primetime hurt the local news which theoretically hurt the Tonight Show. But do people really watch TV that way? Do they really watch the Tonight Show just because they forgot to change the channel after watching Law and Order 1.5 hours earlier?

[yeahwho]

I don't know for sure perhaps this clears things up.

http://www.mahalo.com/answers/entertainment/why-did-jay-leno-leave-the-tonight-show-with-jay-lenothe-tonight-show

[cj hood]

I like the letter Conan came up with in response to NBC's decision,

NYTimes 1/12/09 (http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-says-he-wont-do-tonight-show-following-leno/?hp);

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

Pretty classy, and point on


it's like the story of Solomon....the show belongs to Conan.....not d-bag leno.

[Nicodemus]

What would a hee-haw know about anything???!!!

[yeahwho]

It's interesting how NBC has taken down the videos of Jay's handing over the Tonight Show reigns to Conan down all across HULU.

[Audio.]

does it even matter?

[Dorothy Wood]

I don't think any of it matters really. I never liked Carson, so I don't find it distressing that the ALMIGHTY TONIGHT SHOW might die.

I think no matter what, Conan will have success in some form, even if he doesn't have a talk show.


Honestly, I'm completely embarrassed for Leno and for NBC. Even a know-nothing like me could tell putting a stack of talk shows together would fail. I think Leno should've just retired, he got greedy and full of himself. Now, instead of exiting the talk show world gracefully, while people still liked and respected him (never was sure why, myself), he looks like a fool....and NBC looks even more foolish.

Anybody with any kind of brain would realize that hour-long dramas are super popular. People like quality, quality has longevity, and longevity means money.

It's just another result of fat cats trying to capitalize on a quick fix, with no real mind for the future. It's pathetic, and I'm glad they're failing.

[Yeti]

OK, I guess Conan is not really getting screwed because I just read that his contract calls for him to receive $30 million if his contract is broken. He will get his 30 mil and a show on Fox and be fine.

I just can't take Leno's schtick and I wish he would go away. He was the What's Your Beef comic that would come on Letterman's old show and now he is the golden child that gets moved around and given sweet deals.

I bet re-runs of The Andy Griffith Show would get just as good ratings as these late night shows.

[Ty Webb]

Conan is a class act. I can understand how some may not be into his type of humor, but it's right up my alley. He has a cartoonish look and demeanor, and a classic style drenched in old-timeyness. I don't even want a TV if Conan isn't doing a late-night show on some network somewhere. Letterman sucks, Leno sucks, Ferguson sucks, Carson Daly sucks, Jimmy Kimmel sucks, George Lopez sucks. Jimmy Fallon I can tolerate. Conan's my main man.

[saz]

Yeah, but apparently his audience doesn't actually watch his show via NBC affiliates. You people who watch via other means don't matter. (I think that some of his bits are hilarious but most of the time he makes me cringe. He's a smart funny guy but I don't like him. My opinion doesn't matter though. I wouldn't watch a network talk show unless my favorite band was on and even then I'd just DVR and skip to the performance.)

yeah they do, it's just that with the expectations of hosting the tonight show, you're supposed to have monster ratings. it seems that conan also toned down his brand of humour to a certain extent when he took over, probably in an attempt to appeal much more to the folksy crowd of "folks" who tuned in for leno for years. and i'm not those "who watch via other means" who "don't matter".

[Yeti]

The masturbating bear is a ratings bonanza but alas he is in hibernation. Or is he really TurdBerglar?

[Documad]

i'm not those "who watch via other means" who "don't matter".

Sorry. For some reason I thought you lived in a place where they don't get NBC.

[Nicodemus]

Hee-haw!!!

[saz]

http://videos.mediaite.com/video/Conan-OBrien-Skewers-Jay-Leno-N

[roosta]

Jimmy Kimmel slaughter's Leno on Leno's show (http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=80e063b2-9f0c-4a55-b209-a0ac54be3f31)

[Burnout18]

This is so fuckin stupid. Leno's show was the experiment, not the tonight show. If The Jay Leno show fails, kill it and move on. This is a complete disaster by nbc management and i hope they end up getting screwed.

As for ratings for Conan, take into account that since he took over there have been not one but TWO controversies surrounding david letterman. The palin-daughter-arod joke and the sex scandal brought viewers to CBS and away from NBC.

Conan was given three full years to find a groove after taking over for letterman, now they wont even give him a full year? Fuck that knee jerk reaction bullshit.

[DIGI]

Jimmy Kimmel slaughter's Leno on Leno's show (http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=80e063b2-9f0c-4a55-b209-a0ac54be3f31)

See, it's shit like this that makes me like Jimmy Kimmel. Well, here's hoping Conan goes to Fox, flourishes, and puts the rest of these dicks in the dirt.

[RobMoney$]

I mean I know this sucks and all for Conan, but he's really not getting THAT screwed...

NBC will buy his contract out @ $30 million, and he'll get to go to FOX or HBO or someone else and work for a company that actually supports him for once.

It's a win-win for him really.

[Audio.]

I thought it was Leno who was gonna go to FOX... or ABC?

Could CW be... nah they got shitty teen shows on at night.