Jay Leno: ‘Surprise…I’m Staying with NBC’
NBC will keep Jay Leno five nights a week, but in prime time, competing not with David Letterman, but with shows like “CSI: Miami.†Huh?
The network will announce Tuesday that Mr. Leno’s new show will appear at 10 o’clock each weeknight in a format similar to “The Tonight Show,†which he has hosted since 1993.
Five years ago NBC announced that it would hand the job of host of that franchise show to Conan O’Brien in May 2009. Since then the network has maneuvered to try to keep Mr. Leno, who continues to be the late-night ratings leader, fearing that he could leave and start a new late-night show on a competitor’s network. “The Tonight Show†is seen at 11:35 weeknights.
Mr. Leno, 58, was known to have suitors, including ABC, the Fox network and the Sony television studio. But he was apparently persuaded to stay at NBC after aggressive personal wooing by Jeff Zucker, the chief executive of NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric.
Retaining Mr. Leno will undoubtedly be seen as a coup for Mr. Zucker, who has faced some serious questions about the wisdom of guaranteeing “The Tonight Show†to Mr. O’Brien and possibly losing Mr. Leno to another network.
Details of Mr. Leno’s agreement and the new show were provided by NBC executives who were briefed on the matter and who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the project until the network made its announcement.
The new show, which will begin next fall, is expected to be set in Mr. Leno’s longtime studio in Burbank, Calif. Mr. Leno is expected to retain many of the most popular elements of his “Tonight Show,†including his monologue and bits like “Headlines†and “Jay Walking.†One “Tonight Show†staff member said the new program would not be a variety show.
Mr. O’Brien, currently the host of NBC’s “Late Night,†will move “The Tonight Show†to a new studio on the NBC Universal lot in Universal City, Calif., in May. Mr. Leno, who is known to want to work as much as possible, would then miss only three months on the air, and would use that time to prepare his new show.
An executive involved in the discussions with Mr. Leno said that Mr. Leno finally came around to the idea that the television business had changed and a show like his could be a success in prime time.
Call me crazy, but a prime time (late night) talk show has “failure” written all over it. It’s just a fancy way of keeping your competition at bay.
Do you think Jay Leno can pull it off?
Popularity: unranked [?]
- Jay Leno: ‘Surprise…I’m Staying with NBC’
- Jeff Zucker Talks About NBC & Conan O’Brien
- Conan O’Brien Says No to ‘Tonight’ Move
- Howard Stern Says, ‘Jay Leno Makes Me Wanna Puke’
- Jay Leno & Conan O’Brien Each Take Shots at NBC
- Jimmy Fallon First Choice to Replace Conan O’Brien.
- Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey & David Letterman’s Super Bowl Commercial
- Danny Bonaduce Drops Pants for Craig Ferguson
- White Stripes to Play Conan’s Last ‘Late Night’ Show
- Conan O’Brien To Be Fired, Seinfeld To Be Hired?
- The Biggest Movie Rip Offs
- Steven Slater In-Flight Meltdown
- Karissa & Kristina Shannon Kiss Each Other – Photo
- Whores On Parade & Links To Hollywood
- Khloe Kardashian & Lamar Odom To Unveil Unisex Fragrance
- Kelly Brook Playboy Shoot
- Justin Bieber Stops Flying Water Bottle With His Head
- Mia Farrow Disputes ‘Blood Diamond’ Claim
- Rod Stewart and Wife Expecting Another Baby
- Jodie Fisher Implicated In HP CEO Scandal (Photos)
Comments are Closed
