Posted on 01/12/2010 12:28:04 PM PST by Beaten Valve
Conan O’Brien says he will not do “The Tonight Show” if it airs at 12:05 a.m. He released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:
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.
(excerpt of full announcement)
(Excerpt) Read more at mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com ...
Good riddance. The Tonight Show has blown goats since Conan took over.
Well said.
that statement shows a guy whose head is screwed-on remarkably straight for a showbiz type
“Good riddance. The Tonight Show has blown goats since Conan took over.”
He really was baaaaaaad.
I stopped watching after Carson left
Lots of people grew up watching Carson. I did. Carson was the King of Late Night TV. You ain’t worthy enough to walk in his shoes let alone sit in his chair you unfunny sap.
One has to laugh at Jeff Zucker who initiated this transition from Jay Leno to Conan O’Brien with the specific intent of avoiding the Jay Vs. Dave war of the early 90s. Now he has Jay Vs. Conan and both Vs. NBC. Good work, Zucker!
yeah i gave leno a chance first night or two but he was just so BORING
Carson was the best that is for sure
Does Conan plan to return to his home planet?
Zucker only has the job because he’s an Obamabot.
Wow.
The entire statement is a must-read.
Very eloquent, standing up for Fallon (who isn’t funny at all, but that isn’t the point) and his staff.
Very impressive and eloquent, though I am sure he didn’t write it himself.
I only watched his show a few times, but I am impressed.
Conan will be offered a spot late night on Fox.
It’s a good letter, and it sure makes NBC look bad, which is fine with me.
I haven’t really watched the Tonight Show since Johnny Carson left, and I didn’t watch it much then, either. So, I don’t know which of these guys is worse, Leno or Conan. I presume they must both be pretty bad, or they wouldn’t be on NBC.
So, which of them should we be cheering for—not that it matters, but just curious.
Conan showed real class here. If Leno had an ounce of integrity he would be the one to fall on the sword....but he has no class.
This is what happens when you’ve got an Obama worshiper like Jeff Zucker running NBC.
He drove it right off the cliff...
Comcast should fire Zucker and any other moron who makes these idiotic programming decisions like loading the schedule down with reality crap no one watches and putting a late night talk show in primetime. And then start over with a clean slate, once they take over that sinking ship called NBC.
As soon as Comcast takes full control of NBC there’s going to be execs flying like bowling pins in the national championships. Jeff Zucker “the genius” is responsible for this mess and he needs to go away. He took a highly successful show and moved it earlier and made it terrible not to mention what he did to the affiliates. Maybe they should drug test this guy when he comes to work everyday. Maybe Obama will hire him, he’s the kind of idiot the Prez likes. Change that makes no sense.
Yep, his letter is total class.
I hope he sues GE/NBC for everything they're worth.
He's been patiently waiting for this gig since 2003 (when he signed the contract) and it was Jeff Zucker who screwed it up (and quite recently, I might add), not Jay or Conan.
Conan had no say in whether Leno got a show at 10PM ET.
Zucker thought that was a good idea.
Turned out to be a HORRIBLE idea.
So can't blame Conan there.
BTW, I haven't watched late night TV in years, but Conan has good reason to be ticked and pursue legal action.
I stopped watching after Carson left
Me too : (
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