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Leno's end, Conan's start dated

By Tim Surette - TV.com
July 21, 2008 at 02:11:00 PM | more stories by this author

NBC executives finally reveal exact date the changing of the guard will occur on The Tonight Show.

Jay Leno is leaving The Tonight Show, and taking over for him will be Conan O'Brien. That much was well known. What wasn't well known was exactly when O'Brien would be settling into his new post on the West Coast.

Leno is out next May.

Leno is out next May.

Previously, all NBC would say was that Leno would leave the late-night talk show in 2009. But today, NBC executives finally spilled the beans on a more specific date.

Leno will host his last The Tonight Show on May 29, 2009, according to the network. O'Brien begins his new reign on June 1, and will do so from a new location--Universal Studios--rather than the old Burbank Studios Leno hosted from.

O'Brien will host his last Late Night sometime in the first quarter of 2009.

Taking over O'Brien's spot on Late Night will be Saturday Night Live alum Jimmy Fallon, who will test out his format online before bringing it to prime time, says The Hartford Courant. The online version of the show will begin this fall before premiering on television in March or April.

Leno's future has been up in the air for some time now, but the host should have no problems finding a new job. ABC has been rumored as a potential destination for him, but he may not even get that far. At the TCA press tour today, NBC execs said Leno leaving NBC wasn't a foregone conclusion, and that the two parties may be able to work something out.

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19 Comments

 
How will Jimmy Fallon get through his monolog without laughing the whole damn time?
Posted 08/04/2008 5:04pm
Go Conan!
Posted 08/01/2008 9:28am
Where Leno goes, so go I. I don't know if I'll even watch when Conan switches over. Sure I watched for years, but Leno is the only person I can see as host of the show. So if Leno gets a show on ABC at the same time The Tonight Show is on, I'll be switching to Leno on his new show.
Posted 07/28/2008 4:44pm
I much prefer Leno to O'Brien, but Jimmy Falon should be interesting to say the least.
Posted 07/23/2008 10:58pm
dont care for either of these late shows. who watches tv this late?
Posted 07/22/2008 5:25pm
I LOVE watching Leno and he will be missed by me very much. I'm ok with Conan, but not ecstatic...Jimmy Fallon, though, total yuck, in my opinion. Totally un-funny and just flat out annoying...what a shame they NBC couldn't find anyone else.
Posted 07/22/2008 4:22pm
That saddest thing in this whole situation is the inevitable toning down of Conan's Late Night writing style for the more general (and humorless) public.
Posted 07/22/2008 4:20pm
Cant wait! Yay Conan! =)
Posted 07/22/2008 1:17pm
That's saddens me....I like Leno. He will be missed but at least he's getting a worthy replacement. I love Conan equally. But Conan however...is getting replaced with Jimmy Fallon? That really sucks...I'm a SNL fan from way back to the late 80s....and I can't stand him...
Posted 07/22/2008 5:05am
So glad I don't watch late nite tv.
Posted 07/22/2008 4:19am
Leno will be missed indeed. It just won't be the same with Conan around.
Posted 07/22/2008 12:36am
Leno = nice guy, show=fair. O'Brien = icky, icky, icky.
Posted 07/21/2008 9:33pm
I can't stand Conan. Leno will be missed. Maybe I'll start turning over to E! for Chelsea Lately... You know... Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea author.
Posted 07/21/2008 9:03pm
Craig Ferguson ftw.
Posted 07/21/2008 8:14pm
I'm very dissapointed in Jay's leaving. I'm not at all impressed with Conan and will not be watching the tonight show much anymore but to each his own. Jay will be missed.
Posted 07/21/2008 7:43pm
Conan should've taken over long ago, Jay's not funny! The only funny things on Leno are "Headlines" and "Pumpcasting" and on rare occasions "Pitch to America" and "Jay Walking".
Posted 07/21/2008 5:38pm
They will most likely move in to CA. I'll miss Leno.
Posted 07/21/2008 5:15pm
Keep Conan in NYC!!!!! He'll burn to a crisp in CA!
Posted 07/21/2008 2:48pm

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