Leno Sticking Around Past 2009 Retirement Date?

There may be – and put all the stress on may be – trouble brewing in NBC’s late night world.

It seems that Jay Leno, host of The Tonight Show, isn’t so sure he wants to retire in 2009. That doesn’t sound so bad to fans of Leno, no doubt, but it does put a strain on plans to have Conan O’Brien take over the show. O’Brien is the host (one of our faves) of Late Night with Conan O’Brien. And NBC says it has “no plans to not turn over” The Tonight Show to O’Brien.

The brewing brouhaha was first broadcast in the pages of the Los Angeles Times on Monday. The hosts aren’t quoted, but the prerequisite anonymous sources are. They say Leno is not so sure he wants to leave the late night limelight, that he felt some pressure in planning his departure so many years in advance.

If true, that could put NBC in a pickle. If everyone keeps to their contracts, O’Brien will take over The Tonight Show spot in 2009 and Leno will leave – possibly for a late night spot in the same time slot on ABC or FOX or CNN or some other channel, entirely. Leno still commands top ratings, and losing that to another network would be a devastating blow.

On the other hand, O’Brien has a loyal following and solid ratings in his time slot. He might decide, if Leno sticks around, that he could easily fill the time slot on ABC or FOX. NBC has already experienced that once, when David Letterman, then host of Late Night, left for CBS and the Late Show.

One thing’s for sure, NBC has it’s late night work cut out for it, once more. Let’s hope this round is a bit more delicate than the last.

Wednesday on ‘The Tonight Show’

• Sen. Barack Obama
• Keith Urban

Wednesday on ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’

• Anthony Hopkins
• Joe Buck
• Mute Math