Tonight Show host Jay Leno is sticking with NBC – but now he’s moving to prime time.
Many wondered where Leno would end up, after announcing his retirement from The Tonight Show in 2009 – and then intimating reluctance over leaving the program.
For quite a while, the conventional wisdom was that Leno would land at ABC, becoming the network’s new 11:30 p.m. talk show master. But NBC has circumvented that possibility by giving the popular host his own evening talk show – five nights a week a 10 p.m..
It is an almost unprecedented move. Essentially, NBC is creating a powerhouse talk show block – from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. with a half-hour at 11 p.m. for local news. No word on when the show will premiere, but it is likely that it will debut during 2009’s new fall season.
Current Late Night host Conan O'Brien will become the new host of The Tonight Show, and Saturday Night Live alum Jimmy Fallon will take over Late Night at 12:30 a.m. Carson Daly will remain on Last Call at 1:30 a.m.
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I hate that Jay Leno is going to primetime. Which shows will he push out. LA Law’s. Anything else that is on at 10 PM…. there is already so much primetime confusion. I know I will not watch Rather watch CSI Miami, etc