Leno: 'Conan Got Screwed'

I'm also tired of hearing so often about evil Jay and Saint Conan here. TV Squad, give it a rest, PLEASE!

"NBC made several attempts in the Second Late Night War to undermine Conan as the host of 'The Tonight Show,' including having 'The Jay Leno Show' as a lead-in."

So that's why NBC scheduled this? Not anything more, um, obvious? And here I was thinking that they were looking at the bottom line or maybe actually considered the show a possible option over their massively failing prime time lineup.

Glad you straightened me out there Brad. Guess I don't look for those obscure ulterior motives.

As for the comments - I tend to agree. Leno played a part, this site really does bash Leno more than I wish, I don't watch him, etc. But mostly I'm really surprised at the lack of blame Conan gets in all this.

Sure, he played things out with a ton of class. And he also played a part - shock of all shocks - in the cratering ratings after he took over.

@Jimmy - In the context of Leno's thinking, 10:00 is a demotion because he never wanted to move out of 11:35 in the first place.

I don't understand how people can say Jay Leno does not share some responsibility in this debacle. When NBC asked Jay Leno if he wanted his old job back at 11:35, a choice was given to Jay Leno. He could have refused, just like Letterman did before he went to CBS, but he chose to stay. This decision didn't just impact Jay Leno, it also impacted Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon, and Carson Daly. Jay didn't get "fired twice". Jay was demoted to 10:00 and later chose to accept a promotion to 11:35, and in the process forced another person to make the wiser choice.

Can I like Leno even if I think he's mostly not funny? I did like Jaywalking and the Headlines, though those didn't require Jay to be funny (and not enough to watch more than 6 times a year...). I'll agree that he could have handled things differently, but this was NBC's fault, not Jay's. But he seems like a nice enough guy and he is a real big car guy, which is a positive. But while he was yanked around and certainly inconvenienced, Conan did get screwed (but they can screw me if they pay me even 1/10th of what Conan got).

On a side note, I find the reference calling Conan (and apparently everybody in the entertainment history) a 'high-priced hooker' a bit confusing (not to mention tacky). Admittedly he's paid well, but he pursued his dream career, was quite successfuk and was paid VERY well and gets a huge buy-out when he loses that job and that justifies comparing him to somebody who works in the sex industry how? Way to stay classy.

I'm getting pretty tired of the Leno bashing too. I don't watch the show and don't think he's funny, but Cinan pushed him out unwillingly, NBC didn't want to lose Leno or Conan and basically effed the whole thing up.

If my company pushes me out of a job I love to give to another guy and then pushes him out to give it back to me, what's my responsibility in it all? Conan had no qualms about pushing Leno out of his dream job and potentially putting Jay's staff out of work. Conan made a premature bid to take over the Tonight Show and it didn't work out for him. How is that Jay's fault? Why shouldn't he want the job he loved back? Conan came out of it all with millions of dollars and more favorable publicity than a billion dollars could buy.

Why are "you" selectively forgetting that Leno did want to go elsewhere, but NBC wouldn't let him go? Isn't that why we had a Jay Leno Show in the first place? After his tonight show gig ended Leno wanted to move elsewhere (ABC?) but NBC wouldn't let him go to a competitor.