The Tonight Show will cease to exist after Conan O`Brien announced he will refuse to do the show if it is moved to the midnight timeslot.
NBC has created what has gone down in TV history as the worst programming decision of all time. 5 years ago, Jay Leno said he would retire in 2009 and O’Brien was contracted back then to become the new host of the historic The Late Show.Leno got cold feet and decided to stay but without a show, a new show with exactly the same format was created in a timeslot one-hour earlier than the old show. The Jay Leno Show at 10pm was stillborn. It was a complete stiff.
Conan gave up his late-night shift to Jimmy Fallon and took over The Tonight Show, but unlike Jay he did not have a strong lead-in from a hit TV drama. He had Jay.
Jay Leno created a domino effect for NBC. He stiffed so Conan stiffed so Fallon stiffed.
So how does NBC fix it, by giving priority to the cause of the problem in the first place - Jay Leno.
Leno is now damaged goods but he is going to get his old timeslot back. Conan will be the sacrificial lamb. Fallon will probably keep his job.
NBC has become a laughing stock. If David Letterman really believes in karma, then his day has come.
