NBC didn’t give Conan O’Brien’s entire staff severance pay, so the gentle, ginger giant is writing them a check.

Conan’s stagehands from “The Tonight Show” were not covered by the NBC severance plan. However, Conan is stepping up and promising to pay his nearly 50 person crew at least six weeks severance out of his own pocket.

The union for his former crew, IATSE Local 33, says all the members who worked for Conan are “very happy” with the way he handled the whole mess.

Remember Conan’s last speech? He said to be kind and work hard and good things will happen. Conan is kind indeed.

Conan O’Brien and NBC have reached a $45 million deal for the red-haired host to exit The Tonight Show.

This deal comes only seven months after Conan took over The Tonight Show. O’Brien will get more than $33 million, NBC says. The rest will go to his 200-strong staff in severance pay.

Conan’s final show will be Friday, with Tom Hanks scheduled to appear as well as Will Ferrell – the first guest O’Brien welcomed as “Tonight” host last June – and musical guest Neil Young.

“In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket,” his manager, Gavin Polone, told The Wall Street Journal. “Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible.”

O’Brien will be free to begin another TV job as soon as September, NBC said. There has been speculation on where he might go next. ABC (which airs “Nightline” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”) has said it wasn’t interested, while Fox, which lacks a network late-night show, expressed appreciation for his show – but nothing more. Comedy Central has also been mentioned.

Jay Leno will return as host of The Tonight Show on March 1.

Conan O’Brien’s days as the host of The Tonight Show might be numbered and the gloves are off.

Last night O’Brien finally acknowledged the two-way street that is the Leno-NBC love affair.

“Hosting The Tonight Show has been the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for me —and I just want to say to the kids out there watching: You can do anything you want in life. Unless Jay Leno wants to do it too,” O’Brien said after introducing himself as the guy who’s been practicing the phrase, “Who ordered the mochaccino grande?”

Conan O’Brien is pissed (can’t blame him) and has released a statement. O’Brien says he will not host The Tonight Show if it is moved to 12:05 a.m.

NBC has announced it is moving The Jay Leno Show to 11:35 p.m. in March, moving O’Brien’s Tonight Show back 30 minutes.

Here’s Conan’s statement.

People of Earth:

Yours, Conan

Last night in his monologue, Craig Ferguson weighed in on the shuffling around of the NBC late night shows.

It’s no secret that transitioning Jay Leno into a 10:00 PM time slot and moving Conan O’Brien to 11:30 PM has been a ratings nightmare for NBC.

It is being reported that Leno is going to leave his current 10:00 PM time and slide back into the 11:30 PM slot. Here’s the supposed plan: Leno will go on hiatus beginning Feb. 1, making room for the Olympics to air during that time. Once the Olympics are over, Leno will come back, but he will be on at 11:30 PM.

Here’s what we don’t know yet: Will Leno’s show be just a half hour and then Conan will follow? Is this the end of Conan’s show? Will it be called “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno (which would mean that Conan is out)? How does all of this impact Jimmy Fallon, who currently airs after Conan?

Here is the second part of Conan O’Brien’s interview with Jimmy Fallon.

The studio announced that Jimmy Fallon will be taking over “Late Night” when Conan O’Brien leaves to take over “The Tonight Show”. Check out Fallon’s appearance on the show last night. He talks about taking over the show and what has been going on personally in his life.

“Saturday Night Live” veteran Jimmy Fallon was officially named on Monday to take Conan O’Brien’s place on NBC next year when O’Brien succeeds Jay Leno as host of “The Tonight Show.”

The announcement, which had been expected for weeks, was made during a press event from NBC headquarters in New York where O’Brien’s “Late Night” show is taped. I wonder what Carson Daly thinks about Jimmy getting Conan’s job. He must be pissed!

The appointment of Fallon, long considered a leading contender for NBC’s 12:35 a.m. time slot, completes a talent shuffle set in motion when the General Electric Co-owned network announced in 2004 that Leno would retire from “Tonight” in 2009 and that O’Brien would replace him.
(more…)