Late Night Deal Signed and Sealed

As a long time reader of Nikki Finke, I rely on her for all my entertainment biz news. When she reports it, I believe it. Until then, it's up in the air. She's Hollywood's most feared and most trusted.

That said, she's reporting the end of this whole late night fiasco because as of this morning, the deal has been officially signed. Conan's last show will be January 22nd, and Leno is scheduled to come back on air March 1st. This is how much of a stand up guy Conan is -- he's supplementing severance plans for his staff out of his own pocket. How admirable is that? As if I needed more of a reason to love Conan O'Brien. Per the new deal, his contract will expire early on September 1st, 2010, meaning he will be free to pursue other opportunities then. Just in time for my birthday and I couldn't think of any better gift. Nikki is reporting that Conan is itching to come back on air so hopefully something is in the works as I type.

Per Nikki's blog, NBC and Conan's joint statement:

NBC and Conan O'Brien have reached a resolution of the issues surrounding O'Brien's contract to host "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.

Under terms of an agreement that was signed earlier today, NBC and O'Brien will settle their contractual obligations and the network will release O'Brien from his contract, freeing him to pursue other opportunities after September 1, 2010.

O'Brien will make his final appearance as host of "The Tonight Show" on January 22.

And now some obligatory praising of Jay Leno and his return to the Tonight Show by NBC:

"We're pleased that Jay is returning to host the franchise that he helmed brilliantly and successfully for many years," said Gaspin. "He is an enormous talent, a consummate professional and one of the hardest-working performers on television." to host the franchise that he helmed brilliantly and successfully for many years," said Gaspin. "He is an enormous talent, a consummate professional and one of the hardest-working performers on television."

It's a little bittersweet now that this is all over. On one hand, I'm happy that Conan stuck by his guns and never wavered, but on the other hand, I'm pissed as hell. How is it that NBC couldn't understand the value of comedy gold that is Conan O'Brien? When you have talent like that, you don't let it go. And you definitely don't put a talk show host in a primetime slot when you're already lacking original content.

I'm officially done with this circus. Time to move on and look forward to Conan's next move. He will be sincerely missed and The Tonight Show will never be the same.

Now enjoy this little clip of Conan spending NBC's dough. He did a sketch last night where he introduced a new character not for laughs, but for dollars. No real comedic value in the sketch besides the fact that is was ridiculously expensive for NBC to air and re-air. As a result, NBC pulled the clip from the website and Hulu.

The sketch included a Bugatti Veyron, the world's most expensive car, with the backing track of the original master recording of Rolling Stone's "Satisfaction".

Check out the clip here.

Now for a more pressing issue, please contribute anything you can spare to the Haiti relief fund.
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