Jay Leno Wants To Be Tonight Show Host
Jay also says he was blindsided when the announcement first broke that he was being replaced by Conan O'Brien a few years ago and doesn't understand why he is considered the bad guy in all that. Umm because you undermined him and kept begging to go back to your old time slot and pressured executives everyday to let you have the show back. If Jimmy Fallon slips at all during his first few months on air I think you can probably expect the same type response from Jay. He wants his show and when he does leave he is going to be kicking and screaming and trying to get his job back. I think he would love working on the show until he dies. It will be interesting to see if he gets a gig on another network or if he does kind of play the wait and see game to see if he can get back on the Tonight Show. I think the fact he says it was not his decision is throwing the first stone and hoping it leads to drama and him making another return to the show. Whatever happened to good luck and then taking your bajillions of dollars and leaving.
I can't stand this guy. That's why he went to 60 Minutes with his "story." Wonder why NBC is treating Jimmy Fallon better than Conan.
ReplyDeleteHe brings a younger crowd-a new demographic for new advertisers!!!!
DeleteJay (and his bitch NBC) also torpedoed Conan's chances by doing that atrocious 10PM show. Local news affiliates across the country were furious that Jay's terrible 10PM lead-in show was ruining THEIR ratings too.
ReplyDeleteLeno didn't torpedo Conan.
DeleteThe 10PM show was NBC's idea, not his.
NBC insisted he do it because they would have had to pay Leno well over $100 million that year if they didn't give him a show,but since Leno has no agent, he was forced to do the 10PM show.
But NBC crippled that show by refusing to allow Leno to have any real celebs on the show, they could only go on Conan.
So Leno had shit ratings at 10PM, which meant that the 11PM local news also had shit ratings, because people just don't change channels then, which then meant that Conan had shit ratings, because his show also sucked & was steadily losing viewers.
So all the NBC affiliates went to the network & to General Electric boss, Jeff Immelt & demanded a change or they would look to un-affiliating with NBC over everything.
The network had no choice & canned Conan!
So stop blaming Leno for the insane machinations of the idiots that ran NBC & GE then!
This current insanity is due to the idiots that run Comcrap, the current 100% owner of NBC!
Thank you! I don't know why ppl blame Leno. And why is it bad that the guy wants to keep his job
DeleteThank you beccs, ive been singing the same song forever!!
Delete3 items in and I'm realizing that the theme is (whiny men over 40) day.
ReplyDelete@Enty...
Team Kimmel
ReplyDeletecc: Adam Carolla
DeleteYES
Deletebcc: Ben Stein
DeleteHen, Jay goes to the press because he wants a public 'grassroots' outcry to bring him back. He did this to Conan too. SMFH
ReplyDeleteRetire already! You are living the dream! Most people in the world have no choice but to work and slug away their whole lives, but Jay can afford to just LIVE
ReplyDelete"Wonder why NBC is treating Jimmy Fallon better than Conan."
ReplyDeleteBecause Jimmy Kimmel is doing so well NBC doesn't want to lose the 11:30 slot to him and his younger demo permanently. So they're countering with Fallon.
I'm all for any show where I get to see The Roots 5 nights a week, but I would like it better at 11:30
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm the only one that likes Jay. So he wants to host his show? Ok.
ReplyDeleteI like him, but Kimmels show is funnier IMO.
DeleteSarah, i find kimmel totally unfunny, and Ive tried.
DeleteBRB, have to puke.
ReplyDeleteCc. Fuck off, Leno.
@libby
ReplyDeleteYep that's what he did to Conan! Let all Jay's crying and playing the victim begin. NBC is even dismantling his set to make sure he can't come back that easily.
Hay Jay it's The Tonight Show…remember Johnny Carson ?
ReplyDeleteHen--Dismantling the set? That's good news for Fallon. Looks like NBC got some balls finally. But Jay keeps loitering in our peripheral vision, in case we need him or anything.
ReplyDeleteJay is a SNAKE.
About 28 years ago my 1st husband and I were enjoying a nice night at a Comedy Club in Pasadena. Then this Jay Leno dude interrupted the headliner (who had us in stitches but damned if I remember his name) by taking the mic and announcing that he was going to be on Johnny Carson and wanted to try out a few jokes. All I really remember was being fascinated with his giant head and face. I never understood his ultimate success.
ReplyDeletewell the haters hate Leno because they consider him conservative right????
ReplyDeleteHe is the highest rated people-wake up-someone is watching him
NBC is always dicking around with politics in their programming....hasn't worked very well for them has it??????
@rajahcat - people don't dislike Leno because he's conservative. They dislike him because he's NOT FUNNY.
Delete@Jolene Jolene Exactly. If you have to explain a joke after it's said to get a laugh, it's not funny. He laughs at his own jokes more than anyone else does. Throw in the fact he's a kissass to all his guests.
DeleteJenny S: All I really remember was being fascinated with his giant head and face.
ReplyDeleteLOL!!
Jay's an asshole. Go away already.
I am glad that Fallon is taking over the show. I think he and I think Kimmel are hilarious and great hosts.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I saw a snippet of the Jay Leno interview last night when I was watching The Five. He came off rather gracious, I thought, at least while speaking about Fallon and NBC's decision. But, I did not see the whole interview. He did not seem to be riding the bitter bus to me.
I never was into Jay. I was a David Letterman fan when I was in high school and college, but comes off as such a cranky pants. I loathe him in my adulthood. I'm quite horrified that I watched him in my youth. LOL.
rajah---I'm a partisan Dem, and I never knew anything about Jay's politics. I hate him because he's not funny anymore, and a longtime SNAKE. He's a fair political interviewer though.
ReplyDeleteHe's very popular with the olds. NBC knows it has to cut him loose eventually though, for the youth demo.
This is whiny old man over 63 and eligible for social security. Sit down, shut TF up and just go away with yourself and your greed. Give someone else a chance. Go start a charity some place if you need to be amused. Greedy, greedy old man.
ReplyDeleteJay may have money, but that's it. He has nothing else in his life that gives him identity. He's not funny anymore. He's the worst kind of kiss-ass host and the desperation leaks from every pore.
ReplyDeleteGo back to stand-up and leave the show to the kids.
I didn't say I loved Jay-don't get me wrong
ReplyDeleteI just think NBC finds any way they can to message their politics. I agree they are seeking the youth market as well. Funny though that's not where the money is......that demo is struggling right now
some of the things Jay has said in the last few months have lead many to believe he is the more conservative of all of the hosts.....me, I'm not sure any of them are and don't really care. Not a big fan of any of them really but if I had to choose--I'd choose Kimmel or Ferguson.....
The Youth market has been the dream for 50 years now... They believe in loyalty and get em while they're young...
DeletePoor bastards. The largest market is the aging boomers and for all the talk about population, the next gens are way smaller in comparison.
Networks believe that only the gens have impulse control issues, while boomers want a " good investment". Therefore no market for schlock there. They salivate over the money gens spend when it catches their collective eye...politics has nothing to do with it unless espousing a certain stance will sell products.
NBC keeps the youth market in a tight grip. The Tonight Show is its only nod and only that because of legacy viewers.
Oh, and NBC is treating Fallon better than Conan because Fallon is controllable, and Conan is clearly his own man.
ReplyDeleteI think you might be right on this.
DeleteOh just shut up and go away Jay! What a little whiner.
ReplyDeletesomeone likes him-I beg to differ
ReplyDeletehe is the highest rated-don't think the numbers lie
you may not like him and that's fine-and you may not find him funny--I don't particularly find him funny--but logically the numbers are what they are
He is the highest rated talk-show host and I'd be pissed if I was number 1 and they forced my ass out too.
ReplyDeleteI think Conan's series opener on TBS was a brilliant response to NBC: http://vimeo.com/m/19618885
ReplyDeleteBaron-yes he's brilliant alright, toiling away in obscurity on a third tier cable station while his ratings plummet. Yeah, he's a genius alright.
DeleteLeno is hated mostly because he was a good, even great, comedian who killed when he was a guest on late night shows, and that he sold his soul, and his edge, when he campaigned for taking the seat of Johnny Carson.
ReplyDeleteThis is a guy who could (and can) be funny, but now decides to play it safe, deliver a vanilla turn as a host and have absolutely no overt drama when he's in place.
Carson had to do some stuff he didn't agree with, he was privately a very bitter man, but Leno has sided with mediocrity and blandness for so much time that it's now hard to say whether it's still calculation or it has become second nature to him.
I agree that Leno will do everything he can behind the scenes to take advantage of any sign of failure by Fallon and get his show back. He may do it for his employees or his audience, but there are fights he shouldn't pick. Leno will, unfortunately for him, be remembered mostly as a weasel whose greatest quality was to suffocate his competitors in front of his NBC bosses.
So for everyone saying it is only old people who watch him... Why has he been #1 18-49 for almost his entire run? And it is usually by a wide margin.
ReplyDelete@rajahcat How did someone with your worldview and reading comprehension even find this site? It's as if you were trying to turn this Leno story into something about Obama and no one took the bait.
ReplyDeleteI have to warn you, the people who frequent this site practice critical thinking, read the occasional book and engage in civil discourse. You won't find many Sarah Palin stories here.
Don't forget Lorne Michaels is onboard with both Fallon and Seth Meyers. NBC is not going to dick them around collectively, as there will be war.
ReplyDeleteAnd The Daily Show/Colbert FTW!
not baiting for Obama......ouch....someone overly sensitive there???? Anytime someone speaks out about the media crap that goes on and the political shit that the networks pull then they must be wrong huh? I just think for myself and don't let ANY media tell me what to "see"
ReplyDeleteperhaps you should try it
Punctuation!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteand I forgot about Colbert.....that would top my list
ReplyDeletethat would be my "world view" ha-ha
Exactly, Betsy! NBC can't afford to get on Lorne's bad side. Fallon and Meyers have always been his favorites, right behind Tina Fey.
ReplyDeletesomeone with my limited reading comprehension and lack of critical thinking cannot possibly be bothered with PUNCTUATION
ReplyDeleteLorne does have a lot of power and influence no doubt
perhaps you can follow up and call me racist too....that's next right?
You can bet Jimmy's attorneys shored up his Tonight Show contract. Conan's was horrible, had all kinds of holes and didn't guarantee him squat ( "Tonight Show" title, time slot, etc.). Also, Lorne appears to be running half of NBC anyway. Jay isn't coming back. Most likely he's pitching for a new gig. I wouldn't be surprised if Arsenio didn't get bumped by a new Leno show, the same way Lopez got bumped by Conan.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually rag on people but I don't like Leno so I'll say that he's so fat in this pic that his "Mac Tonight"-looking jawline isn't so prominent now. It's like he grew into his chin or something.
ReplyDeleteHe looks like a fat Dick Van Dyke.
If anyone cares to remember, Leno attempted to torpedo Letterman's career when they were both up for the Tonight Show gig. And they were friends.
ReplyDeleteThere was a book that came out that exposed Leno's machinations at the time. Supposedly, Letterman was all but crowned the host and Leno pulled some back door dealings.
Leno really hasn't been funny or relevant in awhile.
I have no idea what he's got on people, but he should have left years ago.
Whoa, whoa, whoa let's not be mean to Dick Van Dyke.
ReplyDeleteHe's not funny, and his interviews are boring as hell
ReplyDeleteI could assemble a car using just Jay Leno. What a tool this guy is.
ReplyDeleteBecca Parker - if my memory serves the head of NBC was a fraternity brother of Conan at college and that was how Conan got the network to pressure Leno to "retire". For that reason I've never understood the Conan as victim, he first knifed Leno and Leno came back with a gun. When the time came the head of NBC was unable to explain to his bosses why he was killing a host with the highest ratings to replace him with a host with far lower ratings. I don't disagree that Leno is a careerist but the same is true of Conan, Letterman et al. The real argument against Leno is that he followed the "big tent" approach of being comfortably bland in your bedroom late at night. That always left him open to the assault by edgier comedians. The problem for the edgier comedians is that there are ten times as many big tent viewers than edgy viewers - so Leno led, leads and even in a new network would continue to lead the ratings. It is the later point that scares NBC.
ReplyDeleteyep @DBrown
ReplyDeletehate Jay Leno. He's a zero compared to Letterman, Kimmel, Fallon, and my boyfriend Seth Meyers.
ReplyDeleteLeno did exactly what he was supposed to do, be soothing to celebrities and viewers at 11:30. He's number one in the ratings and has been for ages, I don't blame him for being pissed at being fired.
ReplyDeleteStill, he's had a good run. He should keep the bitching to a minimum, sit back and watch what happens. If Fallon tanks at 11:30 it would be hard for NBC to bring Leno back AGAIN but I wouldn't put it past them.
Yeah, he's terrible. That totally explains his ratings. I hope he moves to Fox and hammers all these whiny little bitches. Again.
ReplyDeleteI knew it was going to happen.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteno Seth Myers is my boyfriend :)
ReplyDeletehttp://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/01/24/late-night-tv-ratings-for-january-13-17-2014/231639/
ReplyDeletethe numbers speak for themselves is what I was trying to say........
evidently someone is watching Leno...funny or not
I would not rule out any reason for NBC dumping him at this point. Makes you wonder why they think it is the perfect time to replace him doesn't it????
Sept, 2004: "In four years I'm leaving and the show is going to Conan. Conan, It's yours buddy."
ReplyDeleteHe said that on the air. He's full of shit. He knew (and even had a part in discussions) about Conan taking over.
Just two more weeks and the 22 year old Leno nightmare is over.
@rajahcat - I've hated Leno for 20 years and it has nothing to do with his politics. The guy has been a registered Democrat for 30 years, a vocal supporter of gay marriage and equality, he spent the last 25 years of life helping other rich democrats promote their movies, music and television projects and he hosted the white house correspondent's dinner for the current president. Yet, conservatives think he's one of them because he tosses a few President Obama jokes their way.
ReplyDeleteLeno is good at making people believe what he wants them to believe about him. I'll give the guy that.
Good move on NBC's part moving the show to New York so Leno can't drive around the parking lot in Burbank everyday asking, "Can I come back now?"
Whatever. The Tonight Show ended the day Johnny Carson left it, in my opinion. Jay was always an imposter, and so is Conan.
ReplyDeleteI have no kitty in the late night host race, but I think you overstate our collective CDaN wisdom, @Jimmy Mack.
ReplyDeleteA forum where critical thinking is centred on rating which of VIP's fff links links best makes you tingle, reading the occassional book is really just getting through some of the longer soft-core Count threads (and appreciation of dramatic tension is the hope he'll some day find someone within the all important 5km radius), and world-view means I try to understand this GO HAWKS business. We're not that brilliant.
But maybe you could step off @rajahcat's tits? I don't think it's fair to say any political baiting went on - s/he stated that yeah everyone hates him here but Leno's still top rated. Then - while stating that s/he gets no chuckles from Leno either - gave some possible reasons for it. I think you jumped, tangentially, on rajah rather unfairly. I hope my critical reasoning was sufficiently critical for you.
Enty, how are your comprehension skills?
ReplyDeleteJAY had no idea what was going on and that Conan was threatening to go to FOX every 5 months or so when he had a show if he couldn't get Jay's hosting spot. Jay said he didn't know because he didn't know. Conan was doing the blindsiding. LOL.
Jay is a nice guy (ask anyone who has been on his show) and I hope he tells NBC where to put it.
Yes, @Hegg Jay is a good guy. I don't know why people are calling him a jerk. He takes really good care of his employees and is known to be kind.
ReplyDeleteSorry for making it worse, Seven, it's just that I had my steed handy :(
ReplyDeleteI think it's time to step away gracefully, be thankful for his success, and move on. He's had the job for 20 years, which is good for any job and an eternity in show business.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll just stick with Arsenio Hall.
ReplyDeleteConan's humor is rather juvenile and worked better if you had been watching him for a while. He was good in the late night spot but I don't think his style of humor was popular. Jimmy Fallon is hysterical. I don't stay up late much to see him, but he definitely has something good going on and I think middle America will get his rather silly but brilliant humor.
ReplyDeleteAnd Seth Myer will do well too. He's a natural.
You know it really isnt the shows or hosts that change. Its the audience, which is smaller, more fractured-due to hundreds more viewing options- and from a very very different sensibility than ever before. Electronically and news event wise, its a radically different world.
ReplyDeleteI've honestly never understood all the vitriol towards Jay Leno, and even with all the comments I still don't. Yes, he hated being pushed out of his show. Why wouldn't he? He was #1 and doing well and nobody likes to be told that's not good enough. I'm not a fan, but I don't think he's so much the problem as NBC execs.
ReplyDeleteJay strives to come off as a good guy. He works very hard at it. He's also really good at not taking the blame for anything. He claims he had no idea Helen Kushnick was doing all her dirty work behind the scenes to make sure NBC gave him the Tonight Show job instead of David Letterman; no idea she was threatening celebrities not to go on Letterman else they'd be blacklisted from his show; had no idea why NBC canned him in favor of Conan, despite the fact that he'd acknowledged it two years before and congratulated Conan on the job; thought it was super that he got the 10:00 5-day a week job, even though he'd been telling NBC he was considering late night shows on other networks when it came down to Conan actually taking over; and now has no idea why he's being axed from his number one show so NBC can bring in Jimmy Fallon.
ReplyDeleteHe's a whiny bitch. Not funny. A lousy interviewer. He's very vanilla. He's safer than Letterman, who can be very polarizing (but is still my favorite). But he brings in an older audience and NBC wants the younger crowd to watch the Tonight Show, and the 11:00 news.
I hope it works, because I think Jimmy Fallon's show is the best thing on late night. And the Roots are the best talk show band - ever.