The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien Premieres Tonight

Tonight Conan O’Brien takes over the hosting duties of NBC’s The Tonight Show, the third longest running television program now in its 54th season. Conan is only the show’s fifth host ever, and he has some pretty big shoes to fill considering The Tonight Show has been hosted by four true legends in the television industry: Steve Allen, Jack Paar, Johnny Carson and Jay Leno.

I had a buddy ask me why I didn’t mention that last Friday was Jay Leno’s final show, and I think part of the reason was because Leno’s not going anywhere. It’s not like when Carson retired and he was never heard from again. With Leno just basically moving time slots (he’ll be hosting an all new show airing five days a week at 10/9c on NBC in the fall), his leaving of The Tonight Show has lost much of its luster. It’s really too bad his departure from The Tonight Show hasn't gotten more publicity, because as host for the past 17 years he has dominated the ratings and the competition. Oh well…Leno’s out and Conan’s in.

The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien debuts tonight, Monday, June 1st, on NBC at 11:35/10:35c. Conan’s first guest will be Land of the Lost’s Will Ferrell and first musical guest will be Pearl Jam.

Pearl Jam Announced As The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien’s First Musical Guest

The Blot got pretty excited when this announcement hit the newswire yesterday! According to multiple sources, including PearlJam.com, Pearl Jam has been “scheduled to appear as the inaugural musical guest for the June 1, 2009 premiere of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.” (link) Also of note is the fact that the songs PJ will be performing on The Tonight Show June 1st will come from their upcoming studio album!


After 14 seasons as host of Late Night, Conan will be taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno on Monday, June 1st on NBC at 11:35/10:35c. Will Ferrell is scheduled to be the first guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien that very same evening.

Jimmy Fallon Returns To NBC As Host Of Late Night

After years of speculation, we now know who will be taking over as host of Late Night when Conan O’Brien leaves in 2009 to take over the Tonight Show. (link) The Hollywood Reporter found out earlier today that Jimmy Fallon has signed a deal to take over hosting duties for NBC’s Late Night upon O'Brien's departure. (link) Conan’s chair became available in 2004 when it was announced he would be Jay Leno’s successor as host of the Tonight Show upon Leno’s retirement in 2009.

It has been a long four years since the initial announcement of Leno’s scheduled retirement as rumors mounted that Leno was unhappy about his already planned exit and was hoping to either extend his Tonight Show run or move to a rival station. Many names have been floated around as the eventual successor to O’Brien on Late Night, with Fallon’s name repeatedly being mentioned as a front runner based upon his popular run on Saturday Night Live and his stint as co-host of SNL’s Weekend Update with Tina Fey.


While Fallon has been The Blot’s favorite Saturday Night Live cast members in recent years, I am worried that his unique style of delivery might be found a little grating when on television 5 nights a week. Hopefully his transition to behind Late Night’s desk will be a smooth one and much more successful than the comedian’s movie career which pretty much died on impact after Taxi and Fever Pitch bombed in theaters.