Conan O’Brien To Leave ‘Tonight Show’ Friday

KESQ.com News Services

LOS ANGELES -Conan O’Brien will host his last “Tonight Show” on Friday under an agreement with NBC signed early today, clearing the way for Jay Leno to return to the program, the network announced.

“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,” the network said in a brief statement. “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 Sept. 1.

“O’Brien will make his final appearance as host of `The Tonight Show’ on Jan. 22.”

O’Brien signed the agreement around 1 a.m. Pacific time, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The deal includes a payout of about $32 million for O’Brien and $12 million for his staff, according to the newspaper. The red-headed comedian and many of his staff relocated from New York to Los Angeles to do the show.

The contract is also believed to include a mutual non-disparagement clause that would keep O’Brien from bad-mouthing the network, and vice versa.

That clause has been the subject of much mirth by O’Brien on his show in recent days, as he has on claimed the agreement does not cover singing, and has sung that NBC executives are “morons.” Network executives have also criticized O’Brien for not getting higher ratings.

“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,” Gavin Polone, O’Brien’s manager, told the Journal. “Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible.”

O’Brien took over the show less than eight months ago. Leno, who replaced the legendary Johnny Carson 17 years ago, was shifted to prime time.

But Leno’s show garnered low ratings, and affiliates complained that their 11 p.m. news broadcasts were losing viewers as a result.

NBC then came up with a plan to move “The Tonight Show” back by 30 minutes to make way for Leno’s return to late night, but O’Brien refused to move.

Leno is expected to return to “The Tonight Show” at its normal time after the Winter Olympics in February.