Just The Gist of… The Tonight Show battle between Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno
5/27/20261 hr 22 min
In 2010, NBC tried to hand The Tonight Show, the 60-year-old crown jewel of American late night, to two different comedians. The five-year succession plan they spent years building collapsed in seven months, took down the entire network's primetime line-up with it, and ended with $45 million in severance, one million people in "I'm With Coco" t-shirts, and one of the great public-image collapses in TV history. Sixteen years later, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno have still never spoken. This is Just The Gist of the Tonight Show battle between Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.
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Just The Gist is a Just The Network production. Executive Producer and Host: Rosie Waterland | Senior Producer and Editor: James Joseph | Producer: Kate Leaver | Additional production support: Hayley Staveley | Acast Legends: Guy Scott-Wilson and Simon McDermott | Production Assistant: Pocket
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Resources:
The War for Late Night by Bill Carter (Goodreads, 2010)
The Late Shift by Bill Carter (Goodreads, 1994)
2010 Tonight Show conflict (Wikipedia)
Conan O'Brien's 2011 Dartmouth Commencement Speech (YouTube, 2011)
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop documentary (YouTube, 2011)
O'Donnell to Leno: Hand over Tonight (CBS News, 2010)
Jay Leno and the Tonight Show Controversy (Oprah.com, 2010)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsRosie Waterland· Host0:00
Beep boop, beep boop, beep boop. A Just The Network production. Beep boop boop. [laughs] [laughs] That sounds good. Mitch.
Mitch Churi· Guest0:12
Rosie.
Rosie Waterland· Host0:13
Mitchell Turi.
Mitch Churi· Guest0:13
Rosie Waterland.
Rosie Waterland· Host0:14
In 2010, The Tonight Show was an iconic 60-year-old institution of US late night TV. It had been the crown jewel- Oh ... of NBC since the 1950s, and the very thing the network had built it in its entire nighttime identity around. But it nearly collapsed because network executives promised two different comedians that they could be the host.
Mitch Churi· Guest0:40
I'm aroused.
Rosie Waterland· Host0:41
One of them ended up walking away with $45 million, went on to do some of his best work, and became more beloved than he'd ever been. The other one stayed, faded out after a few years, and his reputation never fully recovered. This, my friend, is just the gist of The Tonight Show battle between Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno.
Mitch Churi· Guest1:03
With Mitch Turi.
Rosie Waterland· Host1:04
Ooh, with Mitch Turi. [laughs] [laughs] [upbeat music] Welcome to Just The Gist, where I, Rosie Waterland, give you just the gist of what you need to know about stories that will impress your friends at a dinner party. And joining me today, iconic crossover, Mitch Turi.
Mitch Churi· Guest1:26
Oh, my God.
Rosie Waterland· Host1:26
Of the Mitch Turi Chat Show.
Mitch Churi· Guest1:27
Oh, my God, Rosie Waterland.
Rosie Waterland· Host1:29
Ah. We have- I'm