Conan O'Brien Nearing Takeover of Tonight Show from Jay Leno

Conan O'Brien taking over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno has been at least five years in the making, dating back to 2004. That's when the move was first publicly announced, although it may have been in the works even previous to that. It had been speculated that Conan was growing weary of indefinitely waiting around for his time to come and Leno also seemed to eventually want an end to his "Tonight Show" time.

Since then, there have also been various rumors that Leno had changed his mind and didn't want to leave. This was even joked about during Jimmy Fallon's first night replacing Conan in the 12:30 a.m. time slot as host of "Late Night". The two were talking while Conan was clearing out his dressing room and Conan made a depressed comment that Jay isn't leaving, and he had nothing to do. But he most certainly has plenty to do in finalizing plans for his debut as the new host of the popular NBC late night institution.

When Does Conan Take Over for Leno on "The Tonight Show"?

Conan takes over for Jay Leno on June 1, 2009. It is a Monday evening, and he will fill the same time slot "The Tonight Show" also has, which is 11:35 p.m.-12:35 a.m. on NBC.

Will Conan Do Well on "The Tonight Show" in Place of Jay Leno?

Conan has reached enormous popularity during his "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" stint. He first enjoyed more of an underground success but in recent years has expanded his fan base and has become increasingly more successful. One has to think though that his humor and style will have to be tweaked somewhat as host of "The Tonight Show".

In his transition to take over Jay Leno's gig, he will now be appealing to a largely different and more diverse demographic than he appealed to at the 12:30 a.m. slot. At that time he reached mostly liberal, college-aged television viewers. "The Tonight Show" however draws in a much larger segment of the American population.

What is Jay Leno Doing After He Leaves "The Tonight Show"?

While he is in fact leaving "The Tonight Show", Jay Leno has had second thoughts about leaving television and leaving late night television. He is now signed up to stay with NBC and host a show in the 10 p.m. timeslot every weeknight. The show will remain in his Burbank, California studios and will retain many of his most popular routines, such as "Jaywalking" and "Headlines". The show will therefore be very similar to what he does now. A possible title for the endeavor is "The Jay Leno Show" and it is scheduled to debut in fall 2009.

So diehard Jay Leno fans (I suppose they do exist) will still get their nightly dose of the popular comedian. As for fans of Conan, do not fear, Conan will be taking over for Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" on June 1.

Sources: Bill Carter, New York Times, Where is Leno Going?; Associated Press, Leno out on May 29, O'Brien in on June 1