UPDATE: Conan O'Brien Strikes Departure Deal with NBC
TMZ reports:
Conan O'Brien and NBC have reached a settlement in principle and the big announcement is expected Saturday, sources tell TMZ.
We're told NBC has already given Conan's lawyers a draft of the agreement and his hired guns were going over it Friday night. The deal should be finalized Saturday.
Once the deal gets inked, NBC will announce Conan is leaving the network. The network will also announce what we first reported -- that Jay Leno will get the full hour from 11:35 PM to 12:35 AM and it will be called "The Tonight Show" -- just like old times.
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Transcript
CONAN O'BRIEN: Hello there, I am Conan O'Brien: Future answer to a $200 Jeopardy question. Yeah, thank you. Oh, thank you for liking that. Maybe $800 Jeopardy question. 'It's a real stumper, this one.'
No, welcome, seriously, welcome to tonight's show. By the time you see this I'll be halfway to Rio in a stolen NBC traffic copter. Yeah. What's that?
ANDY RICHTER: I think they sold all of them actually.
O'BRIEN: They don't have the money for one of those.
RICHTER: Yeah.
O'BRIEN: It's getting a little nasty in the press. In the press this week, NBC has been calling me every name in the book. Yeah, in fact, they think I'm such an idiot they now want me to run the network. Reporting for duty! Do that! Do this! I can do that.
This is nice news: According to the Nielsen Company, our ratings are way, way up this week, which is very nice. It's exciting. Yeah, very exciting, yeah. Folks, that's nothing. Wait till you see what we got planned for February. Huh?
RICHTER: Oh, boy. Laughter, laughter turning to tears.
O'BRIEN: Yeah, my specialty.
Video from Friday's show:
Parking Lot Shootout
In light of recent events, just coming into work has become uncomfortable for Conan...
eBay Auction
Conan auctions off a Tonight Show carry on bag!
Craigslist Offers
Conan entertains some Craigslist offers to sell his show for!
Big Pimpin!
Deon Cole lets Conan know that he's big pimpin!
At least on Friday, Conan wasn't bashing Jay Leno.
Leno never demonized O'Brien or blamed him when NBC forced him to quit hosting The Tonight Show. Leno was number one at the time NBC gave him the boot and made him hand over The Tonight Show reins to O'Brien.
It's good to see Conan direct his anger at NBC rather than Leno. The Leno bashing is unjustified. Conan is better than that. He was beginning to act like the bitter, spiteful, miserable David Letterman.
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