Conan O'Brien Could Be Gone As Fast As Week Of January 18th

The media which has been closely following the ongoing Conan O'Brien - Jay Leno - NBC triangle have just reported that Conan's last show as the host of NBC's The Tonight Show could end during the week of January 18th.

(Image of Conan O'Brien with Howie Mandell - NBC - Paul Drinkwater - All Rights Reserved)

Really?  That fast?  Needless to say Conan's outspoken release regarding NBC's decision to dump him and put Jay Leno back in as host of The Tonight Show has the Internet as well as the media in an uproar.  Several Save Conan Movements have sprung up.  Many of The Tonight Show fans, past and present are threatening to boycott Leno when he takes back the famous Tonight Show desk.

What would Johnny Carson think?  Would he approve of NBC's actions or condemn like the media is doing?  Certainly the other talk show hosts like Letterman is taking full advantage of the fiasco to get some laughs and show support for Conan.  Even Conan is using the sad situation to get laughs on his show.

Although NBC believes their late-night woes may have been solved today with a deal to restore Jay Leno to his old 11:35 EST time slot, many experts are not predictiong that Jay will be facing an angry fan base which will leave in droves to support Conan and boycott both NBC and Leno.

People magazine reported that Conan O'Brien's last show would be the week of January 18th and probably ending that Friday (January 22nd).  TMZ.com reported that Jay had renegotiated his contract with NBC and is all set to move back to his original perch.

Neither report could be immediately confirmed. "Conan does not currently plan on doing any more new shows after next week," a source told People.

O'Brien, in a pointed letter to NBC executives earlier this week, said he had no interest in moving his "Tonight Show" to 12:05 a.m. to accommodate Leno's return to an 11:35 p.m. start for a half-hour program.

O'Brien is reportedly being wooed to jump to FOX.  Jay Leno was the late-night ratings king before NBC's disastrous decision to move him to primetime with a 10 p.m. Monday through Friday show that completely bombed. O'Brien's ratings fell behind David Letterman's "Late Show" during his short tenure.