So Conan O’Brien has pulled the plug on his Tonight Show operation, and moved on, after a mere seven months in the House that Johnny Built. While he launched comic barbs at NBC during much of his last week of broadcasts, and vowed to make each of his last five shows, if not funny, at least “crazy expensive,” his farewell speech on Friday night was nothing if not gracious. If you’re feeling sentimental, you can read the complete text of Conan’s farewell speech by clicking on the link.
O’Brien thanked NBC for giving him an outlet for his show business urges for most of his adult life, and went on to say, “Walking away from The Tonight Show is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Making this choice has been enormously difficult. This is the best job in the world, I absolutely love doing it, and I have the best staff and crew in the history of the medium. But despite this sense of loss, I really feel this should be a happy moment. Every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and, for seven months, I got to. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second. I’ve had more good fortune than anyone I know and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-Eleven parking lot, we’ll find a way to make it fun.”
O’Brien is prohibited by the terms of his severance agreement from appearing on a rival network for several months. According to the most obvious rumors, he’s on Rupert Murdoch’s short list of available TV personalities should Fox decide to make another foray into the late night arena. But that’s a big if. Fox’s last serious effort in the late night genre produced Arsenio. Remember him? And if Fox isn’t a likely option, then what are the alternatives? Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert seem to have the late night slots sewn up on Comedy Central. Late night productions are much more expensive than, say, reruns of Seinfeld, and not necessarily as lucrative, based on ROI. What then?
Ultimately, there are only so many places in America where a person can host a late night talk show. If the 7-Eleven parking lot venue doesn’t pan out, O’Brien can undoubtedly fall back on a career for which he’s already shown a certain aptitude – making Swedish beer commercials. See the video below.
But O’Brien needn’t feel rushed about making a decision. NBC will pay Conan & Co. $45 million in severance, which is more than Ken Lewis received in return for skulking away from Bank of America quietly. Of that sum, O’Brien will keep $33 million for himself, and the rest will be paid out to his staff. Not bad, for seven months work.
