NBC confirmed on Sunday Jay Leno will be moving back to late night on Feb. 12. The Jay Leno Show has suffered from severely low ratings in its current 10 p.m. slot and NBC is hoping the move back to late night for Jay Leno will bring the comedian’s fans back into the fold.
“I can confirm, starting Feb. 12, The Jay Leno Show will no longer air at 10 p.m.” NBC Chairman Jeff Gaspin said in a press conference on Sunday. “While [Jay Leno] was performing at acceptable levels for the network, it did not meet our affiliates’ needs and we realized we had to make a change.”
The move of Jay Leno back to late night will cause major disruption for NBC’s other late night shows. The network insists, however, they hope to “keep Jay, Conan [O’Brien], and Jimmy [Fallon] as part of our late-night lineup.” Gaspin said he has spoken to all parties involved and “proposed that The Jay Leno Show move to 11:35, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien to 12:05, and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon would then start at 1:05.” Gaspin added, however, that “it’s not a done deal yet.” Leno will reportedly be replaced at 10 p.m. with “two hours of scripted, another reality hour and combination of expanded Dateline or repeats.”
Conan O’Brien reportedly has several other networks interested in picking up his late night show if he’s not pleased about being shoved to a later time slot. NBC hinted that O’Brien would not be abandoning the network despite rumors to the contrary. “Conan’s motivation will become more clear as time goes on,” Gaspin said cryptically.
As for Last Call with Carson Daly? Gaspin said NBC wants him to remain a part of the network, but right now there seems to be no place for the show in the new late night shakeup.
>> Previously:Â Jay Leno Talks About Show Cancellation Rumors