NBC Picks Up Conan's Pilot

Less than one week after Conan O’Brien and NBC reached a settlement over the “Tonight Show”, NBC picked up a pilot from O’Brien’s production company, Conaco.

After weeks of trash-talking and uncertainty of O’Briens future at NBC, the two finally came to an agreement. The “Tonight Show” host of only 7 months agreed to leave the network for a settlement of $32.5 million.

It comes as quite a surprise that NBC would pick up Conaco’s pilot after all the jabs it took during O’Brien’s final days as host. The pilot is reportedly an hour-long show featuring a former Supreme Court justice who launches his own legal firm. O'Brien is executive producer along with John Eisendrath. According to The Huffington Post, the pick-up came as a complete surprise to Team Conan - as well to the rest of us!

Conan and NBC Settlement Now $45 Million

Conan O'Brien and NBC have officially reached a settlement. Conan is getting an even better deal than originally reported. According to TMZ, the settlement has reached $45 million and the mitigation clause has been removed. Conan will get $32.5 million severance pay, regardless if he takes another job or not.

Another $7.5 million will go to the "Tonight Show" employees, and a staggering $4.5 million to the executive producer.

Conan's farewell show will be Friday. Guests will include Tom Hanks and Will Ferrell, with a musical performance by Niel Young. Don't miss it!

Conan's Not Joking With NBC

Conan O’Brien will not be accepting NBC’s proposal to move him and “The Tonight Show,” from the 11:35 p.m. to the 12:05 a.m. time slot. O’Brien started hosting “The Tonight Show,” about seven months ago after Jay Leno left it to host his own show called “The Jay Leno Show.”

On Sunday NBC announced that they were going to take “The Jay Leno Show” out of its prime-time position. The show was doing poorly in the ratings at the 10 p.m. time slot and was not meeting the affiliates’ needs. They plan to have Leno host a new half-hour show at the 11:35 p.m. slot. However, this move will have a domino effect.

This pushes O’Brien’s “The Tonight Show,” and Jimmy Fallon’s “Late Night,” into later time slots. A main reason why O’Brien is not accepting NBC’s proposal is due to the survival of the show. “The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show,” says O’Brien.

He not only makes this decision for himself but for his fellow competitors, which brings some humanity into the business world. “Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot,” says O’Brien. “That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.”

Now these talk shows hosts are doing what they do best—talking. Leno spends some time on his show bashing the way NBC handled the situation. “They don't have a lot of tact,” says Leno. “After they canceled the show, they told me if I gained 10 pounds I could join 'The Biggest Loser.'”

O’Brien is upset because he and his staff have worked very hard to get where they are, and it is very disappointing for him. However, no matter how upset he may be, he never fails to shed some light with his own Conan style. He ended his statement by saying, “Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.”