We've got to applaud Jimmy Kimmel. Who would have thought that his decision to host last night's entire show as Jay Leno would turn into a public service?
But that was exactly what it ended up being, as he managed to prove what the Friends of CoCo have been claiming all along: amusing as Kimmel's impression was, Leno just isn't all that funnier in late-night than he is at 10 p.m. And as hard as Chevy Chase may have tried (which, admittedly, wasn't that hard), there will always be only one Conan O'Brien.
Which is probably why the Community star—who may just prove the ghost of Conan future, having taken the first infamous stab at bringing late-night to Fox—didn't take long to ditch the red wig and discuss the NBC mess...
"Here's my reading of this: I think that Conan got a bad, bad, bad deal. Conan is an intellectual, well-educated, grounded…the way I read it, I think Conan's gonna…I think Conan's gonna stay there, I think they're gonna drop, uh…I think you're finished," he told Kimmel/Leno.
But just in case O'Brien ever flirts with the idea of heading over to the Alphabet net—not likely, given that ABC apparently stands for "Always Bump Conan"—Kimmel may have a bright future ahead of him as a certain celebrity impersonator.
"Conan O'Brien today announced he was leaving NBC," Kimmel/Leno said. "He released a statement today saying, 'I won't participate in the destruction of the Tonight Show.'
"Fortunately, though, I will."
See? It's funny. 'Cause it's true.
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