NBC Photo: Mitchell HaasethConan O'Brien's Tonight Show is officially yesterday's news.
After weeks of behind-the-scenes maneuvering, public insult swapping and some of the sharpest hours of late-night in the medium's history, NBC has officially parted ways with Team CoCo, reinserting Jay Leno as host of the Tonight Show.
He'll bid the gig adieu on Friday, and Leno will return to captain the late night talker on March 1.
O'Brien's departure, however, is not without its recompense. His severance deal is said to be worth roughly $45 million, and will include a $33 million payout both for NBC's breach of his contract and 12 million thanks-for-playing bucks for his most senior staff members.
"In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," O'Brien's manager, Gavin Polone, told the Wall Street Journal. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."
According the paper, the deal may include a provision that would bar or limit Conan from hosting a show on another network for a set period of time.
Hopefully, that period won't be too long.
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