The Jay Leno Show is an American comedy show created by and starring Jay Leno, that aired from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010 on NBC following the May 29, 2009 conclusion of Leno's first tenure as host of The Tonight Show.[1]
In January 2010, NBC announced that due to affiliate dissatisfaction, Leno would be shortened to 30 minutes and moved from primetime to 11:35p.m., the timeslot that had been occupied by The Tonight Show for nearly 60 years. The Tonight Show hostConan O'Brien released a public statement saying that he would not participate in moving Tonight to 12:05 a.m., asserting that it would damage the highly respected franchise.[2] Despite much support for O'Brien from both the public[3] and media professionals[4][5] alike NBC maintained its plan to move Leno to 11:35.
On January 21, 2010, NBC reached a $45 million settlement with O'Brien in order to end his contract. Leno resumed his duties as host of Tonight on March 1, 2010.[6] Leno ended on February 9, 2010 after being on the air for only four months, withEntertainment Weekly calling the program television's "Biggest Bomb of All Time."[7]