Jay Leno Going Primetime Next Year After Conan O’Brien Takes Over The Tonight Show

 

After fear of losing late night leader Jay Leno to another network next year after their big change, NBC has decided to keep Jay Leno five nights a week, but in prime time, competing not with David Letterman, but with shows like “CSI: Miami.”

The network will announce Tuesday that Jay Leno’s new show will appear at 10 o’clock each weeknight in a format similar to “The Tonight Show,” which he has hosted since 1993.

Five years ago NBC announced that it would hand the job of host of that franchise show to Conan O’Brien in May 2009.  Since then the network has maneuvered to try to keep Mr. Leno, who continues to be the late-night ratings leader, fearing that he could leave and start a new late-night show on a competitor’s network. “The Tonight Show” is seen at 11:35 weeknights.

His new show, which will begin next fall, is expected to be set in Mr. Leno’s longtime studio in Burbank, Calif. where Leno is expected to retain many of the most popular elements of his “Tonight Show,” including his monologue and bits like “Headlines” and “Jay Walking.” One “Tonight Show” staff member said the new program would not be a variety show.

Conan O’Brien, currently the host of NBC’s “Late Night,” will move “The Tonight Show” to a new studio on the NBC Universal lot in Universal City, Calif., in May.

Leno, who is known to want to work as much as possible, would then miss only three months on the air, and would use that time to prepare his new show.