LOS ANGELES — The tug-of-war over “The Tonight Show” — and perhaps a battle for the soul of late-night NBC — appears nearly over. As reports swirl that next week will be Conan O’Brien’s last as “Tonight Show” host, populist support remains overwhelmingly in his favor. With Jay Leno seemingly poised to resume his old gig, who backs whom?
***TEAM CONAN***
David Letterman: The CBS host’s “Jay Leno: The Early Years” bit Wednesday night portrayed a young Leno “sabotaging (his) school’s production of Peter Pan.”
Patton Oswalt: “You almost want to take (Leno) aside and go 'Why do you want this so badly?'” Oswalt told Comedy Death-Ray Radio. “’Because you don’t do anything with it.”
Jimmy Kimmel: Kimmel impersonated Leno throughout his own show Tuesday night. “(Conan) released a statement today saying ’I won’t participate in the destruction of the ’Tonight Show,’” the faux Leno said. “Fortunately though, I will.”
Online: Nearly 50 different “I’m with Coco” and “Team Conan” groups can be found on Facebook, the largest of which includes more than 60,000 members. Several other celebs have also backed Conan on Twitter (Matthew Perry, Ice T, Christina Applegate, Marlee Matlin, Samantha Ronson and Bethenny Frankel).
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***TEAM JAY***
Jerry Seinfeld: “This was the right idea at the wrong time,” he said of “The Jay Leno Show.” Adding, “What did the network do to Conan? I don’t think anyone’s preventing people from watching Conan.”
Paul Reiser: “While all this craziness is going on, Jay just shows up to work every day and does his job. He doesn’t complain, he doesn’t get upset.”
Jimmy Kimmel Two nights after lampooning him, Kimmel appeared on Leno’s show, suggesting he wasn’t just backing Conan but also trying to avoid getting lost in the shuffle.
Online Pro-Leno Facebook groups are far fewer, with one Internet statistics firm estimating he trails Conan in online support by a ratio of 50-to-1.
NBC The Peacock is sending a clear signal what the call letters stand for: “Now Bye, Conan.”
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