After making a few bonehead moves, including canceling My Own Worst Enemy, NBC has finally done something right. The peacock network has signed a new deal with Jay Leno, that will keep him on the network after he passes The Tonight Show to Conan O’Brien.
While a date has not been set, the Associated Press reports that the deal would move Leno into primetime at 10pm. His show would be 5 days a week, with a simlar format to his Tonight Show, and double the amount of possible viewers as compared to his late night time slot.
I think this is awesome. I love Leno and I was getting worried that he might be taken off the air completely. Now, not only will he continue, but it’ll be ealrier, so I should be able to watch it on a regular basis. It should be interesting to see if the late night style works in primetime. The show might have a bigger possible audience, but it will also be facing off with bigger budget scripted dramas, like CSI, Without a Trace, Criminal Minds, and Eleventh Hour, to name a few. Will other networks follow suit and program late night styled shows in primetime?
Although I’m sure this move is economically sound for those nuts at NBC, to me it’s only going to take away a full third of the original programming that I enjoy each night.