By Ryan Parsons | Image property of respective holders, Variety
Conan O'Brien
With an official announcement expected to come from Conan O'Brien tonight on the Tonight Show, tons of speculation should be answered. Will he stay with NBC? Doubtful. Will he go to Fox? Well, that's up to him.
Conan O'Brien's Announcement
If you have always been a fan of Conan but for some reason were unable to keep up once he stepped into the Tonight Show, you might want to do yourself a service by watching tonight's show. Considering that Conan's last show is set for Friday, the host needs to help fans get to the bottom of his plans. And, considering that Conan has a high appreciation for his viewers, we should expect him to give some major revelations starting tonight. The biggest assumption at the moment is that he is moving to Fox. Plausible?
Speaking to reporters Sunday, Fox Entertainment chairman Peter Rice made the most forward comments yet about the network's interest in the host. "We've pretty vocal about wanting to be in business with Conan," Rice said. "It's a bit premature to say where he will be, but first and foremost, it's about where Conan wants to be."
The only catch, besides Conan's own decision, is his contract with NBC. According to inside sources, an exit agreement has already been established between Conan's lawyers and NBC. If that goes through, not only can Conan have a show running with another network by September, but he will also get a lump sum between $30 and $40 million. Not too shabby!
Page Six did report that the supporting talent and staffers were getting the short end of the stick, but O'Brien's manager, Gavin Polone, responded by calling the claim erroneous.
"That's a complete lie," Polone said. "I've been in the room every time, and point number one for (O'Brien) has been and will always be that they take care of his staff in a first-rate manner."
Add to Heffee!
