Culture

Conan O'Brien Hosts His Last Episode Of The Tonight Show

by amyellensoden | January 22, 2010 at 10:26 am

508 views | 2 Recommendations | 1 comment

This Friday night will be Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show as he will be leaving the NBC network after the $33 million deal cut this week. O'Brien will be hosting his finale episode tonight which is sure to draw in record breaking ratings. The Tonight Show has had soaring ratings especially within the last week, no doubt in relation to all the media buzz surrounding the Conan versus Leno debates.

O'Brien's final episode of The Tonight Show will have Tom Hanks, Neil Young, and Will Ferrell on as guests. Ferrell was the first guest O'Brien had on The Tonight Show in June 2009. The main topic for discussion today is whether or not O'Brien will take many jabs at the NBC network tonight, as it may be his last chance to joke about the network as part of his agreement. There's sure to be some jokes thrown into his opening monologue, but viewers will have to tune in to see how far O'Brien goes.

On Thursday, the network reached a $45-million (U.S.) deal with O'Brien for his exit, allowing Leno to return to the late-night program he hosted for 17 years. O'Brien's final show will be Friday.

O'Brien has handled the media frenzy with an edgy and eloquent statement, aided by his endless supply of quips. Even on the eve of his final episode as the host of The Tonight Show, O'Brien continued to jest about the controversial late night talk show move: "I knew it was official this morning when NBC dropped off all my CDs and picked up its lava lamp," O'Brien joked. His deal allows him to return to a new network and show on September 1, 2010.