JAY LENO

Jay Leno has claimed to be retiring in the past but this time it appears to be for real. Leno and his infamous hair-do will say goodbye to his loyal Tonight Show fans in early spring of 2014. NBC executives announced last week that Jimmy Fallon, the host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and SNL alumni, is set to replace Jay Leno as the new host of The Tonight Show. Fallon would take over Leno’s coveted desk spot starting in spring of 2014 which would mesh with NBC’s Winter Olympics coverage from Sochi, Russia which will obviously generate lots of viewers for the ratings-struggling network. With Jimmy Fallon’s takeover of The Tonight Show, filming will also be resumed in New York City rather than its current home in Los Angeles. If you're worried about not getting your nightly fix of The Roots, Questlove just confirmed with Fuse that “The Tonight Show is coming to [The Roots]; we’re not going to The Tonight Show.” As for Fallon’s current gig at Late Night, no heir has come forth. Stay tuned.

Carolines:

The famed nest of comic granddaddy’s Jerry Seinfeld, Sandra Bernhert, and Jay Leno, Carolines is legendary throwback New York. Long before websites held claim to the depressing majority of our attention and days, and back when New York was, how can we say, unplugged—nightlife revolved around the stage. It was the 80’s, an era responsible for our modern definition of diva, pop star, meth, and the standup comedian. Caroline’s has grown out of its once grungy aesthetic, as with most relics from the emergent New York glory days, into “America’s” mature “Premier Comedy Nightclub,”—an honorable mention on any City Sights tour. History is fluid, but funny stays the same.

The Forgetting Sarah Marshall actress revealed Jay Leno she french kissed a giraffe during her recent trip to Africa.

“I stayed a day in Nairobi, Kenya, when I was there and they have this thing there called Giraffe Manor. Where the giraffes literally come up to the porch and interact with you.”

“And they don't have front teeth so you don't have to be scared of them. They're not like a horse that could bite you. You can literally pay $10 and feed them these pellets. It's so cool,” she continued.

Conan O'Brien will go on to another show but his sidekick Max Weinberg won't. Rumor has it that Max Weinberg of the E Street Band will be stepping down to drum for Springsteen permanently. Say it isn't so Max! Jimmy Vivino, a musician under Weinberg, is expected to take over.

The TBS show should have just asked Kevin Eubanks from The Tonight Show. It seems only fair. Jay Leno steals Conan's spot so Conan gets Eubanks.

In case you've been living under a rock, here's the bullet points of the Conan v. Leno and NBC drama:

• In a move five years in the making, Jay Leno left The Tonight Show and the 11:35pm slot was given to Conan O'Brien.
• NBC didn't want to lose Leno to a competitor so they gave him a prime time slot.
• Leno's ratings were awful and O'Brien's ratings were awful. (I can't speak for Leno, but I know I watched Conan online because I was out on the town while it was airing.)
• NBC tried to "compromise" by offering Leno a 30 minute show at 11:35pm and letting O'Brien keep the Tonight name and start 30 minutes later.
• O'Brien said no, so they gave Leno back the show, thereby screwing CoCo royally.

I feel bad for CoCo, A) because I've ALWAYS thought he was hilarious and B) because if he knew this was going to happen, I'm sure there were other opportunities he could have pursued, that may not still be on the table.
Either way, Conan is the man and I'm sure he'll bounce back. If you missed the 60 minutes segment, you can check it out below.

Sarah Palin took a seat on Jay Leno's couch Tuesday night to chat and giggle and all that other nonsense guests do on late-night talk shows. Once the two were done catching up, Leno announced that Palin was going to make her "comedy debut" (apparently SNL doesn't count). The former Governor of Alaska took to the stage and performed a pretty decent stand-up routine. She joked about the things you'd expect: Alaska (it's so cold there it's "5 degrees below Congress' approval rating"), not being the vice president ("I would not know what to do with all that free time), and of course, Tina Fey ("I have been really busy, I've picked up a gig in Las Vegas, at the Legends show, playing Tina Fey.")

The last week has seen the continuation of the controversy surrounding the future of "The Tonight Show."

So what's actually changed? Not that much. Conan O'Brien will still be leaving "The Tonight Show," but presumably substantially richer after settlement talks are over. Meanwhile, NBC honcho Jeff Zucker has admitted that he made a "mistake," but quickly backtracked. After being seared by Jimmy Kimmel on his own show, Leno finally spoke up for himself, saying that he knew better than NBC and that the network was treating them both unfairly. While this likely did not change many minds among Team Conan or the I'm With Coco crowd, who came out in droves Monday at rallies across the country, it did serve to highlight the business aspect of the whole shebang.

In case you haven't heard by now (you are on the internet, after all) or somehow managed to miss reading the headline of this post, NBC has announced plans to push the "Tonight Show" with Conan O'Brien back 30 minutes. Conan responded by stating he would not host the franchise if moved to the 12:05 spot. Speculations about Conan's future at NBC, including his own, have been widely debated since. According to many, NBC's recent prime time ratings slump prompted this most recent move. The 11:35 spot would be filled by a program hosted by recently departed "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno, whose recent prime time venture was cancelled after less than 6 months. And then things start to get interesting.

Sometimes, when the world has you feeling down, it’s nice to spend some quality time at home where people appreciate you (at least you hope they do). But if you can’t get any love in your hometown, where do you turn to next?

I don’t know, but that’s the conundrum facing late night television host Jay Leno, now that Boston’s local NBC affiliate (WHDH) wants to preempt his new show with a ten o’clock local news broadcast. Leno will be relinquishing his role as the host of NBC’s Late Night and venturing into the uncharted waters of primetime with The Jay Leno Show. MSNBC is reporting that “Ed Ansin, who owns WHDH’s parent company, told the Boston Globe he did not believe Leno’s new show would be successful. He said the station would do better financially with a news show that competes with Fox-affiliated WFXT-TV’s highly rated 10 P.M. newscast.”