I’m having a hard time understanding what to expect - does “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” basically become “the tonight show,” or does Conan merely step into “the tonight show” with kevin eubanks and shitty m.o.r. jokes?
Conan O’Brien cannot do middle of the road jokes. Have you ever seen him host an awards show? That is just not his forte. If he tries to go middle of the road the show will fail. If he sticks with his current show, it will not play to a wide enough audience and the show will fail. Either way, Conan will not be on longer than three years.
I’d probably expect some of the “wackiness” to go away. Much like when Letterman went from the late time slot on NBC to the earlier spot on CBS.
The show loses some of it’s edge, less frat-boy and more main stream.
Expect more of the low key Conan to show up nightly rather than the high strung Conan.
He’ll have a more mature audience watching so I wouldn’t expect to see Pimp-bot and the masturbating bear to make appearances.
But what actual format change happens - does Conan leave his current show to become the host of a different show, or does Conan’s show “become” The Tonight Show?
The opening monologue will definitely be funnier.
Just a guess but I would say he relocates to Burbank, CA and does the show from there. That way he gets the guests from the LA scene while Letterman gets the NY scene.
Conan leaves his current show to become the host of a new Tonight Show that is formatted any way he feels like doing it.
I have to wonder why there only seems to be like 2-3 people deemed by the networks to be worthy of hosting a late night TV show, ever. In a nation of 300+ million, it would seem that they could perhaps widen the hiring pool just a tad. I mean WTF is up with guaranteeing O’Brien the Tonight Show gig years in advance? (I think it’s years; seems like I heard about this a couple of years ago).
This is one of the reasons why the networks are getting their lunch eaten by cable channels, IMHO.
Conan was guaranteed the Tonight Show job because he’s been doing Late Night for a long time, and could have left for another network if NBC didn’t make it worth his while to stick around and follow Leno for a little longer.
I’m picturing a Tonight Show that opens with a guy doing a monologue, who then sits behinds a desk with a coffeecup on it and some kind of cityscape in the background, banters with a band leader, does a few scripted comedy bits, chats with a few celebrity guests, and possibly invites a musician or stand-up comedian to end the show.
Since Conan’s current show (along with many others) essentially follows the Tonight Show format, why would you expect anything significantly different?
You forgot the fake old-timey microphone.
For more information, see this article from the New York Times, which says that ABC, Fox and Sony Pictures Television are quietly talking to Leno about a new program, because he’ll be free in a couple of years. Also, the article agrees with Marley23; the present deal was set up to prevent Conan O’Brien from going somewhere else. They expected that Leno’s popularity would wane over time but instead, he’s more popular than ever. (They could keep Leno on, but might then owe Conan as much as $45 million in a penalty payment.) And Jimmy Fallon is supposed to take over for Conan.
What happens when Conan takes over “The Tonight Show”?
I stop watching it. On his current show the monologue is even less funny than Leno’s, I find his whole self-deprecating schtick annoying, and most of his so-called “comedy” bits are repetitious and sometimes in questionable taste (seriously, what is so amusing about a masturbating bear?).
What isn’t funny about a masturbating bear?
Some of the comedy bits fall flat, but that adds to the fun of the show for me; they take some chances, some of which are bound to fail.
God help us all.
I don’t know if Conan would move to LA. I can’t imagine Conan being without the Max Weinberg 7, and I’m skeptical that they would all uproot themselves for CA. I think it would be easy enough to have the Late Night host move to LA (or, if it really is Jimmy Fallon, the Siberian tundra).
Almost certainly, Conan picks his own bandleader, announcer, writers, etc. I would expect most of the current personnel of Late Night to come with him, much as Letterman’s staff came with him to CBS, although some of them might not want to make the move from NY to LA.
I would imagine it’s one of the hardest jobs in show biz. You have to be responsible for five hours a week of watchable, preferably funny, television. Give a job like that to someone who hasn’t proven they can do it, and you could end up with the Chevy Chase show.
Conan? Weeping, crushed enemies, lamentation of women, etc etc. 
Seriously…masturbating bear eqauls comedy.
Yeah, it’s stupid but that doesn’t mean that I don’t kill myself laughing everytime he comes out.
That was my first thought when I saw the title as well. “This evening on the Tonight Show, Conan decapitates the band leader ! In our next segment, Conan extorts valuables from the studio audience at swordspoint . . . on the TONIGHT SHOW ! !”
Finally, Dudez-a-Plenti will get the exposure they deserve!