Last night, Conan O’Brien began his reign as the host of The Tonight Show. As the NBC promos have reminded us, the red-haired comedian is only the fifth person to hold the position and he’s got some pretty big shoes to fill.
For the first episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien, the host seemed very much at ease. Of course, hosting Tonight isn’t a far cry from his previous job. Though he’s moved to the West Coast, much about the new show seemed the same. That may help or hurt him since his old show’s ratings haven’t been as solid as Tonight’s have been.
In terms of number for last night’s show, O’Brien’s debut performed well but it wasn’t extraordinary. It was the highest rated episode of Tonight since January 24, 2005. That was a tribute to Johnny Carson who’d died the day before.
Compared to the usual ratings for Tonight, MediaWeek reports that O’Brien’s first episode attracted 82% more viewers in the overnights than the second quarter average, a 7.1 rating. That’s 154% higher than last night’s Late Show with David Letterman and a much bigger win over Nightline and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Of course, it’s difficult to judge the show on just one outing. As history has shown, hosting the Tonight Show is much more like a long marathon than a quick sprint. It’ll be interesting to see if O’Brien can sustain the ratings dominance of his predecessor.
What do you think? Did you watch and will you tune in again? Is O’Brien right for the job?
In case you missed it, here’s another chance…
Image courtesy NBC.
I watched Conan once or twice a week. He is funny in small doses only. I don’t miss Jay – for the past year at least his monologues were disappointing. He was obviously reading every word and that ruined the delivery. I do miss The Tonight Show. I’ve been watching for 30 years. The best monologues on now are delivered by Craig Ferguson, a very funny man. Any chance he could be brought over to NBC?
I’m sorry but he looks uncomfortable and it feels uncomfortableand the new writers are the pits. I didn’t stay up late enough to watch much of Conan before the took over the tonight show so I was willing to give him a chance but it really is painful to watch and hard to listen to the forced laughter and appaluse. I’ve spent about 40 years watching the tonight show with Johnny and Jay but I’m afraid it’s at the end of the road. Just tonight there was some stupid segment on a traffic jam on one of the LA freeways… Read more »
Cancel! Or put him back on very, very late. He’s a nothing.
I used to stay up and watch Jay Leno’s monologue- it was always upbeat and funny. Conan’s new show just doesn’t have it. The skits are mostly a carryover of Conans Late Night Show which sucked. I find the skits not funny and particularly dislike the Twitter spot. Conan can’t hold a candle to Leno. What was NBC thinking?
I now switch to Dave Letterman.
Gregg
I have monitored this site since having left a comment a couple of days ago, and the trend stands–an overwhelming majority of the respondents here despise what Conan O’brien has done to the Tonight Show. Two minutes of that nagging opening “music” is waaaaaay too much–I timed it tonight by flicking back at 10:37 in time to see that annoying jump and jacket crumple antic. Is he NUTS??? Letterman is not an option; he’s stupid, unfunny, and annoying as Conan. It’s HGTV for me until the NBC execs rectify this heinous situation. I can’t believe you think it’ll get better.… Read more »
Here is a question for the NBC honchos – quoting Jay Leno’s famous question to Hugh Grant:
“What the Hell were you thinking?”
The Tonight Show is done, over. I am now free to watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report before turning in for the night.
Conan is really bad..I think his audience is probably 15 year old nerds…He has little class and his stupid gyrations belong at a birthday party for a 5yr old. Most of the people I have spoken to who were fans of the tonight show don’t watch anymore and reluctantly have tuned into Letterman but Letterman is way out of line and I find his comments on various people more cruel than funny..what options are we left with at that time slot??
Conan lacks the class to carry on after Carson and Leno. I don’t want to watch stupid sillyness – jumping up and down, spinning around, etc. It insults my intelligence. I will not try to watch again.
The Tonight Show used to have class. There was a certain genre that Jay kept up after Johnny left. Now it is just silly trash. I have tried to watch a couple of shows with Conan and all he has done is bring Late Night to an earlier hour. There are none of the elements that made the Tonight Show what is was. Conan is truly an awful replacement. He has no class whatsoever, and the Tonight Show is gone in my mind. I certainly will not watch it again.
I LOVE CONAN!! He is without a doubt one of the funniest comedians around. I am amazed at all the negative comments! How could anyone NOT find Conan absolutely hilarious?? He has an incredible sense of humor and is very creative and down-to-earth. You gotta give this guy a chance!
Conan? What a bad choice for replacement of Jay Leno! He is awful!! Ugh! i no longer tune in……he is not now nor will ever be funny. I find him annoying!
Cancel Cona O’Brien, I cannot stand him.
Bring Leno back if you can….
I have watched 4 times since he too over, I have yet to laugh… Isnn’t that a problem?
Conan is hilarious. I don’t know what people are griping about. Yes, his humor is a bit different from Jay Leno. However, I thought Jay was a bit fake, just better at faking than most. Conan may be a little ill at ease right now, especially with the transition to a time when he must cater to a more PC public, in other words, the elderly and the vanilla. Conan is used to a more colorful, awake, ready for anything following. He will learn to tone down a bit so as not to scare the fuddy- duddies. Conan lets you… Read more »
Conan O’brien was not, is not, and will not ever be funny! He he is a horrible replacement for Jay Leno as the Tonight Show host. I raced to change the channel before his stupid start-up music came on after Jay went off!! Conan has a voice reminiscent of dragging one’s fingernails down a chalkboard. He is corny and idiotic. I knew this would be a mistake from the time Jay made the announcement 5 yrs. ago. Who in the world (hint: at NBC) could have thought Conan could capture, retain, or build on Jay’s success or audience? This decision… Read more »