Jay Leno's New 10pm Show: Weep Not for Conan

After waiting in the wings through an interminable number of Jaywalking and Headline segments, Conan O'Brien was set to have his dream job as host of The Tonight Show. Enter the recent kerfuffle, with NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker handing Jay Leno his gilded testicles under glass. That, and a new show at 10pm (presumably EST) to air every weeknight. In one fell swoop Zucker neutralized the threat of 'Murica's favorite host jumping to the competition and minimized the burden on new show development. Guess we'll have to wait on Law & Order: Nights and the A-Team revamp.

How Conan took the news is a matter of pure speculation, though I wouldn't blame him if he checked into NY Presbyterian with self-inflicted testicular torsion. However, to those who value the brilliance of the Masturbating Bear and other sublime bits, cheer up. With Jay acting as a buffer, Conan will face less pressure to "tone down" his current aesthetic. He still gets to inherit The Tonight Show name, still gets to make Jimmy Fallon look more like Carson Daly and will in all likelihood still be around when the Leno experiment gives way to a four-night reality competition show scripted by J.J. Abrams.