Leno to Return to Tonight Show March 1

UNIVERSAL CITY: NBC has sealed a reported $45-million deal for Conan O’Brien and his staff to exit The Tonight Show, with Jay Leno to resume his hosting duties on the late-night series beginning March 1.

In a brief statement about its dispute with O’Brien that has dominated late-night TV in the U.S. for the past week, NBC said the host would make his last appearance on The Tonight Show tomorrow (January 22). O’Brien is free to pursue other TV opportunities after September 1. In the reported $45 million exit deal, O’Brien will receive more than $33 million, with the balance as severance pay for his staff.

"In the end, Conan was appreciative of the steps NBC made to take care of his staff and crew, and decided to supplement the severance they were getting out of his own pocket," his manager, Gavin Polone, told The Wall Street Journal. "Now he just wants to get back on the air as quickly as possible."

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno will be back on the air from 11:35 p.m. to 12:35 a.m. beginning March 1, to be followed by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Jeff Gaspin, chairman of NBC Universal Television Entertainment, stated: "We’re pleased that Jay is returning to host the franchise that he helmed brilliantly and successfully for many years. He is an enormous talent, a consummate professional and one of the hardest-working performers on television."