Conan or Leno – Who will be on tonight?

The questionable fate of NBC’s famed Tonight Show has fans and hosts alike up in arms.

Just last week, rumors surfaced surrounding the future plans for Jay Leno’s quickly tanking 10 p.m. program. NBC took its time in responding, eventually mustering the nerve to admit their primetime experiment had to come to an end.

But try as it might, NBC still hasn’t found a way to satisfy either of their late night hosts. A proposal to award Leno the coveted 11:35 timeslot would bump The Tonight Show to 12:05 a.m.

The response from viewers is overwhelming, with Conan supporters coming out of the woodwork left and right to rally for their leading man. Leno seemed to take the news (or rumors) of cancellation hard with joke after joke at NBC’s expense. O’Brien’s response was a bit more pointed with his usual articulate flare.

In his tongue-and-cheek letter addressed to ‘People of Earth,’ O’Brien details his opposition to the proposal announced by NBC. The clever retort makes O’Brien’s rejection clear ‘-‘- he admits that hosting the show is a great honor, but openly states: ‘I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction.’

The proposed solution seems wrought with haste and desperation. It’s no wonder that O’Brien, the rightful successor to the NBC late night throne, has made it clear that he will not be gracefully accepting the time change to late night lineup.

The now-public debacle has drawn national attention as the deadline for a decision has been set for February 12th (the start of NBC’s Olympic coverage).

The fate of The Tonight Show is unclear, however it seems pretty fair to assume this messy m’ecirc;l’eacute;e will put the already tarnished show at the center of a complicated legal battle with NBC and the two hosts in question.

Don’t touch that remote ‘-‘- it’s going to be a bumpy ride for NBC from here on out, and I for one plan on staying tuned.