Well, the Conan O'Brien debacle is nearly done - and it doesn't seem that anyone is coming out a winner. Sure, Conan will receive a massive settlement (to the tune of $32 million) but he'll be deprived of doing what he loves for quite some time (and losing some beloved characters he created, to boot). Though, with that kind of cash, I hope a nice vacation is in his future! The real losers are, of course, the real people. Though NBC will pay severance packages to the employees of O'Brien's show, it doesn't change the fact that a lot of people are now out of work. It's not like there're a ton of kickass jobs lying around, waiting to be scooped up. Hopefully Conan will get another show on a new network and rehire the majority of the people who have stayed on this roller coaster with him. Details from TMZ, via Bri's Cheese and Sleaze:
[Conan O'Brien is getting $32.5 million from NBC for losing
The Tonight Show reports TMZ. In addition, NBC is also paying severance to Conan's 200
employees which ups the severance to about $40 million. The flipside, Conan has to agree to not take another job
until September. He also can't
diss the network (effing babies). Plus, he can't take any of his characters he created while working for
NBC with him to his next gig. That
includes Triumph the Insult Comic Dog!
HOW COULD YOU, NBC?!]
I think the stars (and the blogs) are taking care of dissing NBC for Conan. You know it's big-time when Tom Hanks steps up to bat for you. Of course, so did Julia Roberts - but she was allegedly drunk at the time, so I don't know if we can count that! So, in the end Jay Leno got what he wanted - but will it be worth it for him or NBC? I think the ratings may tell a different story...
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