Conan O’Brien and NBC are reportedly close to hammering out a deal that would see Conan leave the network next month — opening the door for Jay Leno to return as host of The Tonight Show, a post he held for 17 years before passing the torch to Conan last May.
Conan still has two-and-half years remain on his Tonight Show contract, says a source familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press. The alleged deal might involve NBC offering the Irish funnyman a settlement of more than $30 million and allowing him to launch a new show elsewhere as soon as this fall, according to The AP’s source.
The agreement might also include a clause prohibiting Conan from bad-mouthing the network. The late night comic could also be forced to relinquish creative rights to popular characters like Pimpbot 5000 and Conando, as well as recurring segments such as In the Year 3000 and Desk Driving.