Jay Leno ready to 'try something new'

December 09, 2008 After a night of frenzied rumors and reporting about how NBC had finally found a way to keep its veteran late-night ratings king, NBC co-chiefs Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff appeared at a Burbank news conference with a self-effacing Leno to confirm that the show was a go. Leno said that NBC Uni chief Jeff Zucker had been calling regularly about ways to keep him in the NBC family, including the possibility of a show five nights a week beginning at 8 p.m. But Leno finally bit at the chance to do a 10 p.m. comedy and talk program, which he acknowledged probably wouldn't do as well as the scripted competition on the other networks. Leno said he asked NBC to conduct research before the decision to determine if the model would work.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.