Leno’s guests for the premiere week of The Tonight Show include former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, gold medal Olympians Apolo Anton Ohno, Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn, American Idol singer Adam Lambert, the cast of MTV’s Jersey Shore, country singer Brad Paisley and American Idol judge Simon Cowell. Leno’s upcoming guests in the following weeks include Morgan Freeman, Kim Kardashian, Jamie Foxx and Dakota Fanning.

The controversy surrounding the cast of MTV’s Jersey Shore and recent comments by American Idol judge Simon Cowell should intrigue viewers and provide some colorful moments during the first week of the show. The combination of Sarah Palin and Adam Lambert booked on the same night, along with the fact that Palin’s first interview on a late-night talk show is the rival to David Letterman’s show, with whom Palin has feuded with in the past, might pique viewer interest. This could be good programming or clever fanning of the flames to gain viewership from bad PR that might result in lower ratings than competitor Letterman’s show.

The Late Show with David Letterman is counter programming in coming weeks with scheduled guests Jerry Seinfeld, Matt Damon, Tom Brokaw and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. Seinfeld, who is a friend of Leno’s and promoting his new NBC show The Marriage Ref will appear on CBS’s The Late Show the first week Leno is back in action.

More controversy was stoked when it was announced on February 16 that Kevin Eubanks, bandleader of Leno’s Tonight Show and his primetime show The Jay Leno Show, is leaving as bandleader soon after the The Tonight Show resumes production.

The Tonight Show’s star-studded line-up for March should gain interest from viewers. The question is will the bad publicity from what some viewers may see as removing O’Brien to replace him with previous Tonight Show host Leno be forgotten that easily? Time and ratings will tell the story.

At the end of the Leno interview Winfrey made it clear O’Brien was also invited for a interview to reveal his side of things. O’Brien’s people stated now was not the right time for an interview. Winfrey left the invitation for O’Brien open whenever the time was right for an interview on her show. From the Leno interview and conversations online it looks like Leno and NBC have some work to do to smooth over the past few weeks controversy and get back on the road to high ratings on The Tonight Show when it begins to air with Leno as host starting March 1.

Later in the evening on ABC, Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue revealed an irked Kimmel commenting on Leno’s statement Kimmel “sucker-punched” him on Leno’s 10 at 10 segment during the Oprah interview. Kimmel seemed none too pleased over being shown as a bad guy by Leno in the Oprah interview since most comics would joke about the situation, being news of the day. Kimmel then proceeded to show an edited clip of Leno’s interview complete with R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts”, meant to skewer Leno.

Read portions of the Oprah/Leno interview transcript:

WINFREY: When they came into your office, they, NBC executives, come to your office, your show is number one in nighttime and tell you that you’re going to be moving out in five years, what is your first reaction to that?
Mr. LENO: It broke my heart. It really did. I was devastated. This is the job that I always wanted and it was the only job that ever mattered in show business to me. It’s the job every comic aspires to…

WINFREY: So in your mind this happened or that move happened, because Conan wanted that spot?
Mr. LENO: Yeah…

WINFREY: When the numbers started to drop, was your ego bruised by that? Because you’re used to being number one.
Mr. LENO: I wouldn’t say my ego was bruised. I felt bad for everybody on the show and I felt bad for our affiliates. A couple weeks ago I called the head of the affiliate board and I said listen, they’re the ones that canceled us, and I said, “I’m sorry I let you guys down. I mean, you guys supported us, you went along with the decision. I’m sorry our show wasn’t successful for you.”
WINFREY: Because if it had worked, it would have saved millions of dollars.
Mr. LENO: Yeah. Yeah. Actually, the odd thing is, it was making money for the network, it wasn’t for the affiliates.
WINFREY: The other side of that, many people say that your going into prime time five nights a week, it took away thousands of jobs from other people who would have been working on dramas…
Mr. LENO: I’ve got to admit, that was not something I even realized until we went on the air. But they’re not wrong. I have to admit, that one did catch me. We were on the air when I realized, wow, I have to admit, that one I didn’t know about that…

WINFREY: Had Conan’s numbers been higher, you’d have never been asked to go back to take the time slot?
Mr. LENO: I never expected this to happen. People think you’re behind the scenes pulling strings. There’s no strings to pull. I have a show that’s been canceled. So why would I have any power to go, oh, I want that? What happened was NBC came to me and they said, “Look, your show was down 14%, Conan’s show was down 49%. We have a plan. We want to keep you both” because I asked, I said, “Can I be released from my contract?” And they said no.
WINFREY: This was your contract on the prime time show?
Mr. LENO: On the prime time show.
WINFREY: When did you ask that, Jay?
Mr. LENO: I asked maybe a day after we got canceled. And I said, “Well, can I move on?” “No, you’re still a valuable asset.” I said, “You fired me twice, how valuable can I be as an asset?” “Oh, no, we want to keep you.” I said okay. And they said, “Here’s our plan…

WINFREY: Was there any part of you that thought, “You know, let me think about this. Let me have a conversation with Conan. Let me see if Conan wants to take the hour?” Was there any part of you that thought, “You know what? I’ve already done that enough let’s move on.”
Mr. LENO: Actually, it wasn’t my place to call Conan and say, you know, they made this offer to me, and I said, “Do you think Conan will go for this?” and they said, “We’ll ask him tomorrow.” I said, “Okay, let me know what happens.” And then the next thing you know, I guess Conan had his article in the paper and that was that.
WINFREY: Yeah. Conan said he thought it would be destructive to the franchise and that if he took that spot…
Mr. LENO: Well, if you look at what the ratings were, it was already destructive to the franchise…

WINFREY: Have you talked to Conan in person throughout all this?
Mr. LENO: No, I haven’t.
WINFREY: Did you want to pick up the phone?
Mr. LENO: Yeah, but it didn’t seem appropriate.
WINFREY: Why?
Mr. LENO: I don’t know. I think let things cool down and maybe we’ll talk, you know…

Read the full transcript of the Oprah/Leno interview at Deadline Hollywood

During the week Conan had a bit about being vindictive and charging whatever he could to The Tonight Show, with NBC unable to do anything about it. The first expensive item featured during the week was a Bugatti Veyron car dressed up in mouse ears while an original recording of the song “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones played in the background. O’Brien claimed the car and the cost of playing the original song would cost NBC $1.5 million. The second expensive item was the purchase of 2009 Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird, with the racehorse wearing a mink Snuggie while watching restricted Super Bowl footage. O’Brien claimed this hijink cost NBC $4.8 million. Conan showed the final expensive item on Friday night: a credit card purchased skeleton of a ground sloth from the Smithsonian institution, spraying Beluga caviar spraying through a hose on to an original Picasso, costing $65 million dollars paid for by NBC. Conan then made sure the audience knew the expensive buys at NBC’s expense was a joke all along.

Guests on Friday night included Tom Hanks who brought out what was thought to be scotch to toast Conan, who then proclaimed the drink to actually be cream soda, and diet cream soda at that. Friday’s musical guest was Neil Young, who played an acoustic version of his song “Long May You Run”.

In a very serious moment towards the end of the show, Conan thanked NBC for the years of employment with them and thanked his many fans:

“Here’s what all of you have done: you made a sad situation joyous and inspirational. So to all the people watching, I can never, ever thank you enough for the kindness to me, I’ll think about it for the rest of my life, and all I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch:

Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it’s my least favorite quality, it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, amazing things will happen.”

Will Ferrell finished the show dressed in a long blond wig, hat, Neil Young t-shirt and jeans, singing “Free Bird” while bringing Conan onstage to play guitar along with the band. The in-joke of “Free Bird” for those that don’t know the tradition is one concert goers began in the 1970’s when the band Lynyrd Skynyrd didn’t play their signature song “Free Bird” before exiting the stage. The audience yelled “play Free Bird”, lighting bic lighters as is often the case at concerts. Yelling “Free Bird” has become a running joke at concerts ever since, with concert goers yelling “play Free Bird” during all sorts of rock concerts.

Ferrell then added a cow bell towards the end of the song, bringing enormous laughs from SNL fans remembering his skit as a member of the Blue Oyster Cult recording the song “Don’t Fear The Reaper” and featuring Ferrell’s extremely loud cow bell. Ferrell made the most of singing “Free Bird”, lightening a difficult situation for O’Brien and making the show a true celebration to the end.

O’Brien has been faced with making a decision following NBC’s plan to cancel Jay Leno’s primetime show and move Leno back to his late night position. The change cuts Jay Leno’s time to a half hour as a lead in for The Tonight Show, moving The Tonight Show to 12:05 p.m. start time. Rumblings from both Leno and O’Brien camps as well as the late night hosts humorous jabs at NBC are adding to the late night drama.

As you would expect from O’Brien, his press release includes good humor, graciousness in the face of a bad situation and his concerns about the welfare of The Tonight Show’s legacy show what a class act he is.

Read Conan O’Brien’s Press Release

Story online at Associated Press:
Conan O’Brien NBC Story

Official Press Release

“People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls,
and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a
second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to
do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been
absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public
predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The
Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching
Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair
has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that
opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I
have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the
franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like
my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as
important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time
schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without
both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven
months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react
to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in
their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the
Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For
60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late
local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into
the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously
damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of
broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show.
Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show,
which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon,
out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC
franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy
hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it
is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked
unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the
legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I
honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the
argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter.
But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but,
to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and
honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can
resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we
can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my
hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan”

Ferguson commented on his reason for letting puppets host his 1,000th show in an interview with Entertainment Tonight:

“It means that I made the four digits — I didn’t think I would make two digits with this show! … It’s a moving moment full of satisfaction.”

“In honor of the thousandth show, I’m not going to be in it. It’s going to be all puppets. … Because puppets are what people who are awake late at night want,” Ferguson told ET, joking, “I know that because they call me and say, ‘Hey man, can we have some puppets?’”

Craig Ferguson and David Letterman are about as edgy as CBS gets. Ferguson is a master of stream-of-thought, outrageous comedy. Ferguson is the only comic I’ve seen who has the same abilities of lightening fast improv as Robin Williams. Ferguson regularly adlibs the entire show other than set skits which include his improv. Guests are greeted with Ferguson ripping up the interview cards as they start the interview. If you haven’t watched Ferguson on The Late, Late Show you are missing hilarious, sharp witted comedy.

Check out The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson Monday through Friday at 12:35 p.m. on CBS ET/PT.