Conan O'Brien Conspiracy

I have a soft spot in my heart for Conan O’Brien and wish him well, but I’ve never bothered to watch him as host of the Tonight Show. Apparently, that describes a lot of other people as well. Last night Catjjy and I spent some time catching up on the controversy. We read Conan’s letter and tuned in to nbc.com and Hulu to watch his show. Before long, I had a deep and resounding desire to see Conan win this battle, so I could watch him host the Tonight Show for years to come.

And then it hit me: could this actually be a FAKE FIGHT, designed to secure Conan’s spot in America’s heart, and solve a few other pesky problems for NBC to boot? I won’t call it a conspiracy theory. I don’t believe in conspiracies. Let’s just call it a brilliant marketing ploy.

Consider the evidence:

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1. It’s working great. I bet when the numbers come out, this week’s ratings will be the highest for the Show in years. People who haven’t seen an episode of the Tonight Show since they were kids are showering support for Conan on Facebook and other places, imploring NBC to keep him on a show they never watched in the first place.

2. Both Conan and the Show really, really needed a marketing gimmick. Until last week, nobody even cared that Conan had taken over, which is just about the worst fate the Show could suffer.

3. A surprising number of people seem to feel free to jump in. The dude who plays Kenneth on 30 Rock showed up two nights ago for a pro-Conan, anti-NBC skit. He’s a young actor who is two years into a bit part that is the only paying acting job he has ever had. And he’s on TV goofing on his employer? Without a green light from somebody upstairs? Seems unlikely.

4. The brouhaha allows Jay Leno to swoop in and save the day, restoring his reputation and allowing him to gracefully bow out of his show, which wasn’t the success he had hoped it would be. Here’s what will happen: the boneheads at NBC will move Jay to 11:30. Jay will say “ENOUGH! I will NOT be a part of your attempt to destroy this franchise!! I’m closing down my show so that the Tonight Show can stay at 11:30 where it belongs, with Conan as host.”

In the end, Jay Leno avoids the humiliation of getting canceled and gets sainted for saving the Tonight Show. Conan gets a huge shot in the arm for a show that really needs it. NBC network executives look foolish…all the way to the bank. Everyone is happy.

If this is a ploy, it is an incredibly audacious one. My hat goes off to the executive that had the grapes to give it a try.