With the Leno/Fallon changing of the guard at NBC and a shuffle of other late night hosts expected as a result, it looks like Conan O’Brien is staying put at TBS. The cable network announced today that they’ve renewed Conan through November 2015. His previous contract was set to run up in April of 2014. Conan has settled into modest ratings since its high-rated debut on TBS in November of 2010. This week, the Conan gang is in Atlanta to host a week of shows from the city in conjunction with the NCAA’s Final Four.
The contract renewal keeps Conan out of the mix for a series of big changes expected to take place in the late night world over the next few years. Multiple sources have reported that NBC is moving The Tonight Show to NYC and replacing Jay Leno with Jimmy Fallon next fall, vacating Fallon’s Late Night slot and most likely sending Jay Leno to find himself a new talk show. On top of that, Jon Stewart is stepping away from The Daily Show for three months to direct a movie this summer, and David Letterman is expected to retire in the near future, with Craig Ferguson set to take over The Late Show, vacating The Late Late Show. Conan O’Brien’s lack of interest in trying to get back on the broadcast network late night map isn’t surprising, as he told Entertainment Weekly two years ago, “My goal is not to do this forever. I just want to do this really well for a period of time until I have nothing left to say and then go away.â€