Leno is being smart about his departure (like he’s taking cues from Seinfeld): he’s leaving in his prime and he’ll be remembered as a great talk show host, immortalizing his trademark laugh and mannerisms.
As for Conan, I found myself asking the same question you are: Can Conan mature into an 11:35pm timeslot? He’s an educated American who (I believe) flips a switch everyday to be ridiculous and entertaining to a post midnight audience. He’s fully aware that his act and his outrageous behavior will have to be toned down to appeal to a 9 to 5 audience.
For Conan’s replacement, I understand Loren Michaels is instrumental in many success stories, but Fallon? He was an idiot on SNL who couldn’t “act” as a funny character. He relied on laughing through the sketch to make it appear funnier than it was.
As a talk show host; I’m sure he’ll be just as lame.
Daily is a loser, he was on MTV and he still is on Late Late Late Later Night with Carson Daily. Making fun of himself doesn’t make him cooler in my book; he’s still laughing all the way to the bank by calling himself a tool.
