The Associated Press reporter Frazier Moore said “the biggest difference between Leno’s new show and his old one: With his fade-out at 11pm, the local news began”, and The Los Angeles Times said it was “a strange, shallow puddle of comedy”.

The first show did have it’s viewer draws – including Kanye West’s appearance to explain what happened at the MTV VMAs (the infamous moment when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech) and to apologise for what he did.

In addition to Kanye West’s appearance, Jerry Seinfeld was interviewed and music came from Jay-Z and Rihanna (with Kanye performing with them).

The official website for The Jay Leno Show has now fully launched – it includes video clips (US only), full episode streaming (US only), photos, exclusives, message boards, etc.

If you saw the show, please let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment on this post.

The Associated Press – “Leno show reaches 17.7 million viewers”
The Los Angeles Times – “‘Jay Leno Show’ stays on familiar ground”

Speaking to CNN recently, Leno spoke about getting rid of the traditional desk setup and replacing it with a conversation area – he said “”it’s fun being able to change that up a little bit”. CNN says “much of the action takes place outside his new studio, including celebrities racing electric cars on a track built for the show”.

Late Show UK – Guest Listings – The Jay Leno Show
CNN – “Jay Leno ready for prime time”

The new show will feature celebrity guests every weeknight as The Tonight Show With Jay Leno used to, but The Jay Leno Show will focus more on comedy and other features rather than interviews. Features such as Headlines and Jaywalking from The Tonight Show also return in this new show.

Guests have been confirmed for the first week of shows: On the opening show on Monday 14th September, Jerry Seinfeld will make an appearance, and Jay-Z with Rihanna & Kanye West will provide the music. Tom Cruise will be the guest on the second show on Tuesday 15th September – Tom will take part in the new “10 at 10″ feature on the programme, where Jay makes 10pm house calls to people.

On Wednesday 16th September Robin Williams will be a guest, and Miley Cyrus will appear for the “10 at 10″ feature. Halle Berry will be the guest on Thursday 17th September with music from Eric Clapton with Bruce Hornsby. Drew Barrymore and comedian Jim Norton will close the first week on the Friday.

Keep up to date with all the latest guest listings for The Jay Leno Show – click here.

Leno grabbed Seinfeld for a quick chat at the Laguna Seca Raceway ahead of his interview on The Jay Leno Show in September – click here to watch that (may not work on your UK connection).

NBC.com – “Jerry Seinfeld to be the first guest on The Jay Leno Show”
Late Show UK – Guest Listings – The Jay Leno Show

Also, The Philadelphia Inquirer’s TV critic Jonathan Storm reports on NBC’s plans for The Jay Leno Show – which will air 5 nights a week. Click here to read that.

NME – “Kanye West, Jay-Z and Rihanna to perform on ‘Jay Leno Show’ premiere”

The website currently consists of video clips (including behind-the-scenes footage and “best of” clips for The Tonight Show) most of which is restricted to US broadband users only, photos, news, blogs, message boards and more.

A live webcam is available which shows the progress of construction at the studio for The Jay Leno Show. Click here to view the webcam. The NPR website says the webcam’s “the unbearable dullness of zzzz”. 

The NBC website for The Jay Leno Show is available at www.thejaylenoshow.com or through the old Tonight Show URL at www.nbc.com/leno – the old Tonight Show website has been removed.

You can also follow The Jay Leno Show on Twitter and become a fan of the show on Facebook.

It’s been previously said The Jay Leno Show will start on the 14th September, and this has now been confirmed in this fall lineup release. Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday will start on the 17th September.

The Jay Leno Show will be stripped across the week Monday-Friday at 10pm in a one-hour timeslot. Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday will air every Thursday night at 8pm in a 30-minute timeslot.

There are some preview videos for The Jay Leno Show, but they only seem to be available for people in the US.

NBC – Fall Preview 2009/2010

The new show will air on NBC nightly in primetime at 10pm for one hour and it will be taped at the Burbank studio that was used for The Tonight Show With Jay Leno before Leno stopped hosting Tonight last month. Jay has a four year contract for The Jay Leno Show but has the choice to cancel after two years if he wants to.

The Jay Leno Show will be different to The Tonight Show With Jay Leno format and is thought to focus more on comedy rather than interviews, but there will probably still be a couch and a desk (although Jay has said he would prefer there not to be a desk at all).

Some segments will remain from The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on the new show – including Jaywalking and Headlines.

In a short preview of The Jay Leno Show, it’s revealed the show will start with a monologue and end with a new comedy segment, and that Jay will be getting his guests off the couch and participating in the comedy segments. The preview says it will be on air 46 weeks of the year with “more comedy, less murder” at 10pm.

It’s not been confirmed whether any UK television channel has picked up the rights to air The Jay Leno Show when it starts in September.

The Jay Leno Show preview;

If you experience problems viewing the video embedded above, please click here to watch it on the official website for The New York Times.

The first show opened with a video showing Conan getting ready to start The Tonight Show only to realise he forgot one important thing – he forgot to move from New York to Los Angeles where The Tonight Show is filmed. The Tonight Show is housed in a studio in the Universal Studios lot.

In the video, Conan couldn’t hail a cab in NYC so ran from New York to Los Angeles passing through various points across the country on the way – including Las Vegas – but when he arrived in LA he forgot he left his keys in his NYC apartment, so he plowed the door to The Tonight Show studio with a mechanical digger.

Other highlights of the first show included Conan doing a Universal Studios tour in the Universal tour tram, where he took the tram outside of the lot and caused mayhem, and guests Will Ferrell (who arrived in style and even sang a special song for Conan) & Pearl Jam.

Some of his first words on the show were “I think I’ve timed this move perfectly. I’m on a last-place network, I moved to a state that’s bankrupt and The Tonight Show is sponsored by General Motors”.

Something to note about The Tonight Show – it keeps a very similar theme tune to Late Night With Conan O’Brien with some tweaks. Click here to watch the opening titles.

The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien has been a hit in the ratings – Variety says its first week ratings “proved to be even bigger than expected in key demos” and that it “averaged a 2.3 rating in adults 18-49″ which outdid the ratings of CBS’s Late Show With David Letterman. Jimmy Fallon – host of Late Night – saw big ratings for his show on the debut week of The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien. The Tonight Show saw Late Night With Jimmy Fallon get record ratings.

Variety – “O’Brien off and running on ‘Tonight’”
Times Online – “Conan O’Brien makes a hairy start as new ‘Tonight Show’ host”
Official website for The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien

1st June 2009 – Cold opening;

1st June 2009 – Conan at a Lakers game;

1st June 2009 – Joe Biden talking to Judge Sotomayor;

1st June 2009 – Universal Studios tram tour;

1st June 2009 – Will Ferrell interview (Part 1);

1st June 2009 – Will Ferrell interview (Part 2);

The Making Of The Cold Open;

If you experience problems watching the videos embedded above please go to www.nbc.com/conan and watch the videos there.

The guests on the final episode of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno were new host Conan O’Brien and musician James Taylor.

Jay’s new 10pm weeknight show called The Jay Leno Show begins later this year on NBC.

Watch the Conan interview (two parts);

If you can’t play the embedded videos above, please click here to watch them on the official website.