NEWSIt's Official: Jimmy Fallon to Replace Conan
May 12 2008, Published 10:00 a.m. ET
After months of rumors, NBC has finally confirmed what everyone already knew -- Jimmy Fallon will assume Conan O'Brien's Late Night post next year.
"He is a handpicked talent, part of the NBC family already," NBC entertainment chief Ben Silverman said Monday during a press conference of the former Saturday Night Live cast member's star pedigree.
Jimmy is expected to take over the Late Night reins from Conan sometime in 2009 when the redheaded comedian jets to Los Angeles to replace Jay Leno on The Tonight Show.
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"It's a comedian's dream to get his job, to work with writers and try to be funny every night," Jimmy said. "It's going to be a grind, it's going to be hard, but I'm going to go at it full force," "The fact that I'm stepping into David Letterman and Conan O'Brien's shoes is very exciting."
The 33-year-old comedian shot to fame during his six-year stint on SNL. He left in 2004 to pursue a film career, which was met with modest success. Conan has hosted Late Night since 1993, replacing David after he jumped ship to CBS for The Late Show. As for Jay, he has been the face of the most coveted late-night TV gig since 1992, following Johnny Carson's resignation.
