“Late Night” Signs Jimmy Fallon

After years of speculation about Conan O’Brien’s successor on NBC’s “Late Night,” it appears we finally have a winner.

According to MovieWeb, it looks like former “Saturday Night Live” star Jimmy Fallon will be replacing the redheaded comedian as host of “Late Night.” The plan is for Fallon to take over just as O’Brien replaces Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show” in 2009. And while this news comes from a Fox News report, NBC is expected to make it official either May 11 or 12, as they announce their fall lineup.

Interestingly, there’s also talk that Leno may jump to ABC and secure the timeslot currently held by ABC’s “Nightline.” In turn, Jimmy Kimmel’s show would move to a later time.

Despite some rumors that Leno isn’t happy with leaving the show, which he has denied, this series of events is much calmer than the ‘late night wars’ of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when Leno and David Letterman fought for the hosting job on “The Tonight Show.”–Chris Sardelli