“Walking away from the Tonight Show is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” said Conan at the close of his run of the Tonight Show, for seven months of zaniness and fun. It was not a moment of punchlines — it was his last to address his staff, his fans, and the company where he spent his career: NBC. “Tonight, I’m allowed to say anything I want,” began Conan, in earnest.

Has watching a man crash through a plate of glass, french kiss a bear and tip over a row of Domino’s pizza guys ever made you misty? It will tonight. Conan O’Brien has delivered his final Tonight Show monologue on his final Tonight Show — and it delivered right back.

It’s — finally — official: Conan O’Brien is leaving NBC. The fifth host of the Tonight Show will have that title until 12:35 a.m. early Saturday morning EST, when his final tonight show will end and he will officially be done at the network.

The price tag for NBC: $40 million-plus.

Jeff Zucker was on Charlie Rose last night, somewhere between Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien on the clock — though clearly not between them in allegiance. Lest anyone think that an 11th hour reprieve for Conan is possible — dressing in orange for rallies can only do so much — It seems clear that Zucker has moved on.

“Hello there, I’m Conan O’Brien and I need all of you to write me a letter of recommendation.” For those who were worried that erstwhile Tonight Show Conan O’Brien‘s late-night hating on NBC was over, those fears were laid to rest by this reassurance at the top: “A lot of papers are now reporting that [...]

I’m no Carnac the Magnificent, but I think it’s safe to say that digital video will be around for some time. And it’s clear that social video sites are not only cutting into the culture of television, but also redefining how TV is watched for the digital generation. In the realm of late-night television, there [...]

Conan O’Brien needs to show that moving the Tonight Show to 12:05 a.m. makes it not the Tonight Show, and hence breaches his contract. The original conception of the show by then-NBC president Pat Weaver — Sigourney’s dad — helps his case.

Numerous new outlets are reporting that Conan O’Brien and NBC are close to a deal confirming his exit from the network — that would leave the way clear for Jay Leno to retake the Tonight Show. It’s been a messy, angry, public late-night battle, and ending it won’t come cheap — reports are that it will cost NBC $30 – $40 million, at least.

Conan O’Brien is done at NBC. That much seems obvious from the scorched-earth shows he’s delivered over the past week — not to mention from the rumors that Jay Leno has re-upped for that 11:35 p.m. spot and Dick Ebersol trashing him in the New York Times. But for those of us who have watched this late-night drama unfold for just over a week, it’s pretty obvious that he’s gone through the various stages of grief — from anger to denial straight through to just not giving a damn.

It’s official: Conan’s bitter.

Tonight, again, Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien‘s monologue was laced with jokes sticking it to NBC — plus the first salvos that seemed intentionally aimed at Jay Leno. Until tonight, Conan’s mentions of Leno himself were benign, instead focusing on NBC’s plans with respect to both their shows — which Leno has echoed emphatically on his own show. Tonight, that ended.

Conan O’Brien is the funniest person I ever interviewed, which puts him atop a list that includes Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Dave Chappelle, Sanjay Gupta, and Lil Kim. Conan is also funnier than his show — and Conan, like Dave, and unlike Jay, probably knows he could be doing better material if he weren’t performing for people who just flossed. But unlike Dave, Conan never seemed calm and in place. Until now.

The news yesterday was that Conan O’Brien was not happy about NBC’s shenanigans. On his own show, he joked about it, zinging NBC with a much lighter touch than Leno, but still. “Welcome to the show everybody,” he greeted the crowd, which seemed to cheer for him extra-long at the start. “We’ve got a great show tonight – I have no idea what time it will air, but it’s gonna be a great show.” Video inside!