Lawyers are still haggling over some wording– but the word from both camps in the matter of NBC v. Coco is that "all the major issues" have been settled and that the divorce is pretty much final.
The final "Tonight" with O’Brien hosting will be Friday, barring some last-second switch.
When will there be an official, "we’ve got a pope" announcement of a deal? It’s possible something could still come out tonight, though it’s 10 p.m. on the east and on the west, NBC pr (and O’Brien’s own PR maven, Leslee Dart) are consumed by the Globes right now. So probably not.
Tomorrow is a better bet. It’ll be interesting to see if NBC and Team Conan pair for a joint release or issue separate announcements.
NBC’s release might well be headlined, "Jay Leno Returns Home to ‘The Tonight Show’." O’Brien, meanwhile, could opt to simply address the matter on his Monday broadcast.
Now, let the speculation begin about where O’Brien heads next. Fox Entertainment chief Peter Rice today issued his strongest signal yet that he’s open to signing O’Brien.
"The developments are still unraveling themselves but we’ve pretty vocal about wanting to be in business with Conan," Rice said Sunday, according to a report in Variety from the TV Critics Assn. press tour. "It’s a bit premature to say where he will be, but first and foremost, it’s about where Conan wants to be."
And don’t look for Conan’s camp to immediately jump into discussions with anyone. O’Brien and his production team will be focused on putting out the best possible shows over the next five days, insiders said, making it tough to focus on anything else.
