Conan O'Brien's announcement today was like a gust of fresh air cutting through the stench of NBC's classless late night maneuverings of recent days. Now TMZ -- who broke the story initially -- has another update: With Conan apparently out, the network has offered Leno his old time slot back, along with the original name: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. That's assuming Leno takes it back. One thing is certain: The simmering distaste for the longtime talk show host will now bubble over into bilious resentment and outright hostility, and the bad publicity is almost certain to bring new levels of booking headaches for the new, old Tonight Show. Here's ten people you can be all but certain you'll never see on the show again.
1. Patton Oswalt
Oswalt made his distaste for Leno fairly official on a blistering takedown on Comedy Death-Ray Radio, where he likened the bechinned one to Richard Nixon.
Chances: 100%
2. Norm MacDonald
A longtime Late Night with Conan O'Brien regular, who started on SNL around the same time Conan started broadcasting from 30 Rock. On his final Late Night appearance, he told some incredibly uncomfortable truths about Leno's decades of outfoxing the kings of late night.
3. Will Ferrell
Ferrell's ties to Conan go back as far as when the two worked at The Groundlings in the late '80s, where Lorne Michaels discovered O'Brien and hired him to write for SNL. Ferrell was Conan's first Tonight Show guest.
4. Jim Gaffigan
A staunch Conan loyalist who used to appear alongside the host in Pale Force, an animated series in which they fought crime with their paleness. Gaffigan tweeted today: "I'm on #teamconan Team Conan Please RT"
5. Amy Poehler
Poehler used to play Stacey Richter - the fictional kid sister of co-host Andy Richter - on Late Night.
6. Jack White
The White Stripes and Conan enjoy a close bond, dating back to when O'Brien met them in a Detroit bowling alley after shooting a remote segment with Ted Nugent in the late 1990s. They performed many times on the show, including a four-night residency in April 2003, a Late Night-set, Michel Gondry-directed video for "The Denial Twist," and a final broadcast performance of Conan's favorite tune, "We're Going to Be Friends."
7. Pearl Jam
The rockers were Conan's first Tonight Show musical act. Like Ticketmaster, NBC represents a greedy corporate force, and the band will be an unlikely guest on Leno's show.
8. Jon Stewart
They may have had a staged feud over who gave Mike Huckabee's campaign a "bump," but you can be sure Stewart and Conan's brainy, East Coast-based allegiance will preclude any future appearances on Leno's couch.
9. Bruce Springsteen
Max Weinberg's other Boss would stand by his drummer.
10. William Shatner
The guy who forgot Captain Kirk's name on Conan's couch, and recently got ambushed by Sarah Palin while reading excerpts from her biography on air, would almost certainly stick by his ginger man in the rift.