Late-night rivals Jimmy Fallon and Craig Ferguson are filled with the Christmas spirit. They even sent each other gifts.

At the end of the monologue on NBC’s “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” the New York-based host showed viewers a photo of the present he had sent to Ferguson — a “beautiful, top-notch Christmas sweater” (in Fallon’s words) accented with both his face and Ferguson’s against a Christmas ornament.

“He’s over at CBS in L.A. and I know how cold it gets at night there,” Fallon explained.

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Conan O'Brien, right, and Andy Richter perform during the debut of his new TBS show "Conan" on Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. (AP photo)

NEW YORK (AP) — Conan O’Brien relaunched his TV career on Monday night with a stylishly back-to-basics hour that radiated hard-won lessons from his brief stay hosting “The Tonight Show.”

With his new TBS show titled simply “Conan,” O’Brien seemed appealingly stoked yet comfortable in his new home at 11 p.m. ET and on basic cable, originating from a sleek, cozy set with a full moon poised on a seaside backdrop.

If there were very few surprises on the premiere, well, how could there have been after the incessant online hype and all the press attention showered on his much-anticipated return? Besides, O’Brien was back with his longtime sidekick Andy Richter and most of his trusty house band members, now led by Jimmy Vivino (and renamed The Basic Cable Band).

Even O’Brien’s post-”Tonight Show” beard seems familiar by now.

But what’s important is, the show lived up to its promises. As promised, it was looser, quirkier, more like “Late Night,” where O’Brien thrived for nearly 16 years, than the mainstream “Tonight Show,” where he didn’t.
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You may have heard that Conan O’Brien’s show on TBS debuts Monday. (May have? It’s only blanketing the internet! Oh… sorry!)

Anyway, American Express decided to spend a little money for a new ad running concurrently with the premiere — giving the tall redheaded host $1 million and shooting it in India.

The good news is that it’s pretty darn funny:

(Link courtesy the Wall Street Journal, via Fark.)

Conan O’Brien is ready to reach out and touch the audience in his cozy new studio — if the lawyers don’t stop him.

O’Brien says he wanted an intimate atmosphere for his late-night TBS show, which launches 11 p.m. EST Monday. At NBC’s “Tonight Show,” he was given a large studio that held more than 300 people. For “Conan,” O’Brien is holding court in a smaller, 250-seat house and will stand about a dozen feet away from the audience during his opening monologue.

“I really want to be able to walk over and touch people, which probably I’m going to get in trouble for. I’m finding out through my lawyers that not everybody likes that,” O’Brien joked.

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Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake are the hottest duo in hip-hop — for the moment.

They performed a medley of rap hits on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” Wednesday night, and the clip is becoming a viral hit.

Fallon and Timberlake started off with Sugarhill Gang’s classic “Rapper’s Delight” and then performed jams from artists including the Beastie Boys, the Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z and Eminem.

Fallon, 36, said he’s surprised by the success of the skit.

“We never know what’s going to viral or get picked up, and this one’s beyond what we thought it would do,” he said Thursday in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

(See the clip after the jump.)
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Jay Leno's numbers are worse in many respects than Conan O'Brien's at this time last year. (Leno photo Olivier Douliery/Getty Images; O'Brien photo Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Jay Leno is finding out right now that no one’s really doing too well in late night anymore.

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno is currently doing worse among adults 18-49 than his ousted predecessor, Conan O’Brien, did last year at this time.

In fact, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Leno’s summer ratings are the worst for The Tonight Show on record.

That said, Leno is still doing better than his top rival, CBS’ Late Show With David Letterman, by 22 percent, the Reporter wrote.

The former television producer who tried to blackmail David Letterman over the comedian’s office affairs has been freed from a New York City jail.

City Department of Correction records show Robert “Joe” Halderman was released Thursday. He served four months of his six-month sentence and got time off for good behavior.

The former CBS News producer admitted he demanded $2 million in hush money last fall to keep from revealing personal information about Letterman. The case spurred the “Late Show” host to reveal on-air that he’d had sex with women on his staff.

Halderman’s lawyer says his client is glad to put jail behind him and is looking for work. Meanwhile, he has to complete 1,000 hours of community service.

There’s Madonna, Oprah and now … “Conan.”

Conan O’Brien took the simple approach Wednesday in announcing the name of his new talk show on TBS.

“Conan” will kick off Nov. 8.

He posted a YouTube video announcing the show’s name to his fans. He scrawled the name on a white sheet of paper using a black marking pen.

O’Brien has finished a comedy concert tour. He was nominated for an Emmy Award for his short-lived stint as NBC “Tonight” show host that ended amid much drama in January, but lost to Jon Stewart and Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show.”

Larry King, who interviewed statesmen and stars from a prime-time perch at CNN for 25 years but has faded in ratings and influence lately, said Tuesday that he will step down this fall from his nightly show.
“It’s time to hang up my nightly suspenders,” King said in a message sent to fans via Twitter.

King said he will do occasional specials for CNN. He marked his 25th anniversary on the air this month and takes pride in a Guinness Book of World Records citation for hosting the longest-running show on the same network in the same time slot.

The longtime radio host was a pioneer in cable television. From the first show where he interviewed then-New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, King’s desk was considered a valued spot for anyone interested in talking to the nation. King’s interview style was plain-spoken and critics would suggest occasionally ill-prepared, but he was good at making his guests feel comfortable.
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