Jerry Seinfeld Takes Sides in the Conan/Leno Debacle

[Brian Damage]

Jerry Seinfeld defended NBC's late-night stumbles and said the network's up-and-back on Conan O'Brien hasn't wounded the talk-show host.

Seinfeld compared "The Jay Leno Show" at 10 p.m. to the vilified AOL/Time Warner deal noting, if you replace "AOL" with "Google" and advance the date to today, suddenly the deal doesn't look too bad.

"It was the right idea at the wrong time," Seinfeld said. "I also think this was the right idea at the wrong time. I'm proud that NBC had the guts to try something."

Asked what he would do if he was Conan O'Brien and NBC had seemingly broken its promise to let him become the network's premium late-night host, Seinfeld said he wouldn't complain.

"What did the network do to him?" Seinfeld asked. "I don't think anyone's preventing people from watching Conan. Once they give you the cameras, it's on you. I can't blame NBC for having to move things around. I hope Conan stays, I think he's terrific. But there's no rules in show business, there's no refs."

Seinfeld was on hand to promote his show "The Marriage Ref," where couples have their disputes solved by a celebrity panel. The show will receive a special preview coming out of the Closing Ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Guests will include Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and Charles Barkley. Critics weren't shown any footage, a scarcity that's been a theme with this project. Though the "Ref" was announced back in May and premieres next month, the network has yet to see a complete episode.

When asked why the show features celebrity panelists instead of experts guiding the couples, Seinfeld quipped, "Because experts are helpful."

http://www.thrfeed.com/2010/01/jerry...ain-about.html

[Schmoopie]

Hmmm. I wonder why there's no mention of the rumor that Jerry is the new Tonight Show host. He seems to have a good attitude about the whole thing. I'm surprisingly excited about this "Marriage Ref" thing and the fact that it's being premired after the Olympics makes me anxious to see it. It's bound to be at least a little funny!