As Conan settles in to his first week on the air at TBS, his ratings continue to settle ... down.

The comedian's trimphant return to late night Monday drew a healthy 4.2 million viewers, but by Thursday night that number was cut in half.

The good news: Conan continues to play well to the desirable 18-34 demographic, consistently drawing younger eyeballs to TBS than his competitors on the broadcast networks.

"Conan is a big hit among young viewers, with a median age that is more than two…

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Tags: Conan O'Brien, Daily Show, david letterman, Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, TBS, Tonight Show

David Letterman has had no shortage of run-ins with celebrities over the years, but his latest incident managed to startle the usually unflappable Rachael Ray. Viewers will have to tune into The Late Show Friday night to see exactly what Dave was talking about on his Tuesday show.

Letterman apologized Tuesday for his behavior during the pre-taping of the Late Show hour that will air on Friday. Ray was a guest, on to promote her latest project, when Letterman reportedly began complaining about the culture of wasteful eating promoted by some of the shows that air on the Food Network, during a time when hunger is on the rise in America. While he did not personally attack Ray, who remained polite throughout, she was so puzzled by the display that her publicist contacted Letterman on Tuesday to ask if he was upset with her.

Letterman took some time on Tuesday's show to explain what had happened and what his thought process had been. "I'm explaining to her about how there's no point going on a diet, because this culture will beat you out of a diet," he said, continuing, "then there's these food shows like Cupcake Wars ... fifty million people are starving in this country, they go to bed hungry, but before they doze off, let's watch Cupcake Wars." Letterman said his frustration was prompted by his belief that hunger is a problem that can be easily solved.

Of course, The Late Show is still a comedy program, and Letterman offered his typical negative assessment of himself as he related the incident. "No, I'm not mad at Rachael, I'm just nuts," he stated before going on to joke about the problem of children in America who have no TV shows while Ray has a dozen.

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Tags: Apologizes, Arts, david letterman, Interview, Late Show with David Letterman, Letterman, rachael ray, Television

Now I've never been a fan of Conan O'Brien or the Late Night talk shows but you'd have to have been living under a rock not to sense his place in the late night pecking order. So it is with much ambivalence that I pass along the news that the poofy-haired O'Brien has decided to part company with The "Tonight Show"

The "Tonight Show" host says very clearly that he does not want to do the show at 12:05 a.m. ET, following a half-hour Jay Leno show, in the statement he just released.

He says he will not go along with moving "The Tonight Show" back half an hour, because to do so would mean participating in "what I honestly believe is its destruction."

Here is his full statement:

People of Earth:

In the last few days, I’ve been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I’ve been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I’ve been absurdly lucky. That said, I’ve been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.

Six years ago, I signed a contract with NBC to take over The Tonight Show in June of 2009. Like a lot of us, I grew up watching Johnny Carson every night and the chance to one day sit in that chair has meant everything to me. I worked long and hard to get that opportunity, passed up far more lucrative offers, and since 2004 I have spent literally hundreds of hours thinking of ways to extend the franchise long into the future. It was my mistaken belief that, like my predecessor, I would have the benefit of some time and, just as important, some degree of ratings support from the prime-time schedule. Building a lasting audience at 11:30 is impossible without both.

But sadly, we were never given that chance. After only seven months, with my Tonight Show in its infancy, NBC has decided to react to their terrible difficulties in prime-time by making a change in their long-established late night schedule.

Last Thursday, NBC executives told me they intended to move the Tonight Show to 12:05 to accommodate the Jay Leno Show at 11:35. For 60 years the Tonight Show has aired immediately following the late local news. I sincerely believe that delaying the Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn’t the Tonight Show. Also, if I accept this move I will be knocking the Late Night show, which I inherited from David Letterman and passed on to Jimmy Fallon, out of its long-held time slot. That would hurt the other NBC franchise that I love, and it would be unfair to Jimmy.

So it has come to this: I cannot express in words how much I enjoy hosting this program and what an enormous personal disappointment it is for me to consider losing it. My staff and I have worked unbelievably hard and we are very proud of our contribution to the legacy of The Tonight Show. But I cannot participate in what I honestly believe is its destruction. Some people will make the argument that with DVRs and the Internet a time slot doesn’t matter. But with the Tonight Show, I believe nothing could matter more.

There has been speculation about my going to another network but, to set the record straight, I currently have no other offer and honestly have no idea what happens next. My hope is that NBC and I can resolve this quickly so that my staff, crew, and I can do a show we can be proud of, for a company that values our work.

Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it’s always been that way.

Yours,

Conan

I won't lose any sleep over this (pun intended) but hey, share your thoughts!

Tags: Conan O'Brien, david letterman, Jay Leno, Jimmy Fallon, Johnny Carson, NBC, Tonight Show

I'll save the topic of how much of a scandal a celebrity's sexual dalliances really are for another post. OK, who am I kidding, it'd be a pretty short post.

For THIS post, I'll express the hope that Dick Wolf and Co. can make the biggest NON-story of the year even remotely more interesting than the real thing was. Shouldn't be too hard.

The Daily Show's Canadian funny girl Samantha Bee will play the celebrity and I hope they let her unleash at least a little bit of that great wry wit that I love so much about her. Oh and just to keep things interesting, Samanatha's character will apparently be having her affairs with other women in her office.

Shooting begins next week and plans are for it to air in January.

Tags: Alana De La Garza, david letterman, Law & Order, law and order, The Daily Show