'I'm taking over all the shows': Kimmel Hilariously honors Conan's retirement with a dig at Jay Leno

In an act of sharp wit and nod to infamous late-night host rivalries, Jimmy Kimmel used his Thursday monologue to bid adieu to Conan O'Brien, while humorously throwing shade at Jay Leno, as reported by Entertainment Weekly.

"'28 Years of Very Funny Late-night Television'"

It's no secret that Jimmy Kimmel has always been Team Conan, thus his parting words for the beloved redhead were nothing short of poignant and funny. Kimmel congratulated O'Brien on his impressive 28-year stint in late-night television and the wrap-up of his show on TBS.

"We look forward to whatever you have planned next at HBO Max," Kimmel declared, signaling his eagerness to see what's next for O'Brien.

In his typically tongue-in-cheek style, he added, "And I also want to say, congratulations to Jay Leno on his new time slot at TBS."

"'Always Bump Conan': A Nostalgic Feud Flashback"

This wisecrack was a throwback to the well-publicized late-night shuffle between O'Brien, Leno, and NBC over a decade ago. In essence, the jest was a nod to Leno handing over The Tonight Show to O'Brien in 2009, only to return after a series of events led to O'Brien's departure from the show.

Kimmel, a steadfast supporter of O'Brien, had taken advantage of the headline-generating situation at NBC to employ his comedic prowess. In a famous 2010 appearance on Leno's show, Kimmel answered a question about the best prank he ever pulled with, "I told a guy that five years from now I'm going to give you my show, and then when the five years came, I gave it to him, and then I took it back almost instantly."

Further ramping up the comedic tension, Kimmel hosted an entire episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live while dressed as and parodying Jay Leno. His mockery did not stop there, going on to claim that ABC stood for 'Always Bump Conan', stirring more laughs in the audience.

Despite Leno's confession that he felt 'sucker-punched' when Kimmel took jabs at him during the 10@10 segment, it was reported by 60 Minutes in 2014 that NBC had been the one to initially offer O'Brien The Tonight Show gig in 2009, leaving Leno in the dark until later.

Revisiting this late-night feud via Kimmel's teasing salute to Conan not only triggered a wave of nostalgia but also served as a testament to the undying spirit and camaraderie shared among these titans of late-night TV.

Several parts of the text in this article, including the title, were generated with the help of an AI tool.