A new front is about to open in the late-night war between Conan O’Brien and Jay Leno: the battle for Emmy love.
While probably a longshot, there’s at least the possibility that the TV Academy this summer could end up nominating NBC’s "The Tonight Show" twice in the outstanding variety, music or comedy series category — once for "The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien" and again for "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (version 2.0).
John Leverence, the Academy’s senior VP for awards, confirmed to TheWrap Wednesday that both versions of "Tonight" will be eligible for nomination. The questions now are: Does either show stand a shot of getting nominated, and how will the Emmy campaigns for both unfold?
On the latter front, it’s typically a show’s production studio that leads the charge for both Emmy nominations and, later, for the actual award.