Is Conan Happy For Jimmy Fallon?

It's no secret that the late night talk show game can get... complicated. Some would say wrought. It happens: From the continuing failure of network television to give those positions to anyone who's not a white dude, to, well, the NBC catastrophe a few years back when they very quickly (and loudly) fired Conan O'Brien from his Tonight Show gig to usher a fatigued Jay Leno back into the spot. It can get messy. But turns out, sometimes it can be sweet, too. Like when O'Brien congratulated Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon on their respective late night gigs. No matter the complications therein, it's a nice move.

"As the only man alive who’s hosted The Tonight Show & Late Night," O'Brien tweeted early Monday morning, "I want to congratulate @JimmyFallon & @SethMeyers. They’ll both do great!"

O'Brien obviously has a rather unique perspective on the world in late night television, and it's one that could have easily soured any person. It's not a surprise, really, that O'Brien would publicly congratulate Meyers and Fallon — The Tonight Show premieres tonight and O'Brien's been publicly genial for the vast majority of his time in the spotlight — but still, it shows some class in a less than classy atmosphere. It's also a reminder of how fleeting gigs like this can be, and how much pressure lies on the shoulders of the people serving as the face of the shows.

Also, it reminds me of the remarks O'Brien made in his last ever episode of The Tonight Show:

All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism — it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard, and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.

Luckily for us all, Jimmy Fallon seems to be one of the least cynical people on the planet.