Conan O'Brien Opens on The Tonight Show

Conan O'Brien old Jay Leno that he wished one day that the shoes he had to fill were very small. So far, O'Brien has replaced David Letterman and Jay Leno in two of the most storied positions in the history of television. And if history is any indication, Conan is likely to hold his own and then some over the next few years.

Even though Jay Leno isn't leaving television - or even NBC for that matter - the transition from Jay to Conan was as much about the farewell to Jay as the welcoming of Conan. Now that all of the pageantry is over, Conan will still enjoy at least the next couple weeks of top-notch guests in order to ensure a smooth ratings transition from one host to the next.

And given the fact that Conan was able to establish a loyal viewership in a much more difficult time slot, it's very likely that he will be able to grow his success while in Jay's old time slot.

Conan opened last night with Will Ferrell and Pearl Jam as his headlining guests, with early numbers indicating a 7.1 share - a huge number by any late-night standard. It's important to note that Jay Leno brought down an 8.8 share during his final show last week. Now that Conan has Jay's seat for good, there will be a fairly consistent vigil to compare the success of the two hosts - at least until Jay Leno returns to prime time in September, in an earlier time slot.