Jay Leno Show to begin Sept. 14

Jay Leno said goodbye to late night and his new prime-time show will debut on Sept. 14, one-week before the official fall season starts.

NBC had hinted at the pre-season launch but made it official on Tuesday.

The "Jay Leno Show" will debut Monday, Sept. 14 at 10 p.m. EST. The prime-time hour long program will air on weeknights.

According to a Variety.com article, "Peacock execs said they'll take advantage of the season bow of 'Sunday Night Football' the previous night to help promote the show. The week of Sept. 14 will also include the summer finale of 'America's Got Talent' as well as the season launch of 'The Biggest Loser,' both of which the net believes will give Leno a boost.'"

In addition, NBC has implied that the network might schedule the premieres of its Thursday night comedies that week as well but no decisions have been made.

Leno's 17-year run as the host of "The Tonight Show" came to a close on Friday. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" premiered May 25, 1992. He took over the reins for Johnny Carson who had hosted the show for 30 years.

On Monday, Conan O'Brien took over for Leno as the host of "The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien."

O'Brien was born in Massachusetts and attended Harvard University where he graduated magna cum laude. He then moved to Los Angeles where he began as a writer for HBO's "Not Necessarily the News." O'Brien's later television credits include writing for "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons."