Carson Daly Exits NBC ‘Last Call’

Carson Daly has announced that he will be exiting Last Call, the last night series he has hosted on NBC for 17 years.

According to EW, the network explained that Last Call was not canceled but rather Daly has “decided to step away” from the show “to concentrate on his duties as host of the Orange Room on Today, as host and producer on The Voice and to spend more time with his family.”

Daly went on to release his own statement, expressing his gratitude for the many years he spent doing Last Call and explaining that he already has other plans for the future.

“If you had told me in 2002 I would be a part of the historic NBC late-night family for 17 years, I would have said you were crazy,” Daly said. “Hard to believe it’s been so long – 2,000 episodes. It’s time to move on to something new and let someone else have access to this incredible platform.”

“My 20’s was about finding a good job. My 30’s was about taking on as many of them as I could. Now, in my 40’s, I’m focused on quality over quantity,” he continued, “I’m forever grateful and proud to all who have worked with us at Last Call over the years. So many have gone on to achieve incredible success.”

“I’m very excited to fulfill other areas I’m passionate about within our company. The Golf Channel has always been a favorite of mine and we have a few exciting things in the works. I look forward to building on that,” Daly added. “I could have all the jobs in the world, but none of them are more important to me than that of Dad. My family will always remain my top priority and greatest gig.”

Last Call premiered on NBC in 2002, and was initially filmed in a standard late-night talk show format. Eventually, Daly and the producers overhauled the show’s structure and created a late-night series that was vastly different from any other one. It featured interviews on-sight at places such as bars and restaurants rather than in a studio and took its cameras to concerts to capture musical performances.

At this time, neither NBC nor Daly appear to have announced when his final episode will air or if Last Call will be taken over by another host, but NBC has confirmed that they will reveal their plans for the 1:35 a.m. ET time slot soon.