'Jay Leno's Garage' Dropped From Primetime After 7 Seasons

Jay Leno's tenure at NBC seems to have finally come to a close on Friday. As part of CNBC's shift away from original programs, the network has canceled Jay Leno's Garage after seven seasons. Despite being able to use Leno's extensive garage of classic cars, the network is shifting to a more business-related reality slate of Shark Tank and Undercover Boss.

Jay Leno's Garage started as a one-off special in 2014, making a jump to full series the following year. Leno's history as host of The Tonight Show, his classic car collection and his connections to major celebrity names all aided the series across its run. The show even got President Joe Biden to appear on the show in 2021, his second appearance on Leno's program.

The decision to cancel the series arrives on the heels of a few nasty accidents for Leno, leaving him sore and hospitalized for the holiday season and new year. Back in November, he was seriously burned in his garage after an accident while working on one of his classic cars. The incident sent Leno to the hospital for nine days, revealing to Today that his face caught fire.

"I was underneath it, trying to unclog it, and so I said, blow some air through the line," Leno told the morning show. "Then suddenly I got a face full of gas and then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire."

This accident was followed by a motorcycle accident earlier in January, which he revealed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. According to the former late-night host, he suffered a broken collar bone, two broken ribs and two cracked kneecaps after a motorcycle accident. Despite the laundry list of injuries, Leno was committed to keeping working and was planning to work this weekend.

Leno's time at NBC stretches back close to thirty years, with several guest-hosting Tonight Show spots before he took over for Johnny Carson in 1992. He would remain in the role officially until 2009, always contending with controversy due to his competition with David Letterman for Carson's spot and his later controversy with Conan O'Brien that saw him move to primetime after stepping aside for the Late Night host to move into the Tonight Show role. This went awry, with Leno landing the role again in 2010 and staying there until finally leaving in 2014. Jimmy Fallon can't rest until Leno is fully out of the NBC family.

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