Michaels predicts O'Brien will bounce back

NEW YORK, March 3 (UPI) -- Canadian-born TV producer Lorne Michaels said he thinks Conan O'Brien will bounce back from his recent ousting as host of "The Tonight Show."

Michaels was an executive producer of "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," the chat series O'Brien headlined before briefly taking over "Tonight."

The Hollywood Reporter quoted Michaels as saying he hired O'Brien for "Late Show" because he is "very smart," "just brilliant" and had an "amazing character."

Michaels reportedly further noted O'Brien prevailed after some early struggles to establish himself.

"And I'm sure he will again," added Michaels, who was speaking at "Live From New York," a discussion led Tuesday night by the New Yorker magazine's Ken Auletta with Michaels and his "Saturday Night Live" head writer Seth Meyers.

NBC booted Jay Leno as host of "Tonight" at the end of last season and gave the position to Conan O'Brien to keep O'Brien from moving to another network. NBC then offered Leno a nightly, hour-long, 10 p.m. series.

But when the prime time "Jay Leno Show" failed to be a strong lead-in for local news broadcasts, NBC announced it would push Leno's show back to 11:35 p.m., shorten it to 30 minutes and air "Tonight" at 12:05 a.m. However, O'Brien said he would not remain on "Tonight" if it was bumped to 12:05 a.m. and left the network, paving the way for Leno's return this week as "Tonight" host in the traditional 11:35 p.m. slot.