Jay Leno presented The Tonight Show from 1992 to 2009, then returned briefly in 2010.
Leno became the regular host on May 25, 1992, succeeding Johnny Carson. His version retained the familiar late-night structure of a monologue, celebrity interviews, comedy pieces, and musical guests, and it became one of NBC's most consistently successful programs.
In 2009, Conan O'Brien took over The Tonight Show while Leno moved to a prime-time NBC program. Scheduling and ratings problems led to a major network dispute. Leno returned as host in March 2010, while O'Brien left NBC.
Leno's second tenure lasted until February 2014, when Jimmy Fallon became host. Because the changeover involved two hosts within a short period, summaries often describe Leno's run as 1992–2009 or 1992–2014 depending on whether the return is included.