After retiring from "The Late Night Show," Jay Leno is making a TV comeback, reports Entertainment Weekly.
"This show will be about anything that rolls, explodes and makes noise," said Leno about his new program "Jay Leno's Garage," in a statement. "We hope to highlight the passion and the stories behind the men and women who made the automobile the greatest invention of the 20th century."
CNBC has announced that the show based on Leno's Emmy-winning web series is slated to premiere in 2015.
"Jay will add tremendous star power and exceptional content to CNBC's prime time at the perfect time," said CNBC president Mark Hoffman about Leno's return. "We're really excited Jay will continue his storied career with the NBC family and with us at CNBC." (quote via CBS News)
Meanwhile, in an interview with "Access Hollywood" host Billy Bush, Leno opened up about his decision to maintain the ban on the late Joan Rivers on the "Tonight Show."
Answering why he kept the ban on Rivers, Leno said it was out of respect for his predecessor Johnny Carson, who had a feud with the late actress. "I don't think he wanted to see her on the show and that's why we didn't do it," he explained.
He admitted things got awkward as time passed but maintained the decision was not personal.
"Joan was sort of going on and on about me, and I thought, 'Let's let the ground lie fallow for a while and see what happens,' but she always kind of kept it going," he said. "And I like Joan. I mean that was the first autograph I ever got was Joan Rivers. I'm a comedian, I went to see her at the Chateau De Ville in Framingham and we were friends, and by then it just got to be awkward and we just never did it."
