Carson Daly quitting NBC late-night talk show Last Call

Late-night TV shakeup alert: Carson Daly is stepping down from hosting NBC’s Last Call after 17 years.

According to NBC, the host has “decided to step away” from the series “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.”

“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 in a statement. “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.”

NBC notes that — given Daly’s duties on Today and The Voice — he was working in three television dayparts (morning, primetime and late night).

“My 20’s was about finding a good job,” Daly said. “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 … 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. 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.”

NBC says a new show will be announced shortly to fill Daly’s 1:35 a.m. slot.

Last Call debuted in 2002 and was known for long-form interviews launching new musical artists. The show is rather modestly rated given the ultra-late hour, typically delivering less than a million viewers. With Daly departing and NBC’s other late night hosts, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, continuing, it seems likely that the network will pick a host that adds some diversity to its lineup — if programmers choose to succeed Daly with another talk show.