Jay Leno’s Garage dropped from CNBC’s lineup following accident

In a rather cold bit of news, CNBC has decided not to renew Jay Leno’s Garage for their primetime schedule, according to Deadline. CNBC’s newly appointed president, KC Sullivan, chose not to renew the show as they plan to continue with predominantly business-related reality shows in their lineup for the primetime schedule, such as Shark Tank and Undercover Boss.

The timing is rough, as Leno had recently suffered facial burns from an accident involving gasoline spraying in his face while working on 1907 White Steam Car. “I was underneath it, trying to unclog it, and so I said, blow some air through the line. then suddenly I got a face full of gas and then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire.” Leno was hospitalized for his injuries but was also cleared after spending ten days at the hospital, which included skin graft surgeries.

Leno’s burn accident came in November, but the former host of The Tonight Show host revealed he also suffered a motorcycle accident earlier this month which resulted in a broken collarbone, two broken ribs, and two cracked kneecaps. One could assume he maybe needed time off to recover anyway; however, this move by the network doesn’t seem to be related to the incident.

Jay Leno’s Garage would start off as a special in 2014, but then became a series afterward as he brought in celebrity guests with each episode as he showcased a different model of car.

Now 72, Jay Leno has had a career spanning more than four decades. First doing standup on The Tonight Show in 1977, Leno would later go on to replace Johnny Carson from 1992-2009. In a controversial move, he would then replace his own successor, Conan O’Brien, from 2010-2014. Noted gearhead Leno’s most prolific outing since leaving the late night stage has been Jay Leno’s Garage, which has the following summary: “From classics to supercars, restoration projects to road tests, Jay Leno’s Garage is the place where Jay shares his passion for all things automotive.” The seventh season concluded just two weeks before Leno’s accident.

Jay Leno has a reported 180 cars in his collection, most housed in a person 140,000 square foot garage.