Conan O'Brien is going to TBS.
"In three months I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed to basic cable," O'Brien said in a statement. "My plan is working perfectly."
A formal announcement is expected at 1 p.m. ET.
Check out photos of Conan through the years
The currently untitled one-hour show will debut in November at 11/10c after the World Series, and will air Monday through Thursday. It will be followed by George Lopez's Lopez Tonight, which currently airs in the timeslot and has averaged more than 1.2 million viewers for its first season.
O'Brien's move marks a surprising end to a late-night shuffle that started with Jay Leno's return to the 11:35 p.m. slot on NBC and continued with O'Brien bowing out of hosting the Tonight Show after only seven months.
He was widely expected to go to Fox, and his shift to TBS dramatically raises the network's profile.
Conan O'Brien says goodbye to Tonight Show
"Conan has been the comedic voice for a generation," said Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks. "TBS already has a huge audience of young comedy lovers, and Conan's show will give these fans even more reasons to watch our network. For decades, late-night TV has been dominated by broadcast television. Now, with a young audience and a growing late-night lineup, TBS is set to be the choice of comedy fans for years to come."
O'Brien, 46, entered negotiations with the network last week after Lopez called and asked him to join TBS' late-night lineup. "I can't think of anything better than doing my show with Conan as my lead-in," Lopez said in a statement. "It's the beginning of a new era in late-night comedy."
Fox had expressed interest in recruiting O'Brien to stake its place in the crowded late-night field, but most affiliates currently air syndicated programs in the 11 p.m. hour.
NBC dumps Conan in $45 million deal; reinstates Leno as Tonight host
Rupert Murdoch, the head of Fox's parent company News Corp., told The Wall Street Journal in February that Fox TV executives Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly would have to "show us we can do it and be fairly confident of making a profit" for the network to hire O'Brien.
O'Brien, who hosted Late Night for 16 years, started The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien — his dream job — on June 1. He drew lower numbers than his predecessor, Leno, in part because The Jay Leno Show provided a weaker lead-in than the 10 p.m. programming it replaced.
In January, NBC concocted a plan to move Leno back to 11:35 with a half-hour show, to be followed by O'Brien at 12:05 a.m. O'Brien chose to leave The Tonight Show, saying that walking away was "the hardest thing I have ever had to do."
Live on stage: Conan hitting the road for live comedy tour
Under the terms of his $45 million exit deal, O'Brien is obligated to remain off the air until September. He has since kept busy on Twitter and planning his live comedy tour, Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, which kicks off Monday in Eugene, Ore.
"In three months I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed to basic cable," O'Brien said in a statement. "My plan is working perfectly."
Even Fallon was better than that.
Another reason for his hipster fans not to watch his show, then complain that he doesn't get a better job lololInstead of being happy that gets to do a job he wants apparently they are more concerned they might get caught watching TBS by one of their hipster friends and deemed uncool.
Conan tweeted about this
"The good news: I will be doing a show on TBS starting in November! The bad news: I'll be playing Rudy on the all new Cosby Show."
:lol
this is somehow more emasculating than having to move Late Night to 12:00.
Sort of related to Stoney's point, but it's funny how Conan was given the image of a rebel simply due to the circumstances, and how moving to TBS completely fizzles that image.
This is good in one way, he has a niche audience, the pressure to expand beyond that niche audience will be far less on basic cable.
This is good in one way, he has a niche audience, the pressure to expand beyond that niche audience will be far less on basic cable.
Honestly agreed.
He probably got a lot of money thrown at him.
TBS has a large viewing audience for basic cable.
He has enough name clout that he will still be able to pull relatively big guests.
He probably won't get any interference from TBS execs.
If your simply a fan of his and not into pontificating or about status or into caring about more peopl being into the same thing you are to validate your taste then its probably the best move if you enjoyed his show in the past.
Guys, please keep in mind that TBS is the station that shows Family Guy reruns like around the clock and is home of The George Lopez Show.The articles I am reading keep saying the George Lopez show gets good ratings. :lol
Conan lost.
Guys, please keep in mind that TBS is the station that shows Family Guy reruns like around the clock and is home of The George Lopez Show.The articles I am reading keep saying the George Lopez show gets good ratings. :lol
Conan lost.
Guys, please keep in mind that TBS is the station that shows Family Guy reruns like around the clock and is home of The George Lopez Show.
Conan lost.
Guys, please keep in mind that TBS is the station that shows Family Guy reruns like around the clock and is home of The George Lopez Show.
Conan lost.
It doesn't matter what he sold, PD. No one is saying Conan sucks. Just that his network does. :spin
It doesn't matter what he sold, PD. No one is saying Conan sucks. Just that his network does. :spinWhy does it matter what you think of the programming of TBS is though? TBS has nothing to do with this show. They gave him complete ownership of it. He will be filming and doing the show completely separate from TBS, TBS will just put it on the air. Much like how Letterman does his show where his own company does everything and CBS just broadcasts it.
:bowIt doesn't matter what he sold, PD. No one is saying Conan sucks. Just that his network does. :spin
You miss the point. Just as record sales don't matter, networks don't matter either as long as the product is of quality
Be honest, most of you motherfuckers won't be regular viewers anyway. Tons of people jumped on the SAVE COCO bandwagon after contributing to his downfall in the first place -- i.e., not bothering to watch his show when it mattered, when he needed the ratings. I'm admitting right now I'll probably watch the first or second episode and then forget about Conan, like the majority of the American viewing public.
A lot of showbiz reporters got it wrong about where Conan would land. They were fixated on Fox and assumed he would only go to a network. But the fact is that, from the very beginning, Team Conan (including his exec producer Jeff Ross, and WME's Rick Rosen and Ari Emanuel, and manager Gavin Palone), were thinking way outside the network box. For instance, there were discussions with Microsoft about an XBox deal for Conan's show that would have broken new ground. And yes, discussions took place with Fox. "But TBS was far more aggressive from the very beginning. They wooed him hard," one insider tells me. "And Conan was incredibly impressed by executives there." Team Conan also liked the strong lead-in of Family Guy and The Office, as well as the prospect that on cable he could have "more freedom to be creatively more exciting," a source tells me. "And then George [Lopez] called Conan and convinced him to do it."
It doesn't matter what he sold, PD. No one is saying Conan sucks. Just that his network does. :spin
You miss the point. Just as record sales don't matter, networks don't matter either as long as the product is of quality
And there in lies your issue, you don't enjoy Conan as much as some people. It has nothing to do with the networks or how much he is paid or his ratings, you just don't like his show or late night in general.
Also I do hope him given full control and the freedom of cable means he will mess with the general night show structure a bit.
Exactly. Which is why he was kicked off NBC in the first place. Because even his so-called fans for the most part didn't support him when it mattered, and are now acting like he is some underdog god of television just because it's the cool thing to do.
And there in lies your issue, you don't enjoy Conan as much as some people. It has nothing to do with the networks or how much he is paid or his ratings, you just don't like his show or late night in general.
Also I do hope him given full control and the freedom of cable means he will mess with the general night show structure a bit.
Exactly. Which is why he was kicked off NBC in the first place. Because even his so-called fans for the most part didn't support him when it mattered, and are now acting like he is some underdog god of television just because it's the cool thing to do.
There's someone who doesn't think this is a downgrade? He should have just taken the NBC 12am slot.Content wise it would be a downgrade compared to his TBS deal. He didn't have "final cut" as it were at NBC, he does at TBS. Not to mention TBS is giving him more money than NBC did.
There's someone who doesn't think this is a downgrade? He should have just taken the NBC 12am slot.
P.S. I'd watch this over the Daily Show more often than not.
Since when is a higher budget and more creative control a downgrade?There's someone who doesn't think this is a downgrade? He should have just taken the NBC 12am slot.
Exactly :bow
Fuck, you can't even laugh at the absurdity of it without a legion of fake Conan fanboys jumping down your neck anymore.
Where is all the I'M WITH CARSON t-shirts and shit at? :spin
Since when is a higher budget and more creative control a downgrade?There's someone who doesn't think this is a downgrade? He should have just taken the NBC 12am slot.
Exactly :bow
Fuck, you can't even laugh at the absurdity of it without a legion of fake Conan fanboys jumping down your neck anymore.
Fox offered him less money than NBC gave him and no ownership over the program much like at NBC. Should he have taken it just because Fox is a more "prestigious" network? He took the deal that results ina higher quality show.more money. Period.
Since when is a higher budget and more creative control a downgrade?There's someone who doesn't think this is a downgrade? He should have just taken the NBC 12am slot.
Exactly :bow
Fuck, you can't even laugh at the absurdity of it without a legion of fake Conan fanboys jumping down your neck anymore.
Fox offered him less money than NBC gave him and no ownership over the program much like at NBC. Should he have taken it just because Fox is a more "prestigious" network? He took the deal that results ina higher quality show.more money. Period.
::)
I'm bowing out of this thread, some of you are being fucking ridiculous. Again, no one is saying the show will suck. They are saying this is a downgrade, which it is, and that TBS sucks. How you can even debate that is beyond me. I didn't know I lived in a world where people gave a fuck about TBS; oh wait, no they don't. They only pretend to because Conan is moving there.
Since when is a higher budget and more creative control a downgrade?There's someone who doesn't think this is a downgrade? He should have just taken the NBC 12am slot.
Exactly :bow
Fuck, you can't even laugh at the absurdity of it without a legion of fake Conan fanboys jumping down your neck anymore.
Fox offered him less money than NBC gave him and no ownership over the program much like at NBC. Should he have taken it just because Fox is a more "prestigious" network? He took the deal that results ina higher quality show.more money. Period.
Full ownership = better show. Conan has proved time and time again he is at his best when he is unrestrained.
In terms of his career, it's a downgrade. End of story.I don't disagree with any of those points, its just all that matters to me as a fan is better material and full control is more likely to result in that than the deal Fox was putting forth.
As a fan, you can argue that it might result in better material - but the bottom line is that he is moving from the The Tonight Show to basic cable.
In terms of his career, it's a downgrade. End of story.
As a fan, you can argue that it might result in better material - but the bottom line is that he is moving from the The Tonight Show to basic cable.
Yep. Downgrade in prestigious of the show and channel but arguably it will be a far funnier show. :bowIn terms of his career, it's a downgrade. End of story.
As a fan, you can argue that it might result in better material - but the bottom line is that he is moving from the The Tonight Show to basic cable.
Willco, telling it like it is :bow
Team Conan also liked the strong lead-in of Family Guy and The Office, as well as the prospect that on cable he could have "more freedom to be creatively more exciting," a source tells us. "And then George [Lopez] called Conan and convinced him to do it."
No one cares if it will be funnier, because no one will be watching. :tbslolI should care what other people watch?
Other people not watching is why Conan got the boot in the first place :teeheeNo one cares if it will be funnier, because no one will be watching. :tbslolI should care what other people watch?
He'll get his usual demographic and then some with this move.
Overall, the budget for O'Brien's TBS show will likely be the same as it would've been at Fox. But since the show will be four days vs. five, it will go further.
So this means on Mondays and Tuesday nights it'll be (Starting at 5:30, if the schedule stays the same) an hour of Friends, half hour of The Office, an hour of Seinfeld, 3 hours of either The Office or Family Guy, then Conan.:lol
Conan is a rich motherfucker, why he didn't just invest in starting an online show like Tom Green is beyond me. He could have done something really special having nobody to answer to.
The only thing worse than TBS is if Conan went to TV Land or Animal Planet. :rofl
You obviously never watched the writer's strike episodesYes thanks to people like me, Conan got the shaft!
The only thing worse than TBS is if Conan went to TV Land or Animal Planet. :rofl:lol
you're terrible :'(
Love Conan, didn't watch him on NBC, won't watch him on TBS. Look forward to new random youtube clips and hope his twitter is maintained because that's the one daily thing I've ever kept up with him on.
... It's cable, Cheebs.It's a major downgrade from NBC and Fox. I will never argue with you there. But it is a far better position than being on adult swim or comedy central or something which a lot of people were hoping for.
Hopefully a big step up. More skits, less shitty celebrities and uncomfortable monologues will make this a winner. Will definitely be watching youtube clips.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/conan-to-join-tbs,17261/
he is the nostradamus of show business, he warned conan that leno would never really let the tonight show go, and as long as were talking about predictions he was off by two weeks on the jim carrey breakup :bow2
:lol @ that intro video