Are you with Coco? After Conan O’Brien was ousted from NBC’s “Tonight Show,” many speculated that he would head over to the Fox network. But in a surprising move, the comedian is set to debut an hour-long talk show in November on TBS. O’Brien’s new show will be paired with George Lopez’s “Lopez Tonight,” which will be pushed back an hour, to air at midnight.
Analysts are already speculating about how Conan’s move to cable will affect the late-night ratings war. From the New York Times’ Media Decoder blog, Steve Sternberg weighed in via an e-mail message:
I think Turner is a good fit for Conan. His audience might be too small for a broadcast network, but it’s a fiercely loyal audience that should provide more than enough viewers for TBS. He can also maintain more of the edginess that he was known for at 12:30, that had to be diluted for an earlier hour on broadcast.
Since leaving the “Tonight Show” in January, O’Brien hasn’t kept idle. As we reported, the talk show host made plans for a 30-city comedy tour, which will start tonight in Eugene, Ore. The show will feature his sidekick Andy Richter and some of his old band.
“The good news: I will be doing a show on TBS starting in November,” said O’Brien on Twitter. “The bad news: I’ll be playing Rudy on the all new ‘Cosby Show.'”
Will you be watching Conan come November?
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