Attention “Team Coco.” Your wait is over. Conan is heading to TBS.
That is the official announcement from former THE TONIGHT SHOW host Conan O’Brien, who will return to late night television in the fall on the TBS Network. “In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable,” Conan said in a statement. “My plan is working perfectly.” He then tweeted: “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.”
The currently untitled one-hour show will debut in November at 11pm EST with a Monday through Thursday schedule. Conan will be bumping to midnight George Lopez’ show LOPEZ TONIGHT which currently airs in the 11pm time slot. Conan’s move provides a surprise ending to a late-night shuffle that began with Jay Leno recouping THE TONIGHT SHOW at 11:35pm and forcing O’Brien out as host after only seven months.
Conan was widely expected to move his late night show to Fox, but his shift to TBS should immediately raise the network’s profile. “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.” Conan reportedly entered whirlwind negotiations last week after a surprise call from Koonin. Conan was offered a show at 11 p.m. weeknights, but immediately said: “You guys already have an 11 p.m. show.” The network assured him all had been worked out and George Lopez even called and asked him to join the 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.” Noting that Conan O’Brien supporters are affectionately referred to as “Team Coco,” George Lopez has already invented a new twist on O’Brien joining him on TBS, calling their new partnership “TEAM LO-CO.”
Fox had originally expressed a strong interest in O’Brien spearheading the network’s presence in the crowded late-night field. But most affiliates currently air lucrative syndicated programs during the 11pm hour and feared a change would be too risky and a possible loss of profit. Rupert Murdoch, the head of Fox’s parent company said that Fox TV executives needed to show and be fairly confident of making a profit for the network to hire O’Brien. But in the end and following low ratings for Conan on NBC, the network decided to pass on entering the late night talk shows with Conan as their man, paving the way for TBS to seize the moment. Already, TBS is promoting Conan with this promo:
