The Inside Word on 'Conan' From Writer Brian Kiley

As a writer on 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien,' Brian Kiley used to share an office with the Masturbating Bear. It was disconcerting, he told us, to try write monologue jokes while sitting across the desk from a guy in a bear suit wearing a diaper.

Times have changed for Kiley and the Masturbating Bear. First, O'Brien moved from 'Late Night' to 'The Tonight Show,' bringing Kiley, but not the Bear, with him. Then Conan was dumped from 'The Tonight Show' in a controversial move by NBC, and he and his staff found themselves homeless, just months after hauling their entire operation across the country from New York to California.

But now Conan is back on TBS with a new late night show simply titled 'Conan,' and Kiley is, too.

And so is the Masturbating Bear, although Kiley isn't sure the Bear will get legal clearance to appear on the show. "He's right here," said Kiley, speaking by phone from his office at Team Coco headquarters. "He's still wearing the costume, which I think is odd. I don't know he types with those claws."

So what will be different about Conan on TBS?

"It'll be basic cable, so there'll be a lot more nudity," Kiley promised. "Wait until you see this monologue."

When we said Conan's monologue might not be where the audience wants to see nudity, Kiley replied, "Wait'll you see the band. That's even worse."

Joking aside, the new 'Conan' won't be a radical departure for longtime fans. The sense of humor hasn't changed, but the boundaries have shifted.

"'The Tonight Show' already had this history, and there were certain expectations of what 'The Tonight Show' is supposed to be," Kiley said. "This show, there's no kind of legacy here. We're not following anybody. It's whatever we want it to be. It's really whatever Conan wants it to be."

'Conan' will probably have a lot more in common with 'Late Night' than 'The Tonight Show.' "I think this show, his monologue will be longer than the old 'Late Night' show but not as long as 'The Tonight Show,'" Kiley explained. "I think there'll be more comedy packed in before the first commercial. I think we'll have more comedy than the old 'Late Night' show, and hopefully retaining some of the loose, fun atmosphere."

The new show will also run four nights a week, Monday through Thursday, a change from 'The Tonight Show' and the last couple of years of 'Late Night.' The day off will be spent producing more material. "That gives us a day to just prepare stuff," Kiley said, "and we can send Conan out somewhere with a camera crew and shoot a remote that you can't do on show days just because of the time constraints."

And as far as Kiley's officemate? "We could certainly bring in another character to masturbate," he joked. "We don't want to be hamstrung with just the Bear."