conan

Let me preface this post by saying that, as most readers of this blog know, I've been an unabashed Conan supporter for years. I went to see him on tour, and was excited as hell to see him come back to TV on TBS. And, I'm pretty much in agreement with my esteemed colleague Mo Ryan: Monday's premiere of 'Conan' was way too conventional, but last night's Hanks-aided episode was a lot better.

But, I've got to be honest: once the newness of Conan being on at 11 wears off, chances are that my show of choice at that time is going to be the same as it has been for at least the last eight years: I'll be watching 'The Daily Show.'

Why? Well, there are a couple of reasons, but the main one can be summed up in one word: relevancy.

Not surprisingly, the second outing of 'Conan' was much better than the first.

As I wrote here, in Conan O'Brien's unimpressive TBS debut, he was straining to conform to the well-established rules of a typical late-night talk show. It was all about making the trains run on time, but Conan works much better when he doesn't have to watch the clock.

Of course Conan's chat with Tom Hanks killed. But Tuesday's pre-taped segment with a TBS censor was just as enjoyable.

Now that Conan O'Brien has a new talk show, 'Lopez Tonight' has moved to a different starting time (weeknights, 12AM ET on TBS). 'Lopez' is now more of a late late night experience. In honor of the show's new schedule, actor Jamie Foxx appeared, got George Lopez a little drunk, and then started talking about drugs.

Foxx celebrated the "after hours" time slot by having Lopez do some shots of booze. Once the pair was a little tipsy, Jamie shifted the conversation to the topic of Proposition 19 -- the attempt to legalize marijuana under California law.

The actor discussed his own prodigious pot consumption, then advanced a novel theory -- that Barack Obama is stoned all the time.

Conan O'Brien has a new talk show, a new studio -- and a new backdrop behind his desk. Tonight, friend-of-the-show Tom Hanks appeared for the second-ever episode of 'Conan' (weeknights, 11PM ET on TBS). And Mr. Hanks learned to his wet sorrow that Conan's new backdrop has extra-magical powers.

Hanks and Conan are good pals -- in fact, Tom gave O'Brien the nickname "Coco." But apparently the host isn't a big fan of the moniker. Conan quipped to Mr. Hanks that the whole "Coco" thing had "ruined" his life. The guest made this joke in response: "Finally, he'll blame something on someone other than Jay [Leno]!"

But a little later on, Conan had his revenge. While showing off his new backdrop, O'Brien pointed out that humpback whales were suddenly swimming in the "ocean" behind them. It was true; thanks to the magic of "blue screen" technology, miniature whales had appeared.

Everyone expected Conan O'Brien's return to television to be a big deal, but we're not even sure TBS could have predicted it would be this huge.

'Conan' premiered to 4.2 million viewers, scoring a 2.5 in the coveted adults 18-49 demographic and a 2.8 household rating, according to a TBS press release -- meaning Coco officially beat Jay Leno in last night's ratings.

In fact, O'Brien handily outperformed all of his late night competition -- 'The Tonight Show' scored a 2.7 household rating (3.5 million) while 'Late Show' came in at 2.5 (3.4 million) and 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' at 1.7. He also landed ahead of 'Lie to Me' (1.8), 'The Event' (1.8) and the entire NBC primetime lineup last night in the demo.

'The Daily Show' was a distant 1.5 (1.3 million viewers), with 'The Colbert Report' scoring a 1.1 (1 million). These figures are based on Nielsen's 56 metered markets and could shift once national figures are in, but 'Conan' is still expected to be the late-night leader -- for this Monday, at least.

It's been a rough year for Conan O'Brien. First, he got his dream job hosting 'The Tonight Show.' But after giving "Coco" the job, the "suits" at NBC changed their minds. Based on lower ratings, they wanted Conan to move into a new time-slot -- to accommodate rival Jay Leno.

O'Brien refused -- the rest is history. The host either quit or was fired (depending on who you believe). After eight months, his time on 'Tonight Show' was done. But you can't keep a good comic down. Now, Coco is back ... on basic cable. And on the premiere of 'Conan' (weeknights, 11PM ET on TBS), he peered back into the tragic past.

All the turmoil and all those Twitter frenzies... for that?

Given a chance to reinvent himself on basic cable, Conan O'Brien offered up a standard-issue late-night show on Monday's 'Conan' debut.

He kept his post-'Tonight Show' beard, and he has a fancy new (and very blue) set. But despite the nervous energy of the host, much of 'Conan' felt very predictable. There was little of the surreal, weird or goofy humor that so endeared Conan to his loyal audience.

Let's face it, there are a lot of people out there who can interview nervous starlets. Conan O'Brien doesn't need to be one of them.

You might not have heard yet, but Conan O'Brien premieres his new show tonight.

For the uninformed -- by the way, welcome back from that rock you've been hiding under -- the first episode of 'Conan' debuts tonight at 11PM ET on TBS with guests Seth Rogen, Lea Michele, the first guest poll winner and musical guest Jack White. But what about the other guys?

After the jump, we list the celebs who are making the non-'Conan' talk show rounds this evening.

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.

Countdown to 'Conan': Get ready for Conan O'Brien's TBS talk show debut on Nov. 8

For TBS, a golden opportunity has arisen. With Conan's new show premiering tonight, the network is in prime shape to compete with cable powerhouses TNT, USA and SyFy for a stake in the weeknight original programming race. Specifically, the 10PM slot, which will determine the eventual lead-in ratings for 'Conan' after the initial hype wears down.

However, adding new programming isn't as simple as you think. Adding a standard sitcom or sketch show just won't do. What will be needed is programming just as quirky and absurdist as the gangly O'Brien in order to draw in and keep the audience for not only his program but for 'Lopez Tonight,' which will be taking the midnight spot.

Conan - Monday November 8, 12AM ET/PT, Comedy

Finally, the red-headed phoenix rises from the ashes of that NBC debacle, taking his rightful place on your late-night screen. Conan O'Brien's first week of guests includes Seth Rogen, Jack White, Tom Hanks, Jon Hamm, and Canadian Jon Dore. There was initially some talk of having Coco on earlier up here in Canada, with initial releases claiming he'd be on at 11PM, but alas with 'The Daily Show's historic takeover of the top late night spot, why mess with success? (Jon Stewart airs at 11PM on CTV affiliates in Canada.)

Conan O'Brien's hiatus between 'The Tonight Show' and Nov. 8th's premiere of 'Conan' has left a distinctly large, tall void in television. Sure, we miss O'Brien's smart, absurdist wit. However, we are referring to programming's complete absence of red hair styled into a ridiculously high wave with a flip at the end.

The late-night host's haircut is a punchline by itself. O'Brien often flips and shakes it to tag monologue jokes. He jokingly apologized for it at the end of his infamous written statement about his future on 'The Tonight Show:' "Have a great day and, for the record, I am truly sorry about my hair; it's always been that way." (We're not sorry for it! Conan made our top TV redheads list.)

The great red hairdo has been missed. It is one of the few truly distinct cuts on television. How many actors, hosts or reality stars pop into your head when you think hair? A few for sure, but nowhere near the number 20 years ago – back in the '80s when crazy hairstyles defined a person.

As we welcome Conan back into our late night TV schedules, we also welcome him back into TV's club of distinct on-air hair.

No doubt Conan O'Brien has a team of a highly paid advisors telling him what he should and shouldn't do with his new late-night show 'Conan,' which premieres 11PM ET Monday on TBS.

But what kind of television critic would I be if I didn't offer unsolicited advice? And hey, Conan's pretty smart, but he could use a few reminders about what has worked for him in the past and what we want to see more of in the future.

Therefore here are my humbly submitted Dos and Don'ts for 'Conan':

Ever since Conan O'Brien's stint as host of 'The Tonight Show' ended in January, he's been busy. Yes, he mounted a 30-city tour, took to Twitter and created a new TBS show from scratch. But he's also been very busy growing his facial hair, sporting a beard since shortly after his version of 'Tonight' ended.

Conan's grown a beard before, of course; during the writers' strike in 2008, he grew a beard as a sign of solidarity to his striking writers. It looked pretty good, to be honest, and I was disappointed when he decided to shave it after the strike was over.

But this time around, the beard looks like it's here to stay. No only has Conan maintained the beard throughout the tour, he continues to keep it going during all of the TBS promos and billboards, his webisodes and the super-fast 'Show Zero.' He even wore the beard during his surprise appearance on 'Lopez Tonight' last night.

So, here's the $64 question: When 'Conan' starts on November 8, will Conan come out with a beard? And will he keep it? More beard talk, and a poll where you can weigh in on the matter, is after the jump.

Conan O'Brien is back! And he's on ... basic cable. O'Brien's new series 'Conan' won't debut until November 8th, but tonight, he tested out his new digs on TBS -- by making a surprise appearance on the set of 'Lopez Tonight' (weeknights, 11PM ET on TBS).

The red-haired comic was greeted with loud cheers and applause. "I never heard basic cable get shrieks of excitement [before,]" he quipped. Famously, Conan previously feuded with rival Jay Leno -- who left 'The Tonight Show,' then supposedly "stole" the show back from O'Brien.

There are still a lot of lingering bad memories from the Conan/Leno late night wars. But now, O'Brien is on the same network as George Lopez. Maybe "Conan vs. Lopez" could be the new angry battleground for talk show supremacy.