Conan is a late-night talk show airing each Monday through Thursday on TBS in the United States. The hour-long show premiered on November 8, 2010, and is hosted by writer, comedian and performer Conan O'Brien.
Describing itself as a traditional late-night talk show, Conan draws its comedy from recent news stories, political figures and prominent celebrities, as well as aspects of the show itself. The show typically opens with a monologue from Conan O'Brien relating to recent headlines and frequently features exchanges with his sidekick, Andy Richter, and members of the audience. The next segment is devoted to a celebrity interview, with guests ranging from actors and musicians to media personalities and political figures. The show then closes with either a musical or comedy performance.
On TBS, Conan airs Monday through Thursday beginning at 11:00 p.m. eastern time. Comedian and actor Andy Richter continues his role as sidekick to O'Brien, and as the show's announcer. Conan's long-time house band continues with the host under the new moniker Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, with Max Weinberg being replaced as bandleader by guitarist Jimmy Vivino and as drummer by regular substitute James Wormworth, both of whom regularly substituted for Weinberg during his brief departures.
On May 14, 2014, TBS renewed the show through 2018.[2]
Episode format
Conan follows the established six-piece format used during O'Brien's tenure as host of The Tonight Show and Late Night, as well as numerous other talk shows across various networks. Each episode of Conan is 60 minutes in length, including commercials,[3] and typically features two celebrity interviews and a following musical performance or stand-up comedy act.[4] Guests come from a wide range of cultural sources, and include actors, musicians, authors, athletes and political figures.[citation needed] Taping of each episode begins at 4:30 p.m. PST, which usually follows a rehearsal, lasting from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m.[5]
Opening titles
The show opens with Richter introducing O'Brien, The Basic Cable Band, as well as that night's guests. Originally, each episode of Conan had a title, unlike most late-night talk shows, which Richter announces at the end of the opening sequence. The titles were in the style of old fashioned murder-mystery radio shows, television sitcoms, or other assorted jokes. The episode titles were dropped in early 2014.
The title sequence was designed by Rob Ashe, a designer who had previously worked on Conan's Legally Prohibited tour, along with Dan Dome and Eric McGilloway, who worked as lead editor and motion graphics designer, respectively, for The Tonight Show.[6] There were several different variations of the opening credits, with the final product being inspired by graphic designer Saul Bass. The opening design process was described by Ashe as utilizing "organic-looking textures made of construction paper, soak them in soda, and light them in Photoshop."[6]
Monologue
O'Brien opens each episode with a monologue drawing from current news stories and issues. The monologue is sometimes accompanied by clips and brief comedy skits,[7] in addition to occasional interactions between O'Brien and Richter, and the audience.
One or more comedy bits follow the monologue. Following the monologue, some comedy bits (such as those based on video clips) are presented from the monologue stage. Following the first commercial break, additional comedy sketches are typically presented from the desk area. Some sketches are original and appear only once. Occasionally an additional sketch will air between the first and second guest.
On September 27, 2004, NBC officially declared that Conan O'Brien, then host of Late Night with Conan O'Brien would take over as host of The Tonight Show in 2009, replacing Jay Leno, after a seventeen-year run. O'Brien had insisted that if he were not given Leno's job in five years, he would leave the network at that point. On the following night's Tonight Show, Leno explained that the network had, in an unprecedented move, fired him effective five years in the future and that he wanted to avoid the hardship that he had experienced in his competition with David Letterman over who would take over the show after Johnny Carson retired; Leno also said O'Brien was "certainly the most deserving person for the job."[8] In 2008, however, several reports emerged that Leno, still the ratings champion in the timeslot, was rethinking his departure plans.[9] Speculation was put to an end when it was announced he would instead host a new prime-time variety show on NBC entitled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. from September 14, 2009, until the show's cancellation on February 9, 2010.[10] On January 7, 2010, multiple media outlets reported that beginning March 1, 2010, Jay Leno would move from his 10 p.m. weeknight time slot to 11:35 p.m., due to pressure from affiliates, for a thirty-minute show. NBC also cited Conan's poor ratings against David Letterman as being responsible for the timeslot change, though it was widely speculated[11] that Conan's numbers were down as a result of Jay's poor lead-in[12] despite O'Brien's ratings having fallen months before Leno began his prime time show. O'Brien's contract stipulated that NBC could move the show back to 12:05 a.m. without penalty, though the stipulation was mainly to be used for the limited run late-night NBC Sports recap shows for Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, rather than a permanent relocation, leaving him with no apparent recourse other than resignation.[13][14]
After two weeks of negotiations, on January 21, 2010, it was announced that Conan O'Brien had signed a $45 million deal to leave the network.[15][16] As part of the agreement with NBC, O'Brien was prohibited from performing on the Internet, television or radio until September 1, 2010. O'Brien was also prohibited from making negative comments about the situation, NBC or Leno during this period. It was also expected that certain intellectual property including characters, comedy pieces or bits that O'Brien created during his time at NBC would become the property of NBC, therefore prohibiting his use of them in the future at TBS. However, NBC Universal TV Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin stated that while those conversations have yet to take place, he stated that they "wish Conan the best."[17] By 2013, however, many of O'Brien's old sketches have been seen again in some way or another on his new show without any repercussions from NBC. [citation needed]
Following his departure from NBC, O'Brien created a Twitter account through which to explore new comedic media. On March 11, 2010, O'Brien announced via his Twitter account that he would embark on a 30-city live tour, entitled The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.[18] Many locations sold out within hours of the announcement, and additional shows were added on to meet demand. The tour began on April 12, 2010 in Eugene, Oregon, and ended on June 14, 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia.[19] It incorporated many elements from his tenure hosting Late Night and The Tonight Show, and included video bits, comic performers, and cameo appearances by celebrities. O'Brien joked about the legal constraints placed on him by NBC, for example having to rename the Masturbating Bear, the "Self-Pleasuring Panda", in order to avoid a lawsuit.[20] O'Brien also performed music throughout the show, including the disco hit "I Will Survive" and a personal parody of "On the Road Again".[20] Comedian Reggie Watts appeared on the tour as the opening act for O'Brien.[21]
TBS announcement
Conan O'Brien at a supporter rally held outside TBS headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia in June 2010.
Shortly before his tour began, O'Brien announced that he had signed a deal with cable network TBS to host a talk show on their late-night lineup, beginning in November 2010. Before the deal was announced, O'Brien initially had reservations about the move, as it would place comedian George Lopez's show, Lopez Tonight, one hour later to midnight, effectively doing to Lopez what NBC had wanted to do with O'Brien. However, Lopez reportedly called O'Brien and expressed his excitement about the move.[22] Lopez went on to state, "I can't think of anything better than doing my show with Conan as my lead-in [...] It's the beginning of a new era in late-night comedy."[23] In an official press release by Turner Broadcasting, it stated that O'Brien had only begun negotiations a week prior to the official announcement of the show.[23] Steve Koonin, President of Turner Entertainment Networks, went on to comment of the announcement, "Conan has been the comedic voice for a generation. 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."[23]
In his own statement about the deal, O'Brien stated, "In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly."[23][24] O'Brien's production company, Conaco, reportedly owns all rights to the show.[25] In addition to the announcement of the television series, TBS also announced a one-hour TBS Special, featuring several writers for Conan, as well as comedian Reggie Watts, who participated in O'Brien's Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour.[26] The show was broadcast on June 27, 2010, leading up to the beginning of Conan in early-November.[26] Additionally, in preparation for the show, a 24-hour "Live-Coco Cam" was set up on October 20, 2010,[27] and featured various characters and staff members of Conan, including Richie Rosenberg, otherwise known as "LaBamba,"[28] as well as a short online broadcast from O'Brien's office entitled "Show Zero" on November 1, 2010. The show featured O'Brien as host, and was accompanied by Andy Richter, as well as Jerry Vivino, a member of the Basic Cable Band. The broadcast hosted several guests, including actor Jim Parsons and indie rock band Steel Train, and lasted a total of four minutes, and 51 seconds.[29]
Weeks before the premiere, an orange Conan blimp was introduced to further promote the show. Designed by Blue Sky, an Atlanta firm,[30] the dirigible provided aerial footage for 2010 Major League Baseball postseason games airing on TBS. It has since been incorporated into sketches on Conan, including a running gag where the blimp would follow actor Gary Busey around southern California, much to his chagrin.[31]
Reviews of the premiere episode by television critics were positive, calling it "a looser, quirkier take on a late-night talk show, but still a late-night talk show."[32] James Poniewozik of Time found the episode to be enjoyable, and compared it to O'Brien's tenure during Late Night. Itzkoff went on to state, "The message, overall [...] is that Conan the show is not so much about a reinvention of the talk show form as a restoration of Conan. He was doing something he wanted to do, a late-night talk show, and NBC made him stop doing it." He also praised the opening monologue, and Conan's performance with Jack White during the episode's conclusion.[32] Frazier Moore of the Associated Press went on to call the episode "a stylishly back-to-basics hour that radiated hard-won lessons from his brief stay hosting The Tonight Show," in addition to admiring O'Brien's "appealingly stoked yet comfortable" appearance on the show.[37] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly also appreciated the Masturbating Bear cameo, and went on to call the show "pleasant, if a bit underwhelming."[38] Less positive assessments of the show included Tom Gliatto of People, who accused the show of being a "modest, lowkey and slightly awkward affair."[39]
March 4, 2015: Conan in Cuba, taped in Havana.[44] With relations between the United States and Cuba improving, O'Brien and a film crew went to Havana for four days around the weekend of February 14–15[45][46] to tape segments for an episode. This is not a regular live-to-tape show featuring celebrity guests, with Conan focusing on normal life for citizens of the country by visiting a cigar factory and learning the rumba while improvising his own material.[47] The episode marks the first time an American late-night talk show has filmed in Cuba since Jack Paar interviewed Fidel Castro on The Tonight Show in 1959.[48]
In overnight Nielsen Ratings, the series premiere of Conan drew 4,100,000 viewers, leading all late-night talk shows, more than tripling the audience of its direct competition, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report on Comedy Central. In the 18-49 demographic, Conan drew a 2.5 rating and 3,285,000 viewers. It was also watched by 2,451,000 adults in the 18-34 demographic.[49] Ratings throughout the rest of the week fell, and ended with over 2.02 million viewers on Thursday, November 11, 2010. The fourth episode still led every talk show in the 18-34 and 18-49 demographics, however, delivering 980,000 adults and 1,361,000 adults respectively.[50] The median viewer age for the first week of shows was projected to be at 32,[50] significantly younger than that of The Tonight Show and CBS's Late Show .[51] The show also premiered in Canada, on The Comedy Network at midnight, drawing 171,000 viewers, and the repeat broadcast at 1 AM on CTV drew 302,000 viewers.[52]
During O'Brien's second week, ratings remained somewhat consistent, and peaked on November 16, 2010, with 1.84 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings.[53] The week would go on to average 1.7 million viewers, and earn an average rating of 1.0 in the 18-49 demographic.[53] During the week of December 13–17, 2010, Conan has fallen behind in the weekly overnight Nielsen Ratings, averaging only 1.3 million viewers, compared to NBC's The Tonight Show (4.2 million), CBS's Late Show (3.6 million), ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! (1.6 million), and Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (1.6 million).[54]
In January 2011, Michael Wright, head of programming of TBS, said the show was "landing right about where we expected it to. At this number, Conan will run as long as he wants it to."[55]
For the month of June 2011, Conan fell for the first time to fourth among U.S. late-night cable talk shows, behind The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Chelsea Handler's Chelsea Lately; Conan attracted an average of 743,000 total viewers, compared with 808,000 viewers for Chelsea Lately.[56] Among viewers 18-to-49, O'Brien averaged 503,000 viewers vs. Handler's 559,000.[56]
Following the cancellation of Lopez Tonight, Steve Koonin of Turner Entertainment stated he "could not be happier with Conan as a show or Conan O'Brien and Team Coco as people and an organization," going on to say that "what Conan has already won is the absolute [embrace] of young people."[57]
In August 2011, TBS secured the cable syndication rights to The Big Bang Theory at a reported $4 million per episode to serve as a lead-in to Conan three nights a week. "[O'Brien's] program is the signature show of our line-up and the centerpiece of our network," Koonin said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.[58]
In March 2012, it was revealed that Conan draws more Hispanic viewers than any other late night program.[59]
On May 14, 2014, TBS renewed the show through 2018.[2]
For January—October 2013, Conan attracted $67.4 million in advertising for an audience that is the youngest compared with seven late-night shows on CBS, NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, and E!.[60] Viewership in 2013 was 808,000, down from 914,000 in 2012.[60]Conan does well in ratings among low income inner city viewers.[60] As a result many of the show's advertisers often use Conan as a bridge to reach them.[60]
Production
Conan tapes at Stage 15 on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California.
O'Brien has made explicit that the staff has made an effort thus far to not to reuse any of the previous Late Night or Tonight Show sketches although noted this was sometimes difficult and they were unsure if some sketches were going to work.[63] However he stated in the past, such as in an interview with Larry King during his last week on CNN, that he possibly would bring back certain bits in time. Indeed, O'Brien has brought back several skits and characters he and his writers created on NBC, even if used less frequently than in the past. These characters and bits include The Masturbating Bear, Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, Celebrity Survey, Clutch Cargo interviews, and an update on the "Late Night" sketch If They Mated called If They Melded.
Prior to the show's airing, interviews with O'Brien and Richter indicated that the show would more closely represent Late Night than Tonight in regards to content and material, meaning that edgier or questionable content excised as a result of the move to the earlier time slot will no longer be an issue at TBS. On the July 12, 2010 episode of Marc Maron's WTFpodcast, Andy Richter said that they no longer have to "worry about living up to a respected franchise", and that on The Tonight Show certain sketches "that just felt too 12:30" would be cut and how "it'll be nice to not have to worry about that anymore". During an appearance at the 2010 San Francisco Sketch Comedy Festival, O'Brien told the audience he was "no longer interested in 'broadening' the audience or trying to reach everybody of all ages," further implying the content will not be toned-down. As the show is on cable, fewer restrictions will apply to the show in regards to explicit content, such as swearing and racier material.
On September 1, 2010, O'Brien officially announced via a YouTube video that the new show's title was simply Conan. Conan as the title required the consent of Conan Properties International, the owners of the Conan the Barbarian franchise, including a "Conan" trademark covering certain types of TV series.[64]
Conan in production on Stage 15.
Prior to the show's broadcast, it was stated that the set for the show, designed by the same designer of Conan's previous sets, John Shaffner, would be inspired by The Legally Prohibited Tour, adopting more of a "theatre" appearance than the previous shows. Shaffner commented on the choice of the show's chair, stating, "You find one that you like and then you build it yourself to make it a little shallower and a little more upright and the cushion a little firmer [...] But not too firm or every time the guest sits down they’ll say, 'Oooh this is a hard chair.'"[65] The rest of the set has been described as being "filled with warm wood tones and electric blue screens," and has been compared to the set of his most recent stint on The Tonight Show.[66] The new set features several differences, however, including a remote-controlled moon, and the backdrop being transformed into a giant blue ocean.[66] Additionally, Andy Richter, who remained behind a lectern during The Tonight Show's seven-month run, now joins O'Brien during celebrity interviews on the main set.[66]
Conan O'Brien's longtime band, originally known as The Max Weinberg 7, then The Tonight Show Band, and later as the Legally Prohibited Band, serve as the Conan house band, and are fronted by longtime guitarist Jimmy Vivino.[67][68] The band also consists of Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg on trombone, Scott Healy on keyboard, Mike Merritt on bass guitar, Mark Pender on trumpet and Jerry Vivino on woodwinds. When the group moved to Los Angeles to play for The Tonight Show, they added an eighth member, James Wormworth, on percussion. Max Weinberg, who had served as O'Brien's bandleader and drummer since 1993, does not appear on the new program.[67][68] Weinberg was not a part of the Legally Prohibited Tour, and remained vague throughout most of 2010 about the possibility of his participation in the new TBS show.[69] Weinberg's decision was influenced by a combination of a major heart surgery he had in February 2010, and the fact that his family never left their native New Jersey, even during the Tonight Show period, both issues that he kept private until an October 2010 interview.[70] Percussionist James Wormworth, who often acted as Weinberg's on-air substitute, serves as the band's permanent drummer.[67][68]
Following Weinberg's exit, O'Brien sought to revamp the show's title theme song. In an interview with New York Magazine, O'Brien expressed his desire to create a new introduction from the previous Late Night and Tonight compositions, which were used for O'Brien's entire 17-year relationship with NBC, and ultimately unveil a new signature sound for the show. The new theme song was co-written by bandleader Jimmy Vivino, and O'Brien himself. Despite no obvious copyright issues to continue using the previous theme, which was written by Howard Shore and John Lurie, O'Brien stated of the transition to a new composition, "it just felt like the right thing to do [...] There's this feeling of, 'Let's try and build something new.' I came out to that theme for seventeen years and it does feel like, you know what? Let's try some new stuff. Let's try and change it up."[71] However, the closing theme from his previous NBC shows was retained in a slightly altered form.
"Finland Wants Conan" demonstrative gathering in Helsinki, Finland. Finnish fans wanted to see Conan's new show air in Finland.
In Australia, the program now airs on GO!, a multichannel of the Nine Network from August 2012 following the 2012 Olympic Games. Originally it was intended to screen within 12 hours after its original U.S. broadcast at 11:30pm weeknights,[76] however GO! will now screen the program approximately 36 hours later, beginning on Wednesday, November 10, meaning the program will also air on Saturday nights. The Comedy Channel which aired the previous versions of Conan's shows announced it would not air the program as the Nine Network had exclusive rights to Time Warner programs. Between November 2010 to July 2012, Conan was aired on GEM.
From November 8, 2010 to August 30, 2013, the program aired in Canada on cable channel The Comedy Network on Monday to Thursday nights (Tuesday to Friday mornings) at midnight ET/PT, with a repeat on broadcast network CTV at 1:07 a.m. local time. The program was only initially announced for CTV, leading to some concern about the unusually late time slot, two hours after its airing in the United States for viewers in the Eastern Time Zone (the program airs on CTV Atlantic at 1:05 a.m. AT / 12:05 a.m. ET). This is due to local and national newscasts in the 11:00 p.m. hour, and CTV's commitments to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart at 12:05 a.m. and The Colbert Report at 12:35 a.m.[77] CTV executives later said the program would likely air earlier on The Comedy Network, which is owned by CTV.[77] However, that channel also had a conflict, since it has long aired both Daily and Colbert during the 11:00 p.m. ET hour, simulcasting the Comedy Central feed.
The Comedy Network then attempted to move up both programs to 10:00 p.m. ET beginning in September 2010, presumably to make room for Conan at 11:00; however, there were intermittent "technical difficulties" with getting the shows in time for the earlier airing, particularly for a series of special live Daily episodes in late October, which meant re-runs were aired in their place. After viewer complaints about the missed episodes, Comedy elected to move both shows back to their previous timeslots, meaning that Conan was rescheduled on that channel to midnight, on a one-hour delay from TBS.[78] On September 3, 2013, Much Music began broadcasting the program every Monday to Thursday at 11 p.m. ET (8 p.m. Pacific),[79] though it was moved back to its time-delayed midnight airing the following month. The repeat on CTV now airs at 1:37 a.m. after Late Night with Seth Meyers. On September 3, 2014, the program began airing on Much at 12:30 a.m. after @midnight.
Selling rights to a Canadian channel was necessary, since TBS ceased being available in Canada in October 2007. The local Atlanta station through which Canadian cable subscribers had previously received TBS programming then adopted a distinct schedule as WPCH-TV. Some speculated that WPCH might pick up the program anyway, since the revamped station continues to air some of the same syndicated series as TBS, but WPCH later indicated explicitly that it had no plans to broadcast the new O'Brien program.[80]
In the UK and Ireland the show airs on the channel truTV since its launch in August, 2014. It airs Tuesdays to Fridays at 1am.
The show will be aired in Indonesia on FX & NET. It will be aired Monday on FX, while NET will be aired sometime later.
