Start the countdown. Coco’s first show on cable is TBA no more.
Funny man Conan O’Brien will be back on the air beginning Monday, Nov. 8, he announced today at a TBS event at the Hammerstein Theatre in New York City. O’Brien, who took over The Tonight Show after Jay Leno’s initial retirement (and then return to NBC), publicly battled the network after execs asked him to relinquish his time slot back to Leno. After a multi-million dollar settlement, Conan left NBC and The Tonight Show, and was unable to even appear on television, let alone host a show, for a number of months due to a signed agreement with the network.
“The plot to ‘Lost’ is more plausible than my last year at NBC,” he told audience members at the Hammerstein, according to MTV.
He has since taken his show – literally – on the road, headlining a nation-wide tour of jokes, songs and self-deprecating wise cracks – and he didn’t stop there. Last month, he made headlines again when he announced that he signed with cable channel TBS for a late night talk show that will air weekdays at 11 p.m., just before George Lopez’s Lopez Tonight.
“I really believe in cable television,” he said. “I do not want to live in a country with less than five ESPN networks.”
And judging by recent Conanpolooza, viewers don’t want to live in a world without Conan. 173 days to go.