Hollywood's Least Funny Comics

Questions loom as O'Brien debuts on TBS

(NEWSER) - As Conan O'Brien returns to TV tonight on TBS, 10 months after the fiasco at NBC that ended his tenure as the Tonight Show host, questions abound:

• Perhaps the biggest of those questions is whether or not Conan can take his phenomenal success on Twitter and translate it back into TV ratings, the Los Angeles Times notes.
• Conan isn't directly competing with rival Jay Leno, but his 11pm cable slot pits him against two much more challenging opponents: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, both riding high from their hugely popular Washington rallies, reports the New York Times .

Unless, of course, he wants to appear as the musical guest...

(NEWSER) - Conan O’Brien’s new show debuts Monday, and there’s one person you should never expect to see as a guest: Jay Leno. “No, there are certain things I will not do, regardless of the price,” O’Brien tells Playboy , although he adds that Leno “can come as the musical guest, because that I want to see.” O’Brien adds that his goal for his new show is “eight months on the air. All I want to do is break my Tonight Show record.” More»

New network launches tongue-in-cheek campaign for old network

(NEWSER) - Conan O'Brien's network wants him nominated for an Emmy Award—for a show that aired on another network. TBS, where the late-night host/martyr's latest effort will debut in November, is running "for your consideration" ads touting The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien, which crashed and burned on NBC. "Conan’s great work in 2009 and 2010 deserves Emmy consideration,” Turner Entertainment Networks' president tells Entertainment Weekly —in a statement, so we don't know whether he was able to say it with a straight face. More»

O'Brien came off more whiny than sympathetic

(NEWSER) - Conan O’Brien insisted last night on 60 Minutes that he is fine—“doing great,” in fact. But everything else he said in the “awkward mishap” of an interview made him look more like a sad sack, writes Andrew Wallenstein. Not only did he discuss “his departure in the agonized terms of someone suffering a fatal illness,” O’Brien displayed “zero of the antic charm that makes him such a great comic in late night.” More»

E Street Band drummer won't be moving to TBS with Coco

(NEWSER) - Conan O'Brien is moving to TBS this fall, but Max Weinberg isn't, reports Movieline . The bandleader and drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, who has been with Coco since his late-night debut in 1993, recently approached Jay Leno about replacing the outgoing Kevin Eubanks —but that betrayal isn't the only reason for the ouster. "Now he can play with Springsteen whenever he wants," music insider Al Kooper tells City Pages . More»