Wanda Sykes Show: Working Hard, Hardly Working

Launch a Fox rival? Return to SNL ? Reality TV?

(NEWSER) - NBC's shabby treatment of Conan O'Brien has been a recurring theme of the Jay Leno-centric late-night shuffle, but "he-who-rocks-the-dopest-pompadour-on-TV" has more options than you might think. MTV ponders his options.

• Defect to Fox: The network is apparently interested, and it would be a great way to tick off NBC. But Fox has a terrible track record with late-night talk shows.
• Saturday Night Live: O'Brien's writing tenure at SNL coincided with a memorably strong run for the show, but Tonight Show host to "Cheeto-dusted anonymity" is a major step down.

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 .

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»

Late Show host calls infidelity 'stupid behavior'

(NEWSER) - David Letterman is dead set on repairing his marriage after the infidelity that led to an extortion attempt last year, People reports. Appearing on Live! With Regis and Kelly, Letterman likened the events of last year to "an explosion," saying, "You're looking at the shards and you say, 'Well, can we put this back together?' And by God, maybe you can put it back together. And maybe it won't be the same, but maybe it will be different, and maybe it can even be better in a different way." More»

But O'Brien still keeping his options open

(NEWSER) - After stalling for two weeks, Conan O’Brien’s talks with Fox have resumed, and certain details make it look as if a deal is imminent. Updates, from the Hollywood Reporter :

• Conveniently enough, O’Brien’s comedy tour has a performance scheduled every day between May 13 and 20—except May 17, which just so happens to be the date of Fox’s upfront presentation.
• O’Brien was invited to participate in Fox’s American Idol special “Idol Gives Back” on April 21, but NBC shot that idea down since O’Brien’s settlement does not allow for any TV appearances until May 1.