The Conan O'Brien effect is vast: Ever since the late night host began his fight with Jay Leno for NBC's coveted time-slot, the "I'm With Coco" campaign has taken over Facebook, Twitter, and every other social-networking platform you can think of. O'Brien's own Twitter account made waves went it first went up, and then again last week when he followed his first fan - Sara Killen - who then became a micro-celebrity herself. Now the man behind "I'm With Coco" image has stepped out from behind his Banksy-esque silence to talk about his new-found success as the official designer for Conan's tour posters. (more...)

The rumors were true - Conan O'Brien is going on tour, beginning April 12 in Eugene, Oregon. The news was announced via his Twitter feed this morning, a website has been set up (TeamCoco.com, of course) and more details about what to expect have been revealed. (more...)

video 19-year-old Sarah Killen has become America's most beloved celebrity-for-no-reason since Levi Johnston and this time, the love isn't ironic. Killen, whose life changed dramatically when a bored, unemployed Conan O'Brien decided to follow her on Twitter at random, has been making the internet media rounds since last Friday, answering questions about her wedding, her newfound fame, and all the freebies that came with it. Today she made the jump from the internet to national television, sitting down with CNN's American Morning crew to try to explain why tens of thousands of people now want to be in the know about her life. (more...)

Since Conan O'Brien left as host of The Tonight Show, former sidekick Andy Richter has been laying pretty low. Well good news Team Conan! The affable television start reappeared on our television sets this morning, fitting in quite wonderfully alongside Kelly Ripa as guest host in place of Regis Philbin. Of course, the topic of the late night debacle came up and, shockingly, Richter did not demur. In fact, he sort of gave a remarkably frank, candid and pointed take on the whole mess, and still came out looking good. Video below. (more...)

video Since Conan O'Brien started his Twitter account over a week ago, he's quickly become one of the most popular users on the site, as fans took to the only outlet they can still get their daily CoCo fix from. But though Conan's followers may have been numerous, the talk show host was following no one himself. That is, until yesterday's #followfriday, when a teen named Sarah Killen (Twitter handle: LovelyButton) won the real-life equivalent of Willy Wonka's Golden ticket by being randomly selected as Conan's first Followee. Now she's gone from 3 followers to over 11,000 in less than 24 hours. (more...)

Jay Leno's Tonight Show re-premiere last night, as expected, gave NBC a huge victory over CBS. How big? Here's a breakdown: (more...)

video What was the new, old, new Tonight Show like? Well look, if you like Jay Leno, it was vintage Leno. If you exited the earth for the last few months, you might have been surprised by the studio and the opening, but basically, it was the same show Leno was doing back in May. Here's a look at what you missed if you were boycotting. (more...)

good news We'll probably have more to say about this (ok, we definitely will), but for now, just go and follow: Conan O'Brien is now on Twitter. Bio: "I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account." And he just had his first tweet: (more...)

When Oprah Winfrey announced she was ending her talk show in 2011, the question immediately arose: who's the next Oprah? Some thought Glenn Beck was the prime candidate, while David Letterman and Conan O'Brien lobbied for themselves. According to Brian Stelter the New York Times, however, the most likely Oprah heir already has a daytime show of her own - Ellen DeGeneres. (more...)

video After 95 episodes, the epic failure known as The Jay Leno Show airs its final episode tonight. Of course, Leno himself will be back after the Olympics, comfortably at 11:35pm all over again. Which was pretty much the problem to begin with - the 10pm offering started as a similar product to the Tonight Show, and only became more like the old format as time went on. (more...)

video Conan O'Brien isn't just disappearing from the walls of 30 Rock - he's disappearing from the web too. NBC.com and Hulu.com have worked to make it look like The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien never existed. Also, images from the deconstruction of the Tonight Show set sure to depress Team Conan. (more...)

If the money is right and Conan O'Brien is game, Rupert Murdoch would have him join the Fox family "in a flash." This is the latest in the post-late night war odyssey of finding a new home for the displaced Tonight Show host and his unique brand of comedy. While Murdoch, speaking to Reuters, noted that there have not been any "real negotiations" with the O'Brien camp and that there are "different opinions" on the matter, with the right numbers he did admit he is interested in entering the world of late night entertainment. (more...)

In his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show today, Jay Leno told the host that "NBC could not have handled it worse, from 2004 onward," while being interviewed for the first time about his return to The Tonight Show. Leno went on to say he was "devastated" when NBC honcho Jeff Zucker asked him to pass on The Tonight Show six years ago, and that he told "a little white lie" in sharing his support publicly for Conan O'Brien, according to show notes from the New York Times. Doesn't a "white lie" imply unimportance? Conan circa 2010 might disagree. (more...)

The ripples of NBC's decision to replace Conan O'Brien with Jay Leno — because let's face it, that's what it was — aren't just being felt on the TV schedule. Displays in 30 Rockefeller Plaza will be taken down. The NBC website will have to be scrubbed. And the NBC store will have to figure out just what merchandise featuring the former 17-year late-night staple they can still get away with selling. (more...)

video Besides the revelation in the latest Harris America's Favorite TV Personality poll that Glenn Beck is the 2nd most popular behind Oprah Winfrey, there are some interesting late night implications as well. Specifically, Conan O'Brien (who has been in the news a little recently) winning one of the categories. (more...)

Mediaite's Rachel Sklar was a guest on CNN's "Reliable Sources" with Howard Kurtz to discuss NBC's late night imbroglio, Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show and whether Jay Leno is really the bad guy in all this. With The Wrap's Ray Richmond and the Baltimore Sun's David Zurawik. (more...)

Conan O'Brien's final Tonight Show finished off by showing the longtime seven-months-long host grabbing a guitar, loosening his tie, and positively shredding in an epic closer: Lynrd Skynrd's rock classic "Freebird" featuring his first Tonight Show guest Will Ferrell, complete with pregnant wife Viveca Paulin and cowbell; Ben Harper, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Beck, and Conan's longtime bandleader Max Weinberg on the drums. It was a great moment, with two lines that stick out as appropriate: "I'm as free as a bird now, and a bird you cannot change" seems like it could well be directed at NBC and Dick Ebersol (and Ebersol's "notes" to Conan on how he could "improve" his show) — if anything has shown that Conan's brand of comedy has an audience, it's the response to his departure, not to mention the pretty amazing collection of clips detailing the work he and his team did for his Tonight Show's short run. The second line is this one: "If I leave here tomorrow, will you still remember me?" That one isn't hard.
*There is one little irony here: Prior to the "Freebird" rock-out, Neil Young performed "Long May You Run" — wonder if he was bemused to have been followed up by Skynrd, with whom he had a musical feud back in the day — Young wrote "Southern Man" and Skynrd responded by flipping off Young in "Sweet Home Alabama": "Well I heard Mr. Young sing about it, Well I heard old Neil put 'er down, well I hope Neil Young will remember, Southern Man don't need him around anyhow." Small little note, but I liked it.

If you missed it, here it is, and shall live in perpetuity, thanks to the wonder of the Internet. Starring: Tom Hanks, Neil Young, Steve Carrell, Will Ferrell, Cheap Trick, Andy Richter and, of course — Conan O'Brien. (more...)

"Walking away from the Tonight Show is the hardest thing I've ever had to do," said Conan at the close of his run of the Tonight Show, for seven months of zaniness and fun. It was not a moment of punchlines — it was his last to address his staff, his fans, and the company where he spent his career: NBC. (more...)

Has watching a man crash through a plate of glass, french kiss a bear and tip over a row of Domino's pizza guys ever made you misty? It will tonight. Conan O'Brien has delivered his final Tonight Show monologue on his final Tonight Show — and it delivered right back. (more...)

Sources on Team Conan in L.A. found out two weeks ago that NBC might want to make changes to its late-night schedule — and the flagship program that has anchored the lineup for decades. Yesterday, they officially know that that that flagship program will continue to air at 11:35 p.m. as it always has. They just won't be working there anymore. Tonight is their last night. (more...)

Conan O'Brien signs off The Tonight Show forever tonight, and judging from last night's show, the tone has gotten more sentimental. Conan's show has been at the top of its game recently, and it's true he really got screwed by NBC. But don't feel sorry for Conan O'Brien. (more...)

"This is very hard for me though, you know I've been with NBC for a really long time. A really long time." It doesn't matter that it's followed by a punchline, as are all the sentimental moments in tonight's Tonight Show. By now, we all know that he thinks that it sucks. (more...)

video I feel like I must begin this post with a disclaimer: I've never been a Jay Leno hater, or a Conan O'Brien nut. Always liked and enjoyed Conan, often chuckled at Jay despite the uncompromising edict from the cool kids that he was terrible and lame and hackey. So if it seems from my various writings that I'm biased in this fight, please understand — it has nothing to do with how funny I think Jay Leno is. It's that he's been so damn disingenuous. (more...)

Sure, it was nice watching Conan stick it to his bosses, spending boatloads of NBC's cash on a Bugatti Veyron and licensing fees for The Rolling Stones song "Satisfaction." And when NBC pulled the Conan clip, likely to save money on the insane price tag they would incur if the Stones song streamed online, it seemed like Conan really showed them. But now it's being reported that he borrowed the car. (more...)

Last night I was on the Joy Behar Show to discuss the Conan-Leno-NBC-Late-Night kerfuffle. Joy spoke first with Bill Carter of the New York Times, pretty much the go-to expert on all things late night thanks to his seminal — and still relevant! — book The Late Shift. Following Carter's comments (he thinks NBC and Leno will be just fine, by the way), Joy discussed the brou-ha-ha with her panel, which consisted of me, Rachelle Carson of "Living With Ed" (her show with husband Ed Begley) and comedian-actor-musician-pop-culture-expert Hal Sparks, who made me crack up on the air with a lube joke. Well done, Hal. Lube jokes are never rendered obsolete by breaking news stories. (more...)

video In the strange event you hear the claim that nobody could have predicted the crazy soap opera that has surrounded NBC late night programming, we submit the following clip. Over three years ago Howard Stern was a guest on Conan O'Brien's show when it held the 12:30 slot. Howard mentions the news that Conan will take over for Leno, then asks Conan "Do you think that's really going to happen?" He gets even more precise in predictions later in the video below. (more...)

video Remember Conan O'Brien's $1.5 million comedy sketch/up yours to NBC involving a Bugatti Veyron and The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" last night? Well if you missed it, you won't find it on NBC.com or Hulu.com, because NBC has removed the segment from the show. It will certainly save them some money. But you can still watch it here! (more...)

It's — finally — official: Conan O'Brien is leaving NBC. The fifth host of the Tonight Show will have that title until 12:35 a.m. early Saturday morning EST, when his final tonight show will end and he will officially be done at the network. (more...)

A few days ago, Conan O'Brien listed the Tonight Show on Craig's List. Now, as he enters the home stretch at the Tonight Show, he's listed himself on Craig's List.  According to Mashable, O'Brien announced the listing on his show. I admit, it's a clever post, and really, I feel for Conan. But isn't this a little overkill? Repeating jokes doth not a comedian make.

Here's a screen shot:

Negotiations between Conan O'Brien and NBC recently hit a snag over Tonight Show staff compensation, as the $40 million or so NBC is reportedly paying Conan not to do The Tonight Show apparently has the network a bit reluctant to shell out anything more. However, even if and when the two sides work that issue out, another complication, referenced by O'Brien on last night's show, looms - intellectual property.

"My name is Conan O'Brien, and I am just three days away from the biggest drinking binge in history." Conan O'Brien has taken to opening his monologues with self-deprecating references making light of his situation — that is to say, the situation of being kicked out of the Tonight Show after just seven months in specific violation of his contract that he signed five years ago thinking Jay Leno was retiring but instead NBC gave Leno a 10 p.m. show that tanked which screwed up Conan's lead-in and caused an affiliate revolt which meant The Jay Leno Show had to be canceled which led to NBC's brilliant plan to give him a show at 11:35 that would bump The Tonight Show back a half hour which essentially meant giving him back the Tonight Show which Conan refused to do so he's out and now Jay Leno is taking back the Tonight Show which was the one thing that Conan's contract was meant to protect against. Yes, that situation. (more...)

video While the NBC infighting continues, the jokes are still coming in from around the late night spectrum - and specifically from the most vocal late night host so far, David Letterman. Letterman previewed a promo of the "new" old Tonight Show, and knocked Jay Leno's "State of the Network" speech from Monday. (more...)

Is FOX preparing for Conan O'Brien to join their network? From the looks of a Twitter page registered to Twentieth Century Fox, it looks like the company is at least covering their bases in case it really does happen. > Update: It's fake. (more...)

video Jeff Zucker was on Charlie Rose last night, somewhere between Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien on the clock — though clearly not between them in allegiance. Lest anyone think that an 11th hour reprieve for Conan is possible — dressing in orange for rallies can only do so much — It seems clear that Zucker has moved on. (more...)

"Hello there, I'm Conan O'Brien and I need all of you to write me a letter of recommendation." For those who were worried that erstwhile Tonight Show Conan O'Brien's late-night hating on NBC was over, those fears were laid to rest by this reassurance at the top:

"A lot of papers are now reporting that I am now legally prohibited from saying anything negative about NBC. So goodnight ladies and gentlemen, it's been a great show!"

Again, just to be clear: Jay Leno would like you to know that this is not his fault. Here's what Leno would like you to know: He doesn't have an agent or a manager — a handshake is all right by him. His version of the Tonight Show was #1 when NBC asked him to step down, and when he left. Every time NBC asks him to do something, he says sure. Also, everything that has happened over the past five years has been NBC's idea. As for Conan O'Brien, he's a good guy, a decent guy, they always go along great. However, Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show was not #1. That's the short version of Leno's speech. (more...)

video Rick Sanchez' new two-hour 3pmET program, Rick's List, premiered today on CNN, and Mediaite made the list. Luckily, it wasn't "The List U Don’t Want To Be On" (Danny Glover got that honor on show #1). Instead, it was about the Conan/Leno late night story. (more...)

The New York Times, in its cover story, has a hell of a good time painting Jeff Zucker into a corner. To be fair, he doesn't help himself by blaming the media spotlight for his current predicament. When he tells the Times that people today like a "soap opera" he must somehow miss the irony of the fact that NBC (and MSNBC, CNBC and BRAVO) all traffic in "soap operas" of one sort or another. But never mind that - even if Zucker is wearing the black hat in all this - the blame for NBC's predicament goes back to the GE management, and a fundamental lack of understanding of the evolution of the media business. (more...)

I’m no Carnac the Magnificent, but I think it’s safe to say that digital video will be around for some time. And it’s clear that social video sites are not only cutting into the culture of television, but also redefining how TV is watched for the digital generation. In the realm of late-night television, there are certain pros and cons that come with material showing up online. Video sharing allows for a greater distribution of content beyond the smaller crowd of bedtime watchers; however, that also makes it non-centralized from the broadcast, and normal measurements used for popularity or courting advertisers may be impossible to show. (more...)