TBS picks up new sitcom produced by Conan O’Brien
Conan O'Brien in 2008. AP photo.
Atlanta-based TBS has picked up a new sitcom created by Conan O’Brien’s production company Conaco and Warner Brothers.
The yet untitled half-hour sitcom, based on what little details provided, is about a man who quits his job and returns to his old neighborhood, where he reunites with his former best friend. That hardly sounds groundbreaking. Its success will naturally come down to execution. O’Brien will be one of the executive producers.
A launch date has not been set.
Bill Carter, who wrote the book “The War For Late Night,” noted in the updated version of the soft-cover trade paperback, that Conan’s ratings have fallen significantly since his show “Conan” debuted last November on TBS. The show in its first quarter averaged two million viewers. By this summer, the show was drawing fewer than half that many viewers. One factor is lack of lead in for Conan, who is basically by himself when it comes to compatible original programming. (And the show that comes after him, George Lopez’s talk show, is gone, too.)
O’Brien’s lead ins on TBS include repeats of “Family Guy” and “The Office,” or original episodes of “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne,” which draws an audience that is not exactly Conan friendly.
To date, TBS’s efforts to create great sitcoms that would complement O’Brien have yet to come to fruition.
So far, TBS executives have pooh-poohed his drooping Nielsen ratings, saying he still draws an extremely young audience (median age: 32) and does extremely well in DVR pickup and action online.
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18 comments Add your comment
Tubby
September 12th, 2011
5:23 pm
Not surprising given his lack of legit lead-in that Conan’s ratings would be on trending downward. They need to beef up his lead-in if they want him to thrive (relatively speaking). Most people probably DVR shows like his anyway. That’s my usual plan w/the late night talk shows: DVR so I can skip commercials and segments that aren’t interesting.
bulldogbubba
September 12th, 2011
5:25 pm
Seems he would better suited following the original shows on TNT.They draw 3-5 million.
Brian
September 12th, 2011
5:51 pm
Bulldogbubba, I thought the same thing. But as long as they continue to brand TBS as comedy, and TNT as drama, I doubt it will happen. Although it makes the most sense.
JTesla
September 12th, 2011
6:47 pm
Before reading this I didn’t think TBS had any original programing aside from Conan.
Atlantarama
September 12th, 2011
7:03 pm
“Conan” is too good a show to have such low ratings, although I know many people DVR it or watch it online. I think TBS should syndicate “Conan” to independent stations. More people would have access to the show, and it would also help to increase viewership. I don’t see how the loss of exclusivity by TBS would hurt that much.
Mr. Smarty Pants by Gum
September 12th, 2011
10:22 pm
You guys still watch TV, what is it still 1978 here? It’s cute though !!!
Malika
September 13th, 2011
12:00 am
For me, the problem is that it comes on at 11:00. My mind is programmed to watch the news at that time as I have for 15 years. By 1 am when his show comes back on, I’m a sleep. If it came on at 11:30, like other late night shows, I think I’d be more inclined to watch it. I wonder how many other people would watch it if it came on 30 minutes later.
kreedham
September 13th, 2011
12:24 am
If Ted were still there he’d put Conan on both TNT and TBS. TBS stinks!
Jeff
September 13th, 2011
12:58 am
Been a fan of O’Brien for years, but I have to admit his show on TBS is painfully average. There are some funny moments here and there, but the edge is gone. Further, all his old bits are severely missed. I get there may be some legal snafus preventing Conan from doing his old sketches, but if Letterman was able to bring his bits from his NBC show to CBS, there has to be a way for Conan to do the same with TBS. Hope his show lasts for awhile, but *please* bring back the funny!
ElOkoChon
September 13th, 2011
8:52 am
A big reason for those low numbers is that the show competes for ratings with The Daily Show and The Colbert Report
..
September 13th, 2011
9:51 am
TBS…..Very crummy.
Bill
September 13th, 2011
11:02 am
Wait, TBS isn’t exclusively reruns of crap like the Office?
Rip n' Read
September 13th, 2011
11:11 am
Conan O’brien is simply not funny.
Mugging at the camera is not comedy. Silly dances and gestures were funny in 1970 when Monty Python did them.
There is no more awkward and clumsy comedian on TV.
People seem to like Conan because he is perceived as the underdog, the guy who got shafted by Leno over at NBC, But truthfully he didn’t deliver in the 11:30 spot and he was removed because of it.
Stop feeling sorry for him and let his dreadful show fade away.
Job suggestion for Conan: Fire the 35 or 40 producers that it takes to make “The Simpsons” and rehire Conan as the writer/producer.
Hopefully he will go the way of George Lopez. Unfortunately he will probably throw a giant temper tantrum like he did over at NBC and his sheep like herd will bang on their keyboards until another network picks up his show. I hear the ION Network has a few time slots available.
Steve
September 13th, 2011
11:38 am
I do not find Conan very funny at all. The can push and push him all they want to. However, his target group is too small (20-25 years old). Compared to Johnny Carson or Leno, he is a distant 3rd
FarmerRob
September 13th, 2011
1:53 pm
Agree that he is NOT funny at all. He is a sophomoric buffoon at best. His attempts at humor are just pathetic.
TBS must now stand for Too Beaucoup Stupid.
TBS…NOT FUNNY
|ll|ill|lilli|||lil|
September 13th, 2011
2:47 pm
He’s funnier than those unfunny inbreds on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour. No clue why anyone pays to see their painful performances.
Mark
September 14th, 2011
7:20 pm
Watch tv online for free mtv bet hbo showtime stars http://realstreamingtv.blogspot.com
Halberstram
September 15th, 2011
12:00 am
Show’s not the same since 1235 on NBC. He played into the woe is me NBC ordeal too much.