Day 657: Leno vs. Conan – Part 5

So… why in the world have I been prattling on for the last 5 days about Conan?  This is old news, right?  Well… not really. 

Conan was recently selected as one of Time’s most influential people of the year.  Although this could seem like a dubious honor, I think Conan’s nod is significant.  I think his final words on the ‘Tonight Show’ were moving, inspirational, and ultimately, influential.  And well… I’m obviously rooting for the guy. 

Last Sunday, Conan was on ’60 Minutes’ giving his first interview about the situation.  What did he have to say?  Nothing we didn’t know already… Conan doesn’t feel like he was given a fair shot… and well… he wasn’t… case closed.

But again, Conan showed his unending class.  When asked, “Did you get screwed?”  (Honestly, this is a pretty low brow question for ’60 Minutes’), Conan replied, “No, I didn’t. I’m fine. It just didn’t work out”.  And this seemed to be his attitude throughout the interview… although he did send off one legitimate dig.  Referring to Leno’s “final” Tonight Show episode, Conan said that he, personally, couldn’t do what Leno did.  He couldn’t stand up in front of America, publically hand-off the show, and wish the new host luck, only to eagerly take it back six months later.  “Everyone’s got their own, you know, way of doing things… But that’s me, you know?”  Class.

And finally, Conan has announced his triumphant return to television… on TBS… TBS?  At first TBS seemed like a crazy choice.  Growing up I remember TBS for 3 things: Braves Games, Andy Griffith Reruns, and Gilligan’s Island Reruns.  TBS was a nothing network… but that was the TBS of my childhood.  Now… I look at TBS and… well?  I don’t really see a whole ton of different, HOWEVER, I have noticed that TBS as been dabbling in original programming.  And some of their more resent endeavors have been quite good.  Did you ever see ‘My Boys’?  It was REALLY good. 

It seems to me that Turner Broadcasting has been slowly rebuilding their stations.  And so far they have been pretty darn successful.  Just look at TNT.  They have completely rebuilt the stations into a Cable Drama powerhouse.  TNT airs, “The Closer”, Saving Grace”, and “Southland” which was also recently acquired from NBC.

Now, it looks like Turner Broadcasting intends to do the same thing with TBS, except in the comedy genre.  And honestly, I can’t think of a better way to launch this new direction than becoming the new home for Conan.  It could be a very interesting November on TBS.  I think he will have a lot of success… Lord knows he has the fan base.

However, that said, I don’t believe for an instant that TBS will become Conan’s permanent home.  Sure, he will have a few successful years, but I ultimately see Conan returning to network television when the time is right… and the time I am thinking about involves David Letterman’s retirement.