When then-Turner Entertainment president Steve Koonin pitched Conan O’Brien on launching a show at TBS, he was upfront with the host: We won’t be able to deliver you an audience as big as the one you had at NBC. But you can do whatever you want.
“He was true to his word,” said “Conan” executive producer Jeff Ross. “Also about the audience. But at least he said it up front: This network can’t deliver you the audience that a network can. But ‘you can come here and it’s your playpen, and we’ll leave you alone.’ And they did. And to this day they have, even after Steve left [in 2014].”
It’s been more than a decade since O’Brien exited NBC and “The Tonight Show” after the network pushed him aside to bring back Jay Leno in the coveted 11:35 p.m. slot. O’Brien and...
“He was true to his word,” said “Conan” executive producer Jeff Ross. “Also about the audience. But at least he said it up front: This network can’t deliver you the audience that a network can. But ‘you can come here and it’s your playpen, and we’ll leave you alone.’ And they did. And to this day they have, even after Steve left [in 2014].”
It’s been more than a decade since O’Brien exited NBC and “The Tonight Show” after the network pushed him aside to bring back Jay Leno in the coveted 11:35 p.m. slot. O’Brien and...
- 6/24/2021
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
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