I have a hunch. Television historians around America will forevermore note Jan. 13, 2010, at around 12:14 a.m. as the precise moment that the Great Conan O'Brien Blowback against NBC finally began its fade. After all, that was when O'Brien welcomed Chuck star Zachary Levi to his Tonight Show couch, only to have his guest interrupt him with an earnest, solemn expression of support. "I know it's your show -- at least for a little while longer -- but I want to say a couple of things before the plug is officially pulled," Levi said. "Everyone at Chuck, myself, millions of people, everyone here in this audience, I think we can all agree that you are one of the funniest, one of the kindest, and one of the classiest acts to ever grace late night. [...] Wherever you go, however this shakes out, I just want you to know that I hope that we get to hang out again."
Which, as a viewer, I don't doubt or disagree with. But really. People. Let's get a hold of ourselves.
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Cougar Town/Scrubs showrunner Bill Lawrence's candor makes you want to pry at him all day. Following a spirited TCA panel where he sat alongside peers from The Middle and Modern Family and riffed on, among other things, Conan O'Brien's liberation and Cougar Town's questionable title, I -- along with the horde of journos -- found myself racking up only more questions. For instance, would he really change Cougar Town to C. Town, as he'd mentioned offhand? Was there real benefit to doing a ninth season of Scrubs? And when is this fragmented network TV viewership going to vault a scripted series to the heights of American Idol? All of Lawrence's answers were provocative, and he also found time to wax optimistic on Conan's future.
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This is probably just the first example of pro-Leno propaganda surfacing after NBC's mistreatment of Conan O'Brien, but PopEater is reporting that the denim deity is getting cold feet about the network, considering what they did to his Tonight Show successor. Says the report, "How can he possibly trust the same network that canceled Conan after only seven months?" [PopEater]
NBC's comically oversized screw-ups have reinvigorated late-night hosts with the kind of joy usually seen only at children's birthday parties. And with the release of Conan O'Brien's f*ck you letter to NBC yesterday, the after hours personalities whacked down yet another peacock pinata to audiences' delight. After the jump, five interpretations of the NBC late night fiasco, ranked from sorriest to most triumphant.
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· You know that a newly minted Fox News contributor leans a wee bit right when Bill O'Reilly feels obligated to defend (or at least play devil's advocate for) President Obama. That's what happened during Sarah Palin's debut as a Fox News analyst on The O'Reilly Factor last night, as the former Alaskan governor fired back at her critics, took a few swings at Nancy Pelosi and knocked the current administration. [YouTube]
Kathy Bates sneaks into NBC to finish off its prime time schedule once and for all, J.J. Abrams casts the new Felicity, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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Twice a year, a Los Angeles-area hotel (this time, the Langham in Pasadena) fills 150 glass bowls with fruit-flavored Italian hard candies, schedules a week's worth of hot buffets and then waits for television critics to roll in from around the country for the semi-annual Television Critics Association Tour. The grueling schedule includes nearly 100 television panels and as much network-emblazoned swag as you can carry back to your room. So far, the festival's events have been overshadowed by the rumblings and change-ups at NBC, and today's ABC panels were no different. With Movieline's faithful foot soldier Louis Virtel manning the front lines, the team back at headquarters brings you the highlights and lowlights from today's panels, after the jump.
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Conan O'Brien's announcement today was like a gust of fresh air cutting through the stench of NBC's classless late night maneuverings of recent days. Now TMZ -- who broke the story initially -- has another update: With Conan apparently out, the network has offered Leno his old time slot back, along with the original name: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. That's assuming Leno takes it back. One thing is certain: The simmering distaste for the longtime talk show host will now bubble over into bilious resentment and outright hostility, and the bad publicity is almost certain to bring new levels of booking headaches for the new, old Tonight Show. Here's ten people you can be all but certain you'll never see on the show again.
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Everybody has something to say about NBC's epic mishandling of its late night line-up, especially Conan O'Brien. After a vicious monologue last night, but before the statement that would change us all, the Tonight Show revisited the topic of his time slot slight while role-playing with a Na'vi and then channeling his aggression into one menacing stare, as supervised by Gary Oldman. For those videos, along with David Letterman's free advice to NBC, and the other clips you missed while perfecting your Fox sign-off, join us after the jump.
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Julie: Can we talk about why Rita Wilson is giving frumpy women makeovers on Oprah today?
Kyle: I also would like to know why!
Julie: This is really bothering me. As proof that she went through a frumpy period, Oprah just showed a picture of Rita at a movie premiere in the 80's wearing shoulder pads. Who didn't wear big shoulder pads in the 80's? How is Rita Wilson relevant to present day frumpiness?
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Conan O'Brien just released the following statement concerning NBC's offer of pushing The Tonight Show ahead to 12:05 a.m., following Jay Leno. In summary: He's pissed, and the answer is a firm no.
People of Earth:
In the last few days, I've been getting a lot of sympathy calls, and I want to start by making it clear that no one should waste a second feeling sorry for me. For 17 years, I've been getting paid to do what I love most and, in a world with real problems, I've been absurdly lucky. That said, I've been suddenly put in a very public predicament and my bosses are demanding an immediate decision.
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As Bachelor bombshells go, it was a doozy. The night started out ordinarily enough, with the remaining contestants lounging in their flirtiest cocktail dresses, Crazy Michelle stabbing at her thigh with a dessert fork, all waiting to learn who would be advanced to the next round of caged-lifemate selection by hunky pilot Jake Pavelta. Jake had recently shared an intimate poolside moment with contestant Rozlyn Papa -- the stunning model and makeup artist who had dominated the InStyle photoshoot challenge some hours before -- at the end of which he leaned in for a kiss. (Unlike Elizabeth, who during their group date at Six Flags read Jake a middle-school writing assignment entitled, "Why I Can't Kiss You Until I Get the Final Rose," Roz had no issue with pre-Rose Ceremony lip-mashing and dove right in.)
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Sadly, that Save Better Off Ted! campaign is not gathering much steam. With only $490.42 in donations (nearly half of that contributed by a very big Ted fan, Jeffrey) that will go towards deluging ABC executive offices with 500 um, keychains, Better Off Ted needs all the help it can get before the network runs through its remaining season two episodes by the end of January. So watch this NSFW clip of outtakes from this week's episode and try to tell me that Better Off Ted is not the best show you have not been watching. Maybe even tune in tonight at 9:30 p.m. And if not, at least you will have increased your insult vocabulary tenfold, you "sister-f*cking hillbilly!"
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With his forced entry wounds still stinging, Conan O'Brien bravely mounted Stage 1 of the Universal Studios backlot last night with enough ammunition to take down an entire farm of peacocks, including the very one that robbed him of his 11:35 p.m. time slot in a Subway-sponsored alleyway last week. The Tonight Show host got some revenge with a crippling monologue that shot down NBC and redefined "Must See TV," the very term the network coined in the early '90s and killed sometime around the end of Will & Grace.
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· What's that? You haven't seen enough of those emotionally unstable Bachelor contestants -- the ones who weep openly about their unfulfilled dream of becoming a dental hygienist after their third glass of Chardonnay -- and would love to see them cooped up in a Big Brother-style house with unlimited alcohol, cameras and the occasional physical challenge to punctuate their tears? Well, then you, imaginary audience, are in luck because ABC has ordered seven episodes of Bachelor Pad, a reality enterprise which will shove 20 "all-star" castaways into a mini-mansion and allow Chris Harrison to emcee. [THR]
Betty White heats up Cleveland, Kiefer Sutherland considers life without 24, and more TV Bites after the jump.
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Simon Cowell's abrupt announcement that he's leaving American Idol after this season and headlining the U.S. version of X Factor is, at best, unsettling. The defining television presence of the decade has given us a juggernaut, and his flagship talent search will certainly go on without him. Randy Jackson's contract seems to agree. The problem is, replacing Simon Cowell is a herculean task, and the three finest candidates* for his chair have other plans in their datebooks.
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