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Conan Trounces Leno & Letterman

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All eyes were on Conan O’Brien Monday night — and that’s not a figurative statement. TBS‘ debut of Conan defeated both his Tonight Show rival Jay Leno and fellow Leno roadkill, Late Show‘s David Letterman.

Conan’s premiere pulled in 4.2 million viewers, with 3.3 million in the 18-49 demographic. Leno managed 3.5 million, with less than 1 million in the key demographic — a very telling statement about who his show appeals to. Letterman did close to Leno’s numbers, with 3.4 million viewers, and a marginally better 1.3 million in the key demographic.

It’s typical for the premiere of any new show to bring in more viewers than the series will be able to hold onto in the long run, and Conan also benefited from all of the drama surrounding Lenogate, with more than a few people (such as myself) tuning in just to see what O’Brien would say about the fiasco in hindsight. Just how much those ratings dip as the season unfolds is the real question.

Still, the sense of revenge over at Team Coco must be sweet. O’Brien tweeted on Tuesday, “It feels great to be back. To all my fans: Thank you. You are the reason this happened.”

It’s Conan’s Big Night

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Even if you’re not a late-night watcher, you’ve got to be at least a little curious. I never watch late-night shows, but I’m planning to tune in.

The drama that seemingly ended months ago when Conan O’Brien was booted from The Tonight Show by NBC so that Jay Leno could return — a move that has not seen a boost in ratings for the show — either gets a new chapter or an epilogue tonight when Conan debuts on TBS. O’Brien’s not expected to address Lenogate, as he’s expressed repeatedly his desire to move on and leave the past behind. Still, one can’t help but wonder what his new show will be like, and if he’ll get in a jab or two at Leno and/or NBC’s expense.

O’Brien’s new set has been shrouded in utmost secrecy, and won’t be unveiled until the show debuts tonight at 11:pm EST. The Hollywood Reporter posted the few first details about it, which reveal that the audience capacity is smaller than his Tonight Show set, but bigger than his Late Show. The article also reveals that Emmy award winning set designers John Shaffner and Joe Stewart designed the set, and that the backdrop depicts a hand-painted backdrop of the California coast line with inset fiber optic lights.

All eyes will be on TBS tonight at 11. Will yours?

Reactions to Coco’s Emmy nominations

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As we reported yesterday, The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien scored four Emmy nominations yesterday. O’Brien got all the Emmy love — for his show that was shut down after 7 months, so Jay Leno could resume hosting the show. But Leno — who most have cast as the villain of this sordid tale — got no love at all.

Everyone involved has now responded to the Emmy news, and their thoughts are below.

Conan O’Brien was the first to fire off a response, just a couple hours after the nominations were announced, via Twitter:

Congrats to my staff on 4 Emmy nominations. This bodes well for the future of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.

NBC, home to The Tonight Show, was the next to issue a formal statement, but took the respectful route:

“We congratulate Conan and all our nominees on their creative accomplishments and their deserved nominations.”

Jay Leno weighed in last, during last night’s Tonight Show, saying during his opening monologue:

“The good news is ‘The Tonight Show’ got four nominations. The bad news is I didn’t get one of them!”

I think the takeaway from this is that O’Brien is just plain funnier off-the-cuff than Leno (or his former bosses at NBC).

Jay Leno apologizes for bad ‘gay’ joke

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Jay Leno apologized for his inappropriate joke to Ryan Philippe that had gay activists up in arms.

He asked the actor (referring to his first role as a gay character in a soap opera): “Can you give me, like – say that camera is your gay lover …Can you give me your ‘gayest look?’ ”

“Wow,” replied Phillippe, 33. “That is so something I don’t want to do.”

Jay immediately realized it was a bad joke and later apologized in a TV interview. “I certainly didn’t mean any malice. I agree it was a dumb thing to say, and I apologize.”

TV talk show ratings spike

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Theeyyy’re back….

After late night talk shows plunged into two-month replay hell because of the writers strike, Jay Leno has finally returned, and with a vengeance. About 7.2 million people tuned in, over 40% more than his usual ratings. Letterman drew in 5.5 million viewers, about 45% more than usual.

Letterman was able to negotiate a deal with the writers, and had dancing girls carry picket signs that supported other writers. The others — Leno, O’Brien — said they wrote their own scripts. Many of them made references to the strike. “The walkout’s cost the town over half a billion dollars. Or as Paul McCartney calls that, `A divorce,'” joked Leno.

Only hot topic aside from the strike? Letterman’s beard, which guest Robin Williams compared to Gen. Robert E. Lee, a rabbi and an Iraqi mullah.

With no writers (and no new haircuts) O’Brien and Leno had to resort to other segment fillers: showing Christmas cards, spinning wedding rings, dancing on tables, and (gasp) taking audience questions. What’s next, bingo?

Creative stretch marks were immediately evident on the shows without writers. O’Brien, sporting facial growth to match his red hair, showed off Christmas cards, danced on his table as his band played the Clash’s “The Magnificent Seven” and tried to see how long he could spin his wedding ring on his desk. Leno took questions from his audience.

What’s next, bingo?