In all this hubbub over Conan O’Brien’s move to TBS, and his national tour, and his upcoming spot on “60 Minutes,” there’s been one bit of information that hasn’t made its way to the surface. Namely, what is this new Conan show going to be called?
The reason no one asked this question is because, despite late night TV’s reputation for comedic innovation, every single late night show out there has as boring a name as humanly possible. Late night shows are named with the same amount of creativity as morning news shows and NFL pregame shows. The word “late” or “tonight” pop up, along with the host’s name, and that’s about it. Even the one that bucks that trend, “The Daily Show,” has an even lamer name. It’s a show that’s on every day! Except Friday to Sunday! Only “The Colbert Report” and “The Late Late Show” have a hint of mirth (yes, mirth!) to their titles.
I assume TBS and Conan will follow that trend and go with the most descriptive, generic name possible. “The Conan Show.” “The Conan O’Brien Show.” “Conan Tonight” (like “Lopez Tonight,” only with an extra layer of scorn given what happened to Conan at NBC). “Late To Beddy Bye With Conan O’Brien.” It’s practically a given that the show will have a title very close to those I just listed.
But that’s doesn’t have to be the case. Conan has already broken the mold by choosing TBS as his new home. He’s already legendary for comic mind that’s a dozen moves ahead of everyone else. Don’t settle for the generic, Conan! It’s your show! TBS can’t stop you! They’re lucky you deign to let them pick up your frozen yogurt! Why not select a title from the handy list below:
-Up Loco With Coco
-Not An Atlanta Braves Telecast With Conan O’Brien
-Not Really That Late, Particularly In The Central Time Zone With Conan
-Conan The Talkshowhostian
-Hot Coco
-Dog Puppetry Road Show
-Talladega Nights Starring Will Ferrell Next On TBS
-Coco And Co.
-Ye Wee Irish Lad’s Penny Farthing Talkie Pub Houre (show moved to Dublin)
-Conan, Ungelled
-Seven More Months With Conan
-Screw Jay Leno With Conan O’Brien
You get the idea. Conan has already proven unpredictable these days. It’s served him very well. No reason to stop now.
