In an exclusive report today, The Wrap reported that Conan O’Brien is due for another medium change. After six years of his TBS show Conan airing as a weeknight talkshow (following being dropped from his hosting gig at The Tonight Show after just seven months in early 2010) the cable network is looking to make the series a weekly event, and may move it out of its late-night time slot.
Turner CEO John Martin told The Wrap that they are looking to get more mileage out of each Conan episode, citing how well the show has done with ratings when the show has “[traveled] to such locales as Cuba, Berlin and South Korea.” TBS also airs the weekly Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, which is faring better than Conan’s show ratings-wise, and even The Daily Show. Martin also cited Bee’s show as an inspiration for the new Conan model.
The news wasn’t confirmed by a Conan producer. There’s also no word on when the change is expected to happen.
Update: In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, TBS president Kevin Reilly acknowledged that the show “will shift” when asked about the shift to weekly episodes alleged by John Martin, but that for now, there are no immediate plans to alter the format. He also clarified that “…the show may evolve, but that’s going to come from Conan as more of these things take shape. Between now and May, quite a few of them will be taking shape.”