Offering advertisers a glimpse of what his new show might feel like on TBS, Conan O’Brien kicked off the Turner upfront in typically zany fashion. The presentation, during which Turner announced that Conan’s new talk show will debut Nov. 8, featured a video of an obese and bearded O’Brien idly lying on a trampoline while his daughter bounced up and down, raiding his wine cabinet and applying peanut butter to his toenails for the dog to lick off until a fateful call comes from TBS.
When O’Brien came out onstage, he thanked Turner for giving him another opportunity in TV and joked, “I really believe in basic cable...I don’t want to live in a country with less than six ESPNs.”
George Lopez, the man whose late-night show is being pushed back an hour to accommodate O’Brien’s new program, said he was excited about the tandem of “Coco and Loco,” adding, “We will do it again: the same-sex Lucy and Desi.”
Turner Entertainment Networks President Steve Koonin and programming topper Michael Wright sketched out their TBS and TNT summer and fall lineups, and trotted out nearly every star of their returning and upcoming series. Among the new series on TBS, Glory Daze, a comedy about young college students in Wisconsin pledging a fraternity in the 1980s, will debut its eight-episode run in late 2010. New animated series Neighbors From Hell, featuring the voice of Molly Shannon, kicks off in June. Ice Cube’s family comedy Are We There Yet?, based on his movie of the same name, will also start in summer 2010.
TBS has three one-hour scripted series in development. The Wedding Band centers on four friends who play together in a wedding band. The Rabbit Factory follows a detective team of a recent widow and a recently married man. And The Catch focuses on a widower who reenters the dating world.
In addition, the network is developing two animated series: Good and Evel, about a dysfunctional family and featuring the voices of Stanley Tucci and Steve Buscemi, and The Black Family, about a blended interracial crew.
In drama, TNT announced that Leverage would be moving to Sunday night, giving that network four nights of original programming. TNT will also debut Franklin & Bash, about unconventional young lawyers, as well as Memphis Blues with Jason Lee. It also showed a preview of Fallen Skies, from Steven Spielberg and starring Noah Wyle, which debuts next summer.
More about broadcasting and cable
Latest
