The Return of Coco

Conan O'Brien is back on late night television and apparently we REALLY missed him.  According to Nielsen Co we missed him to the tune of 4.2 million viewers.  3.3 million of which were part of the coveted 18-49 age group demographic; an audience that is courted by every late night show on the air.

Conan left NBC last January and was contractually obligated not to host any new show for nine months.  Many in the media speculated where he would go when he was again free to work.  He was reportedly in talks with many major networks, with Fox considered to be the front runner.  Many analysts of the debacle were surprised when, in April of 2010 Conan announced that he would be signing with the basic cable network, TBS.

The new show, titled simply “Conan”, would premier on November 8, 2010.  In the meantime Conan stayed busy travelling with his “Legally Prohibited to be Funny on Television” tour and gaining a massive following on Twitter by proving that you don’t need more than 150 characters to make people laugh.

Finally after nearly a year away from television, Conan returned to the job of late night talk show host.  The crowd cheered rapturously as the lanky comedian with the famous red hair, bounded out onto the stage.  Smiling and greeting them with his trademark physical antics, Conan seemed slightly nervous but pleased to be back in a television studio.  “Welcome to my second annual, first show” he joked.

Seth Rogen, Lea Michele and Jack White were Conan's first three guests in his new gig.  During Jack White’s set Conan sat in with the band and played a song he and Jack White co-wrote, showing some heretofore hidden musical chops.

The reviews for this first TBS show were mixed.  Some headlines proclaimed happily, that the late night comedian was back and better than ever.  While other sources felt that they’d had enough of the host’s particular brand of zany comedy.

The majority of media watchers; though, are simply waiting to see how many of those 4.2 million viewers will stick around for the long haul.

Photo Source: Flickr