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Conan O'Brien performs during a stop in 'The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour' in Vancouver, Tuesday, April 13, 2010. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS) Will Sasso as Vince, William Shatner as Ed and Nicole Sullivan as Kathleen on '$#*! My Dad Says'

Conan O'Brien's new show to air in Canada on CTV

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Conan O'Brien performs during a stop in 'The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour' in Vancouver, Tuesday, April 13, 2010. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS) Will Sasso as Vince, William Shatner as Ed and Nicole Sullivan as Kathleen on '$#*! My Dad Says'

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Conan O'Brien performs during a stop in 'The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour' in Vancouver, Tuesday, April 13, 2010. (Jonathan Hayward / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

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Date: Thu. Jun. 3 2010 5:19 PM ET

After months of drama and speculation, it was formally announced Thursday that Conan O'Brien will once again be putting late-night TV viewers to bed with a smile on their face, when his new show launches on CTV.

"The Conan O'Brien Show" will air on the national network Monday through Thursday beginning at 1 a.m. ET. In the U.S. it will air on TBS, starting two hours earlier.

The program, which will debut in November, will also air on the Comedy Network, though a time slot has not yet been announced.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be coming to you on CTV," O'Brien said in a video message.

"Canada was the first place to embrace me... when I took my show here to Toronto several years ago, you treated me like a rock star and I never forgot it. I love your country. I love your people. And I really love your comedy."

For months late-night TV was a subject that dominated water cooler conversations and online discussion boards due to the very public battle between O'Brien and Jay Leno.

O'Brien took over the Tonight Show on NBC from Leno last year, when the network undertook a risky experiment that saw Leno moved to a 10 p.m. timeslot with a new platform, "The Jay Leno Show."

After several months of low ratings, NBC tried to backtrack, asking O'Brien to move to just after midnight, so they could offer Leno the coveted 11:35 p.m. slot.

O'Brien refused, opening up several months of buyout talks and an intense period of back-and-forth gibes, not only between Leno and O'Brien but with virtually every comedian on television joining in the milieu.

Eventually, after seven months at the helm of 'Tonight' a jobless O'Brien was off the air, with Leno returning to his old show and old timeslot on March 1.

At the time the red-haired New Yorker said walking away, rather than accept a demotion was the hardest thing he had ever had to do -- though the US$45 million buyout he took with him may have eased the pain.

When it was all said and done O'Brien called on his fans to look for the positive.

"Every comedian dreams of hosting the 'Tonight' show and, for seven months, I got to," he said. "I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second. I've had more good fortune than anyone I know, and if our next gig is doing a show in a 7-Eleven parking lot, we'll find a way to make it fun."

Comments are now closed for this story

Disgruntled in Vancouver
said
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I want to know why Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party are keeping liberal comedians off of the main time slots. What is this, a dictatorship?


Marta
said
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When I read the headline I thought for one horrendous moment that Conan might be replacing Stewart and Colbert at the midnight time slot. If CTV ever did that, I would personally picket the station.


reidjr
said
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Doug # BC
To put it this way his ratings weere very very solid.


John in Calgary
said
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Conan the Barbarian: he's always beating his jokes to death!Sorry CTV, he's not funny.


Rob in Toronto
said
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Conan will air at 11 or 11:30 in the USA, and CTV is throwing it on at 1am.. right. Sorry CTV.. way too late, your announcement is a let down. Please reconsider. What a silly decision. Mind you, they probs don't wanna shuffle the daily show, but that show should also be aired a bit earlier..


jkw711
said
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Great news! I only wish it wasn't on so late. Thankfully I live out west so its not so bad for me. Sucks for anyone in Ontario, even worse if you're out in the Maritimes. Can't wait to see some good late night tv again.


albertaclipper
said
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Sounds good to me out here in Alberta. A Leno, Ferguson and O'Brien lineup and I'm still in bed by midnight. Better yet in BC if you're living there. Ahhh Western Canada....you can't beat it.


Harry
said
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Conan should give it up. He is about as funny as a toothache. The station should rethink hiring him.


Ed in Alberta
said
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Just one more show that I won't be watching... always thought Conan was a buffoon and have seen nothing to change my mind on him yet.


Reener
said
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It would be nice to just get TBS back on our programming schedule instead of that lame Peachtree. Whenever I'm in the US, I lament the loss of that station.

For the record, he is still on at 11 in the US, on TBS, for those who missed it in the article. It's only CTV that will be showing it at 1, so he didn't lose anything through that whole fiasco. He is going on ahead of George Lopez.


Ben
said
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Time shifting > DVR, when it's airing in Newfoundload at 1:00 a.m. it will only be 9:30 p.m. in Alberta. It still doesn't solve the issue for the Eastern Canadian croud however. I do agree that 1:00 a.m. is a poor time slot for a show of this caliber and that it should be more appropriately placed after the evening news at 12:00 a.m.


Prof. Pye Chartt
said
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You can't make someone who has gained significant irrelevancy (a failed and fired network host who still thinks that his successful replacement is the evil culprit) suddenly become "hot" in a 1 am time slot. Audience traffic from the DVR crowd (ad-skippers) will be a factor.


John
said
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set the PVR or the VCR to record this along with Colbert and John Stewart. The latter two are easily the best things on TV.


Kurt
said
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Put him on earlier. 1am is way to late. I don't like Stewart or Cobert.


Petman
said
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BOOOOO - ERNS.....0100 sucks...put him on at a decent time and people will watch for sure.


Larry
said
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OMG people....let me introduce three letters that will make all your whiny issues about the time..go away. Are you ready??

D-V-R


jesse
said
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what will happen to tmz?i love tmz and don't want it moved till 2am


Doug # BC
said
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Controversy notwithstanding,does anyone watch this guy on purpose? While I recognize entertainment is simply a matter of personal taste,like millions of other people,I stopped watching the Tonight Show when Conan was the regular host.Given that the ratings went so far south,I suspect I am not the only one. For now,it looks to me that Conan is known more for his fight with NBC,than for actually entertaining people.Perhaps it's fair to bring my personal taste into question,but honestly,I wouldn't cross the street to watch Conan.At least,not on a regular basis.


John
said
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Yeah that's a little too late 1am. Especially since TBS airs it 2 hours earlier. Seriously, what else is on CTV that it can't get bumped earlier. Either way I will stay up a few nights a week to watch it.


phil
said
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1am is ridiculous. i was thrilled at the headline of the article, but airing it so late is an absurd decision.


Steph
said
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With Stewart and Colbert at midnight and 12:30am, respectively, there is no way they would get bumped for Conan. Therefore, the earliest Conan coud possibly air is at 1am.As for The Comedy Network, I'm no programming director, but I would think they would run it at midnight (similarly, after Stewart and Colbert).


Jay Leno
said
0 0

Ha ha ha! 1am? Bet you wish you took the 12am deal NBC offered you now.


IK, Windsor
said
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Perhaps CTV wants to reconsider its 1:00am start time? That is even worse than his old, old time slot of 12:35am when he hosted Late Night!

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