USA talkshow topic

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Get ready for Coco -- live!

Conan O'Brien is about to finalize a plan to hit the road in the next few months, performing a live show in several cities across the country, a person familiar with the plans told TheWrap.

His representatives at William Morris Endeavor, which has a unit devoted to live apperances, have been working to secure dates for several days now.

The idea has been in the works for almost two weeks now, but nobody has wanted to talk about it because mounting such an event won't be easy.

While nothing's official yet, if the tour goes forward -- and all signs are that it will -- it would be a clever work-around to the clause in O'Brien's exit settlement from NBC that prohibits him from appearing on TV until September.

It would also be a brilliant way to capitalize on the Team Coco mania that's hit the Internet in the wake of his public battle with the Peacock. Shows such as "Family Guy" and "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" have proven there's a market in live events tied to TV series.

Expect the road tour to be tied in to a new Internet presence for O'Brien, allowing Team Coco members to interact via an official hub for the once-and-possibly-future late-night host.

As for when and where O'Brien will land next on TV, all signs continue to point to Fox as the first candidate for a new home -- assuming all sides can figure out a way to make things work financially. While neither O'Brien's camp nor Fox is talking, even privately, late-night industry insiders say it wouldn't be shocking if the two sides begin face-to-face meetings by next month.

O'Brien's PR rep was travelling Friday and couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

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It’s true! Conan O’Brien has cleared his busy schedule of Twitter brain trusts and dolphin meet and greets to perform a live show in April, fulfilling Megan Mullally’s prophecy that Coco will “have the last laugh”. TMZ broke the story an hour ago, with confirmation of one show from Ticketmaster.

While the Tickemaster page does not say what exactly the show will be, it says that the event will be held Friday, April 30 at Dodge Theatre in Phoenix, AZ. Tickets will go on sale on March 8 at 10:00 MST, with ticket prices ranging from $36.50 to $76.50.

As reported previously, a comedy tour is a clever way to skirt the clause in Conan’s exit deal from NBC which stipulated that the comedian could not appear on television before September. As of two weeks ago, Conan’s representatives at William Morris Endeavor were still trying to secure dates for the show. No other dates have been announced.

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Without a TV show to do every night, Conan O'Brien is taking his act on the road.

The former host of "The Tonight Show" announced a 30-city theater tour on Thursday. Sidekick Andy Richter and the former "Tonight Show" band will join O'Brien for what he promises to be "a night of music, comedy, hugging and the occasional awkward silence."

The "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" begins April 12 in Eugene, Ore., and concludes June 14 in Atlanta.

O'Brien is set to appear at Phoenix's Dodge Theatre April 30.

The tour will visit theaters in at least 20 states and two Canadian provinces. Additional dates may be added.

O'Brien quipped: "It was either a massive 30-city tour or start helping out around the house."

On the itinerary is New York's Radio City Music Hall, just steps from where O'Brien first gained fame hosting "Late Night," and the Gibson Amphitheater in Universal City, Calif., near the studio where he presided over "The Tonight Show" for eight months.

The tour also will make a stop at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, the annual festival that takes place June 10-13 in Tennessee. Aside from performing in the comedy tent, O'Brien will emcee the festival's largest music stage on June 11 and 12, the festival said.

O'Brien quit "The Tonight Show" in January instead of taking NBC's offer to move his start time back by a half-hour to make room for "Tonight Show" veteran Jay Leno's return to late night from a failed prime-time show. He hasn't announced any future television plans.

Leno now is back in his old "Tonight" slot, which he had bequeathed to O'Brien last June.

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IWC member Sam Brittan is on a mission to find a skit Conan wrote for SNL back in the day called "Attack of the Masturbating Zombies" (ep 274) which according to Wikipedia "led to advertisers pulling out of the show. The sketch itself was barred from being rerun on NBC, CC & E!" Is there anybody out there of the 983,208 fans who just might have it?! Like a masturbating zombie, this HAS to resurface. -Mike

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According to a press release sent out by the cable network (which, like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner), the comedian is joining TBS to host a late-night show that is expected to debut in November. O'Brien's show will be followed on TBS' schedule by George Lopez's "Lopez Tonight," which will move to midnight.