Conan O'Brien met with TBS execs this morning in Hotlanta -- and if the crazy "Welcome Home" signs are any clue, network employees couldn't be happier that Coco is playing on their team.
It all went down before lunchtime today at the network's headquarters -- where an insane crowd of TBS employees went ballistic to welcome their newest star.
Conan took the mic to address the mob, saying, "Thank you for welcoming me to your home." He added, "We are going to make great television ... and I'm not talking about my
show."
Jay Leno cracked a joke on his show last night, implying that the Times Square bombing suspect doesn't just support terror ... he also supports Conan O'Brien.
During the gag, Leno created a fake Facebook page for Faisal Shahzad -- on which he claims the perp was a member of several online groups, including Al Qaeda, the Pakistan Frequent Flyers Club ... and Team Coco.
NBC is pissed at Conan O'Brien and claims he lied during his "60 Minutes" interview.
Network sources tell TMZ Conan was flat out wrong when he said NBC gave him the axe rather than Leno because Jay's buyout would have been bigger. Sources say the buyouts for Conan and Jay were roughly the same. TMZ broke the story Conan took home $32.5 million from his severance package with NBC.
And our network sources say Coco was just plain lying in response to Steve Kroft's question:
Kroft: "They said that the -- for the first time in history, 'The Tonight Show' was losing money."
Conan: "I don't see how that's, I honestly don't see how that's possible. It's really not possible. It isn't possible."
NBC sources say the show would not only have lost more than $5 million this year had they kept Conan on, but the loss was specifically discussed with Conan -- "They were well-informed of that fact," said one source.
Conan O'Brien says he wouldn't have done what Jay Leno did to him -- and that there was nothing NBC could have done to repair his relationship with the network.
Conan sat down with "60 Minutes" to discuss the "Tonight Show" fiasco and how he felt he needed to part ways with NBC no matter how they went about things.
Conan O'Brien had to make an emergency stop on his comedy tour last night -- when his tour manager had to be taken to a hospital in Canada.
The newly-minted TBS late night host told photogs his tour manager had to be checked out after exhibiting some sort of "symptoms" -- but Conan wasn't specific about the nature of the illness.
And while Coco was all fired up about the free health care in Canada, he joked "I think they're gonna take his American Express card ... because we're American."
UPDATE: We're told Conan's tour manager was suffering from "migraine symptoms" -- and he has since been released from the hospital.
Conan O'Brien made his triumphant return to the stage last night -- for his new comedy tour -- where he busted out a version of "I Will Survive" with some lyrics aimed directly at NBC.
Andy Richter, Jack McBrayer and Masturbating Bear all made cameos during the show in Eugene, Oregon -- though, for legal reasons, the bear's name had be to changed to "Self Pleasuring Panda."
George Lopez is so fired up about Conan O'Brien moving to TBS -- that last night on his show, he bragged to Chris Rock that he "gets to go to work an hour later ... a Latino dream come true."
Conan O'Brien's first commercial for his new TBS talk show was literally thrown together overnight -- just hours before it premiered yesterday, TMZ has learned.
The spot features the infamous "I'm With Coco" artwork proudly adopted by O'Brien fans when he got booted from NBC -- but according to the artist, Mike Mitchell, nobody called to ask him for permission to use the image until 9 PM Sunday night.
Mitchell says he was given less than an hour to make up his mind, but he ultimately agreed. No word on how much green he made on the deal.
As for what he thinks of Conan's new gig, Mitchell tells us, “I think it’s great he’s going to be on TV again ... but I don’t have cable.”
Wondering what Conan O'Brien was up to this morning before the TBS announcement? He was hangin' out at an Oregon hotel preparing for the first night of his comedy tour.
Our food spies say Conan was chowing down on breakfast at his hotel in Eugene just before taking this photo with fans.
The people who snapped the pic say Coco was filming something at the time -- his crew claimed it was for a documentary.
We're told George Lopez did not eat breakfast right after him.
TMZ has learned how the deal went down with Conan O'Brien, George Lopez and TBS, and Conan made it clear -- he didn't want anyone to endure the same shabby treatment he got at NBC.
Sources tell TMZ the idea of bringing Conan to TBS was hatched by Turner's entertainment chief Steve Koonin. We're told Koonin went to George Lopez and said he would only approach Conan if George gave his blessing. We're told George immediately figured out that having Conan as an 11:00 PM lead-in would be nothing short of amazing for a midnight show.
With Lopez on board, we're told Koonin then approached Conan with the idea. Conan's first reaction -- he didn't want to do to someone else what was done to him, referring to NBC's decision to blindside Conan. Koonin told Conan that George had signed off, but Conan wanted to make sure. George then called Conan to reassure him he was on board and thought they would be great partners.
We're told Koonin then began negotiations last week and the deal was done in days, even though the Fox deal was still alive.
As for why Conan chose TBS .... the average age of a "Lopez Tonight" viewer is 33, decades younger than the other late-night shows. TBS is the future ... so thought Conan.
And there's this ... George Lopez is saying, "I totally support Conan's decision ... We'll have the best hair in late night."
Slash pulled off the ultimate act of defiance on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" last night -- dude rocked a Team Coco pin on the air during his performance at the end of the show!
Though it appears NBC tried to edit around the Conan O'Brien support symbol, a few shots of the pin still managed to make air.
Conan took the mic to address the mob, saying, "Thank you for welcoming me to your home." He added, "We are going to make great television ... and I'm not talking about my
show."
