Ladies and gentleman, summer 2010's greatest pop-culture mystery is about to be solved: No, not the identity of the new American Idol judges, the other greatest mystery. Today, Conan O'Brien officially announces the exact name of his new TBS late-night show through Vulture.
There's been much speculation about whether Team Coco would keep things simple, by using some variation of O'Brien's name (The Coco Show!). Or maybe they'd go crazy and riff on the after-hours time slot (Up Late with Conan) or O'Brien's new status as an Internet icon (Conan 3.0). In the end, simplicity won out — although, sadly, Conan's first choice for a name wasn't available. “I wanted one word that captured my essence, and 'Oprah' was already taken," O'Brien tells Vulture. So enough Ryan Seacrest–esque stalling: Just what is the title? We'll let the redheaded one tell you himself, via video.
Yup, the name of O'Brien's third late-night show is ... Conan. Show insiders tell Vulture that O'Brien and team pretty much settled on this name weeks ago, but like so many things in Hollywood, choosing a name isn't always simple. You have to clear the title legally, to make sure nobody else has the rights to it, and that's even true when the name is your own. For the last few weeks, O'Brien's army of lawyers and TBS have been doing their due diligence making sure it's okay to use "Conan" as the show's title. One stumbling block could have been the Conan the Barbarian franchise, which has included comics, books, films, and, in 1997, a short-lived TV series called Conan. But now, it's clear that all issues have been worked out.
Still to come: a new logo for Conan, which should be ready shortly (and no doubt available for purchase via T-shirts and ballcaps not long after). TBS has already started stepping up on-air promos for the show (like this one). And don't be surprised if Coco himself starts showing up in some of the spots himself soon, too. The only mystery left: Will Conan keep his tour beard once he returns to TV November 8?