‘Conan’ Will Return With New (Shot Alone) Episodes on March 30
With entertainment and particularly laughter in very short supply these days, Conan O’Brien says he is ready to go back to work to offer a little bit of distraction. Via press release, TBS announces that Conan will return (from a scheduled hiatus) on March 30 with new episodes. O’Brien will be “shot remotely on an iPhone, without an audience and with guest interviews” that are done over video chat. O’Brien’s staff is still employed, working on the episodes remotely from home as well.
Conan’s typically Conan-y statement on the news: “The quality of my work will not go down because technically that’s not possible.” His executive producer, Jeff Ross said that after the healthy and safety of their team, their main priority is “to try and find a way that we can do our jobs safely, from home, and contribute some entertainment for our fans out there who may be hungry for silly distraction.”
With coronavirus racing around the worldm and more and more people isolated at home, television is becoming the increasing focal point for entertainment. But productions around the world are also shut down; there’s only so much new content that can come our way in the weeks and months ahead. Other than news and a couple professional wrestling shows, basically everything is on hold. The longer this drags on, the worst that gets. If Conan’s show can be done this way, and bring a few laughs into our lives, and is sustainable over a period of weeks or months, that would be so welcome.
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