Andy Richter and Conan's Writers Planning One-Hour Special Airing Sun. June 27

[JamesG]

Andy Richter, Conan Writers Planning TBS Special
by Andrew Scott
posted May 26th 2010


Conan O'Brien is headed to TBS a bit sooner than planned -- well, sort of.


According to the AP, Andy Richter and O'Brien's writers will star in a one-hour special, tentatively titled "Team Coco presents Conan's Writers Live", designed to give viewers a taste of what to expect when O'Brien's new late-night talk show premieres in November.


Richter will host the special, which will tape June 17 during the second annual Just for Laughs comedy festival in Chicago and air Sun., Jun. 27 at 10PM ET on TBS.

http://www.tvsquad.com/2010/05/26/an...ters-live-tbs/

[Adamantium]

Awesome!!!! Conan's got some funny writers too.

[JamesG]

Andy Richter: Prepare For a Lot of Silliness on Team Coco Special
Jun 26, 2010
by Kate Stanhope


As anyone who caught his national tour knows, Conan O'Brien is "legally prohibited from being funny on television." But his writers aren't.

O'Brien's longtime writers, as well as sidekick and "Tonight Show" announcer Andy Richter, will start making themselves comfortable at their new network with a stand-up special, "Team Coco Presents Conan's Writers Live", airing Sunday at 10/9c on TBS.




"It's bunch of guys who were writing for "The Tonight Show", who are performers in their own right and who have been sitting at home for the last five months ready to do something," Richter tells TVGuide.com.

"Our writers had already been doing stand-up together as a group at various stand-up clubs around LA, so it was just sort of the proverbial no-brainer."







Conan O'Brien says goodbye to "The Tonight Show"

The writers found themselves with more spare time after O'Brien's sudden departure from "The Tonight Show" in January led to an exit deal with NBC that prohibited him from appearing on TV until fall.

His new TBS show will begin airing in November.


"It's not like they're a bunch of mousy quiet little fellas sitting there putting lines in Conan's mouth," he says. "They're all really funny, talented performers in their own rite and it's nice that people will get a chance to see that."



The "legally prohibited" part of "legally prohibited" is no joke: Don't expect the lanky redhead to drop in at the special. But that will mean even more recognition for his talented team of writers, some of whom appeared in the "Legally Prohibited" tour that took O'Brien across the country in the spring.







Andy Richter still has hard feelings toward NBC and Jay Leno

"It's about showcasing each individual's bit. There's the stuff that they write for Conan and the stuff that they write for themselves. So some of the guys are just kind of straight-up joke tellers, and then other guys are going to be kind of more weird, atmospheric character pieces, but all funny and not too far apart from each other in terms of comedic identity," he says.

"You're going to see lots of silliness."


The special also marks the first appearance of "Team Coco" on TBS since the network announced O'Brien's new late-night show in April.







Conan O'Brien going to TBS

Richter says the team has yet to truly start brainstorming for the program, scheduled to debut in November, but says he's already excited about Team Coco's new home.

"The network couldn't have been more open to us and more inviting to us and more welcoming to us," he says. "It was pretty lousy what happened and it felt pretty lousy, but I really do think we're going to end up in a better place and that's already becoming evident."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Team-Coc...r-1019922.aspx

[TV Knowledge Fan]

...and it was damned good! Conan's writers are very funny when delivering their own material. In fact, I kept expecting Andy to run out on stage towards the end and declare, "Hey, guys, I just got a telegram from Conan! Listen to this...{reads it} 'Dear Ex-Writers'...[stunned look on face] 'I just saw your special, and boy, are you guys funny! In fact, you're too funny! Why didn't write that kind of material for me? In fact, because of you, I got....well, we'll see who has the last laugh while you're entertaining those other guys waiting on the unemployment line, 'cause I just got some of Jimmy Kimmel's writers to replace you! Now that's the biggest joke of all!! HAR-HAR-HAR! Your Ex-Boss, Conan 'I'm not that stupid' O'Brien...p.s. 'Jimmy Kimmel's writers'? Maybe I am...but not enough to rehire you guys on half-salary!! HARDY-HAR-HAR!! See, I thought that up myself!!!'"