Conan O'Brien faces a long haul to get back to the top of the TV mountain.
He's been there before, though, so let's assume that on this next trip he won't settle for just conquering a few foothills.
In either case, the new late-night talk show he'll be starting on TBS in November is probably the best of his options.
He doubtless would have preferred Fox, because Fox is a broadcast network and, at this point, broadcast is still the TV summit.
TBS has its strengths, though, including wide distribution and a comedy-friendly climate.
It lso gives him the freedom of cable, which means he can rehire the Masturbating Bear, at the same time it puts him on a channel that courts a broad audience.
That's not a minor point.On Spike or Comedy Central, he could be edgier than ever and likely become a major cult fave.
Trouble is, he's been there already. He's also hosted "The Tonight Show," which he called the best job in show business.
It's probably safe to say that at this point he's aiming closer to the latter than the former.
He starts the quest with a good-guy reputation and a reservoir of sympathy.
He still has a steep climb.
For many years, Conan was the face of television's comedy future.
He was the guy who respected Johnny Carson and Jay Leno and yet could still draw that critical younger and hipper crowd.
NBC was so afraid of losing him that in 2004 it gave Leno five years' notice to vacate "Tonight" so Conan could move in.
Then 2009 came, Conan took over and half the "Tonight" audience disappeared.
Talk about "younger demographics" all you want, that's a bad number. It says Conan was great with his cult and not so great with the masses.
If he wants to get back to the top, he's got to prove those numbers were a fluke.
Which is going to take more than the return of the Masturbating Bear.
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