Comedian and late night TV host Conan O’Brien’s Clueless Gamer segment is being spun into a series, apparently, TBS president Kevin Reilly has revealed.
He told The Hollywood Reporter that production on the show, which will apparently retain the name Clueless Gamer, will begin in February. According to Reilly, the new Clueless Gamer series will keep the same general formula as the existing web series where Conan plays video games and makes fun of them, oftentimes with celebrities at his side.
Some video games pay to be on Clueless Gamer as a form of advertising, but the show has apparently been such a hit that publishers are now just giving Conan their new games in hopes that he’ll promote them.
“We’ve gotten to the point where video game companies are sending us their new product for us to play and make fun of because it’s been such a huge success,” Reilly said. “We’re going to go into production on a series of that.”
Earlier this week, it was reported that the show Conan would end its daily run and become a weekly series, not unlike Samantha Bee’s show on the network. Reilly confirmed that Conan won’t shift to a once-a-week schedule, at least not yet, though he acknowledged the show will evolve.
“It’s a distinct possibility that the show may evolve, but that’s going to come from Conan as more of these things take shape,” he said, adding that for now, it’s “business as usual” for the show.
Reilly pointed out that some of Conan’s YouTube videos have been massively popular, picking up 30 million or more views. He’s also done sponsored spots, like this hilarious one with Taco Bell, and traveled around the world to film specials in places like Germany and Cuba.
“All of this is saying that he’s beginning to evolve what his brand is and what it could mean as a talk show in the digital age,” Reilly said. “So we’ve been talking about formalizing all of this and taking it to the next step. He came to me a couple of months ago, and said let’s talk about how he can balance that with the rigors of a daily talk show.
“I think it may very well change, but he hasn’t really got his hands around what it will be. It’s going to be up to him. I’m not forcing him to do anything.”
Conan has a contract with TBS through 2018, and Reilly said you can expect the comedian to renew that deal.
“We’re going to be in business with him for a long time,” the executive explained. “Television is going to continue to be a huge part of his presence, but you can also anticipate a series of announcements between now and the upfronts [in May] that will shed even more light on what we’re talking about.”
Conan’s latest Clueless Gamer segment saw the comedian play Battlefield 1 with Terry Crews.
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