Fox and O'Brien talks still in preliminary stages

Conan O'Brien gestures at the 2005 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas January 5, 2005.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - He has become the most famous out-of-work American.

Save for a few weeks of vacation after he signed off January 22 as "Tonight Show" host, Conan O'Brien has stayed in the news. First, he launched a Twitter account, then came the announcement of his 40-city comedy tour, and now attention has shifted to what he will do next on TV.

The camp of the late-night host has engaged with Fox, long considered the most logical new TV home for O'Brien, whose sensibility is in sync with that network's core young-male demographic.

But talks are in preliminary stages, and the two sides have not been in communication during the past two weeks.

Still, a late-night show on Fox remains a viable option for O'Brien that has wide support at the network, starting with toppers Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly. News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch had said publicly that he would back the idea if it makes money.

To do so, a Fox late-night show would have to trim significantly the $50 million-plus annual budget of "The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien" at NBC, in addition to the host's eight-figure salary.

Fox reportedly has presented O'Brien with a framework for a deal, but it is said to have included no numbers.

Then there is the factor of clearing a show on all Fox stations, which might have to be done in stages because station groups are under varying long-term deals for series reruns during the 11 p.m. hour and could push the start of an O'Brien show to 11:30 in some markets.

SEEING OTHERS

O'Brien's talks with Fox are not in an exclusive stage, and he continues to entertain offers from other suitors.

"(The issues) at Fox require you to look at other alternatives," a person close to the host said.

O'Brien has been pitched about two dozen ideas for his next TV gig, including five or six legitimate enough for consideration.

He is said to be comfortable in the traditional talk format in which he has worked for 17 years, but O'Brien also is said to be open to shaking things up. He reportedly is sticking with doing a daily show, as opposed to segueing to a weekly series a la Bill Maher, and essentially is choosing among a late-night show on Fox, a syndicated series -- possibly in a pre-primetime slot -- and a cable show.

O'Brien is said to have been intrigued by an overture by syndicator Debmar-Mercury, which cited the animated comedy "South Park" (which Debmar-Mercury sells) as an example that edgy content like that for which O'Brien is known in late-night can find a place in "early fringe," the pre-primetime portion of the television schedule. Under lax restrictions during the 4:30-7:30 p.m. period, Debmar-Mercury has edited only a handful of episodes of the Comedy Central cartoon to run it then.

"You can do a lot more in those time periods than you used to, ratings there are higher, and there is a lot of money to be made," a person close to the conversations said.

Discussions are ongoing on several fronts, but O'Brien's focus is on his upcoming Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on TV tour, which might get a feature-length documentary treatment if talks with director Rodman Flender come to fruition.