Comedy tour by Conan O'Brien | |
Official tour poster, based on Mike Mitchell's "I'm with Coco" poster
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Start date | April 12, 2010 |
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End date | June 14, 2010 |
No. of shows | 42 in North America |
The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour (also known as the Prohibited Tour) was a comedy tour by American comedian and talk show host Conan O'Brien. Its title is a reference to the 2010 Tonight Show host and timeslot conflict, which resulted in O'Brien resigning from his position as host of The Tonight Show in January 2010. O'Brien reached a settlement with NBC that barred him from appearing on television until September 2010, but it did not bar him from performing before a live audience in a concert setting. From April through June 2010, O'Brien performed 42 shows in the United States and Canada.
O'Brien announced on March 11, 2010 via his Twitter account that he would embark on a 30-city live tour beginning April 12. Even with the unconventional marketing campaign of a single Twitter announcement, many locations sold out within hours of the tweet and additional shows were added on to meet demand. During the tour, O'Brien announced that his new show, Conan, would debut on TBS in November 2010. A documentary following O'Brien during the tour, Conan O'Brien Can't Stop, was released in June 2011.
In January 2010, late-night talk show hosts Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno engaged in a public relations conflict over who should host The Tonight Show. Due to low ratings for The Jay Leno Show and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, NBC announced a schedule change, moving Leno from 10:00 pm to 11:30 pm, and O'Brien from 11:30 pm to 12:00 am. This change resulted in a public outcry and public demonstrations largely in support of O'Brien. O'Brien indicated that he would quit his show and leave the network if NBC were to implement it, citing the "destruction" of the venerable franchise which had aired at or around 11:30 pm for over 60 years.