Conan O’Brien and Samantha Bee’s TBS shows are getting makeovers. As previously reported, Conan will shift to a half-hour format in 2019, which will allow O’Brien to do, as he put it, a “higher percentage of the comedy in, and out, of the studio that I love and that seems to resonate in this new digital world.†One casualty of the format shift at Conan, it turns out, will be musical guests. According to Variety, the new version of the show will no longer feature regular musical guest performances, and longtime Conan producer and music booker Roey Hershkovitz will depart the show along with the change. Hershkovitz has worked for O’Brien for over 20 years, starting as an intern on Late Night way back in 1999.
Samantha Bee’s Full Frontal, meanwhile, will undergo a few changes of its own before it returns with new episodes on September 12. At the end of last night’s episode, Bee starred in a short segment that vaguely revealed changes to the set are on the way: “It’s time to hit the fucking reset button. Hand me a crowbar.â€
According to TBS, the tweaked version of Bee’s show is currently being referred to as “Full Frontal 2.0,†described as “an evolution of the show that is prepared to tackle the midterm elections.†A rep from TBS confirmed that the show will return with a new set “and more newness to come.â€