TV Junkie: Conan Is on TCM Tonight; New 'Chelsea Lately' Also A Highlight

Sure, there's all kinds of marathons on today, from "John Adams" on HBO to "The Twilight Zone" on Syfy but if you want to see a great block of programming, check out Conan O'Brien as guest programmer on TCM. Starting at 5pm, Conan sits and discusses film with network host Robert Osborne, and then introduces each of the following films: Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), The Roaring Twenties (1939), Network (1976), and Duck Soup (1933). We'd first heard about this a bit over a month ago and have been anticipating it ever since - he will be funny, he will point out items of interest in every film he introduces, and he'll bring a lot of energy and, hopefully, viewers to a network that should be better known by younger viewers.
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Conan might be over on TCM but all the other late night hosts are taking the night off ....except for Chelsea Handler who will have a great roundtable lineup of Jo Koy, Arden Myrin, and Chris Franjola, with Jennifer Aniston as guest. Aniston was the guest when we went to Jimmy Fallon's show a few months ago and she was a lot of fun but tonight could be quite a bit more interesting as Aniston is a personal friend of Handler's and there's a chance for her to be more open. At any rate, with that lineup we know it will be a funny night.
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Speaking of Chelsea Handler, her NBC show, "Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea," is getting a major cast shakeup with Natalie Morales, Angel Laketa Moore, and Jo Koy leaving the show. Koy's departure must have been a difficult discussion since he's such a regular on "Chelsea Lately" (like tonight, for example), but we'll probably never know who made the call on that. It can't have anything to do with Koy's appearance at the Chicago Just for Laughs festival where he was accused of an "anti-gay slur" which is patently absurd if you're at all familiar with his act. The Huffington Post provided yet another example of non-reporting reminding us why we don't read it anymore. We found a Facebook post from a man who says he was the comedian who opened for Jo Koy that night - Ramon Rivas II says that the tone (which is everything when it comes to comedy) of the joke wasn't hateful and that everyone took it as funny. The comedian also says he tried to post a comment on the Huffington Post story but that it wasn't approved for in a timely manner, i.e. before the media shitstorm took affect and the "story" was reblogged everywhere. It doesn't look like HuffPo is interested in finding out the truth or, at least, a different take on what happened that evening. That's really American of you HuffPo, condemning somebody in the public forum while ignoring other evidence. Happy 4th!
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The TV Junkie Must-Watch Plan: "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (Conan on TCM), "The Roaring Twenties" (Conan on TCM), "Weeds," "The Big C," "Chelsea Lately" (Actress Jennifer Aniston; comic Jo Koy; comic Arden Myrin; comic Chris Franjola).

5pm-12:00am Conan on TCM - Conan O'Brien introduces the films Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), The Roaring Twenties (1939), Network (1976), and Duck Soup (1933).

8:00pm A Capitol Fourth 2011 PBS/KOCE - The concert celebrating America includes performances by Steve Martin, Josh Groban, Matthew Morrison, Jordin Sparks, Little Richard and the cast of ``Million Dollar Quartet'' and Kelli O'Hara. With the National Symphony Orchestra.

10:00pm Weeds Showtime - Nancy tries to get her life back in New York City; Andy and Shane arrive unexpectedly; Silas begins a modeling career; Doug looks up an old friend.

10:00pm Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular CBS - Michael Chiklis hosts the annual ceremony that presents fireworks accompanied by the music of the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra

10:30pm The Big C Showtime - Cathy resorts to supernatural aid; Sean becomes assertive; Adam capitalizes on his classmates' sympathy

11:00pm Chelsea Lately E! - Actress Jennifer Aniston; comic Jo Koy; comic Arden Myrin; comic Chris Franjola.