Conan O’Brien will kick off his new late-night comedy show on Nov. 8 with actor Seth Rogen, White Stripes frontman Jack White, and the winner of his First Guest Poll, TBS announced Thursday.
Leading up to the highly anticipated debut of the show, simply called “Conan,” O’Brien has been polling his fans about which special guest they would most like to see on the first episode, with choices ranging from the impossible — Pope Benedict XVI — to the unknown — Arlene Wagner, curator of the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum.
Hollywood heavyweight Jack Nicholson, who has not appeared on a talk show since 1971, was leading in the poll, with Lady Gaga trailing him in second place.
TBS also announced Thursday the entire lineup of special visitors for the inaugural week of “Conan.” “Mad Men” star Jon Hamm, actors Tom Hanks and Michael Cera, and the band Soundgarden are slated to appear on the show.
NBC controversially yanked O’Brien, 47, from his brief stint on the “Tonight Show” in January and replaced him with late-night veteran Jay Leno. In April, the redheaded comic announced his return to the small screen in a deal with cable channel TBS, which is owned by Time Warner.
Meanwhile, Leno’s audience among young viewers has been shrinking, according to a Wall Street Journal report published earlier this week. O’Brien’s new show will air Monday through Thursday at 11:00pm ET, 35 minutes before the “Tonight Show” comes on NBC.