Expect The Tabernacle to be packed to its creaky, pipe organ-accented rafters next Monday through Thursday as Conan O’Brien brings his late-night TBS talk show to Atlanta for the very first time. Spoiler Alert: Since the NCAA Final Four will be in full-on bracket busting mode a few blocks away at the hideously outdated Georgia Dome, viewers may anticipate a few sports references.
The show has also announced its Atlanta guest line-up for the week and it’s decidedly Atlanta-centric: Actor Paul Rudd (who’s in town shooting “Anchorman 2” with Will Ferrell) is booked for Tuesday’s show as is Atlanta acoustic sister act Von Grey (the sisters made their late-night debut last month on “The Late Show with David Letterman“). On Wednesday, “The Walking Dead” actor Steven Yeun (who plays Glenn, the dorky pizza delivery dude who discovers his inner player during a zombie apocalypse, on the locally shot AMC hit drama) is booked with former Hootie and the Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker. TNT sports analyst Charles Barkley will speak of orange round balls on Thursday night’s show when duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will introduce songs from their latest album, “The Heist.” Comic actor Seth Rogen will kick off the week on Monday discussing his and Rudd’s new flick “The is the End.”
Since all the free tickets to the tapings were given away long ago via online lottery, procrastinating Team Coco fans have exactly two options: 1) Try texting “Sup?” to that Turner employee you drunkenly made out with at Tongue & Groove back in 2009 and never called. 2) Show up to the tent in the parking lot at the Tabernacle at 8 a.m. Monday through Thursday next week, score a numbered wristband and pray. TBS will be releasing standby tickets each afternoon after determining empty seats due to no-shows.
TBS, meanwhile, knows its hometown well. In a note to ticket holders on the Team Coco website, the network advises all to arrive as early as possible prior to the late-afternoon tapings each day in order to reduce the risk of being turned away after seating capacity is reached.
>> From the Archives: Amanda Heckert’s feature story on Conan O’Brien’s move to TBS
