Welcome back to late night, Coco.

Last night the former Tonight Show host made his basic cable debut on the TBS network and it did not go unnoticed. Conan O’Brien wasted no time in reminding viewers of how his firing went down last year, literally likening the NBC Network honchos to Godfather-like hitmen.

While it may have lacked the vim and verve of O’Brien‘s dash across America as he headed towards the land of Burbank for The Tonight Show, last night’s cold open showcasing O’Brien‘s search for new employment (including cameos by Mad Men’s Jon Hamm and “Guardian Angel” Larry King) proved the comedian could take a licking – and a joke.

And he’s got the last laugh: the debut of Conan won the ratings battle, beating NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno, CBS’ Late Show with David Letterman, and fellow basic cable funnymen Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.

Let us here at WHC Insider be the first to publicly declare our vote for Conan O’Brien as the host of the 2011 White House Correspondents Association Dinner…although maybe he should shave first? Check out the bearded-one in last night’s monologue:

WHC Insider Late Night Conan, Conan O'Brien, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Late Night, Stephen Colbert

The White House Correspondents Dinner is now “a Hollywood night,” so says David Letterman friend and comedian Jim Gaffigan.  “Having known Wanda for 15 years, it was like, ‘She’s holding back a little bit.’ It’s really interesting to see how that Correspondents’ Dinner has changed since the Colbert thing.”

Read the rest of Gaffigan’s interview with the WSJ here.

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Bill Scheft Hails Wanda Sykes as Great Choice for WHCD Entertainment

If the elite gathering of A-list journos, politicos and celebrities that make up the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Bill Scheft, right, on the "Late Show" set with Dave, left.

can’t loosen up when Sykes starts her monologue, it’s likely to get what it deserves, says Scheft, a veteran scribe for “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

“If they take Wanda too seriously, she’s going to let ‘em have it,” Scheft tells WHCInsider. “I’ve know Wanda a long time. She’ll really give it to ‘em, and I think that’s what they need — somebody to yell at ‘em.”

Scheft says that Sykes was a great choice to book for the entertainment, noting that Stephen Colbert — who raised as many hackles as he did laughs with his controversial routine at the 2006 dinner — is altogether different. “Colbert was a character playing a character playing a character at that dinner. He’s very character-oriented. Wanda is much more joke-oriented.” Read more…

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Wanda Sykes, the bawdy-humored comedian who will emcee this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner, has just landed a late-night network talk show on Fox for her often jaundiced, R-rated take on the world.
 
Starting this fall, Sykes — who once lived near D.C. and whose first job was with the National Security Agency — will enter the white male-dominated landscape of late-night TV talk shows, hosting her own on the Fox broadcast network. The hour-long yakker, as the trade papers like to call talk shows, will be topical, focusing on politics and pop culture and regularly featuring guests as well as spots Sykes will do outside of the studio, according to news reports on April 1 (yes, April Fool’s Day — but Fox confirmed the reports). Read more…

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