After a somewhat-disappointing fall that saw TBS resorting to bringing in Big Bang Theory reruns to shore up the show’s ratings, Conan has seen its viewership rise 27 percent since October, suggesting that the strategy of hoping Big Bang Theory fans were too paralyzed with laughter and Cool Ranch Doritos to change the channel actually paid off. And as a result, the network has renewed its vows with O’Brien, signing a deal that will keep the show on the basic-cable air through at least April 2014. In making the announcement, TBS cited O’Brien’s “young and fiercely loyal audience,” which sort of makes it sound like Conan’s viewers are a loincloth-wearing Lord Of The Flies tribe who raise their primitively fashioned spears and bellow a hearty “Hoooo!” at every punchline. Or whatever, marketing speak is boring; for example, the “dynamic online presence” that TBS also cites as a reason for doubling down on its Conan investment. Is the show also maximizing returns on its new media engagement strategies? We'll just have to assume that it is. Anyway, O’Brien issued his own, less-annoying statement saying, “This means I’ll be taping episodes of Conan well into the Ron Paul presidency,” which automatically counts as the most serious assessment of Ron Paul’s chances yet.

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