Conan Goes to Mexico City for More ‘Conan Without Borders’
Conan O’Brien is headed south of the border. The next installment of the “Conan” host’s travelogue specials, “Conan Without Borders,” will come to viewers from Mexico City, airing March 1 at 10/9c on TBS.
The Mexico City-shot special will be entirely outsourced, using an all-Mexican staff, crew, audience, and guests.
“Although I’m eager to make a show in Mexico, if the U.S. government meets my demand for $100 million in tax incentives, I will consider relocating production to Akron,” O’Brien said.
The announcement came mere hours after President Donald Trump was said to be mulling a 20% import tax on Mexican goods to pay for a massive wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and comes amid growing tensions between the two countries. Prior to his taking the Oath of Office, Trump had also claimed to be responsible for manufacturer Carrier keeping jobs in Indiana rather than moving them to Mexico in exchange for tax incentives.
Past O’Brien jaunts outside the confines of the U.S. include Berlin, South Korea, Armenia, and Cuba, where he was the first late-night host to do a show from there in 50 years. Though these travelogue-style editions have proven popular, “Conan” has nonetheless fallen behind its competitors, leading to the consideration of a format change for the daily series. O’Brien’s contract with the network runs through 2018, though, and O’Brien’s production company Conaco is behind several TBS series on the air (“People of Earth”), in production (animated series “Final Space”), and in development (“Clueless Gamer”).
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