If what we’re hearing becomes reality, at the very least, comedian Christian Finnegan will, over time become a lot more recognizable to the masses. The rarely-wrong Deadline.com is reporting that TBS sitcom Are We There Yet?, based on Ice Cube’s 2005 flick of the same name is getting a 90-episode order.

Finnegan plays the best friend of the lead character, Nick (Terry Crews).

Deadline reports:

This marks the third straight series from distributor Dembar-Mercury to receive a massive pickup following a trial 10-episode run on TBS and the first for a non-Tyler Perry show. I hear Debmar-Mercury is planning to take out Are We There Yet? out in syndication shortly, following the template it developed with Perry for House of Payne that was also used for Perry’s Meet the Browns.

This is all after the show ended its trial run June 30, averaging nearly three million viewers each episode.

TBS knows how to turn around live comedy specials ultra quick. Last night, the network, who just helped host Chicago’s Just For Laughs festival last week premiered Cedric the Entertainer’s Urban Circus, which was filmed during the fest.

And tonight at 10 pm EST, TBS will premiere the special How to Build the Perfect Grown Up, starring Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James and Rob Schneider, who together star in the movie Grown Ups.

On Sunday at 9 pm EST, the network rolls out the hour-long Ellen’s Somewhat Special Special – musical guest Lady Antebellum as well as acrobats and other performance artists star – followed by Team Coco presents Conan’s Writers Live hosted by Andy Richter, wherein Conan’s writers will perform stand-up comedy. Bonus: Reggie Watts, Conan’s brilliant live opener, will also be featured. Check out tbs.com for more info.

In anticipation for her June 16 taping of Ellen’s Somewhat Special Special — part of Chicago’s TBS Just For Laughs comedy festival — Ellen DeGeneres surprised an NBC newscast this afternoon with a friendly drop-in. Programming for the fest begins tomorrow and continues through Saturday and will include shows with the likes of Greg Giraldo, Jim Norton, Aziz Ansari and Patton Oswalt.

Ellen’s special will air June 27 on TBS.

For more info on the fest, check out the official site at justforlaughschicago.com. For now, why not check out Ellen’s appearance on the aforementioned broadcast below? Enjoy!

The newly TBS-supported Conan O’Brien isn’t holding anything back. The deposed comedy lord and his new cable comrades are going right for the jugular, telling the world they want Emmys before they’ve even gone on the air.

The image to the right is one of several new ads mocking “for your consideration” award lobbying advertisements you see in trade magazines like Variety and the Hollywood Reporter.

This one features a beardless, Ken Doll-esque rendering of Conan. The last time TBS joked about a show winning Emmys was when it took out an actual Emmy ad for George Lopez. Conan’s new show premieres on Nov. 8

TBS’ Just For Laughs Chicago Festival has just hatched a tech-savvy new method of keeping fans abreast of the latest fest developments. This year’s festival program will be available in the form of a mobile app.

Show schedules, lineups, comic bios, videos and more will be available on iPhones and Androids.

“Festivals provide a great opportunity to reach fans directly, and one of the best new ways to build that connection is through the power of mobile,” said Dennis Adamovich, senior vice president of brand and digital activation for TBS.

“Through our free apps, we’ll provide Festival attendees with all the information they need at the touch of a finger, helping to make their entire Festival experience richer.”

The list of features on the app include the following:

• Shows Descriptions
• Festival Schedule
• Comic Bios
• Venue Information
• Ticket-Purchase Information
• Festival Maps
• Photo Galleries
• Video Clips
• TBS TV Schedule
• TBS Festival Newsletter Signup
• Live Festival Blogs
• Facebook & Twitter Extensions
• Frequently Asked Questions

You can grab the app at iTunes, Google’s Android market and the festival site on June 1. What do you think, comedy loving mobile users? Is this something you’d be into?

Andy Richter, Reggie Watts, and some of Conan O’Brian’s writers will be performing a live show entitled Team Coco Presents Conan’s Writers Live (a working title) in Chicago on June 17 as part of the TBS Just For Laughs festival.

It seems the idea behind this show is to give the public an idea of what Conan’s new show will be like, while giving Conan a rest (as well as to keep the upcoming show in public view without violating any contracts).

The show, having played to sold out crowds in LA, will be coming to Chicago for one night only as part of festival, going on June 15. So for those of you who can’t wait to see what Conan and TBS have in store for us, you can start buying tickets this Friday after 10 am. For those of you who can wait, Team Coco will also air on TBS, June 27 at 9 pm EST.

Patton Oswalt, Adam Corolla, Rob Corddry, and George Wendt are just a few of the new names announced this week who will be added to the already-impressive lineup at TBS’s Just For Laughs comedy festival, going down June 15-19 in Chicago.

Joining the likes of already confirmed performers Ellen DeGeneres, Denis Leary, Russell Peters, and Cedric the Entertainer, among others, the festival will feature a preview of Corddry’s upcoming Adult Swim TV show, Childrens Hospital, as well as an alumni reunion of Chicago’s Second City class of ‘79.

Tickets for newly announced festival shows go on sale May 1. For more information, please visit justforlaughschicago.com.

Looks like TBS won’t be the only new venue housing a displaced Conan O’Brien. As of Sunday, Variety is reporting that Conan will be packing up and moving to Warner Bros. TV for his new, forthcoming TBS show. This brings about a drastic change for Team Coco, as the comedy superstar’s production company, Conaco, has long been housed at NBC Universal – an arrangement that, obviously, no longer holds any real water.

Of course, this is all just idle speculation; no real deal has been inked with Warner Bros. yet, but talks continue betwixt both parties. But how tense is it for Coco, being stuck toiling on his old, bittersweet stomping grounds? On Saturday, he vented forth via the mouthpiece of Twitter: “I’m doing my live show tonight from the Universal lot where I taped The Tonight Show. So if a shot rings out, tell my wife I loved her.”

Hey, who says the future for current college students in America has to be so dire? With the onset of the National College Comedy Competition, produced by Rooftop Comedy and TBS, a few poor (and hilarious) souls might just be saved from the depressing drudgery of the unemployment line.

Here’s how it works: 32 schools are filtered into the competitive mix, and a three-minute piece from each competitor can be viewed here. From April 22-26, viewers can vote online for which teams they find funniest. Teams will eventually be filtered down to a Final Four, who will then be off to compete at the Rooftop Comedy Festival in Aspen, June 10–13. MVP comedians selected from each team will also have the opportunity to perform at the Just For Laughs festival in Chicago, set to commence June 15–19.

To check out the online bracket and team progress, go here. Let the games begin!

Oh, and watch a video below for further explanation. Yay, explanations!

With the recent news on Conan O’Brien’s return to late night television in the fall, one of the most noticeable aspects is that George Lopez will be getting his show bumped to midnight. This certainly is reminiscent of the way things went down at NBC, when O’Brien was asked to move to the midnight hour to allow Jay Leno back into his original time slot.

However, it should be noted that according to TMZ, not only did Lopez urge the deal to happen, but Conan had said he wouldn’t make a deal with TBS if Lopez wasn’t ok with it. After hearing this, Lopez called Conan and reassured him he had his blessing and that they would make great partners. Lopez added, “I totally support Conan’s decision…we’ll have the best hair in late night.”

Today, the New York Times also released a behind the scenes look at exactly how the deal went down. To sum up the proceedings, according to O’Brien’s manager Gavin Polone, the deal was made in about 10 days. The main focus O’Brien had was that Lopez was fully on board with the decision, so once the two talked over the phone, a deal was all but settled.

Lopez realized the lead-in from O’Brien’s show to “Lopez Tonight” will be great for his ratings. And with the shows preceding O’Brien’s show including reruns of “The Office” and “Family Guy”, O’Brien’s main demographic will already be tuned into TBS.

O’Brien’s new show is scheduled to start in the Fall, and TBS promises “the biggest promotional campaign in television history.” If this is true, expect to start seeing COCO promos in the near future!