In a move that qualifies as a shocker, Conan O’Brien has made a deal to return to television in a new late-night show on cable—not network—television.

The former “Tonight Show” host has agreed to start up a new show on TBS, the comedy-oriented cable channel in the Turner network lineup. The new show will start in November and play at 11 p.m. weeknights, teamed with that network’s other late-night show, hosted by George Lopez. That show, now at 11, will slide to midnight.

The news comes as a stunner because Mr. O’Brien was known to be in talks with the Fox network, and most predictions had him moving there in September or January.

TBS was not known to be in the picture. But Mr. O’Brien’s representatives had been quietly talking with that cable network as issues continued to arise with the potential Fox deal.

The move will surely be closely examined for its implications for the future of broadcast vs. cable television, with one of the biggest stars of recent years in network television abandoning that side for cable.

In a release accompanying the announcement Mr. O’Brien said: “In three months I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly.”

Mr. O’Brien begins his live concert tour here Monday night.

In the statement, Steve Koonin, the president of Turner Entertainment Networks, emphasized the change from network to cable:

“For decades, late-night TV has been dominated by broadcast television,” Mr. Koonin said. “Now, with a young audience and a growing late-night lineup, TBS is set to be the choice of comedy fans for years to come.”

What do you think? Could this possibly work out for Conan O’Brien? Cable channels are a little bit looser with their restrictions than network television so that could work in his favor. Also, with the 11:00pm start time there is a built-in lead against both Jay Leno and David Letterman. Plus, he’s pushing that miserable “Lopez Tonight” show back to a 12:00pm starting time, which will probably be good for everyone.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see how this whole thing plays out. All I hope for is that O’Brien beats the pants off of Leno…I can’t stand that arrogant punk.

I’ve watched a few episodes of Late Night and I think there are definitely some positive aspects of the show. For example, having The Roots as your house band is incredible. Also, Jimmy has been able to maintain a high quality list of guests for his first few days of the show and that’s pretty impressive.

One aspect of the show that seriously needs improvement, though, is Jimmy’s tone during the interviews. There are times when he’s talking to the guests where the volume of his voice lowers to a somewhat inaudible level. I don’t think it’s my television that is creating the awkward sound quality – I think it’s a fluctuation in Jimmy’s voice. All of that being said, let’s be real – if that’s the biggest complaint that I have right now with Late Night, then the show is doing pretty well!

All in all, Jimmy will probably do well with the show, but it’s likely that we’ll be seeing a much different product in another few weeks. That’s how these network television executives are with their new programming – put it on for a few weeks, change it up according to what the demos suggest is working, then crank it to the extreme.