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Strange bedfellows: NBC's back in business with Conan O'Brien, sorta

Conaco_logo

No hard feelings, CoCo.

Just days after NBC sealed its $33 million exit deal with Conan O’Brien, the Peacock has greenlighted a drama pilot from O’Brien’s Conaco shingle.

Untitled drama -- previously known as “Justice” -- from scribe John Eisendrath, revolves around a former Supreme Court Justice who bails from the Court in order to start his own legal practice.

Eisendrath (“My Own Worst Enemy”) is the writer and exec producer, while Conaco is producing via Universal Media Studios.

Also expected to serve as exec producers are Conaco topper David Kissinger, as well as O’Brien and his longtime “Late Night”/ “Tonight” exec producer, Jeff Ross.

Peacock’s Conaco pilot pickup reps a reminder that Hollywood breeds strange bedfellows. Execs-turned-producers frequently sell projects to the networks they once worked at (and frequently exited under ugly circumstances). 

David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants shingle, for example, was behind NBC’s “Ed” -- despite the fact that he left the Peacock under difficult circumstances as well.

As part of O’Brien’s departure last week, Conaco remains set up right now at Universal Media Studios, where it still has a year and a half left on its deal. Insiders said some projects remain in development there, while others will revert back to O’Brien.

Conaco’s previous productions include the NBC comedy “Andy Barker, P.I.,” starring O’Brien’s one-time sidekick Andy Richter. The company also produced the 2001 reality series “Lost” -- not related to the ABC sci-fi drama -- for the Peacock.

Other Conaco projects in development include a sitcom starring Paul Rust; a buddy laffer from Steve Tompkins; a dating sitcom from Stephen Engel; a show set in a coffeehouse, from Kevin Cecil and Andy Riley; and a sci-fi comedy from Brian Kelley and Paul Simms.

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Variety's Team TV -- Cynthia Littleton, Stu Levine, Jon Weisman, Andrew Wallenstein and A.J. Marechal -- provides a roundup of stories big and small, as well as opinions and analysis from across the TV dial.