Conan a possibility for Fox, Glee a certainty, etc.

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PASADENA, Calif. -- The Chronicles of Conan turned another page Monday when Fox executives indicated a clear interest in inking him if the semi-jilted comic bolts NBC.

It's widely assumed that Conan O'Brien is the sticking point in NBC's plan to return Jay Leno to late night on March 1 after what will end up as a disastrous five-month run in prime-time. The Peacock is asking The Tonight Show, hosted by O'Brien since June, to move back a half-hour to accommodate Leno.

"He needs to make a decision about what he wants to do. And if that is to not remain in his current job, I love him. Creatively it's a very compatible fit for our brand," Fox entertainment president Kevin Reilly said after a formal interview session devoted mostly to the surprise announcement that Simon Cowell will be leaving American Idol after this season to host and produce a U.S. version of The X Factor for Fox in 2011.

O'Brien "is one of the few guys on the planet who has demonstrated he can do one of these shows every night," said Reilly, who previously served as NBC's entertainment president. "But there's a host of business issues aligned" with any effort to bring O'Brien to Fox's currently dormant late night arena, Reilly added.

Those issues include the willingness of Fox affiliate stations to play along and the intricacies involved in O'Brien's contract with NBC. Since taking over Tonight, O'Brien has fallen well behind Late Show with David Letterman after Leno dominated the CBS funnyman in the latenight Nielsen ratings. Does that make O'Brien damaged goods?

"Absolutely not," Reilly replied. "I don't think he's damaged goods in the least."

Of much more certainty at the moment are Fox's plans for Glee, which officially was renewed for a second season Monday.

"It's a show that has captured the imagination of the American public in an interactive way that we've never seen before," Fox entertainment chairman Peter Rice said.

The cheeky, high school-set musical comedy has spawned two best-selling CDs, generated four million song downloads and is up for four Golden Globes at this Sunday's awards ceremony. Fox hopes to build on its momentum by launching a nationwide search in February for three new regular cast members, all of whom will be introduced on next fall's premiere episode.

Hopefuls between the ages of 16 and 26 will be able to audition online, with additional details coming soon on fox.com/glee.

"Anybody and everybody now has a chance to be on a show about talented underdogs," Glee executive producer/creator Ryan Murphy says in press materials distributed to TV critics. "No matter who you are -- a Broadway talent or a struggling singing waiter with a dream in the Midwest -- you now have an opportunity to make that dream come true by posting your talent video and showing us what you can do."

The current season of Glee is scheduled to resume on April 13, with the show shifting from Wednesdays to Tuesdays.

AS THE ODOMETERS TURN -- Fox has three more series milestones to mark after airing the 450th episode of The Simpsons Sunday. They'll be doling them out at the rate of one per month.

On Saturday, March 6 comes the 1,000th episode of America's Most Wanted.

On Thursday, April 8th, it's the 100th episode of Bones.

And on Sunday, May 2nd, prepare for the 150th episode of Family Guy.

Meanwhile, Fox's 24 launches Season 8 on Sunday with a two-hour opener followed by another double dose on Monday. Let's see, seven times 24 equals 168 episodes to date. So No. 200 isn't that far off if Fox finds a way to bring Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer back for more prolonged trauma in January 2011.

"It's a guarantee that he's going to have a bad day," Sutherland said during a 24 interview session Monday afternoon.

That said, he's "absolutely open" to returning for another season beyond this one, Sutherland assured.