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Updated 7/22/21
Conan O’Brien called it quits officially and hosts his last show this month. It was a star-studded event with Jack Black, Will Ferrell and James Franco stopping by.
But he’s not done with television just yet. O’Brien has signed a deal with HBO Max that will air at the beginning of next year. While we’re unclear on what exactly the formula will be, we know that he won’t be hosting celebrity interviews, or taking cohost Andy with him.
Does this mean this is the end of Conan and Paul Rudd’s long-running Mac and Me gag? We sure hope not!
Catch him on HBO and don’t forget to check out his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, and his travel show, Conan Without Borders.
Originally published 11/18/2020
All good things must come to an end, and that’s also true for late-night TV’s longest serving host.
Conan O’Brien is ending his run as a late-night talk show host after nearly three decades.
The comedian’s late-night show on TBS, Conan, will end after its 10th season in June 2021. WarnerMedia, the network’s parent company, made the announcement Tuesday.
But don’t fret just yet, Conan fans. It looks like the flop-topped redhead isn’t ready to retire from the small screen any time soon. Conan has signed on to host a new weekly variety series for HBO Max. The streaming service also falls under WarnerMedia’s umbrella.
“In 1993, Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: ‘As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform,’” Conan joked in his statement Tuesday. “I’m thrilled that I get to continue doing whatever the hell it is I do on HBO Max, and I look forward to a free subscription.”
So far, no details about Conan’s new HBO Max gig have been released.
The conclusion of Conan on TBS ends the comedian’s 28-year run as a late-night host. With the retirement of David Letterman in 2015, Conan became the “longest-working current late-night talk show host in the U.S.” according to TBS.
His 28 years hosting late-night shows hasn’t always been smooth sailing, though.
Conan first made a name for himself in the early ‘90s when he replaced David Letterman on NBC’s Late Night. He held that spot until 2009 when he picked up and moved across the country to replace Jay Leno as the host of The Tonight Show. That brief and tumultuous stint lasted for less than a year. It ended with Conan being replaced with the host he replaced, Jay Leno.
It was after that short-lived stint that Conan ended up on TBS with his namesake show — and where he has stayed for the last decade. Just last year, TBS made the move to shorten the hour-long Conan episodes down to a less-structured half-hour show.
The comedian has also branched out to do travel field pieces and specials, filming in locales such as Ghana, Cuba, and Qatar. We saw Conan head to Greenland to find out what the country thinks of an America under President Donald Trump. Conan even visited the Joint Security Area (JSA) separating North and South Korea.
WarnerMedia said that these popular travel specials, Conan Without Borders, will continue.
Conan also still maintains his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. He launched it in 2018 with co-hosts Sona Movsesian, his assistant, and Matt Gourley, his producer.
“Conan’s unique brand of energetic, relatable, and at times, absurdist, comedy has charmed late-night audiences for nearly three decades,” said a statement from Casey Bloys, the chief content officer for HBO and HBO Max. “We can’t wait to see what he and the rest of Team Coco will dream up for this brand new, variety format each week.”
You can still catch Conan O’Brien late-night as usual, at least until June of 2021. Conan currently airs at 11 pm Monday through Thursday on TBS.
