Conan O’Brien, capping a 28-year career in late-night TV, will end his nightly talk show in June, WarnerMedia announced Tuesday.
Instead, O’Brien, 57, will pivot from his current perch at TBS to a weekly variety series on HBO Max, which WarnerMedia has made a top priority.
“Conan,” which airs at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday will conclude after its 10th season ends in June, capping speculation that has percolated since 2017, predating the new streaming service.
“In 1993, Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: ‘As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform,’” O’Brien joked in a statement. “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.”
O’Brien, a Harvard-educated former “Simpsons” writer, began his late-night career in the 1993 with “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” But his lifelong quest to fill “The Tonight Show” shoes of the legendary Johnny Carson proved short-lived, when NBC gave him the show, replacing Jay Leno, only to pull the rug out in January 2010. O’Brien left and landed at TBS, and is the longest-tenured late-night host.
Last year, his show was reduced to a half-hour format, a precursor to its eventual demise, and last month he said his Los Angeles set had been burglarized.
“Conan’s unique brand of energetic, relatable, and at times, absurdist, comedy has charmed late-night audiences for nearly three decades. 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,” said Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer, HBO and HBO Max.
Read more at usatoday.com
