Conan O’Brien ending late night show, plans new project at HBO Max

Conan O’Brien is ending his late night television show but will content to produce content for HBO Max

We have reached the end of an era in late night television. After 28 years, Conan O’Brien will end his run as a late night television host with the conclusion of Conan.

WarnerMedia made the announcement today, indicating that Conan will end in June 2021. O’Brien’s popular travel series Conan Without Borders will continue to air on TBS.

After that O’Brien will move over to HBO Max where he will produce a weekly variety show for the streaming service. It is another major project between HBO Max and O’Brien, who is already behind several stand-up specials and plans for scripted series.

But the big news is of course the end of Conan. It will mark the end of the show’s 10 year run at TBS following O’Brien’s time as host of Late Night with Conan O’Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien. In a statement, O’Brien demonstrated his signature sense of humor that has been behind his decades of success:

"In 1993 Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: ‘As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform.’ 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."

Fans shouldn’t be too surprised by Conan O’Brien’s announcement

There will be time to reflect on Conan O’Brien’s contributions to late night television and how he influenced an entire generation of comedians. There is undoubtedly some initial shock to hear that the longest-tenured late night host is shutting things down. But fans shouldn’t be too surprised by today’s news.

Things have been trending in this direction for some time now. First, Conan was reduced to a half-hour program, limiting the time spent on celebrity interviews and eliminating musical guests. The number of episodes also seemed to trail behind other late night shows.

Then there is the growing media empire Team Coco is building outside of television. “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” is one of the best and highest-rated comedy podcasts and has led to a number of other podcasts under the Team Coco brand.

As mentioned above, O’Brien is behind a number of projects coming to HBO Max including stand-up specials and scripted series. Combine that with sponsored comedy tours, webseries, and more, and it becomes clear that O’Brien and his team were becoming less focused on traditional television and more invested in new media.

Interviews with O’Brien over the past few years have also provided insight on how he feels about late night television. The Conan host admitted he didn’t want to do Trump jokes every night and could feel exhausted by having to chat with random celebrities about things he had no interest in discussing. That, along with no longer romanticizing late night, gave us a clue to where his future may be going.

O’Brien has put in more than enough work to earn the right to do whatever he wants. It sounds as if he’ll get that chance with HBO Max. It will be less about promoting other people’s projects or having to keep up with current events for monologue jokes. Instead, it’s much more likely that the essence of Conan’s comedy will be better realized under a new format that also aligns with modern viewing habits.

So while this is without a doubt the end of an era and brings some sadness for those who love the late night format, it is also a win-win for Conan O’Brien and HBO Max.

Are you surprised by this announcement? Do you think a variety show on HBO Max is the right move for Conan O’Brien? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.