After nearly 30 years hosting a talk show, Conan O'Brien has officially retired from late night, but he's not leaving TV or his fans behind. When O'Brien took over Late Night from David Letterman - who was jumping from NBC to CBS - in 1993, many didn't know what to make of him, as while he'd written for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons, he was barely known as an onscreen performer. Thankfully, NBC was willing to give Conan's Late Night a few years to catch on with viewers, leading to a lasting legacy.
Conan left Late Night in 2009 to take over The Tonight Show, a job he had dreamed of having since his days watching Johnny Carson as a child. Sadly, his Tonight Show barely got any time to find itself, as former host Jay Leno muscled back in on his timeslot, Conan pushed back, and the result was his exit from the network. He landed on TBS in 2010, and while many wondered if his style of late night talk show would work on cable, TBS' self-titled Conan lasted for another 11 years and change, with faithful sidekick Andy Richter in tow.
While Conan was originally the wacky outsider among his late night competition, he's retired as the elder statesman of the genre, with the longest continuous tenure as late night host in history. However, Team Coco shouldn't dismay too much, as Conan isn't vanishing from screens. He won't be on every night anymore, but Conan is making the jump to streamer HBO Max. Sadly, Conan's sidekick Andy won't be moving to HBO Max with him.
While specific details on what exactly Conan's new HBO Max show will be like have yet to be revealed, it will be a comedy/variety show, but won't feature guest interviews. In essence, fans might be inclined to consider it Conan getting one night a week to provide his signature brand of irreverent humor, while not giving away the spotlight to interviews with celebrities. As part of the deal, though, Conan will continue to produce his highly popular travel specials Conan Without Borders for airing on TBS, since both HBO Max and TBS are under the WarnerMedia and Discovery corporate umbrella. Conan's HBO Max show still has yet to be assigned a title or premiere date.
It's unclear at present if Conan will continue to produce his also highly popular week of shows from San Diego Comic-Con each year, although it doesn't seem impossible to imagine, allowing fans a brief occasional return to his classic late night style. Conan will also be continuing his podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, and continue to produce various TV show projects through his company Conaco, such as TBS animated series Final Space.