Conan O'Brien ending nightly TBS show in 2021
Nov 18, 2020
Washington [US], November 18 : American TV show host Conan O'Brien's TBS late-night show will wrap in June 2021 after 10 seasons on the cable network. He will then segue to a weekly variety series on HBO Max, which like TBS is owned by WarnerMedia.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 57-year-old tv host O'Brien, "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."
O'Brien won't be leaving TBS entirely: His 'Conan Without Borders' travel specials will continue to air on TBS. O'Brien is the longest-tenured current host of a late-night show, having first hosted NBC's 'Late Night' in 1993. He has a year left on his current deal with TBS.
Brett Weitz, general manager of TNT, TBS and TruTV said, "Twenty-eight years is a monumental achievement in late-night television. We're incredibly proud of the ground-breaking work that Conan and his team have accomplished during the 10 years at TBS and are so glad that we will continue to have his presence on our air with the 'Conan Without Borders' specials. We celebrate his success and are glad to see it grow across our WarnerMedia family."
Details on the weekly HBO Max series are scant at the moment. Speculation that O'Brien would wind down his nightly show or shift to a weekly format has been circulating for several years, dating back to before the 2018 decision to trim Conan from an hour to 30 minutes a night. O'Brien said at the time that the half-hour format "gives us the opportunity to double down on the stuff we're doing that works best and resonates with our fan base, especially our digital stuff, and make the show leaner so I'm never out there filling time in any way."
O'Brien also has an existing relationship with HBO Max, as his Team Coco is producing several stand-up specials for the streamer.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys, "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."
