Conan O'Brien ends his long run in late night for a new show on HBO Max
By Frank Pallotta, CNN Business
CNN — One era ends, and another begins for late-night TV's longest-serving host.
"Conan," Conan O'Brien's weekly late-night show on TBS, will end after its 10th season in June, the network's parent company, WarnerMedia, announced on Tuesday.
However, O'Brien isn't ready to retire just yet.
O'Brien will host a new weekly variety series for HBO Max, WarnerMedia's nascent streaming service. (WarnerMedia is also the parent company of CNN.)
"In 1993, Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: 'As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform,'" O'Brien jokingly said in a statement on 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."
The conclusion of "Conan" ends O'Brien's nearly 30-year run as a late-night host.
O'Brien made a name for himself in the early '90s when he replaced David Letterman on NBC's "Late Night." His mix of solid interviewing, irreverent humor and downright weird characters (Pimpbot 5000 and Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog, to name a few) helped "Late Night" and O'Brien capture a loyal audience and stand out in the late-night world.
Following "Late Night," O'Brien had a brief and tumultuous stint as the host of "The Tonight Show" before being replaced by the host he replaced, Jay Leno.
After "The Tonight Show," O'Brien ended up on TBS, where he has kept his schtick going for the last decade while also branching out to do travel field pieces and specials in countries like Cuba and Armenia.
WarnerMedia said that these travel specials, which are called "Conan Without Borders," will continue.
WarnerMedia did not give any details about O'Brien's new variety show for HBO Max or when it would debut on the service.
"Conan's unique brand of energetic, relatable, and at times, absurdist, comedy has charmed late-night audiences for nearly three decades," Casey Bloys, the chief content officer for HBO and HBO Max, said in a statement. "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."