Now That 'Conan' Is Over, What Is Conan O'Brien Doing Next?
Last night brought the final episode of Conan to TBS. The conclusion of the series also marks the end of comedian Conan O'Brien's tenure as a late night television host. After taking over Late Night on NBC in 1993, having an all-too-short stint hosting The Tonight Show, and taking his comedy over to TBS in 2010, the comedian will no longer be a staple of the late night circuit. But he will still be kicking around elsewhere with a variety of projects.
Conan Without Borders Lives On
Even though Conan has come to an end, one of the spin-offs the talk show spawned will keep going.
Conan Without Borders branched out of Conan's famous satellite segments that saw him visiting a variety of different foreign countries with his trademark satire and wit. The spin-off series of specials began in 2015 with a visit to Havana, Cuba. Since then, Conan has traveled to Armenia, Israel, Haiti, Mexico, Australia, South Korea and more.
Thankfully, Conan's adventures abroad will continue, and Conan Without Borders specials will keep him traveling around the world. We're not sure when the next special will come back around, but we're glad these will live on.
Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend Will Stick Around
Back in November 2018, Conan O'Brien spent a lot more time with celebrity guests by launching the podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. The podcast will also continue to be part of Conan's repertoire.
Without forcing promotions into the conversation and severely limiting the time spent with guests, the podcast allowed O'Brien to have a much more intimate, casual, and interesting chats with the likes of Barack & Michelle Obama, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, David Letterman, Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, Kumail Nanjiani, Paul Rudd, J.J. Abrams, Sarah Silverman, Keegan-Michael Key, Kathryn Hahn and many more. More recently, Conan created episodes that allowed fans to call in via Zoom to drive conversations with co-hosts Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley.
Conan Has a New Show at HBO Max
Even though Conan O'Brien will no longer be part of late night television, he will have a new show over at HBO Max. Last fall, when Conan announced the end of his TBS talk show, it came with the news that he would have a new variety show on the streaming service. At the time, the comedian joked:
"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."
As of now, we don't know what the the show will entail, besides comedy, but more than likely it will stray from the typical talk show style Conan has stuck with over the years. The podcast seems to have fulfilled Conan's affinity for chatting with celebrity guests, so there will likely be more of a focus put on the variety side of his entertaining antics. Surely he will still be trying to pursue laughs in the "strange phantom intersection between smart and stupid."
There's no release date for Conan's HBO Max show, but stay tuned for information as it becomes available.