Conan O'Brien#Departure from Tonight Show
{{Short description|American television host, comedian, and writer (born 1963)}}
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{{Infobox comedian
| image = 2024-03-09 SXSW Conan Nick-Kroll Office-Space events 07090 (cropped).jpg
| caption = O'Brien in 2024
| birth_name = Conan Christopher O'Brien
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1963|4|18}}
| birth_place = Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
| medium = {{hlist|Television|film|podcast}}
| active = 1983–present
| genre = {{Hlist|Improvisational comedy|sketch comedy|physical comedy|surreal humor|black comedy|musical comedy}}
| subject = {{Hlist|American culture|everyday life|pop culture|current events|social awkwardness|self-deprecation}}
| spouse = {{Marriage|Liza Powel|2002}}
| children = 2
| relatives =
| notable_work = {{ubil|Saturday Night Live (writer, 1988–1991)|The Simpsons (writer, producer, 1991–1993)|Late Night with Conan O'Brien (host, 1993–2009)|The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (host, 2009–2010)|Conan (host, 2010–2021)|Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend (host, 2018–present)}}
| signature = Conan O'Brien Signature.svg
| education = Harvard University (BA)
}}
Conan Christopher O'Brien (born April 18, 1963) is an American television host, comedian, writer, actor, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) on the NBC television network, and Conan (2010–2021) on the cable channel TBS. Before his hosting career, O'Brien was a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991, and the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993. He has hosted the podcast series Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend since 2018, and starred in the 2024 travel show Conan O'Brien Must Go on Max.
Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, O'Brien was raised in an Irish Catholic family. He served as president of The Harvard Lampoon while attending Harvard University, where he graduated with an AB degree in history and literature. He was a writer for the sketch comedy series Not Necessarily the News. After writing for several comedy shows in Los Angeles, he joined the writing staff of Saturday Night Live. O'Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons for two seasons until he was selected by Lorne Michaels and NBC to take over David Letterman's position as host of Late Night in 1993. Despite unfavorable reviews and threats of cancellation in the show's first years, O'Brien and the show developed and became highly regarded, earning a Primetime Emmy Award. He hosted Late Night for 16 years, and as of 2023 is still the longest-serving host in the history of the franchise.
In 2009, O'Brien moved from New York to Los Angeles to host his own incarnation of The Tonight Show for seven months until highly publicized network politics prompted a host change in 2010. After this departure, O'Brien hosted a 32-city live comedy tour titled The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, which was the subject of the documentary Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011). He then hosted Conan from 2010 to 2021. Throughout his career, he has also hosted a number of awards shows and television specials, including the Emmy Awards in 2002 and 2006, the White House Correspondents' dinner in 1995 and 2013, and the Academy Awards in 2025.{{cite news |last1=Carter |first1=Bill |title=Conan O'Brien Will Do a Late-Night Show on TBS |url=https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/conan-obrien-will-do-a-late-night-show-on-tbs/ |access-date=May 10, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=April 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065355/https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/conan-obrien-will-do-a-late-night-show-on-tbs/ |archive-date=April 28, 2022}}{{cite web |author=Moore |first=Frazier |date=April 12, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien to make TBS his new late-night home |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-conan-obrien-to-make-tbs-his-new-late-night-home-2010apr12-story.html#:~:text=The%20late%2Dnight%20guessing%20game,his%20employer%20of%2017%20years. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518160045/https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-conan-obrien-to-make-tbs-his-new-late-night-home-2010apr12-story.html%23:~:text%3DThe%20late-night%20guessing%20game%2Chis%20employer%20of%2017%20years. |archive-date=May 18, 2022 |access-date=April 12, 2010 |work=The San Diego Union-Tribune}} Conan was named one of Time{{'}}s 100 Most Influential People in 2010,{{Cite magazine |last=Lopez |first=George |author-link=George Lopez |date=April 29, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984940_1985538,00.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105085708/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984940_1985538,00.html |archive-date=November 5, 2021 |access-date=May 18, 2022 |magazine=Time}} and is the 2025 recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
Known for his spontaneous hosting style, which has been characterized by The New York Times as "awkward, self-deprecating humor", O'Brien's late-night programs combine the "lewd and wacky with more elegant, narrative-driven short films".{{cite news |last=Hirschberg |first=Lynn |date=May 20, 2009 |title=Heeeere's . . . Conan!!! |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24Conan-t.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=live |access-date=December 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319080516/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24Conan-t.html?pagewanted=all |archive-date=March 19, 2022}} His remotes have also become some of his best-received work, including the international travel series Conan Without Borders. With the retirement of David Letterman on May 20, 2015, O'Brien became the longest-working late-night talk show host active in the United States.{{cite web |last=Chestang |first=Raphael |date=May 18, 2015 |title=Conan O'Brien 'Uncomfortable' With David Letterman Leaving 'Late Show' |url=http://www.etonline.com/tv/164753_conan_o_brien_uncomfortable_with_david_letterman_leaving_late_show/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513172443/https://www.etonline.com/tv/164753_conan_o_brien_uncomfortable_with_david_letterman_leaving_late_show |archive-date=May 13, 2022 |access-date=May 25, 2015 |work=Entertainment Tonight}} This active streak ended with O'Brien's retirement from late-night television in June 2021, with his entire run as a late-night host lasting nearly 30 years.
Early life
Conan Christopher O'Brien was born on April 18, 1963, in Brookline, Massachusetts. His father, Thomas Francis O'Brien (1929–2024), was a physician and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, specializing in epidemiology.{{Cite episode |title=Conan O'Brien |series=Inside the Actors Studio |series-link=Inside the Actors Studio |author-first1= James|author-last1=Lipton |author-first2=Conan |author-last2=O'Brien |author-link=James Lipton |network=Bravo |date=January 26, 2009 |season=15 |number=218 |quote= |language=}}{{Cite news |last=Fahey |first=Rich |date=February 23, 2014 |title=Conan O'Brien |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/west/2014/02/23/conan-brien-profile/VQVPJP8rbmj0wJyUhqFxAO/story.html |access-date=May 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220522131246/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/west/2014/02/23/conan-brien-profile/VQVPJP8rbmj0wJyUhqFxAO/story.html#selection-1325.0-1330.0 |archive-date=May 22, 2022}} His mother, Ruth O'Brien (née Reardon; 1931–2024), was an attorney and partner at the Boston firm Ropes & Gray.{{cite web|access-date=January 23, 2010|url=http://www.law.stanford.edu/library/womenslegalhistory/papers/ObrienR-Peddie97.pdf|title=Ruth Reardon O'Brien 1931–|publisher=Stanford.edu}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{Cite web |last=Marquard |first=Bryan |date=December 12, 2024 |title=Dr. Thomas O'Brien, visionary who addressed dangers of antimicrobial resistance, dies at 95 |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/12/metro/dr-thomas-obrien-obituary-conan-obrien/ |access-date=December 12, 2024 |website=The Boston Globe |language=en-US}} O'Brien has three brothers and two sisters.{{Cite news |last=McLaughlin |first=Katie |date=June 26, 2012 |title=Conan O'Brien: Laughter has 'always been the motivation for me' |work=Piers Morgan Live |publisher=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/06/25/showbiz/conan-obrien-piers-morgan/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107065056/https://www.cnn.com/2012/06/25/showbiz/conan-obrien-piers-morgan/index.html |archive-date=November 7, 2020}} O'Brien attended Brookline High School, where he served as the managing editor of the school newspaper, then called The Sagamore. He was a congressional intern for Congressmen Robert Drinan and Barney Frank, and in his senior year won the National Council of Teachers of English writing contest with his short story "To Bury the Living".{{cite news |last1=Hopkins |first1=Cassidy |title=9 Stars Who Were Interns (and Where) Before They Made It Big |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/celebrites-who-were-interns-before-827266/conan-obrien-for-barney-frank/ |access-date=May 23, 2022 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=September 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523141426/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/celebrites-who-were-interns-before-827266/conan-obrien-for-barney-frank/ |archive-date=May 23, 2022}}{{cite news|title=Extra Credit: Starting Out with Style|work=The Boston Globe| date= December 3, 1980|last=Coons| first= Phyllis}}
After graduating as valedictorian in 1981, O'Brien entered Harvard University.{{cite news |last1=Beggy |first1=Carol |last2=Shanahan |first2=Mark |date=November 6, 2003 |title=Monet goes to Vegas; Kerry goes out on the town |work=The Boston Globe |url=https://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/11/06/monet_goes_to_vegas_kerry_goes_out_on_the_town/ |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423011521/http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/11/06/monet_goes_to_vegas_kerry_goes_out_on_the_town/ |archive-date=April 23, 2022}} He lived in Holworthy Hall during his first year with future businessman Luis Ubiñas and two other roommates,{{cite web| access-date= May 11, 2008| url= http://www.fdo.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k3806&pageid=icb.page101294| title= Harvard College Freshman Dean's Office| publisher= Harvard College| url-status=dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130731162551/http://www.fdo.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k3806&pageid=icb.page101294| archive-date= July 31, 2013| df= mdy-all}} and in Mather House during his three upper-class years.{{Cite news |date=March 13, 2014 |title=Mather House |work=The Harvard Independent |url=https://harvardindependent.com/2014/03/mather-house-2/ |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226082934/https://harvardindependent.com/2014/03/mather-house-2/ |archive-date=February 26, 2021}} He majored in history and literature, and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985.{{cite book |last= Laufenberg| first= Norbert B.| title=Entertainment Celebrities |publisher= Trafford| year= 2005 |page= 482| url= https://books.google.com/books?id=mzTW9Nitee4C&pg=PA482 | isbn=978-1-4120-5335-8}}{{Cite web |title=Conan O'Brien |url=https://histlit.fas.harvard.edu/people/people/alumni/conan-obrien |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327091253/https://histlit.fas.harvard.edu/people/people/alumni/conan-obrien |archive-date=March 27, 2022 |access-date=May 23, 2022 |website=Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences}} O'Brien's senior thesis, entitled Literary Progeria in the Works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor, concerned the use of children as symbols in the works of Faulkner and O'Connor.{{cite news |last=Aucoin |first=Don |date=August 31, 2003 |title=Understanding Conan |magazine=The Boston Globe Magazine |url=https://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2003/08/31/understanding_conan/?page=full |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211007092210/http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2003/08/31/understanding_conan/?page=full |archive-date=October 7, 2021}}{{Cite news |last=McAuley |first=James |date=June 3, 2010 |title=Famous People and Their Theses |work=The Harvard Crimson |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/flyby/article/2010/6/3/current-concentration-claim-thesis/ |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329211912/http://www.thecrimson.com/flyby/article/2010/6/3/current-concentration-claim-thesis/ |archive-date=March 29, 2018}} During college, O'Brien briefly played drums in a band called the Bad Clams and was a writer for the Harvard Lampoon humor magazine.{{Cite web |title=The Conan We Knew {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson |url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/5/27/obrien-reiff-book/ |access-date=2024-11-18 |website=www.thecrimson.com}} During his sophomore and junior years, he served as the Lampoon{{'}}s president.{{cite news|title=A Star Rising|work=The Boston Globe|date=October 24, 1983|last= Longcope |first= Kay}} At this time, O'Brien's future boss at NBC, Jeff Zucker, was serving as president of the school newspaper The Harvard Crimson.{{Cite news |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=December 8, 2010 |title=Jeff Zucker on Conan O'Brien: We Were 'Natural Rivals' |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/jeff-zucker-conan-obrien-natural-57847/ |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523143251/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/jeff-zucker-conan-obrien-natural-57847/ |archive-date=May 23, 2022}}
Career
= Early writing jobs and ''Saturday Night Live'' (1985–1991) =
After graduating from Harvard, O'Brien moved to Los Angeles to join the writing staff of HBO's sketch comedy series Not Necessarily the News, where he worked for two seasons.{{cite news |author=Rabin |first=Nathan |date=August 30, 2006 |title=Conan O'Brien |newspaper=The A.V. Club |url=https://www.avclub.com/content/node/52144 |url-status=live |access-date=May 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115220425/http://www.avclub.com/content/node/52144 |archive-date=November 15, 2006}} Around this time, he started taking improvisation classes with Cynthia Szigeti and The Groundlings.{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Julie |date=June 5, 2014 |title=40 Years of Improv Comedy: An Oral History of the Groundlings |work=Vanity Fair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/06/groundlings-oral-history |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150713033339/http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/06/groundlings-oral-history |archive-date=July 13, 2015}}{{cite web |last1=Vankin |first1=Deborah |title=The Groundlings: improving improv in L.A. for 40 years |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-groundlings-20140525-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=18 May 2024 |date=24 May 2014}} His next job as a writer was on the short-lived The Wilton North Report.{{Cite news |last=Scovell |first=Nell |author-link=Nell Scovell |date=December 11, 2012 |title=Inside the Greatest Writers Room You've Never Heard Of |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/12/inside-the-greatest-writers-room-youve-never-heard-of.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520120139/https://www.vulture.com/2012/12/inside-the-greatest-writers-room-youve-never-heard-of.html |archive-date=May 20, 2022}} In January 1988, Saturday Night Live (SNL) executive producer Lorne Michaels hired O'Brien as a writer.{{Cite news |last=Zak |first=Dan |date=November 29, 2021 |title=Lorne Michaels still lives for Saturday night |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/11/30/lorne-michaels-kennedy-center-honors/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211130192259/https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/11/30/lorne-michaels-kennedy-center-honors/ |archive-date=November 30, 2021}} During his three years on SNL, he wrote such recurring sketches as "Mr. Short-Term memory" and "The Girl Watchers"; the latter was first performed by Tom Hanks and Jon Lovitz.{{Cite news |last=Rowles |first=Dustin |date=December 5, 2018 |title=Conan O'Brien Has Revealed How He Came Up With Tom Hanks' Best 'SNL' Sketch |work=Uproxx |url=https://uproxx.com/tv/conan-obrien-snl-tom-hanks-girl-watchers/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311080556/https://uproxx.com/tv/conan-obrien-snl-tom-hanks-girl-watchers/ |archive-date=March 11, 2022}}
While on a writers' strike from Saturday Night Live following the 1987–88 season, O'Brien put on an improvisational comedy revue in Chicago with fellow SNL writers Bob Odenkirk and Robert Smigel called Happy Happy Good Show.{{cite news|title=Laugh Lines The Bits and Pieces That Get Comics into the Act|work=Chicago Tribune|date=June 24, 1988|author=Boulware, Hugh}}{{cite news|title=Live, From Chicago, It's...|work=Chicago Tribune|date=July 29, 1988|author=Bommer, Lawrence}} While living in Chicago, O'Brien briefly shared an apartment with Jeff Garlin near Wrigley Field.{{Cite news |last=Swartz |first=Tracy |date=February 8, 2017 |title=Watch Conan O'Brien recall living with 'madman' Jeff Garlin in Wrigleyville |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-conan-obrien-jeff-garlin-chicago-roommates-20170208-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703161310/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-conan-obrien-jeff-garlin-chicago-roommates-20170208-story.html |archive-date=July 3, 2021}} In 1989, O'Brien and his fellow SNL writers received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.{{Cite web |title=1989 - 41st Emmy Awards |url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1989/outstanding-writing-for-a-variety-series |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201172019/https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/1989/outstanding-writing-for-a-variety-series |archive-date=February 1, 2022 |access-date=May 23, 2022 |website=Emmy Awards}}
O'Brien, like many SNL writers, occasionally appeared as an extra in sketches; his most notable appearance was as a doorman in a sketch in which Tom Hanks was inducted into the SNL "Five-Timers Club" for hosting his fifth episode in 1990.{{Cite news |last=Clarke-Chan |first=Robert |date=February 27, 2022 |title=SNL: Steve Martin, Candice Bergen, Paul Rudd and Others Welcome Mulaney to 5-Timers Club — Watch |work=Yahoo! News |url=https://news.yahoo.com/snl-steve-martin-candice-bergen-055604968.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523151133/https://news.yahoo.com/snl-steve-martin-candice-bergen-055604968.html |archive-date=May 23, 2022}} O'Brien and Robert Smigel wrote the television pilot for Lookwell starring Adam West, which aired on NBC in 1991.{{Cite news |last=Wright |first=Megh |date=June 12, 2017 |title=Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel Look Back on Their 'Lookwell' Pilot Starring Adam West |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/06/conan-obrien-and-robert-smigel-look-back-on-their-lookwell-pilot-starring-adam-west.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311020301/https://www.vulture.com/2017/06/conan-obrien-and-robert-smigel-look-back-on-their-lookwell-pilot-starring-adam-west.html |archive-date=March 11, 2020}} Even with support from NBC president Brandon Tartikoff, the pilot never went to series.{{Cite news |last=Wilkins |first=Alasdair |date=March 14, 2016 |title=The Grinder realizes the impossible premise of Conan O'Brien's Lookwell |work=The A.V. Club |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-grinder-realizes-the-impossible-premise-of-conan-o-1798245160 |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108092422/https://tv.avclub.com/the-grinder-realizes-the-impossible-premise-of-conan-o-1798245160 |archive-date=November 8, 2020}} Despite the negative reviews, it became a cult hit.{{Cite magazine |last=Snierson |first=Dan |date=June 10, 2017 |title=Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel look back on their lost, glorious Adam West comedy Lookwell |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://ew.com/tv/2017/06/10/adam-west-conan-obrien-robert-smigel-lookwell/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020025723/https://ew.com/tv/2017/06/10/adam-west-conan-obrien-robert-smigel-lookwell/ |archive-date=October 20, 2020}} It was later screened at The Other Network, a festival of unaired TV pilots produced by Un-Cabaret; it featured an extended interview with O'Brien and was rerun in 2002 on the Trio network.{{Cite news |last=Schimkowitz |first=Matt |date=January 7, 2013 |title=The Short, Beautiful Life of 'Lookwell', One of the Funniest Pilots of All Time |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/2013/01/the-short-beautiful-life-of-lookwell-one-of-the-funniest-pilots-of-all-time.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923233151/https://www.vulture.com/2013/01/the-short-beautiful-life-of-lookwell-one-of-the-funniest-pilots-of-all-time.html |archive-date=September 23, 2020}}
In 1991, after the failure of his sitcom, O'Brien also had an engagement to be married fall through and he quit Saturday Night Live, citing burnout. "I told Lorne Michaels I couldn't come back to work and I just needed to do something else," O'Brien recalled. "I had no plan whatsoever. I was literally in this big transition phase in my life where I decided, I'll just walk around New York City, and an idea will come to me."{{cite book|last=Ortved|first=John|title=The Simpsons: An Uncensored, Unauthorized History |year=2009|publisher=Greystone Books|isbn=978-1-55365-503-9}}{{rp|pages=160–161}} O'Brien would later return to the show as host in 2001,{{Cite news |last=White |first=Peter |date=February 26, 2022 |title='SNL': Conan O'Brien, Paul Rudd, Steve Martin, Tina Fey, Candice Bergen & Elliott Gould Crash John Mulaney's Five-Timers Celebration |work=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2022/02/snl-john-mulaney-five-timers-celebration-1234960861/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227053655/https://deadline.com/2022/02/snl-john-mulaney-five-timers-celebration-1234960861/ |archive-date=February 27, 2022}} and in a 2022 cameo appearance.{{cite news |last1=Earl |first1=William |title=Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Conan O'Brien and More Induct John Mulaney into 'SNL' Five-Timers Club |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/john-muleny-snl-five-timers-tina-fey-steve-martin-conan-obrien-1235191095/ |access-date=28 February 2022 |work=Variety |date=27 February 2022}}
= ''The Simpsons'' (1991–1993) =
{{quote box|align=right|width=30em|quote=I was very nervous when I started. They showed me into this office and told me to start writing down some ideas. They left me alone in that office. I left after five minutes to go get a cup of coffee. I heard a crash. I walked back to the office, and there was a hole in the window and a dead bird on the floor. Literally, in my first ten minutes at The Simpsons, a bird had flown through the glass of my window, hit the far wall, broken its neck, and fallen dead on the floor. George Meyer came in and looked at it, and said, "Man, this is some kind of weird omen."|source=— O'Brien on his first moments at The Simpsons{{rp|pages=160–161}}}}
File:Conan O'Brien - Simpsons.jpg
Mike Reiss and Al Jean, then showrunners of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, called O'Brien and offered him a job.{{Cite news |last=Ortved |first=John |date=July 5, 2007 |title=A Q&A with Conan O'Brien |work=Vanity Fair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/08/conan200708 |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307074848/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/08/conan200708 |archive-date=March 7, 2021}} The series was prestigious in the writing community at the time; O'Brien recalls "everyone wanted to be on that show, but they never hired."{{rp|pages=160–161}} O'Brien was one of the first hires after the show's original crew. With the help of an old Groundlings friend, actor Lisa Kudrow, O'Brien purchased an apartment in Beverly Hills.{{rp|pages=163}} He and Kudrow became romantically involved as well, and Kudrow believed he should begin performing rather than writing. O'Brien disagreed, feeling that Kudrow was flattering him, and asserting he was happy as a writer. In his speech given at Class Day at Harvard in 2000,{{cite news|url=http://thecrimson.harvard.edu/article.aspx?ref=101192|title=O'Brien Returns to Harvard|author=Volonnino, Michael R.|date=June 8, 2000|newspaper=Harvard Crimson|access-date=May 11, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060915195620/http://www.thecrimson.harvard.edu/article.aspx?ref=101192|archive-date=September 15, 2006}} O'Brien credited The Simpsons with saving him, a reference to the career slump he was experiencing before being hired for the show.{{cite AV media |people=Conan O'Brien |date=Spring 2000 |title=Conan Addresses The Harvard Class Of 2000 |type=YouTube video |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pnnWp1lNps |access-date=September 2, 2022 |location=Harvard University}}
From 1991 to 1993, O'Brien was a writer and producer for The Simpsons. When O'Brien first arrived at the Fox lot, they temporarily gave him writer Jeff Martin's office. O'Brien was nervous and self-conscious, feeling that he would embarrass himself in front of what he regarded as an intimidating collection of writers.{{rp|pages=160–161}} O'Brien would pitch characters in their voices, as he thought that was the norm, until Reiss informed him that no one did this.{{rp|pages=162}}O'Brien, Conan. (2003). Commentary for "Marge vs. the Monorail", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fourth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. He fit in quickly, commanding control of the room frequently; writer Josh Weinstein called it a "ten-hour Conan show, nonstop".{{rp|pages=160–161}} According to John Ortved, one of his fellow writers said that O'Brien had been a shoo-in to take over as showrunner.{{rp|pages=160–161}}
O'Brien wrote some of the series' most acclaimed episodes: "Marge vs. the Monorail" and "Homer Goes to College".{{rp|pages=160–161}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20070615185101/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,417748,00.html The Family Dynamic] Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2007 The show was initially a highly realistic family sitcom; after O'Brien's debut, the show took a rapid shift in the direction of the surreal.{{rp|pages=164}} O'Brien also has sole writing credits on "New Kid on the Block" and "Treehouse of Horror IV", on which he wrote the episode wraparounds. Wallace Wolodarsky described a "room character" O'Brien put on for the writers: "Conan used to do this thing called the Nervous Writer that involved him opening a can of Diet Coke and then nervously pitching a joke. He would spray Diet Coke all over himself, and that was always a source of endless amusement among us."{{rp|pages=162}} During his time at The Simpsons, O'Brien also had a side project working with Smigel on the script for a musical film based on the "Hans and Franz" sketch from Saturday Night Live, but the film was never produced.{{cite news|url=https://ew.com/article/1994/07/08/hans-and-franz-go-hollywood/|title=Muscle-Man Bound|last=Pearlman|first=Cindy|date=July 8, 1994|work=People|access-date=December 3, 2010|archive-date=April 21, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421093403/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,302839,00.html|url-status=live}}Interview with Kevin Nealon. Conan. December 2, 2010.
Meanwhile, David Letterman was preparing to leave the talk show Late Night, prompting executive producer Lorne Michaels to search for a new host. Michaels approached O'Brien to produce; then-agent Gavin Polone stressed that O'Brien wanted to perform, rather than produce.{{rp|pages=164}} He arranged with Michaels that O'Brien would do a test audition on the stage of The Tonight Show. Jason Alexander and Mimi Rogers were the guests, and the audience was composed of Simpsons writers.{{rp|pages=165}} Wolodarksky recalled the experience: "Seeing this friend of yours, this guy that you worked with, walk out from behind that curtain and deliver a monologue was like something you could only dream up that you couldn't ever imagine actually happening."{{rp|pages=165}} The performance was beamed by satellite to New York, where Lorne Michaels and NBC executives watched. The audition was not well received by media commentators, citing his "awkward" humor.{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=June 24, 2021 |title=Why Conan O'Brien was such a brilliant late-night host |work=CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/24/perspectives/conan-obrien-late-night-hbo-max/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908155830/https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/24/perspectives/conan-obrien-late-night-hbo-max/index.html |archive-date=September 8, 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Haglund |first=David |date=April 15, 2013 |title=When Conan Auditioned for Late Night |work=Slate |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/04/15/conan_o_brien_auditions_for_late_night_watch_the_1993_clip_video.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220526132041/http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/04/15/conan_o_brien_auditions_for_late_night_watch_the_1993_clip_video.html |archive-date=May 26, 2022}}
O'Brien was picked as the new host of Late Night on April 26, 1993. As the writers headed to the voice record for "Homer Goes to College", O'Brien received a phone call from Polone informing him of the decision.{{cite AV media | date=April 11, 2024 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpPuDlxi3YE | title=Globetrotting and Podcasting: Conan O'Brien's Life After Late-Night TV | time=24:12 | via=YouTube }} "He was passed out facedown into this horrible shag carpet. He was just quiet and comatose down there on that carpet," recalled postproduction supervisor J. Michael Mendel. "I remember looking at him and saying, 'Wow. Your life is about to change, in a really dramatic way.'"{{rp|pages=166–167}} Fox, however, would not let O'Brien out of his contract. Eventually, NBC and O'Brien split the cost to get him out of the contract.{{rp|pages=166–167}}O'Brien, Conan. (2004). Commentary for "Homer Goes to College", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox.Jean, Al. (2004). Commentary for "Cape Feare", in The Simpsons: The Complete Fifth Season [DVD]. 20th Century Fox. During pre-production, writer Robert Smigel suggested fellow writer Andy Richter to sit beside O'Brien and act as a sidekick.{{Cite news |last=Abramovitch |first=Seth |date=June 24, 2021 |title=Andy Richter Reflects on 'Conan' Legacy (and Absurdity) as Conan O'Brien Exits Late Night |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/andy-richter-conan-obrien-late-night-1234971705/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414210803/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/andy-richter-conan-obrien-late-night-1234971705/ |archive-date=April 14, 2022 |access-date=May 24, 2022 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}} After O'Brien's departure, the writers at The Simpsons would watch videotaped episodes of Late Night at lunch the day following their midnight broadcast and analyze them.{{rp|pages=166–167}}
= ''Late Night'' (1993–2009) =
{{Main|Late Night with Conan O'Brien}}
Late Night with Conan O'Brien, originating from Studio 6A at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, premiered on September 13, 1993, to unfavorable reviews from contemporary critics.{{Cite news |last=Jen |first=Chung |date=September 15, 2003 |title=Late Night With Conan is 10 |work=Gothamist |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/late-night-with-conan-is-10 |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524180116/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/late-night-with-conan-is-10 |archive-date=May 24, 2022}} This reception was not completely unsurprising: there was significant public apprehension due to O'Brien being virtually unknown to the public,{{cite magazine |last1=Hirschberg |first1=Lynn |title=Educating Conan |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/1993/7/educating-conan |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=15 July 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Carter |first1=Bill |title=NBC Has Picked An Unknown Writer To Replace Letterman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/27/arts/nbc-has-picked-an-unknown-writer-to-replace-letterman.html |access-date=15 July 2023 |work=The New York Times |date=27 April 1993}}{{cite news |last1=Lowry |first1=Brian |title=Beware, Conan O'Brien; it's later than you think |url=https://variety.com/1993/tv/news/beware-conan-o-brien-it-s-later-than-you-think-109079/ |access-date=15 July 2023 |work=Variety |date=28 July 1993}} and O'Brien himself wrote a self-deprecating The New York Times piece titled "O'Brien Flops!" on the day of the show's premiere.{{Cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Conan |date=September 13, 1993 |title=Op-Classic, 1993: O'Brien Flops! |work=The New York Times |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/17opclassic_conan.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511130843/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/17opclassic_conan.html |archive-date=May 11, 2022}} Critics attacked O'Brien: Tom Shales of The Washington Post suggested that "the host resume his previous identity, Conan O'Blivion."{{cite news |last=Shales |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shales |date=October 19, 1993 |title=Go Gently into That Good Night, Already! |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/10/19/go-gently-into-that-good-night-already/8c950581-0c8a-4dfa-9338-0037308b7cd5/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818112910/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1993/10/19/go-gently-into-that-good-night-already/8c950581-0c8a-4dfa-9338-0037308b7cd5/ |archive-date=August 18, 2020}} Generally, critics viewed O'Brien as nervous and fidgety on-camera, and that he was "too smart, too East Coast, too sophisticated, too young and even too tall to be successful." The show was constantly at risk for cancellation; at one low point in 1994, NBC threatened to put him on a week-to-week contract. Executives were anxious to replace him with Greg Kinnear, who followed O'Brien with Later at 1:30 am. Interns filled empty seats in the audience while affiliates began to inquire about replacement hosts.{{cite magazine |last=Bianculli |first=David |author-link=David Bianculli |date=September 26, 2005 |title=Conan on the Couch |url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/14575/index3.html |url-status=live |magazine=New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215111808/https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/14575/index3.html |archive-date=February 15, 2022 |access-date=December 21, 2012}}{{cite news |last1=Shales |first1=Tom |author-link=Tom Shales |title=Late Night's Late Riser |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/06/18/late-nights-late-riser/ea4a8794-0f81-46ac-a772-8249dd9d02e0/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818113105/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/06/18/late-nights-late-riser/ea4a8794-0f81-46ac-a772-8249dd9d02e0/ |archive-date=August 18, 2020}} In one installment after a short stretch of reruns, sidekick Andy Richter described his vacation activities as follows: "I sat back and reminded myself what it's like to be unemployed." The in-joke alluded to the rumors floating in the trades that NBC was near canceling the program.{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/06/15/nbcs-conan-obrien-awaits-his-fate/|title= NBC's Conan O'Brien Awaits His Fate|first=David|last=Bianculli|date=June 15, 1994|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|access-date=December 21, 2012}}
Late Night under O'Brien slowly but steadily acquired commercial and critical success. Sketches grew in popularity ("If They Mated", "Desk Drive", "In the Year 2000"). A reliable staple involved a TV screen, lowered behind O'Brien's desk and displaying a still photo of a news figure. The lips and voice of these characters (Clutch Cargo) – frequently a party-crazed "hillbilly" interpretation of Bill Clinton – were supplied by writing partner Robert Smigel. A turning point was David Letterman's February 1994 appearance. "It was a morale boost," said O'Brien. "I'm thinking, If the guy who created the 12:30 thing comes on and says we're smart and funny, let's go."{{cite magazine|title=A Replacement for Letterman|first=Dan|last=Snierson|date=February 9, 1996|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|url=https://ew.com/article/1996/02/16/replacement-letterman/|access-date=April 21, 2020}} The show went through a wobble in January 1995 when Robert Smigel, feeling burned out, quit as head writer.{{cite magazine|title=The Late Conan O'Brien|first=James|last=Kaplan|date=September 21, 1998|magazine=New York|access-date=August 27, 2013|url=http://nbckicks.tripod.com/tlcob.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413135415/http://nbckicks.tripod.com/tlcob.html|archive-date=April 13, 2009}} An increase in quality over time, perceived by some observers, was sometimes credited to a growth in O'Brien's comedic performance.{{Cite news |last=Sims |first=David |date=January 10, 2017 |title=What Conan O'Brien Means to Late-Night's Future |work=The Atlantic |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/01/what-conan-obrien-means-to-late-nights-future/512633/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111174358/https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/01/what-conan-obrien-means-to-late-nights-future/512633/ |archive-date=November 11, 2020}} Within a year, a comedic formula began to arise: the show would combine the lewd and wacky with more elegant, narrative-driven remotes.{{Cite news |last=Allen |first=Samantha |date=April 21, 2015 |title=The Lost Art of the Late-Night Remote |work=Paste |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/the-lost-art-of-the-late-night-remote/ |access-date=September 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205033554/https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/the-lost-art-of-the-late-night-remote/ |archive-date=December 5, 2020}} One famous remote was when O'Brien visited a historic, Civil War-era baseball league. That piece was one of O'Brien's personal favorites, later remarking, "When I leave this earth, at the funeral, just show this, because this pretty much says who I'm all about."{{Cite news |last=Greene |first=Steve |date=April 16, 2019 |title=Conan's 'Old-Time Baseball' Is the Highlight of Team Coco's Growing Archive Project |work=IndieWire |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/conan-old-time-baseball-late-night-archive-1202059246/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519000929/https://www.indiewire.com/2019/04/conan-old-time-baseball-late-night-archive-1202059246/ |archive-date=May 19, 2021}}
O'Brien's audience, largely young and male (a coveted demographic), grew steadily and the show began to best competitors in the ratings, and continued to do so for 15 seasons. In the early days of the Internet, fans launched unofficial websites, compiling precise summaries of each episode.{{cite magazine|title=Who'd Have Thought? Conan Turns Cool|first=Mark|last=Lasswell|date=June 22, 1996|magazine=TV Guide|url=http://nbckicks.tripod.com/cool.html|access-date=August 27, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505005125/http://nbckicks.tripod.com/cool.html|archive-date=May 5, 2009}} Even Tom Shales was a convert: he called the show "one of the most amazing transformations in television history." Beginning in 1996, O'Brien and the Late Night writing team were nominated annually for the Emmy Award for Best Writing in a Comedy or Variety Series, winning the award for the first and only time in 2007. In 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, and 2004, he and the Late Night writing staff won the Writers Guild Award for Best Writing in a Comedy/Variety Series. In 2001, he formed his own television production company, Conaco, which subsequently shared in the production credits for Late Night. That same year, he returned to Saturday Night Live, hosting the show during its 26th season.
File:Conan O'Brien at U.S. Embassy Helsinki.jpg in 2006]]
{{As of|2005|10}}, Late Night with Conan O'Brien had for eleven years consistently attracted an audience averaging about 2.5 million viewers. In 2006, O'Brien exploited his perceived resemblance to Tarja Halonen, entering her second term as president of Finland. Capitalizing on the resemblance and on the 2006 Finnish presidential election, O'Brien and Late Night aired mock political ads both in support of Halonen and against her main opponent Sauli Niinistö, which influenced popular perception of the race, which Halonen eventually won.{{Cite news |last=Ritter |first=Karl |date=January 14, 2006 |title=Conan O'Brien's mock endorsement of Finnish president is no joke to her opponents |work=The Seattle Times |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/conan-obriens-mock-endorsement-of-finnish-president-is-no-joke-to-her-opponents/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515095335/https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/conan-obriens-mock-endorsement-of-finnish-president-is-no-joke-to-her-opponents/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021}} O'Brien traveled to Finland shortly after the election.{{Cite news |last=Lemola |first=Johanna |date=February 13, 2006 |title=A Trip to Conelandia, Also Known as Finland |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/13/arts/television/a-trip-to-conelandia-also-known-as-finland.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718110853/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/13/arts/television/a-trip-to-conelandia-also-known-as-finland.html |archive-date=July 18, 2021}} "We took the show to Helsinki for five days," O'Brien recalled, "where we were embraced like a national treasure."{{cite news |author=Barish |first=Mike |date=January 26, 2010 |title=5 places Conan should go on vacation |work=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/01/26/conan.obrien.vacation/index.html?hpt=C2 |url-status=live |access-date=January 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615112558/https://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/01/26/conan.obrien.vacation/index.html?hpt=C2 |archive-date=June 15, 2021}} As part of the five-day trip, which was released as a one-hour special episode of Late Night, O'Brien met with Halonen at the Finnish Presidential Palace.{{Cite news |last=Huuhtanen |first=Matti |date=February 14, 2006 |title=Conan O'Brien meets Finnish president |work=Arizona Daily Sun |url=https://azdailysun.com/conan-obrien-meets-finnish-president/article_000fb024-18ed-5cff-ae04-f01ca7759da5.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524235247/https://azdailysun.com/conan-obrien-meets-finnish-president/article_000fb024-18ed-5cff-ae04-f01ca7759da5.html |archive-date=May 24, 2022}}
During the writers' strike in 2008, O'Brien staged a mock feud with Comedy Central's Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show) and Stephen Colbert (of The Colbert Report) over a dispute about which of the three were responsible for giving a "bump" to Mike Huckabee's campaign to become the Republican presidential nominee.{{Cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Jacques |date=February 6, 2008 |title=The Story Behind a Late-Night Brawl |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/arts/television/06late.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125223722/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/06/arts/television/06late.html |archive-date=November 25, 2020}} This feud crossed over all three shows during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike.{{Cite news |last=Chung |first=Jen |date=February 5, 2008 |title=Conan O'Brien's Huckabee Fight with Colbert, Stewart |work=Gothamist |url=https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/conan-obriens-huckabee-fight-with-colbert-stewart |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111131706/https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/conan-obriens-huckabee-fight-with-colbert-stewart |archive-date=January 11, 2021}}
On February 20, 2009, NBC aired the last episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.{{Cite news |date=February 20, 2009 |title=Conan O'Brien Gears Up For Last 'Late Night' |work=NBC Washington |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nbcwashington.com/local/conan_o_brien_gears_up_for_last__late_night_/1865332/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512044104/https://www.nbcwashington.com/local/conan_o_brien_gears_up_for_last__late_night_/1865332/ |archive-date=May 12, 2021}} The show consisted of a compilation of previous Late Night clips and included a surprise appearance by former sidekick Andy Richter. Will Ferrell, John Mayer, and the White Stripes also appeared. O'Brien ended the episode by destroying the set with an axe, handing out the pieces of the set to the audience,{{Cite news |last=Huff |first=Richard |date=February 19, 2009 |title=Conan O'Brien ends 16-year run in New York to take over 'Tonight Show' |work=New York Daily News |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/02/19/2009-02-19_conan_obrien_ends_16year_run_in_new_york.html |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222092505/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2009/02/19/2009-02-19_conan_obrien_ends_16year_run_in_new_york.html |archive-date=February 22, 2009}} and thanking a list of people who helped him. Among those thanked were Lorne Michaels, David Letterman, Jay Leno, and O'Brien's wife and children.{{Cite magazine |last=Tucker |first=Ken |date=February 21, 2009 |title=Conan O'Brien: His last 'Late Night' a triumph, no insult, highly comic, not a dog |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://ew.com/article/2009/02/21/conan-obrien-la/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121013537/https://ew.com/article/2009/02/21/conan-obrien-la/ |archive-date=November 21, 2015}}
In 2019, clips from O'Brien's time on Late Night began to be posted on his TBS website and on the Team Coco YouTube channel.{{Cite news |last=Wright |first=Megh |date=March 21, 2019 |title=Conan O'Brien Is a Damn Tease |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/2019/03/conan-obrien-late-night-archive-videos.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912011546/https://www.vulture.com/2019/03/conan-obrien-late-night-archive-videos.html |archive-date=September 12, 2021}}
= ''The Tonight Show'' (2009–2010) =
{{Main|The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien|2010 Tonight Show conflict}}
File:Im With Coco.jpg displaying his "Coco" nickname{{Cite news |last=Stelter |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Stelter |date=March 11, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Embraces Team Coco – Poster and All |work=The New York Times |url=https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/conan-obrien-embraces-team-coco-poster-and-all/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612112953/https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/11/conan-obrien-embraces-team-coco-poster-and-all/ |archive-date=June 12, 2021}}]]
As part of a new contract negotiated with NBC in 2004, the network decided that O'Brien would take over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno in 2009.{{Cite news |last=Wallenstein |first=Andrew |date=September 28, 2004 |title=O'Brien to succeed Leno as 'Tonight' host in '09 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000642741 |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719062944/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000642741 |archive-date=July 19, 2010}} Leno then moved to a prime time slot, named The Jay Leno Show.{{Cite news |last=Holmes |first=Linda |date=January 10, 2010 |title=NBC: 'Jay Leno Show' Leaving Prime Time |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2010/01/10/114466595/nbc-jay-leno-show-leaving-prime-time |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525115435/https://www.npr.org/2010/01/10/114466595/nbc-jay-leno-show-leaving-prime-time |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} Hosting The Tonight Show was a lifelong dream of O'Brien's, and the promise of succeeding Leno kept him in NBC's employ despite the fact that he likely could have secured a more lucrative deal at another network.{{Cite news |date=January 21, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Reaches $45 Million Exit Deal |work=CNBC |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.cnbc.com/id/34970887 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065311/https://www.cnbc.com/id/34970887 |archive-date=April 28, 2022}} O'Brien was a guest on Jay Leno's final episode of The Tonight Show.{{Cite news |last=Elber |first=Lynn |date=May 14, 2009 |title=Leno's last 'Tonight' guest is Conan O'Brien |work=The Buffalo News |agency=Associated Press |url=http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/671373.html |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090518032217/http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/671373.html |archive-date=May 18, 2009}} On June 1, 2009, Will Ferrell became Conan's first Tonight Show guest on the couch and Pearl Jam appeared as his first musical guest.{{Cite news |last=Dimond |first=Anna |date=May 18, 2009 |title=Will Ferrell, Pearl Jam to Kick Off Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show |work=TV Guide |url=https://www.tvguide.com/news/will-ferrell-conan-1006173/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065311/https://www.tvguide.com/news/will-ferrell-conan-1006173/ |archive-date=April 28, 2022}}
O'Brien acquired the nickname "Coco" after its use in the first "Twitter Tracker" sketch during the second episode of his Tonight Show run.{{Cite news |last=Dickey |first=Josh |date=January 21, 2010 |title=NBC's Parting Gift: When Conan Became 'Coco' |work=TheWrap |url=https://www.thewrap.com/nbcs-parting-gift-when-conan-became-coco-13167/ |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220220074902/https://www.thewrap.com/nbcs-parting-gift-when-conan-became-coco-13167/ |archive-date=February 20, 2022}} Guest Tom Hanks used the nickname during his subsequent interview, even getting the audience to chant it. In reaction to the moniker, O'Brien remarked to Hanks in jest, "If that catches on, I'll sue you."{{Cite news |last=Powers |first=Lindsay |date=November 10, 2010 |title=VIDEO: Tom Hanks Nicknamed Conan O'Brien 'Coco' |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/video-tom-hanks-nicknamed-conan-43822/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220525120936/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/video-tom-hanks-nicknamed-conan-43822/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} During the taping of the Friday, September 25, 2009, episode of The Tonight Show, O'Brien suffered a mild concussion after he slipped and hit his head while running a race as part of a comedy sketch with guest Teri Hatcher. He was examined at a hospital and released the same day. A rerun was aired that night, but O'Brien returned to work the following Monday and poked fun at the incident.{{Cite news |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Itzkoff |date=September 29, 2009 |title=Conan Returns, Memories Mostly Intact, After 'Tonight Show' Injury |work=The New York Times |url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/conan-returns-memories-mostly-intact-after-tonight-show-injury/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006222453/https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/conan-returns-memories-mostly-intact-after-tonight-show-injury/ |archive-date=October 6, 2019}}{{cite news |date=September 28, 2009 |title=O'Brien back on 'Tonight,' joking about accident |newspaper=USA Today |agency=Associated Press |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-09-28-conan-returns_N.htm |url-status=live |access-date=August 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120193855/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2009-09-28-conan-returns_N.htm |archive-date=November 20, 2021}}
By November 2009, ratings for O'Brien's The Tonight Show declined by around 2 million viewers since the previous year when Leno was host.{{Cite news |last=Brioux |first=Bill |date=November 9, 2009 |title=Is Leno's 10 p.m. experiment nearing an end? |work=Today |url=http://www.today.com/id/33808107 |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110114435/http://www.today.com/id/33808107 |archive-date=November 10, 2017}} On January 7, 2010, NBC executive Jeff Zucker met with Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien to discuss how to move Leno out of prime time, where his ratings were lackluster, and back into late night.{{Cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=January 7, 2010 |title=Update: NBC Plan Would Move Leno Back to Late Nights |work=The New York Times |url=https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/update-nbc-plans-leno-at-1130-conan |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927233739/https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/update-nbc-plans-leno-at-1130-conan-at-12/ |archive-date=September 27, 2021}} It was proposed that O'Brien would remain as host of The Tonight Show, which would run at 12:05 am with Leno hosting a 30-minute show at 11:35 pm.{{Cite magazine |last=Nashawaty |first=Chris |date=July 30, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien expresses 'enormous personal disappointment' over NBC's 'Tonight Show' decision |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://ew.com/article/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-nbc-tonight-show/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414175526/https://ew.com/article/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-nbc-tonight-show/ |archive-date=April 14, 2022}} Three days later, NBC Universal Television Entertainment chairman Jeff Gaspin confirmed that The Jay Leno Show would be moved to 11:35 pm following NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/leno-returns-to-late-night-nbc-1.915888 |title=Leno returns to late night: NBC |date=January 10, 2010 |access-date=January 10, 2010 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100112015459/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2010/01/10/nbc-leno-return.html |archive-date=January 12, 2010 }}
{{Quote box|Every comedian, every comedian dreams of hosting The Tonight Show and—for seven months—I got to do it. I did it my way, with people I love, and I do not regret a second [of it].... All I ask is one thing, and I'm asking this particularly of young people that watch: Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism; for the record it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen.|align=right |width=30%|source=—Conan O'Brien, on his departure from The Tonight Show, January 22, 2010{{cite news |last1=Stuever |first1=Hank |author1-link=Hank Stuever |title=Conan O'Brien exits 'The Tonight Show' with jokes and grace |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012200715.html?nav=hcmodule |access-date=May 25, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=January 24, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814070221/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012200715.html?nav=hcmodule |archive-date=August 14, 2017}}}}
Sources familiar with the situation stated that O'Brien was unhappy and disappointed with NBC's plan.{{Cite news |last=Wang |first=Cynthia |date=January 12, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Takes a Stand Against Moving to 12:05 |work=People |url=https://people.com/tv/conan-obrien-takes-a-stand-against-moving-to-1205/ |access-date=September 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902174314/https://people.com/tv/conan-obrien-takes-a-stand-against-moving-to-1205/ |archive-date=September 2, 2022}} On January 12, O'Brien released this statement: "I sincerely believe that delaying The Tonight Show into the next day to accommodate another comedy program will seriously damage what I consider to be the greatest franchise in the history of broadcasting. The Tonight Show at 12:05 simply isn't The Tonight Show."{{Cite news |date=January 12, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Says He Won't Host 'Tonight Show' After Leno |work=The New York Times |url=https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-says-he-wont-do-tonight-show-following-leno/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065303/https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/12/conan-obrien-says-he-wont-do-tonight-show-following-leno/ |archive-date=April 28, 2022}} On January 21, 2010, it was announced that O'Brien had reached a deal with NBC that would see him exit The Tonight Show the next day. The deal also granted him $45 million, of which $12 million was designated for distribution to his staff, who had moved with O'Brien to Los Angeles from New York when he left Late Night.{{Cite news |last=Tryhorn |first=Chris |date=January 21, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien set to leave NBC |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/jan/21/conan-obrien-to-leave-nbc |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526130541/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/jan/21/conan-obrien-to-leave-nbc |archive-date=May 26, 2021}}
The final Tonight Show with O'Brien aired January 22, 2010, and featured guests Tom Hanks, Steve Carell (who did an exit interview and shredded Conan's ID badge), Neil Young (singing "Long May You Run"), and Will Ferrell. For Ferrell's appearance, O'Brien played guitar with the band and Ferrell sang "Free Bird" while reprising his SNL cowbell. Ferrell's wife, Viveca Paulin, together with Ben Harper, Beck, and ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, also joined the band for this final performance.{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Kyle |date=January 23, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Exits 'Tonight Show' with Special-Guest-Filled, Music-Heavy Episode |work=MTV News |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1630362/conan-obrien-exits-tonight-show-with-special-guest-filled-music-heavy-episode/ |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201025632/http://www.mtv.com/news/1630362/conan-obrien-exits-tonight-show-with-special-guest-filled-music-heavy-episode/ |archive-date=December 1, 2020}}[https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/01/23/arts/entertainment-us-nbc-obrien.html?_r=1 Conan O'Brien Thanks Fans in "Tonight" Farewell], The New York Times, January 23, 2010
Jay Leno returned to The Tonight Show following NBC's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Under the $45 million deal with NBC, O'Brien was allowed to start working for another network as soon as September 2010.{{Cite news |last=Adalian |first=Josef |date=January 21, 2010 |title=Conan, NBC Officially Splitsville |work=TheWrap |url=https://www.thewrap.com/conan-nbc-officially-splitsville-updated-13241/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201114045103/https://www.thewrap.com/conan-nbc-officially-splitsville-updated-13241/ |archive-date=November 14, 2020}}{{Cite news |last=Guthrie |first=Marisa |date=January 21, 2010 |title=NBC, Conan O'Brien Reach Deal for 'Tonight Show' Exit |work=Broadcasting & Cable |url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/444477-NBC_Conan_O_Brien_Reach_Deal_for_Tonight_Show_Exit.php |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329114359/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/444477-NBC_Conan_O_Brien_Reach_Deal_for_Tonight_Show_Exit.php |archive-date=March 29, 2010}} Conan's rumored next networks ranged from Fox to Comedy Central.{{Cite news |last1=Carter |first1=Bill |last2=Stelter |first2=Brian |author-link2=Brian Stelter |date=January 8, 2010 |title=NBC's Shift in Schedule May Be Up to O'Brien |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/arts/television/09leno.html |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065303/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/arts/television/09leno.html |archive-date=April 28, 2022}} Other networks reportedly interested in O'Brien included TNT, HBO, FX, Showtime, Revision3,{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Owen |date=January 15, 2010 |title=San Francisco's Revision3 Tries to Sign Conan |work=KNTV |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-franciscos-revision3-tries-to-sign-conan/1870544/ |access-date=September 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902175747/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/san-franciscos-revision3-tries-to-sign-conan/1870544/ |archive-date=September 2, 2022}} and even the NBCUniversal–owned USA Network.{{Cite news |date=January 22, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Mulls Post The Tonight Show Options |work=MovieWeb |url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/NErxpxvwq6pAux |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226023244/http://www.movieweb.com/news/NErxpxvwq6pAux |archive-date=February 26, 2010}}
= Television hiatus and comedy tour (2010) =
{{Main|The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour|Conan O'Brien Can't Stop}}
File:Conan Legally Prohibited San Diego.jpg wore in Eddie Murphy Raw (2010)]]
On February 8, 2010, it was reported that O'Brien was attempting to sell his Central Park West penthouse in New York with an asking price of $35 million.{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=Elizabeth |date=July 28, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Sells Duplex for $25 Million |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/realestate/28obrien.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519161700/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/realestate/28obrien.html |archive-date=May 19, 2022}} He had purchased the apartment in 2007 for $10 million.{{Cite news |last=Malle |first=Chloe |date=March 5, 2010 |title=A Majestic Departure? Conan Lists His CPW Apartment for $29.5 M. |work=The New York Observer |url=https://observer.com/2010/03/a-majestic-departure-conan-lists-his-cpw-apartment-for-295-m/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923021853/http://observer.com/2010/03/a-majestic-departure-conan-lists-his-cpw-apartment-for-295-m/ |archive-date=September 23, 2015}} Two years earlier, O'Brien had purchased a home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles for over $10.5 million.{{cite news |last=Manning |first=Lee |date=February 27, 2008 |title=Conan O'Brien's palatial Brentwood home |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/la-re-conan29feb29.pg,0,1321380.photogallery |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221090807/https://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/la-re-conan29feb29.pg,0,1321380.photogallery |archive-date=December 21, 2013}} Some industry insiders have speculated that O'Brien had chosen to stay on the west coast in order to facilitate a return to late night television and because he did not want to put his children through another move.{{Cite news |last=Behrens |first=Zach |date=April 27, 2010 |title=Conan Says He'll Stay in L.A. for Cable Show, Will Appear on '60 Minutes' |work=LAist |url=https://laist.com/news/entertainment/conan-says-hell-stay-in-la-for-cabl |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525133316/https://laist.com/news/entertainment/conan-says-hell-stay-in-la-for-cabl |archive-date=May 25, 2022}}
O'Brien was included in the 2010 Time 100, a list compiled by Time of the 100 most influential people in the world as voted on by readers.{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984940_1985538,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430230809/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984940_1985538,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 30, 2010|first=George|last=Lopez|title=Conan O'Brien – The 2010 Time 100|date=April 29, 2010|access-date=April 30, 2010|magazine=Time}} After being prohibited from making television appearances of any kind until May, O'Brien spoke about the Tonight Show conflict on the CBS newsmagazine 60 Minutes on May 2, 2010.{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=April 29, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Opens Up About NBC Departure |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/arts/television/30conan.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065303/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/arts/television/30conan.html |archive-date=April 28, 2022}} During the interview with Steve Kroft, O'Brien said the situation felt "like a marriage breaking up suddenly, violently, quickly. And I was just trying to figure out what happened." He also said he "absolutely" expected NBC to give him more of a chance and that, if in Jay Leno's position, he would not have come back to The Tonight Show. However, O'Brien said he did not feel unfortunate. "It's crucial to me that anyone seeing this, if they take anything away from this, it's I'm fine. I'm doing great," said O'Brien. "I hope people still find me comedically absurd and ridiculous. And I don't regret anything."{{cite news|url=http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/05/conan-60-minutes-transcript.html|title=Conan O'Brien '60 Minutes' transcript|date=May 2, 2010|access-date=May 2, 2010|work=The Hollywood Reporter|first=James|last=Hibberd|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100504221851/http://livefeed.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/05/conan-60-minutes-transcript.html|archive-date=May 4, 2010}}
On March 11, 2010, O'Brien announced via his Twitter account that he would embark on a 30-city live tour beginning April 12, 2010, entitled, "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour".{{Cite news |last=James |first=Meg |date=March 11, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien sets dates for 'The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour' |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/03/conan-obrien-sets-dates-for-legally-prohibited-from-being-funny-on-tv-tour-.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228003540/https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/03/conan-obrien-sets-dates-for-legally-prohibited-from-being-funny-on-tv-tour-.html |archive-date=February 28, 2021}} Co-host Andy Richter, along with members of the former Tonight Show Band, joined O'Brien on the tour.{{Cite news |date=January 8, 2015 |title=Conan O'Brien's road show: A Q&A guide |work=The Week |url=https://theweek.com/articles/496146/conan-obriens-road-show-qa-guide |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525134740/https://theweek.com/articles/496146/conan-obriens-road-show-qa-guide |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} Max Weinberg, however, was not able to join,{{cite news |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=March 11, 2010 |title=Coco Coast to Coast: Conan O'Brien announces his national tour |work=Variety |url=http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_air/2010/03/coco-coast-to-coast-conan-obrien-announces-his-national-tour.html |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304150405/http://weblogs.variety.com/on_the_air/2010/03/coco-coast-to-coast-conan-obrien-announces-his-national-tour.html |archive-date=March 4, 2012}} except for a guest appearance at one of Conan's New York City shows.{{Cite news |last=Kofler |first=Sandra |date=June 3, 2010 |title=Eli Manning, Max Weinberg Stop By Conan O'Brien's Comedy Show |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-36686 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525133741/https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-SEB-36686 |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} On April 12, 2010, O'Brien opened his two-month comedy tour in Eugene, Oregon, with a crowd of 2,500 and no TV cameras.{{Cite news |last=Marikar |first=Sheila |date=March 11, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Live: Comic Announces Tour, 'Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television' |work=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/conan-obrien-announces-live-tour-us-canada/story?id=10073505 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221052037/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/03/arts/television/03conan.html |archive-date=February 21, 2022}} The tour traveled through America's Northwest and Canada before moving on to larger cities, including Los Angeles and New York City, where he performed at Radio City Music Hall, next to his former Late Night studios.{{Cite book |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2013: 25th Anniversary Edition |publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing |year=2013 |isbn=978-1449423445 |pages=700|author-link=Roger Ebert}}{{Cite news |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=March 11, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien live tour announced |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/conan-obrien-live-tour-announced-21528/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525140021/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/conan-obrien-live-tour-announced-21528/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} The tour ended in Atlanta on June 14.{{Cite news |date=April 12, 2010 |title=Conan live: O'Brien begins comedy tour |work=WLS-TV |url=https://abc7chicago.com/archive/7381577/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525135421/https://abc7chicago.com/archive/7381577/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} In 2011, the documentary film titled Conan O'Brien Can't Stop was released which followed O'Brien throughout his comedy tour.{{Cite news |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Itzkoff |date=March 11, 2011 |title=A Documentary Reveals the Dark Side of Conan O'Brien |work=The New York Times |url=https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/a-documentary-reveals-the-dark-side-of-conan-obrien/?_r=0 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930193024/https://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/a-documentary-reveals-the-dark-side-of-conan-obrien/?_r=0 |archive-date=September 30, 2018}} The film premiered March 2011 at the South by Southwest media festival to positive reviews.{{Cite news |last=Buchanan |first=Kyle |date=January 13, 2011 |title=SXSW Will Premiere Conan O'Brien Tour Documentary |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/2011/01/sxsw_will_premiere_conan_obrie.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301093850/https://www.vulture.com/2011/01/sxsw_will_premiere_conan_obrie.html |archive-date=March 1, 2021}}{{Cite web |title=Conan O'Brien Can't Stop |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/conan_obrien_cant_stop_2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205063056/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/conan_obrien_cant_stop_2011 |archive-date=February 5, 2022 |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}} It was directed by Rodman Flender who is O'Brien's personal friend and classmate at Harvard University.{{Cite news |last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |author-link=Dave Itzkoff |date=March 10, 2011 |title=Conan in the Wilderness |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/movies/conan-obrien-cant-stop-documentary-by-rodman-flender.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221001215/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/11/movies/conan-obrien-cant-stop-documentary-by-rodman-flender.html |archive-date=February 21, 2022}}
= ''Conan'' and ''Conan Without Borders'' (2010–2021) =
{{Main|Conan (talk show)|Conan Without Borders}}
File:Conan O'Brien - SXSW - Mar 2011.jpg at the 2011 SXSW convention]]
The day his live tour began, O'Brien announced that he would host a new show on cable station TBS. The show, Conan, debuted on November 8, 2010, and aired Monday through Thursday at 11:00 pm ET/10:00 pm CT.{{Cite magazine |last=Townsend |first=Allie |date=May 19, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien Will Debut New TBS Show November 8 |magazine=Time |url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2010/05/19/conan-obrien-will-debut-new-tbs-show-november-8/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109013231/https://newsfeed.time.com/2010/05/19/conan-obrien-will-debut-new-tbs-show-november-8/ |archive-date=November 9, 2020}}{{Cite news |last=Moore |first=Frazier |date=April 12, 2010 |title=Conan O'Brien returns to late-night TV in November on TBS |work=The Florida Times-Union |url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/entertainment/local/2010/04/12/conan-obrien-returns-late-night-tv-november-tbs/15949884007/ |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525162928/https://www.jacksonville.com/story/entertainment/local/2010/04/12/conan-obrien-returns-late-night-tv-november-tbs/15949884007/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} O'Brien's addition moved Lopez Tonight with George Lopez back one hour. Refusing at first to do to Lopez what had happened to him at NBC, O'Brien agreed to join TBS after Lopez called to persuade him to come to TBS.{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=April 12, 2010 |title=How the Conan O'Brien-TBS Deal Happened |work=The New York Times |url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/how-the-conan-obrien-tbs-deal-happened/?src=busln |url-status=live |access-date=April 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911205341/https://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/12/how-the-conan-obrien-tbs-deal-happened/?src=busln |archive-date=September 11, 2021}}
File:Conan O'Brien visits AUAB, entertains thousands 151104-F-YM354-087.jpg during "Conan in Qatar"]]
In February 2015, following the onset of the Cuban thaw, O'Brien became the first American television personality to film in Cuba for more than half a century.{{cite news |last=France |first=Lisa Respers |date=February 16, 2015 |title=Conan O'Brien Takes Show to Cuba |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/16/entertainment/feat-conan-obrien-show-cuba/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021153421/https://www.cnn.com/2015/02/16/entertainment/feat-conan-obrien-show-cuba/ |archive-date=October 21, 2021}} O'Brien then visited Armenia for his next show abroad, during which he featured his assistant Sona Movsesian, who is Armenian American.{{cite magazine |last1=Snierson |first1=Dan |date=October 12, 2015 |title=Conan O'Brien is taking his late-night talk show to Armenia |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2015/10/12/conan-obrien-armenia |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065355/https://ew.com/article/2015/10/12/conan-obrien-armenia/ |archive-date=April 28, 2022}} While visiting, O'Brien guest-starred as a gangster on an Armenian soap opera.{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-obrien-guest-stars-as-841817/ |title=Conan O'Brien Guest Stars as a Gangster on Armenian Soap Opera |date=November 18, 2015 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=May 25, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727194811/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-obrien-guest-stars-as-841817/ |archive-date=July 27, 2021}} In April 2016, O'Brien visited South Korea in response to a fan letter urging him to visit, as well as a growing fan base online. His visit included a trip to the Korean Demilitarized Zone, which resulted in O'Brien and Steven Yeun also visiting North Korea on a technicality by stepping across the border line at the DMZ. O'Brien commented on the significance during the sketch, claiming, "The idea that you and I could be in North Korea, talking and communicating freely, seems like kind of a cool message."{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Jenny |date=June 25, 2021 |title=Thank You, Conan O'Brien, for Making Us Laugh Around the World |work=The New York Observer |url=https://observer.com/2021/06/conan-finale-conan-in-korea-essay/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625194412/https://observer.com/2021/06/conan-finale-conan-in-korea-essay/ |archive-date=June 25, 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Epstein |first=Adam |date=April 11, 2016 |title=Watch American diplomat Conan O'Brien host a talk show on the North Korean side of the DMZ |work=Quartz |url=https://qz.com/659047/watch-american-diplomat-conan-obrien-host-a-talk-show-on-the-north-korean-side-of-the-dmz/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065303/https://qz.com/659047/watch-american-diplomat-conan-obrien-host-a-talk-show-on-the-north-korean-side-of-the-dmz/ |archive-date=April 28, 2022}} These remotes were later branded Conan Without Borders and became part of their own series, with O'Brien eventually traveling to thirteen countries in total.{{cite news |last1=Deggans |first1=Eric |title=After 28 Quirky Years, Conan O'Brien Is Leaving Late Night |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1009587267/conan-obrien-ends-tbs-show-leaves-late-night6052-story.html |access-date=September 5, 2022 |work=NPR |date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721030402/https://www.npr.org/2021/06/24/1009587267/conan-obrien-ends-tbs-show-leaves-late-night |archive-date=July 21, 2022}} The series became some of his most popular work, winning an Emmy in 2018.{{cite news |last1=Hipes |first1=Patrick |date=December 18, 2018 |title=TBS' Revamped 'Conan' Gets A Premiere Date |work=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2018/12/conan-premiere-date-2019-half-hour-show-tbs-1202522271/ |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211018081051/https://deadline.com/2018/12/conan-premiere-date-2019-half-hour-show-tbs-1202522271/ |archive-date=October 18, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Goldstein |first1=Ian |date=November 9, 2019 |title=Every Conan Without Borders International Special, Ranked |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/best-conan-without-borders-foreign-specials-ranked.html |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511023935/https://www.vulture.com/article/best-conan-without-borders-foreign-specials-ranked.html |archive-date=May 11, 2022}} The international shows became available on Netflix before moving to HBO Max.{{cite news |date=April 10, 2020 |title=10 travel shows on Netflix that offer a virtual escape |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/tv/2020/03/18/10-best-travel-shows-netflix-stream-right-now/2865275001/ |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110144128/https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/entertainment/tv/2020/03/18/10-best-travel-shows-netflix-stream-right-now/2865275001/ |archive-date=November 10, 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Hersko |first=Tyler |date=May 12, 2021 |title=Conan O'Brien and the Streaming Industry's Pivot to Late Night Comedy |work=IndieWire |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2021/05/conan-obrien-streaming-industry-pivot-late-night-comedy-1234637001/ |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220829115838/https://www.indiewire.com/2021/05/conan-obrien-streaming-industry-pivot-late-night-comedy-1234637001/ |archive-date=August 29, 2022}}
TBS extended the show through 2018 in 2014{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |date=May 14, 2014 |title=TBS Signs Conan O'Brien to 4 More Years |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/business/media/tbs-signs-conan-obrien-to-4-more-years.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515112636/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/business/media/tbs-signs-conan-obrien-to-4-more-years.html |archive-date=May 15, 2021}} and through 2022 in 2017.{{Cite news |last=de Moraes |first=Lisa |date=May 17, 2017 |title=Conan O'Brien Signs 4-Year TBS Deal; Says Show Will Become Leaner, More Agile, Less Predictable |work=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2017/05/conan-obrien-new-4-year-deal-tbs-1202095437/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117090824/https://deadline.com/2017/05/conan-obrien-new-4-year-deal-tbs-1202095437/ |archive-date=November 17, 2021}} In late 2018, Conan took a three-month hiatus while O'Brien launched another national comedy tour. The show returned January 22, 2019, in a new half-hour format without the live band.{{cite news |last1=Itzkoff |first1=Dave |author-link=Dave Itzkoff |date=January 21, 2019 |title=Can Conan O'Brien Reinvent 'Conan'? |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/arts/television/conan-obrien-new-show.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520015857/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/arts/television/conan-obrien-new-show.html |archive-date=May 20, 2022}}
In response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program switched to a remotely-produced format from O'Brien's home beginning March 30, 2020.{{cite web|last=Wright|first=Megh|title=How the Late-Night Shows Are Handling Coronavirus Quarantine|url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/late-night-shows-nyc-coronavirus.html|work=Vulture|date=April 8, 2020|access-date=May 20, 2020|archive-date=November 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201117205238/https://www.vulture.com/amp/2020/04/late-night-shows-nyc-coronavirus.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Lafayette|first=Jon|title=Conan O'Brien to Produce New Shows From Home|url=https://www.nexttv.com/news/conan-obrien-to-produce-new-shows-from-home|date=19 March 2020|access-date=20 May 2020|work=NextTV|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801213143/https://www.nexttv.com/news/conan-obrien-to-produce-new-shows-from-home|url-status=live}} In July 2020, it was announced that Conan would continue with this format, but would be filmed with limited on-site staff from the Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles and no studio audience — making it the first American late-night talk show to return to filming outside of the host's residence (albeit still not from its main studio).{{Cite web|last=White|first=Peter|date=July 2, 2020|title=Conan O'Brien To Film TBS Show At Largo, Observing Health & Safety Protocols, Becomes First Late-Night Host To Make Move|url=https://deadline.com/2020/07/conan-obrien-film-tbs-late-night-show-largo-1202974533/|access-date=July 2, 2020|website=Deadline Hollywood|archive-date=July 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702173404/https://deadline.com/2020/07/conan-obrien-film-tbs-late-night-show-largo-1202974533/|url-status=live}} In November 2020, TBS announced that Conan would end in June 2021.{{Cite news |last=Porter |first=Rick |date=May 3, 2021 |title=Conan O'Brien Sets End Date for TBS Show |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-obrien-end-date-tbs-4177843/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006031141/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-obrien-end-date-tbs-4177843/ |archive-date=October 6, 2021}} The final show aired on June 24, 2021, featuring a live audience and marking the end of O'Brien's twenty-eight year run as a late-night host.{{Cite news |last=Jurgensen |first=John |date=June 24, 2021 |title=4,368 Episodes Later, Conan O'Brien's Late-Night Run Ends |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/4-368-episodes-later-conan-obriens-late-night-run-ends-11624527002 |url-status=live |access-date=May 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029183939/https://www.wsj.com/articles/4-368-episodes-later-conan-obriens-late-night-run-ends-11624527002 |archive-date=October 29, 2021}} It was announced that O'Brien would move to a weekly untitled variety show on fellow WarnerMedia property HBO Max, where he was expected to focus more on his podcast and travel shows with a relaxed production schedule.{{Cite news |last=Arkin |first=Daniel |date=November 17, 2020 |title=Conan O'Brien leaving TBS late-night show for new HBO Max variety series |work=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/conan-o-brien-leaving-tbs-late-night-show-new-hbo-n1248034 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511195130/https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/tv/conan-o-brien-leaving-tbs-late-night-show-new-hbo-n1248034 |archive-date=May 11, 2022}}{{cite news |last=Schimkowitz |first=Matt |date=May 3, 2021 |title=Conan O'Brien's TBS show to end this June |work=The A.V. Club |url=https://www.avclub.com/conan-obriens-tbs-show-to-end-this-june-1846817079 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504041030/https://tv.avclub.com/conan-obriens-tbs-show-to-end-this-june-1846817079 |archive-date=May 4, 2021}} On his final show, O'Brien featured fictional character Homer Simpson, marking also the three episodes that O'Brien wrote for the series.{{cite news |last1=Squires |first1=Bethy |date=25 June 2021 |title=Homer Simpson Did Conan O'Brien's TBS Exit Interview |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/2021/06/homer-simpson-did-conan-obriens-tbs-exit-interview.html |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703064405/https://www.vulture.com/2021/06/homer-simpson-did-conan-obriens-tbs-exit-interview.html |archive-date=July 3, 2021}} Comedians Will Ferrell and Jack Black also paid their farewell to the show in the series finale.{{cite news |last=Perez |first=Lexy |date=June 24, 2021 |title=Conan O'Brien Ends Late Night Run, Will Ferrell and Jack Black Join Series Finale |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-obrien-late-night-series-finale-1234973044/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703063132/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-obrien-late-night-series-finale-1234973044/ |archive-date=July 3, 2021}}
= Podcasting and ''Conan O'Brien Must Go'' (2018–present) =
{{Main|Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend|Conan O'Brien Must Go}}
{{Multiple images
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|image1 = Sona_Movsesian_Live_Wire_Radio_(cropped).jpg
|image3 = Superego_at_LA_Podfest_2012_-_Gourley.jpg
|footer = Sona Movsesian (left) and Matt Gourley (right) co-host Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.
}}
In 2018, O'Brien's production company, Team Coco, partnered with Earwolf to launch his own weekly podcast, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.{{Cite news |last=Donaghey |first=River |date=November 8, 2018 |title=Conan O'Brien's New Podcast Has an Insanely Good Guest Lineup |work=Vice News |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/conan-obriens-new-podcast-has-an-insanely-good-guest-lineup-vgtrn/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105165653/https://www.vice.com/en/article/ev3dne/conan-obriens-new-podcast-has-an-insanely-good-guest-lineup-vgtrn |archive-date=January 5, 2021}} The podcast debuted November 18, 2018, with Will Ferrell as the first guest. O'Brien stated the title is tongue-in-cheek, saying he would like to see if celebrity guests would actually be his friends.{{Cite news |last=Gross |first=Terry |author-link=Terry Gross |date=October 9, 2019 |title='Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend' Is A Joke Name For A Podcast — Sort Of |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/10/02/766070502/conan-o-brien-needs-a-friend-is-a-joke-name-for-a-podcast-sort-of |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728114650/https://www.npr.org/2019/10/02/766070502/conan-o-brien-needs-a-friend-is-a-joke-name-for-a-podcast-sort-of |archive-date=July 28, 2021}} In each episode, O'Brien is joined by his guest, as well as his assistant Sona Movsesian and the show's producer Matt Gourley.{{Cite news |last=Petski |first=Denise |date=August 16, 2021 |title='Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend' Podcast Sets Live Recording At L.A.'s Wiltern Theater |work=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend-podcast-sets-live-recording-at-l-a-s-wiltern-theater-1234814747/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511125512/https://deadline.com/2021/08/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend-podcast-sets-live-recording-at-l-a-s-wiltern-theater-1234814747/ |archive-date=May 11, 2022}} Guests on the podcast have included Barack and Michelle Obama, Stephen Colbert, and Bob Newhart among others.{{Cite web |title=Creators & Guests of Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend |url=https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend-736336/creators |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065319/https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend-736336/creators |archive-date=April 28, 2022 |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=Podchaser}} The podcast has received strong reviews and became the top podcast on iTunes. The podcast has also won numerous awards throughout its run.{{Cite news |last=Goldsmith |first=Jill |date=May 23, 2022 |title=SiriusXM Buys Team Coco; Conan O'Brien To Remain Host Of Flagship Podcast, Launch New Comedy Channel In Multi-Year Deal |work=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2022/05/siriusxm-team-coco-conan-obrien-1235030253/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526142053/https://deadline.com/2022/05/siriusxm-team-coco-conan-obrien-1235030253/ |archive-date=May 26, 2022}}{{Cite news |last=Ambachew |first=Meseret |date=February 23, 2022 |title=Conan O'Brien Highlights His Favorite Ad Reads in Newest Podcast Episode |work=Adweek |url=https://www.adweek.com/media/conan-obrien-highlights-his-favorite-ad-reads-in-newest-podcast-episode/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511024044/https://www.adweek.com/media/conan-obrien-highlights-his-favorite-ad-reads-in-newest-podcast-episode/ |archive-date=May 11, 2022}} Deadline Hollywood reported that, as of August 2021, the podcast had been downloaded over 250 million times and was averaging more than 9 million downloads per month.
O'Brien made a cameo appearance as himself on the February 26, 2022 episode of Saturday Night Live, as a guest inducting John Mulaney into the Five-Timers Club with Tina Fey, Steve Martin, Paul Rudd, Candice Bergen and Elliott Gould.
In May 2022, O'Brien's podcast, as well as the entire Team Coco digital media business, was sold to SiriusXM for $150 million.{{efn|Citing unnamed sources, The Wall Street Journal stated the deal was worth $150 million.{{cite news |last1=Jurgensen |first1=John |last2=Steele |first2=Anne |title=Conan O'Brien's Podcast Company Sells to SiriusXM in Deal Valued Around $150 Million |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/conan-obriens-podcast-company-sells-to-siriusxm-in-deal-valued-around-150-million-11653306900 |access-date=May 26, 2022 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220523202355/https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/conan-obriens-podcast-company-sells-to-siriusxm-in-deal-valued-around-150-million-11653306900#selection-111.5-114.0 |archive-date=May 23, 2022}} The official terms of the deal were not made public.{{cite news |title=SiriusXM acquires Conan O'Brien's podcast and digital media outlet |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/siriusxm-acquires-conan-obriens-podcast-digital-media-outlet-2022-05-23/ |access-date=May 26, 2022 |work=Reuters |date=May 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526143308/https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/siriusxm-acquires-conan-obriens-podcast-digital-media-outlet-2022-05-23/ |archive-date=May 26, 2022}}}} This sale included all other Team Coco podcasts including Inside Conan and Parks and Recollection, as well as the development of a comedy channel for SiriusXM radio service.{{cite news |last1=Weprin |first1=Alex |date=May 23, 2022 |title=Conan O'Brien Sells Podcast Business to SiriusXM for $150M |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/conan-obrien-sells-team-coco-podcast-siriusxm-1235152377/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525174006/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/conan-obrien-sells-team-coco-podcast-siriusxm-1235152377/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Keys |first1=Matthew |title=A Conan O'Brien channel is coming to SiriusXM satellite and streaming radio |url=https://thedesk.net/2022/09/siriusxm-conan-o-brien-radio-channel-jennifer-witz/ |access-date=14 September 2022 |work=The Desk |date=7 September 2022}}
On April 18, 2024, HBO released a four-episode international travel series titled Conan O'Brien Must Go on Max to widespread critical acclaim.{{Cite news |last=Otterson |first=James |date=May 15, 2024 |title=Conan O'Brien Must Go Renewed for Season 2 at Max |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/conan-obrien-must-go-renewed-season-2-max-1236003905/ |access-date=May 15, 2024}} The series featured O'Brien traveling to Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland to meet fans whom he had previously featured via video calls in his podcast series Conan O'Brien Needs a Fan.{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/conan-obrien-must-go-travel-series-hbo-max-1235580501/ |title=Conan O'Brien Must Go' International Travel Series Ordered by Max |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=May 17, 2023 |website=Variety.com |publisher=Variety |access-date=May 17, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Schneider |first1=Michael |title='Conan O'Brien Must Go' International Travel Series Ordered by Max |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/conan-obrien-must-go-travel-series-hbo-max-1235580501/ |access-date=17 May 2023 |work=Variety |date=17 May 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Schneider |first1=Michael |title='Conan O'Brien Must Go,' the Host's Return to TV, Gets a Max Premiere Date |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/conan-obrien-must-go-return-to-tv-max-premiere-date-1235936291/ |access-date=12 March 2024 |work=Variety |date=9 March 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Pandya |first1=Hershal |title=Conan to Be Borderless Again in Conan O'Brien Must Go |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/conan-obrien-must-go-hbo-max.html |access-date=12 March 2024 |work=Vulture |date=9 March 2024}} The show was renewed for a second season of six episodes in May 2024. To promote the first season's release, O'Brien appeared on the interview show Hot Ones, where guests eat increasingly spicy chicken wings. The intensity and humor of his episode received significant media attention, resulting in widespread praise of his performance and more generally as a comedic performer.{{cite news |last1=Scribner |first1=Herb |title=Conan O'Brien heats up social media after 'Hot Ones' appearance |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2024/04/14/conan-obrien-hot-ones/ |access-date=15 May 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=14 April 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Phillips |first1=Zoe G. |title=Conan O'Brien Details His "Burning" Symptoms After 'Hot Ones' Appearance |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-obrien-symptoms-hot-ones-1235886542/ |access-date=15 May 2024 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=29 April 2024}}{{cite news |last1=Squires |first1=Bethy |title=Have You Heard About This Conan Guy? He's Great! |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/conan-obrien-hot-ones-tributes.html |access-date=15 May 2024 |work=Vulture |date=14 April 2024}}
In January 2025, it was announced that O'Brien would be the 2025 recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. He received the award on March 23 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.{{cite news |last1=Porter |first1=Rick |title=Conan O'Brien to Receive 2025 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/conan-obrien-mark-twain-prize-2025-1236109982/ |access-date=16 January 2025 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=16 January 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Bahr |first1=Sarah |title=Conan O'Brien to Receive Mark Twain Prize for American Humor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/arts/television/conan-obrien-mark-twain-prize.html |access-date=16 January 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=16 January 2025}}
Other work
= Television production =
{{See also|Conaco}}
O'Brien was executive producer and co-wrote the pilot of the 2007 NBC adventure/comedy series Andy Barker, P.I., starring O'Brien's sidekick Andy Richter.{{Cite news |last=Crowley |first=Matthew |date=June 2, 2015 |title=The little-seen Andy Barker, P.I. was the ideal Andy Richter vehicle |work=The A.V. Club |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-little-seen-andy-barker-p-i-was-the-ideal-andy-ri-1798280196 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210703035405/https://www.avclub.com/the-little-seen-andy-barker-p-i-was-the-ideal-andy-ri-1798280196 |archive-date=July 3, 2021}} After six episodes and low ratings, the show was canceled despite being named one of the Top Ten Shows of 2007 by Entertainment Weekly.{{Cite news |last=Tabrys |first=Jason |date=April 27, 2015 |title=Doomed From The Start: An Oral History Of The Birth, Charming Life, And Fast Death Of 'Andy Barker, P.I.' |work=Uproxx |url=https://uproxx.com/tv/andy-barker-pi-oral-history/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416000404/https://uproxx.com/tv/andy-barker-pi-oral-history/ |archive-date=April 16, 2021}}{{cite magazine|access-date=May 11, 2008|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20162677_20164091_20166802,00.html|title=Andy Barker, P.I.|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=December 21, 2007|author=Flynn, Gillian|archive-date=May 30, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530065337/http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20162677_20164091_20166802,00.html|url-status=dead}} Later, USA Network ordered a pilot episode of the medical-themed Operating Instructions, which was produced by O'Brien's production company Conaco.{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080918/tv_nm/usa_dc|title=Conan O'Brien scrubs up for medical drama|publisher=Yahoo! News|access-date=October 13, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930222951/http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080918/tv_nm/usa_dc|archive-date=September 30, 2008}} In January 2010, NBC ordered two pilots from Conaco, the one-hour courtroom drama Outlaw and a half-hour comedy.{{Cite news |date=January 27, 2010 |title=NBC orders pilot from Conan O'Brien |work=Digital Spy |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/ustv/news/a199645/nbc-orders-pilot-from-conan-obrien.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125061557/https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/ustv/a199645/nbc-orders-pilot-from-conan-obrien/ |archive-date=November 25, 2020}} Outlaw was produced in eight episodes and premiered on September 15, 2010.{{Cite news |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=October 6, 2010 |title=NBC's 'Outlaw' Goes On Production Hiatus |work=Deadline Hollywood |url=https://deadline.com/2010/10/nbcs-outlaw-goes-on-production-hiatus-73245/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922122619/https://deadline.com/2010/10/nbcs-outlaw-goes-on-production-hiatus-73245/ |archive-date=September 22, 2020}}
= Voice work =
O'Brien's first guest appearance after beginning his late-night career was playing himself in the season five Simpsons episode "Bart Gets Famous", interviewing Bart Simpson during his rise to fame as a catchphrase comedian. In 1999, O'Brien made an appearance on Futurama in the second-season episode "Xmas Story". O'Brien played himself as a head in a jar and still alive in the year 3000.{{cite book |last1=Crump |first1=William |title=How the Movies Saved Christmas: 228 Rescues from Clausnappers, Sleigh Crashes, Lost Presents and Holiday Disasters |date=March 29, 2017 |publisher=McFarland & Company |isbn=978-1476664880 |pages=311–312 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=coySDgAAQBAJ&dq=conan+o%27brien+%22futurama%22+episode&pg=PT320 |access-date=May 25, 2022}} O'Brien has made multiple voice appearances on the Adult Swim series Robot Chicken, including the specials Robot Chicken: Star Wars and Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II.{{cite web |url=http://www.tower.com/robot-chicken-star-wars-hulk-hogan-dvd/wapi/111835834 |title=DVD: Robot Chicken: Star Wars with Hulk Hogan (voice) and Conan O'Brien (voice) |publisher=Tower.com |date=July 22, 2008 |access-date=February 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604012546/http://www.tower.com/robot-chicken-star-wars-hulk-hogan-dvd/wapi/111835834 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 }}
Other voice work performed by O'Brien includes the voice of Robert Todd Lincoln in the audiobook version of Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell,{{Cite news |last=Lamberti |first=Patti |date=December 3, 2006 |title=Audiobooks: Road trips |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-12-03-0612020018-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220525205428/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-12-03-0612020018-story.html |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} the voice of talk show host Dave Endochrine in the 2013 DC Universe Animated Original Movie Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Part 2),{{Cite news |last=Vejvoda |first=Jim |date=June 28, 2016 |title=Conan O'Brien Joins Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2 |work=IGN |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/13/conan-obrien-joins-batman-the-dark-knight-returns-part-2 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930162829/https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/13/conan-obrien-joins-batman-the-dark-knight-returns-part-2 |archive-date=September 30, 2018}} the voice of the character Kuchikukan in the "Operation: Lunacorn Apocalypse" episode of Nickelodeon's The Penguins of Madagascar,{{Cite web |title=Operation: Lunacorn Apocalypse |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_penguins_of_madagascar/s03/e30 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525210458/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_penguins_of_madagascar/s03/e30 |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=Rotten Tomatoes}} and the voice of Santa Claus in The Backyardigans episode "The Action Elves Save Christmas Eve".{{Cite news |last=Larsen |first=Peter |date=November 25, 2009 |title=Get ready for holiday TV |work=Orange County Register |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2009/11/25/get-ready-for-holiday-tv/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525210833/https://www.ocregister.com/2009/11/25/get-ready-for-holiday-tv/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022}}
= Guest appearances =
File:WillFerellGreekLA061018-21.jpg, Jimmy Kimmel, and James Corden in 2018]]
On the TV show 30 Rock, O'Brien is depicted as an ex-boyfriend of lead character Liz Lemon, who works in the same building.{{Cite news |date=November 15, 2012 |title='30 Rock' character Liz Lemon to get her happy ending |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-xpm-2012-11-15-sns-rt-television-30rockweddingl1e8mff0u-20121115-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707083243/https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-xpm-2012-11-15-sns-rt-television-30rockweddingl1e8mff0u-20121115-story.html |archive-date=July 7, 2021}} In the episode "Tracy Does Conan", O'Brien appears as himself, awkwardly reunited with Lemon and coerced by network executive Jack Donaghy into having the character Tracy Jordan on Late Night, despite having been assaulted in Jordan's previous appearance.{{Cite news |last=Kang |first=Inkoo |date=September 3, 2019 |title=This Is the Episode When 30 Rock Became 30 Rock |work=Slate |url=https://slate.com/culture/2019/09/where-to-start-watching-30-rock-tracy-does-conan.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226224427/https://slate.com/culture/2019/09/where-to-start-watching-30-rock-tracy-does-conan.html |archive-date=February 26, 2021}} O'Brien also made a cameo appearance on the U.S. version of The Office. In the episode "Valentine's Day", Michael believes that he spots former SNL cast member Tina Fey, but has actually mistaken another woman for her. In the meantime, O'Brien has a quick walk-on, and the camera crew informs Michael when he returns from talking to the Tina Fey lookalike.{{cite web |title=The Office: Valentine's Day Episode Summary on |url=http://www.tv.com/the-office/valentines-day/episode/621947/summary.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212034135/http://www.tv.com/the-office/valentines-day/episode/621947/summary.html |archive-date=February 12, 2008 |access-date=February 26, 2011 |website=TV.com}} In 2011, he starred as himself in the web series Web Therapy (opposite Lisa Kudrow) for three episodes.{{Cite news |last=Ben Block |first=Alex |date=November 22, 2011 |title=Conan O'Brien to Play Himself in Lisa Kudrow's 'Web Therapy' |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-obrien-play-lisa-kudrows-264632/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525213418/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-obrien-play-lisa-kudrows-264632/ |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} O'Brien also made a guest appearance as the "Wandering MC" in the 2019 video game Death Stranding,{{cite web |title=Death Stranding - Conan O'Brien Easter Egg Location (Where to find Conan) | date=November 7, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uCgDIO91n0 | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varhimschive/youtube/20211028/9uCgDIO91n0| archive-date=2021-10-28|via=YouTube |access-date=December 28, 2019}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news |last1=Parkin |first1=Jeffrey |title=Death Stranding guide: Where to find Conan O'Brien |url=https://www.polygon.com/death-stranding-guide/2019/11/7/20949765/find-conan-obrien-location-map-cosplayer-wandering-mc |access-date=26 September 2022 |work=Polygon |date=7 November 2019}} where he communicates with the player using voice lines and facial expressions recorded during his visit to Kojima Productions' headquarters.{{cite web |title=Conan Visits The Offices Of 'Death Stranding' Creator Hideo Kojima - CONAN on TBS | date=October 23, 2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlMpN26ts7s | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/KlMpN26ts7s| archive-date=2021-10-28|via=YouTube |access-date=December 28, 2019}}{{cbignore}}
= Hosting duties =
O'Brien has hosted several awards shows and television specials. He hosted the 54th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2002 and the 58th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2006, to critical acclaim.{{cite news |last=Adalian |first=Josef |date=August 27, 2006 |title=The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards |work=Variety |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117931393?categoryid=1264&cs=1 |url-status=dead |access-date=May 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605001254/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117931393?categoryid=1264&cs=1 |archive-date=June 5, 2011}} He also hosted the 2014 MTV Movie Awards.{{Cite news |last=Wright |first=Megh |date=March 5, 2014 |title=Conan O'Brien Announces He's Hosting the 2014 MTV Movie Awards |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/2014/03/conan-obrien-announces-hes-hosting-the-2014-mtv-movie-awards.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924090754/https://www.vulture.com/2014/03/conan-obrien-announces-hes-hosting-the-2014-mtv-movie-awards.html |archive-date=September 24, 2020}} In 2011 and 2012, O'Brien hosted the Christmas in Washington special for TBS' sister network, TNT, featuring celebrity performances and a special appearance by the Obama family both years.{{cite news |last=Zabriskie |first=Phil |date=December 11, 2011 |title=Justin Bieber, Jennifer Hudson, others take the stage at 'Christmas in Washington' |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/2011/12/11/gIQAORUooO_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=December 12, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105201731/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/Justin-Bieber-Jennifer-Hudson-others-take-stage-at-Christmas-in-Washington-concert/2011/12/11/gIQAORUooO_story.html |archive-date=November 5, 2020}}{{cite news |last1=Nordyke |first1=Kimberly |title=Obama Pokes Fun at Conan, Psy Performs at 'Christmas in Washington' Concert |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/obama-pokes-fun-at-conan-399700/ |access-date=7 September 2022 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=9 December 2012}}
He has served as the master of ceremonies for the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C. twice, in 1995 and 2013.{{Cite news |last=Molloy |first=Tim |date=February 20, 2013 |title=Conan O'Brien to Host White House Correspondents Dinner |work=TheWrap |url=https://www.thewrap.com/conan-obrien-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-78326/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421113021/https://www.thewrap.com/conan-obrien-host-white-house-correspondents-dinner-78326/ |archive-date=April 21, 2021}} In 2016, O'Brien hosted the 5th NFL Honors in San Francisco, California.{{Cite magazine |date=January 14, 2016 |title=Conan O'Brien to host 'NFL Honors' night before Super Bowl |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/01/14/ap-fbn-nfl-honors-conan-obrien |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525214451/https://www.si.com/nfl/2016/01/14/ap-fbn-nfl-honors-conan-obrien |archive-date=May 25, 2022}} He also hosted a reunion special in Northern Ireland for Game of Thrones in 2018 for the final season of the series.{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=Joanna |title=Game of Thrones Reunion Special Is More Mysterious Than It Seems |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/10/game-of-thrones-reunion-special-sean-bean-conan-o-brien |access-date=May 31, 2022 |work=Vanity Fair |date=October 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303031109/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/10/game-of-thrones-reunion-special-sean-bean-conan-o-brien |archive-date=March 3, 2021}} The special was released on HBO Max in 2021.{{cite news |last1=Maas |first1=Jennifer |title='Game of Thrones' Reunion Special Hosted by Conan O'Brien Is Now Streaming on HBO Max |url=https://www.thewrap.com/game-of-thrones-reunion-special-streaming-hbo-max-conan-obrien-iron-anniversary/ |access-date=May 31, 2022 |work=TheWrap |date=April 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406155942/https://www.thewrap.com/game-of-thrones-reunion-special-streaming-hbo-max-conan-obrien-iron-anniversary/ |archive-date=April 6, 2021}}
On March 2, 2025, O'Brien hosted the 97th Academy Awards for the first time.{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Clayton |date=2024-11-15 |title=Conan O'Brien to Host 2025 Oscars Ceremony |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/awards/conan-obrien-oscars-host-2025-1236210975/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} He received wide acclaim for his performance, with the ceremony achieving its best U.S. television ratings in five years, and the Academy announced just two weeks later that he would return to host the 98th Academy Awards.{{cite news |last1=Feinberg |first1=Scott |title=Oscars: Conan O'Brien to Return as Host in 2026 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-conan-obrien-host-2026-1236164868/ |access-date=26 March 2025 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=17 March 2025}}{{Cite web|last=Yu|first=Yi-Jin|date=2024-03-17|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/conan-obrien-returning-host-oscars-2026/story?id=119867607|title=Conan O'Brien Returning To Host Oscars In 2026|work=ABC News|access-date=March 20, 2025}}
Influences and style
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|footer = O'Brien demonstrating his long legs at SXSW in March 2024. He is known for his active, spontaneous, and self-deprecating humor.
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On Late Night, O'Brien became known for his active and spontaneous hosting style, which has been characterized as "self-deprecating" by both media outlets and O'Brien himself.{{Cite news |last=Yahr |first=Emily |date=June 23, 2021 |title=End of a late-night era: 28 years of memorable Conan moments |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/interactive/2021/conan-final-show-best-moments/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210623232315/https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/interactive/2021/conan-final-show-best-moments/ |archive-date=June 23, 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Russonello |first=Giovanni |date=January 23, 2019 |title=Conan O'Brien Has a New Look, but a Familiar Approach |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/arts/television/conan-obrien-new-show-debut.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623175810/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/arts/television/conan-obrien-new-show-debut.html |archive-date=June 23, 2021}} This spontaneity is also apparent in remotes in which he is put in novel and open-ended environments. Some of these, such as a "Civil War-era baseball" remote during Late Night and his international Conan Without Borders shows, are among his best-received work.{{Cite magazine |last1=Snierson |first1=Dan |last2=Baldwin |first2=Kristen |date=June 24, 2021 |title=Conan O'Brien says goodbye: 16 essential bits from his 28-year late-night run |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://ew.com/tv/conan-obrien-16-essential-bits/ |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210702015739/https://ew.com/tv/conan-obrien-16-essential-bits/ |archive-date=July 2, 2021}}
O'Brien lists among his comedic influences Carol Burnett, Bob Newhart,{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnMsEkqyNAA|title= How "The Carol Burnett Show" Influenced Conan's Comedy"|website= Youtube|accessdate= April 8, 2024}} David Letterman,{{Cite magazine |last=O'Brien |first=Conan |date=May 1, 2015 |title=Conan O'Brien: David Letterman disrupted the medium and that's what made him a legend |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://ew.com/article/2015/05/01/exclusive-conan-obrien-david-letterman/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223173039/https://ew.com/article/2015/05/01/exclusive-conan-obrien-david-letterman/ |archive-date=December 23, 2021}} Peter Sellers,{{cite news|last=Houpt|first=Simon|title=Conan gets creative with his Canadian invasion|newspaper=The Globe and Mail|date=February 7, 2004|location=Toronto|page=R1}} Sid Caesar,{{Cite news |date=February 19, 2014 |title=Conan O'Brien & Mel Brooks Remember The Brilliance Of Sid Caesar |work=HuffPost |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/conan-mel-brooks-sid-caesar_n_4816130 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801082945/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/conan-mel-brooks-sid-caesar_n_4816130 |archive-date=August 1, 2020}} Warner Bros. Cartoons, Johnny Carson,{{Cite web |date=April 9, 2012 |title=Johnny Carson: King of Late Night |url=http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/johnny-carson-king-of-late-night-about-the-documentary/2051/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210908010040/https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/johnny-carson-king-of-late-night-about-the-documentary/2051/ |archive-date=September 8, 2021 |access-date=May 25, 2022 |url-status=live |website=PBS}} Ernie Kovacs,{{Cite news |last=Visconage |first=Matt |date=January 23, 2012 |title=Conan O'Brien and the Legacy of Ernie Kovacs |work=New York |url=https://www.vulture.com/2012/01/conan-obrien-and-the-legacy-of-ernie-kovacs.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815091159/http://www.vulture.com/2012/01/conan-obrien-and-the-legacy-of-ernie-kovacs.html |archive-date=August 15, 2018}} Bob Hope,{{Cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Conan |date=May 26, 1998 |title=Bob Hope Made Comedy What It Is Today |work=The New York Times via Sun-Sentinel |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-xpm-1998-05-26-9805220392-story.html |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725112649/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1998-05-26/lifestyle/9805220392_1_bob-hope-uso-show-boat-show |archive-date=July 25, 2018}} and Woody Allen;{{Cite news |title=Conan O'Brien |work=Vanity Fair |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2000/06/proust-conan-obrien-200006 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922154323/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2000/06/proust-conan-obrien-200006 |archive-date=September 22, 2020}} and upon his retirement from Conan, he described his style as the pursuit of a "strange, phantom intersection between smart and stupid".{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/06/conan-obrien-bids-a-smart-and-stupid-farewell-to-conan-and-linear-tv-finale-recap|title=Conan O'Brien Bids a "Smart and Stupid" Farewell to Conan, and Linear TV|publisher=Vanity Fair|date=25 June 2021|accessdate=18 January 2024|author=Savannahs Walsh}} In turn, actors and comedians who claim O'Brien as an influence include Mindy Kaling,{{Cite news |last=Birnbaum |first=Debra |date=June 17, 2015 |title=Mindy Kaling & Conan O'Brien on What Drew Them to TV Comedy |work=Variety |url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/mindy-kaling-conan-obrien-1201521488/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628033500/http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/mindy-kaling-conan-obrien-1201521488/ |archive-date=June 28, 2017}} Pete Holmes,{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBjCLD1AWMs| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004192628/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBjCLD1AWMs&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2013-10-04|title=#MeetPete Facebook Questions|date=October 3, 2013|via=YouTube|access-date=March 17, 2015}} Seth Meyers,{{Cite news |last=Heidemann |first=Jason |date=February 25, 2014 |title=Seth Meyers on the Forces That Made Him Funny |work=Chicago |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2014/Seth-Meyers-on-the-Forces-that-Made-Him-Funny/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407003819/https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/March-2014/Seth-Meyers-on-the-Forces-that-Made-Him-Funny/ |archive-date=April 7, 2022}} Nikki Glaser,{{Cite news |date=January 16, 2020 |title=This Week in Comedy Podcasts: Nikki Glaser Meets Her Hero |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/this-week-in-comedy-podcasts-nikki-glaser-meets-her-hero.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515093934/https://www.vulture.com/2020/01/this-week-in-comedy-podcasts-nikki-glaser-meets-her-hero.html |archive-date=May 15, 2021}} John Krasinski,{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Ryan |date=June 25, 2021 |title=Conan O'Brien Fans Share Favorite Moments as Show Ends |work=Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/conan-obrien-fans-share-favorite-moments-show-ends-1604019 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228055954/https://www.newsweek.com/conan-obrien-fans-share-favorite-moments-show-ends-1604019 |archive-date=February 28, 2022}} Moses Storm,{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2g4-rNenGE| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/O2g4-rNenGE| archive-date=2021-10-28|title=Moses Storm was fan of conan and later worked for him| website=YouTube| date=March 14, 2019}}{{cbignore}} Sam Richardson,{{Cite web |title=Sam Richardson - Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend |url=https://omny.fm/shows/conan-o-brien-needs-a-friend/sam-richardson |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515113257/https://omny.fm/shows/conan-o-brien-needs-a-friend/sam-richardson |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=Omny.fm}} Colin Jost,{{Cite magazine |last=Sanchez |first=Omar |date=July 14, 2020 |title=Colin Jost on how SNL's Diner Lobster sketch avoided disaster, twice |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |url=https://ew.com/books/colin-jost-very-punchable-face-snl-diner-lobster/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515112636/https://ew.com/books/colin-jost-very-punchable-face-snl-diner-lobster/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021}} Kumail Nanjiani,{{Cite news |last=Carras |first=Christi |date=July 12, 2019 |title=Kumail Nanjiani's last-minute 'Conan' cancellation was a comedic 'snow day' for O'Brien |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-st-conan-obrien-kumail-nanjiani-cancellation-20190712-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630094403/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-st-conan-obrien-kumail-nanjiani-cancellation-20190712-story.html |archive-date=June 30, 2021}} Ron Funches,{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8UUjazBzfM&app=desktop| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211028/s8UUjazBzfM| archive-date=2021-10-28|title=Conan inspired Ron funches| website=YouTube| date=February 4, 2020}}{{cbignore}} John Mulaney,{{Cite news |date=November 25, 2015 |title=John Mulaney's comedic comeback |work=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/schedule-for-wednesday-november-25-1.3336065/john-mulaney-s-comedic-comeback-1.3336090 |access-date=September 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190719205208/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/schedule-for-wednesday-november-25-1.3336065/john-mulaney-s-comedic-comeback-1.3336090 |archive-date=July 19, 2019}} Eric André,{{Cite news |last=Reilly |first=Dan |date=June 24, 2021 |title=A Tribute to 'Good King' Conan |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/article/conan-obrien-late-night-tribute.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216225127/https://www.vulture.com/article/conan-obrien-late-night-tribute.html |archive-date=February 16, 2022}} and Taylor Tomlinson.{{cite news|title=Taylor Tomlinson|url=https://teamcoco.com/podcasts/conan-obrien-needs-a-friend/episodes/taylor-tomlinson|access-date=September 9, 2023|work=Team Coco|date=July 4, 2022}} The military working dog Conan is reportedly named after O'Brien according to Newsweek.{{cite news |last1=Elfrink |first1=Tim |title=Conan, the military dog wounded in Baghdadi raid, is headed to the White House, Trump says |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/31/conan-military-dog-white-house-visit-trump/ |access-date=September 5, 2022 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430174939/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/31/conan-military-dog-white-house-visit-trump/ |archive-date=April 30, 2022}}
Personal life
File:O'Brien, Conan (with Elizabeth Ann Powel).jpg
O'Brien met Elizabeth Ann "Liza" Powel in 2000, when, as a senior copywriter for the advertising agency Foote, Cone & Belding, she appeared in a pre-taped sketch on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in which O'Brien sought to craft a more effective TV commercial for Hilton Furniture, a store in Houston, where his show aired in an undesirable timeslot of 2:40am.{{Cite news |last=Maffucci |first=Samantha |date=May 4, 2018 |title=Who Is Conan O'Brien's Wife? 5 New Details On Liza Powel O'Brien|magazine=Yahoo! News|url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/conan-o-apos-brien-apos-190220884.html |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526001113/https://www.yahoo.com/news/conan-o-apos-brien-apos-190220884.html |archive-date=May 26, 2022 |url-status=dead}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HaHeQXBqxY |title=Conan Gives Hilton's Furniture An Advertising Makeover |publisher=Late Night with Conan O'Brien |date=2020-10-08 |last=Conan O'Brien |access-date=2024-07-18 |via=YouTube}} The couple dated for nearly 18 months before their 2002 marriage in Powel's hometown of Seattle.{{Cite news |date=January 12, 2002 |title=NBC's Conan O'Brien Gets Married |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/77bb82e69684c9059aeb585b8f678a69 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526001451/https://apnews.com/article/77bb82e69684c9059aeb585b8f678a69 |archive-date=May 26, 2022}} O'Brien and Powel have a daughter, Neve (born 2003){{cite news |date=October 15, 2003 |title=Conan O'Brien and wife have baby girl |work=USA Today |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-10-15-obrian-baby_x.htm |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080126110956/https://www.usatoday.com/life/2003-10-15-obrian-baby_x.htm |archive-date=January 26, 2008}} and a son, Beckett (born 2005).{{Cite news |date=November 10, 2005 |title=Conan O'Brien & Wife Have Second Child |work=People |url=https://people.com/celebrity/conan-obrien-wife-have-second-child/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065303/https://people.com/celebrity/conan-obrien-wife-have-second-child/ |archive-date=April 28, 2022}}
O'Brien often speaks about his Irish Catholic heritage.{{Cite news |last=Kiefer |first=Halle |date=April 4, 2011 |title=Conan O'Brien On WTF With Marc Maron: Taking Risks, Don Knotts And The 'Irish-Catholic Addams Family' |work=Vulture |url=https://www.vulture.com/2011/04/conan-obrien-on-wtf-with-marc-maron-taking-risks-don-knotts-and-the-irish-catholic-addams-family.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526002852/https://www.vulture.com/2011/04/conan-obrien-on-wtf-with-marc-maron-taking-risks-don-knotts-and-the-irish-catholic-addams-family.html |archive-date=May 26, 2022}}{{Cite web |date=May 24, 2012 |title=A Conversation with Conan O'Brien |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/events-and-awards/forums/past-forums/transcripts/a-conversation-with-conan-obrien |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211014021505/https://www.jfklibrary.org/events-and-awards/forums/past-forums/transcripts/a-conversation-with-conan-obrien |archive-date=October 14, 2021 |access-date=May 25, 2022 |website=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum}} On a 2009 episode of Inside the Actors Studio, he stated that ancestors from both sides of his family moved to America from Ireland starting in the 1850s, subsequently marrying only other Irish Catholics, and that his lineage is thus 100% Irish Catholic. His entirely homogenous ancestry was confirmed via DNA test a decade later, which he shared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. O'Brien noted that being entirely descended from just one ethnic group is extremely rare for an American, and that his being so "shocked" his doctor.{{Cite news |last=Beresford |first=Jack |date=February 7, 2019 |title=Conan O'Brien took a DNA test to find out how Irish he is and the results stunned his doctor |work=The Irish Post |url=https://www.irishpost.com/news/conan-obrien-took-dna-test-find-irish-results-stunned-doctor-164311 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301151729/https://www.irishpost.com/news/conan-obrien-took-dna-test-find-irish-results-stunned-doctor-164311 |archive-date=March 1, 2022}}
He has been a registered Democrat since casting his first vote for president in 1984 for Walter Mondale. He considers himself a moderate on the political spectrum.{{Cite news |last=Rowles |first=Dustin |date=October 16, 2020 |title=Conan O'Brien Took An Extraordinarily Rare Break From His 'No Politics' Stance To Rail Against Donald Trump |work=Uproxx |url=https://uproxx.com/tv/conan-obrien-rails-against-donald-trump/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116062312/https://uproxx.com/tv/conan-obrien-rails-against-donald-trump/ |archive-date=January 16, 2021}} O'Brien founded the anti-hunger organization Labels Are For Jars with his friend and former Harvard dormmate Father Paul B. O'Brien.{{Cite news |last=Murphy |first=Tracy |date=March 1, 2008 |title='Labels' Concept Promotes Engagement |work=Boston Herald |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/03/01/labels-concept-promotes-engagement/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526003854/https://www.bostonherald.com/2008/03/01/labels-concept-promotes-engagement/ |archive-date=May 26, 2022}} He also helped open the Cor Unum meal center in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 2006.{{Cite news |last=Porter Brown |first=Nell |date=January–February 2012 |title=The Father Father |work=Harvard Magazine |url=https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2012/01/the-father-father |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905084006/https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2012/01/the-father-father |archive-date=September 5, 2020}}{{Cite news |last=Hovanasian |first=Debbie |date=May 9, 2009 |title=Cor Unum Meal Center brings together people of parish in transition |work=The Sun |url=https://www.lowellsun.com/2009/05/09/cor-unum-meal-center-brings-together-people-of-parish-in-transition/ |access-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904201849/https://www.lowellsun.com/2009/05/09/cor-unum-meal-center-brings-together-people-of-parish-in-transition/ |archive-date=September 4, 2022}}
Starting in September 2006, O'Brien was stalked by Father David Ajemian of the Archdiocese of Boston, who, despite multiple warnings to stop, sent O'Brien letters signed as "your priest stalker".{{Cite news |date=April 8, 2008 |title="Priest stalker" of TV host Conan O'Brien apologizes |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-obrien/priest-stalker-of-tv-host-conan-obrien-apologizes-idUSN0835759220080409 |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526004504/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-obrien/priest-stalker-of-tv-host-conan-obrien-apologizes-idUSN0835759220080409 |archive-date=May 26, 2022}} Ajemian later sent O'Brien death threats and tried to forcefully enter a taping of Late Night before being arrested.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/08/arts/08conan.html|title=Priest Jailed in Stalking of Conan O'Brien|last=Lambert|first=Bruce|date=November 8, 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 27, 2017|issn=0362-4331}} On April 8, 2008, Ajemian pleaded guilty to stalking, and was later laicized.{{Cite news |date=November 8, 2007 |title=Conan O'Brien's "Priest Stalker" Charged |work=CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/conan-obriens-priest-stalker-charged/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704073103/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/conan-obriens-priest-stalker-charged/ |archive-date=July 4, 2017}}{{cite news|url = https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/12/david-ajemian-conans-prie_n_125918.html|title = Conan O'Brien's Stalker Checks Out of Treatment|work = HuffPost|date = September 12, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080915032034/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/12/david-ajemian-conans-prie_n_125918.html|archive-date = September 15, 2008|df = mdy-all}}
In January 2008, after his show was put on hold for two months owing to the strike by the Writers Guild of America, he reemerged on late-night TV sporting a beard, which guest Tom Brokaw described as making him look like "a draft dodger from the Civil War."{{Cite news |last=Burns |first=Nick |date=May 3, 2011 |title=Conan O'Brien's Beard: The Video Obituary (and Upgrade!) |work=Esquire |url=https://www.esquire.com/style/a9838/conan-obrien-beard-video-5677174/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419062106/https://www.esquire.com/style/a9838/conan-obrien-beard-video-5677174/ |archive-date=April 19, 2021}} After leaving The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien in 2010, O'Brien again grew a beard, which he kept until May 2011, when it was partially shaved on the set of Conan by Will Ferrell (and completely shaved off-screen by a professional barber).{{Cite news |last=Hughes |first=Sarah Ann |date=May 3, 2011 |title=Will Ferrell finally shaves Conan O'Brien's beard |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/will-ferrell-finally-shaves-conan-obriens-beard/2011/05/03/AFAF2UfF_blog.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512030141/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/will-ferrell-finally-shaves-conan-obriens-beard/2011/05/03/AFAF2UfF_blog.html |archive-date=May 12, 2015}}
O'Brien purchased a $10.5-million mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, to prepare for his move there in 2009 from New York City to host The Tonight Show at Universal Studios Hollywood.{{cite news |last=Reardanz |first=Karen |date=January 21, 2008 |title=O'Brien Spends Big in L.A. |work=San Francisco Chronicle |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=23616 |url-status=dead |access-date=May 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910030521/http://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2008/01/21/obrien-spends-big-in-l-a/ |archive-date=September 10, 2012}} As part of a long-running gag, he brought his 1992 Ford Taurus SHO with him to California, showcasing it on both the inaugural episodes of The Tonight Show and Conan.{{Cite news |last=Cheromcha |first=Kyle |date=March 29, 2018 |title=Conan O'Brien Still Owns His 1992 Ford Taurus SHO With a Manual Transmission |work=The Drive |url=https://www.thedrive.com/news/19751/conan-obrien-still-owns-his-1992-ford-taurus-sho-with-a-manual-transmission |url-status=live |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616014014/https://www.thedrive.com/news/19751/conan-obrien-still-owns-his-1992-ford-taurus-sho-with-a-manual-transmission |archive-date=June 16, 2021}} O'Brien purchased an ocean-front house in Carpinteria, California in 2016.{{cite news |last1=Libowitz |first1=Steven |title=Montecito Journal Glossy Edition Summer Fall 2016 |url=http://themjmag.com/16/files/assests/basic-html/page94.html |access-date=6 September 2022 |work=themjmag.com |date=Summer–Fall 2016}} He listed the house for sale for $16.5 million in July 2022.{{cite news |last1=Zap |first1=Claudine |title=Conan O'Brien is selling his $16.5M California beach house |url=https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/Conan-O-Brien-Needs-a-Buyer-He-s-Selling-His-17334893.php |access-date=6 September 2022 |work=SFGATE |date=31 July 2022}}
On June 12, 2011, O'Brien was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College.{{Cite news |last=Hughes |first=Sarah Anne |date=June 13, 2011 |title=Conan O'Brien delivers Dartmouth College commencement speech |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/conan-obrien-delivers-dartmouth-college-commencement-speech-video/2011/06/13/AGxMm7SH_blog.html |url-status=live |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512025749/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/conan-obrien-delivers-dartmouth-college-commencement-speech-video/2011/06/13/AGxMm7SH_blog.html |archive-date=May 12, 2015}} In addition to the honorary degree, he delivered the commencement speech.{{Cite news |last=Memmott |first=Mark |date=June 16, 2011 |title=Did Conan O'Brien Give 'The Greatest Commencement Speech Ever?' |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/06/16/137218460/did-conan-obrien-give-the-greatest-commencement-speech-ever |url-status=live |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428065303/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/06/16/137218460/did-conan-obrien-give-the-greatest-commencement-speech-ever |archive-date=April 28, 2022}}{{Citation |title=Conan O'Brien's 2011 Dartmouth College Commencement Address {{!}} CONAN on TBS | date=June 12, 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmDYXaaT9sA |access-date=2022-09-22}} On October 21, 2011, O'Brien was ordained as a minister by the Universal Life Church Monastery,{{cite web |date=October 28, 2011 |title=Universal Life Church Monastery Minister Conan O'Brien to Perform Gay Wedding |url=http://www.ulc.org/2011/10/universal-life-church-monastery-minister-conan-obrien-to-perform-gay-wedding/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311091615/https://www.ulc.org/ulc-blog/universal-life-church-monastery-minister-conan-obrien-to-perform-gay-wedding |archive-date=March 11, 2022 |access-date=May 26, 2022 |website=Universal Life Church |publisher=Universal Life Church Monastery}} allowing him to perform a same-sex marriage in New York, then one of the few states in the US where gay marriage was legal, to tape a week's worth of shows.{{Cite news |last=Kattalia |first=Kathryn |date=November 4, 2011 |title=Conan O'Brien officiates gay wedding on talk show during New York visit |work=New York Daily News |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/conan-o-brien-officiates-gay-wedding-talk-show-new-york-visit-article-1.972276 |url-status=live |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218165109/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/conan-o-brien-officiates-gay-wedding-talk-show-new-york-visit-article-1.972276 |archive-date=December 18, 2019}} The wedding, between a member of O'Brien's staff and his partner, was held on the stage of the Beacon Theatre on November 3, 2011, and broadcast on Conan.{{Cite news |last=Ford |first=Rebecca |date=November 4, 2011 |title=Conan O'Brien Officiates Gay Wedding, Triumph Goes to Occupy on 'Conan' |work=The Hollywood Reporter |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-o-brien-gay-wedding-occupy-wall-street-257730/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321060708/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/conan-o-brien-gay-wedding-occupy-wall-street-257730/ |archive-date=March 21, 2022}} The same-sex marriage ceremony was the first to be broadcast on American late night television.{{Cite news |last=Grant |first=Drew |date=November 4, 2011 |title=Conan Presides Over Late Night's First Live Gay Wedding; People Who Hate Gay Weddings Freak Out |work=The New York Observer |url=https://observer.com/2011/11/conan-presides-over-live-gay-wedding-during-nyc-show-people-who-hate-gay-weddings-freak-out-video/ |access-date=May 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109034927/https://observer.com/2011/11/conan-presides-over-live-gay-wedding-during-nyc-show-people-who-hate-gay-weddings-freak-out-video/ |archive-date=November 9, 2020}}
Filmography
= Film =
= Television =
= Video games =
= Music videos =
Awards and nominations
{{See also|List of awards and nominations received by Conan O'Brien}}
Sources
= Notes =
{{notelist}}
= References =
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
{{cite magazine|url = https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/conan-obrien/195086/|title = Conan O'Brien|access-date =November 3, 2016|magazine=TVGuide.com| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160105150530/http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/conan-obrien/195086/| archive-date= January 5, 2016}}
}}
= Further reading =
- {{cite book |last1=Carter |first1=Bill |title=The War for Late Night: When Leno Went Early and Television Went Crazy |date=November 4, 2010 |publisher=Viking |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-670-02208-3}}
- {{Cite magazine |last=Murthi |first=Vikram |date=2024-05-13 |title=Conan O'Brien Keeps It Old-School |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2024/05/conan-o-brien-career-hot-ones/678369/ |access-date=2024-05-13 |website=The Atlantic}}
External links
{{sister project links|d=Q486740|c=Category:Conan O'Brien|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no|n=Category:Conan O'Brien}}
- {{Twitter}}
- {{facebook.com|imwithcoco|Team Coco}}
- {{Charlie Rose view|326}}
- {{IMDb name|5277}}
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{{succession box|title=Host of The Tonight Show|before=Jay Leno|after=Jay Leno|years=June 1, 2009 – January 22, 2010}}
{{succession box|title=Host of Late Night|before=David Letterman|after=Jimmy Fallon|years=September 13, 1993 – February 20, 2009}}
{{succession box|title= Host of Christmas in Washington|before=Ellen DeGeneres|after= Hugh Jackman|years=2011, 2012}}
{{s-end}}
{{Conan O'Brien|state=expanded}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Conan O'Brien
|list =
{{EmmyAward NonfictionProgrammingWriting}}
{{EmmyAward ComedyVarietyMusicWriting 1980s}}
{{EmmyAward ComedyVarietyMusicWriting 2000s}}
{{Mark Twain Prize for American Humor}}
{{2025 Television Hall of Fame}}
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{{2010 Tonight Show conflict}}
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