end of an era

Conan O’Brien’s Nightly Late-Night Show to End Its Run in 2021

He’s moving on. Photo: TBS

After 28 years of serving as a nightly late-night television host, Conan O’Brien is moving on to the next thing. TBS announced today that O’Brien’s show, Conan, will end its decade-long run on the network in June 2021. His remote specials, however, will continue on TBS. Prior to moving to TBS, O’Brien hosted Late Show on NBC from 1993 to 2009, followed by a brief and drama-filled stint at The Tonight Show from 2009–2010. TBS previously renewed Conan through 2022, and in early 2019, the late-night host debuted a reworked version of the show, which was cut from an hour to a half-hour format.

But all is not lost for Conan fans. While O’Brien’s long run as a daily late-night host may be ending next year, he already has another show in the works as part of his relationship with WarnerMedia: He has signed on to host a new weekly variety show on HBO Max. No details of the upcoming show have been revealed just yet.

“In 1993 Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: ‘As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform,’” O’Brien said in the press release. “I’m thrilled that I get to continue doing whatever the hell it is I do on HBO Max, and I look forward to a free subscription.” Added HBO exec Casey Bloys: “Conan’s unique brand of energetic, relatable, and at times, absurdist comedy has charmed late-night audiences for nearly three decades. We can’t wait to see what he and the rest of Team Coco will dream up for this brand-new variety format each week.”

It’s truly the end of an era for Conan, but from the looks of it, it’s the start of a new one, too.

Conan O’Brien’s Nightly Late-Night Show to End in 2021