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Conan O’Brien’s late-night show “Conan” is coming to an end June 2021. But fans of “Coco” don’t have to get too sad. They just have to get a new subscription. WarnerMedia announced Tuesday the host is extending his relationship with the company to create a brand new, weekly variety series on HBO Max. O’Brien has been hosting his award-winning show on TBS for 10 years and it will be at the end of its tenth season in June 2021 (despite its renewal lasting until 2022). His travel special “Conan Without Borders,” will remain on TBS.
O‘Brien is one of the most prolific late-night hosts and has been on television for 28 years. O’Brien joked about the transition to streaming in a statement and said, “In 1993 Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: ‘As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform.’ I’m thrilled that I get to continue doing whatever the hell it is I do on HBO Max, and I look forward to a free subscription.”
Despite the switch, there are no hard feelings over at TBS. Brett Weitz, General Manager for TNT, TBS, and truTV said he was “proud” of the host and explained, “28 years is a monumental achievement in late-night television. We’re incredibly proud of the groundbreaking work that Conan and his team have accomplished during the 10 years at TBS and are so glad that we will continue to have his presence on our air with the ‘Conan Without Borders’ specials. We celebrate his success and are glad to see it grow across our WarnerMedia family.”
HBO Max is eager to have O’Brien on their team. Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer, HBO, and HBO Max said in a statement, “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.”
“Conan” premiered in November 2010 and is hosted by O’Brien and his “sidekick” Andy Richter. After working as a writer for shows like “The Simpsons” and “Saturday Night Live”, O’Brien made his hosting debut in 1993 with his show “Late Night” that aired on NBC. Years later in 2010 what is known as the “2010 Tonight Show” conflict took place between NBC, Jay Leno, and O’Brien. the infamous controversy led to O‘Brien and his staff receiving $45 million to walk away from the network. After a contractual seven-month ban on appearing on television, O’Brien moved to TBS to host Conan. He joked at the time, “In three months, I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable. My plan is working perfectly.”