Conan O’Brien leaving late night TV, heading over to HBO Max

There are some big changes in the works for Conan O’Brien — after all, the late-night host is moving away from the thing that makes him famous.

Today, it was announced that in 2021, Conan will be ending his traditional late-night show at the end of its current season in June. He will still continue to be on TBS in the form of his Conan Without Borders specials, but beyond that the host is moving over to HBO Max. While there aren’t a ton of details yet, it sounds as though he will be hosting a weekly variety special over there.

In a statement, here is what Conan had to say about the change:

“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.”

Meanwhile, here is what HBO / HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys added:

“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.”

We do think that this move feels about right at this time, mostly because late-night television is a harder thing to keep in the news cycle these days. Yet, there are challenges when it comes to the streaming world, as well. You have to work in order to stay in the headlines, and also compete with a lot of different stuff that is out there.

Of course, if there is one key advantage that Conan has over most of his competitors, it’s simply this: He’s Conan. He is one of the most successful late-night hosts of all time, and has developed a very loyal audience over the years.

What do you think about Conan O’Brien moving away from his late-night show?

Be sure to share right now in the comments! Meanwhile, remember to keep coming back for some other news on the series. (Photo: TBS.)