Entertainment TV Conan O'Brien to End Late Night TBS Show in 2021, Pivoting to Weekly Variety Series at HBO Max The comedian has spent 28 years as a late night TV host By Ally Mauch Ally Mauch Ally Mauch is a former news writer at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Published on November 17, 2020 03:20PM EST Photo: Meghan Sinclair/Conaco LLC After 28 years, Conan O'Brien is taking a step back from late night TV. O'Brien will conclude his nightly TBS talk show, Conan, at the end of its 10th season in June 2021 and embark on a new project — a weekly variety series on HBO Max. "In 1993 Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: 'As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform,'" O'Brien, 57, joked in a statement. "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." Prior to Conan, the comedian hosted Late Night with Conan O'Brien on NBC from 1993 to 2009. In 2009, he was tapped to take over for Jay Leno on The Tonight Show, now hosted by Jimmy Fallon. Conan O'Brien Reveals New Late Night Set Was Burglarized — 'I Can't Think of Anything Lower' Conan O'Brien on The Tonight Show. Paul Drinkwater /NBC O'Brien left after just one year, however, saying in a statement at the time that he could not "participate in what I honestly believe is [The Tonight Show's] destruction." In 2010, he joined TBS with Conan, and has since hosted more than 1,400 episodes of the show. In addition to the new weekly variety series, O'Brien will continue working on his travel special series, Conan Without Borders. Conan O'Brien Says David Letterman Once Gave Him a Horse Named Dave as a Thank You Gift "28 years is a monumental achievement in late-night television," Brett Weitz, General Manager for TNT, TBS and truTV, said in a statement. "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." "Conan's unique brand of energetic, relatable, and at times, absurdist, comedy has charmed late-night audiences for nearly three decades," added Casey Bloys, Chief Content Officer, HBO and HBO Max. "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 airs weeknights at 11 p.m. ET on TBS. Close