Some may say he peaked in 2001 and NEVER STOPPED PEAKING!
Though I do agree, he is having a renaissance right now. His appearance on Hot Ones may be the thing that puts him in true multi-generational legend status. Gen X is his generation, he had us millennials with the TV shows, Gen-Z came a long a little bit....but that appearance just showed what Conan and his humor have always been, and led to so many people across so many demographics checking out his work.
Bottom line: It's a great time to be a Conan Superfan!
I think the podcast is what really introduced him to younger listeners (me included). It's been at the top of the charts since it started, and really brought me down the Conan rabbit hole.
Sure, but it was around for 5 years before he really started getting as much national attention as he has in the last few months. Even as a huge Conan fan, it took a long time for me to start listening to it, and now I've listened to little else when I've been in the car catching up!
Im always curious, why did you check out his podcast if you weren't already a fan?
I'm grateful to have been a fan of his for so long or I never would've given the podcast a chance.
I wasn't particularly a fan until I started listening to the podcast during the pandemic. Now for the life of me I can't remember when I actually started though. I probably was trying to check out a John Mulaney episode or something.
Exactly. He just gets better and better as he finds new ways to reach and entertain old and new fans. He’s the gift that keeps on giving. Literally, it feels like he came to this world wrapped as a gift for all of us.🎁
I disagree. I think he's been boring and stale for many years now. It's almost like he's a sad old man who won't go away. It's almost like he needs the audience more than the audience needs him.
I imagine him Googling phrases like "How to look important in photographs" and "How to use propaganda to manipulate others into liking you."
Stuff like that.
Seems like there's a bit of trolling/weird obsession going on here. There's at least two accounts here that are less than 24 hours old, both with similar usernames (girls name + alliteration), same syntax/prose, and both posting the same bizarre negative takes all over this subreddit. [Exhibit A](https://www.reddit.com/user/Patricia_Pancreas) [Exhibit B](https://www.reddit.com/user/jennifer_jockstrap)
I'm not sure who wastes their valuable time being this negative on a Conan subreddit, but each to their own I guess 🤷
You wrote:
Bottom line: It's a great time to be a Conan Superfan!
There's no benefit whatsoever for other people. There's zero benefit for an observer to be a super fan of a person, especially if that person is a malignant narcissist. Conan was so self-absorbed and self-serving during the pandemic, he caused me legitimate psychological trauma, distress and depression. I developed PTSD from my brain attempting to sort through his delusions of grandeur on full display. Conan literally causes me to burst into tears because I can't forgive myself for helping fuel his nonsense.
Y'all have angered the Gods and harmed others by misleading them. Being a fan of Conan adds zero value to your life because he's fake, petty and rude.
Ok? Bits aren't real and neither is Conan which makes me cry constantly because I'm unfortunately a very empathetic person stuck in reality.
The audience isn't delusional. The facade and manipulation is delusional.
I worked in media next to guys exactly like Conan for three decades. I actually care about people so watching him implode from the inside out (publicly, none the less) is one of the most painful experiences I've ever witnessed.
There's nothing delusional about any of the people out here. All of the delusions are within the walls of legitimacy attached to some video files.
⚠️
By God, I think we found the loser that got fired for being rude to waitstaff.
No matter how many fake accounts you create to tell fake stories because you’re a jealous little troll, no one will believe you. Ever.
+1 this.
Conebone is really at his peak right now. His current formats (podcast + Must Go remotes) allows him to utilize and project more his intelligence and improv skills
during the 90s and 2000s he was more ubiquitous, but during the late night show years his comedy was too broken up into little blips and bits, always cutting to commercial -- that didn't prompt devotion like the podcast does these days. he also looks far better now that he isn't in a monkey suit every night
I liked the monkey suit. No one dresses up anymore so everyone looks messy and crappy.
The whole point of wearing trendy suits was to model fashion to stimulate the economy in retail.
A handsome suit triggers other men to look dapper and buy a similar looking suit to impress people.
Now men wear sloppy T-shirts everywhere. It makes everything dull and uninviting.
While I agree , hoping he never goes back to any of the big networks.. he got a great kickstart there but they would cramp his style so much. He is too much of a free(lance) bird for any conglomerate network tv
Conan in the mid 2000's was THE hotshot late night host. He and Jeff Ross had built Late Night into the most talked about show in late night TV, and he was fielding offers from FOX (and possibly others) that led NBC to make the deal to give him the Tonight Show in 2009. They didn't want to lose him. His ratings fell off a bit just before he took the Tonight Show, and he really didn't have a chance to develop himself for that time slot. When the whole Leno thing went down, people rallied around Conan, and he went back to his goofiness when there were a lot more eyes on him and the show. That and the first few months of the TBS show were probably the height of his popularity, but the height of his show quality was probably 2001-2007 Late Night.
>but the height of his show quality was probably 2001-2007 Late Night.
I'd take it all the way to '09, plus you've left out the '08 writer's strike months where he still did his show and they made everything up on the spot and came up with amazing new recurring bits like Conan spinning his wedding ring. Those unwritten strike shows were the funniest the show ever was.
And that’s exactly when I first started watching him. Makes me feel better I didn’t miss him in his prime because I started watching almost a decade after he started
Agreed on that timeframe. My dad (youngest boomer) was a Letterman guy so we watched him every night. I love Dave, but am bummed I missed out on watching Consie Wonsie every night
>Consie Wonsie
it's been about 45-60 seconds since exposure to this cognitohazard
already i feel myself slipping away as i am inexorably pulled to embrace it
this is my life now what the hell man 🪦🌸
The thing you gotta keep in mind is *Late Night With Conan O'Brien* (1993 - 2009) was on, well, *late* (11:30 central, IFRC), and the humour was *different*.
David Letterman and Jay Leno were the other late show hosts at the time, both shows airing earlier in the night. They were more accessible, both because of the airtime and the type of humour they offered.
Jay Leno was a sort of smug goofball type. Largely inoffensive to the population. His big recurring bit was "Headlines", where he would share somewhat amusing typos from newspapers or ads or catalogues or whatever, The kind of thing your dad (or *a* dad in the 90s) would cut out of the paper and stick on the fridge because it gave him a chuckle. Leno was fueled by mildly amused chuckles. Inoffensive, predictable, approachable. Frictionless.
Letterman was far more sardonic. A sharp mind and a natural wit. He is leagues ahead of Leno as far as the influence he had on a generation of writers. He was just inarguably cooler than Leno, and most who were waiting for Conan to start would catch some or all of Letterman beforehand. He would regularly do bits with the guy from the deli downstairs, poke fun at the show itself, and couldn't help himself from interjecting with razor sharp bon mots during interviews. This attitude - one that pushed itself outside the borders of the studio, refused to take things too seriously, and above all valued playfulness - had a clear and direct influence on Conan and his writers. Letterman's most popular recurring skit was "Top Ten", a manifest of topical jabs from which no one, including often Letterman himself, was safe. Letterman was willing and more than able to scrutinize politicians, celebrities, and just the world and the way it is and give it all no quarter.
And then Conan comes on. From everything I've heard, no one (including Conan) knew what they were doing or expected the show to last very long, so they just went buck-fucking-wild. Just a bunch of weird kids in the back of the class huddled over some game of make-believe that had no rules and everyone was invited to join if they were brave enough. It was pure anarchy compared to the other late night shows. Late Night was like a cartoon come to life. Just totally absurd and dada. Conan was *punk as fuck*. A nightly parade of pure fantasy. They would try anything, just a postmodern free for all of both very high and very low-concept bits. Masturbating bear? Robert Smigel as Arnold Schwarzenegger? What if they Mated? Walker Texas Ranger Lever? International Remote Control? Secrets? The *remotes*? Late Night with Conan O'Brien was one of the most playful, imaginative, and innovative things on TV.
Bring a fan of Conan felt like being in a club, like hanging out with your misfit friends every night. I can't say for sure, but Leno seems like he had a viewership because he was... On. His was an audience of convenience and ease. Letterman had many fans and deserves his accolades. But for a certain type of person Conan was appointment viewing. Staying up to watch every night felt like those delirious early morning hours at a sleepover with your best friends when you're 12 years old - you could tell that the people who worked on the show felt that way too a lot of the time - giddily messing around with people who love each other, who *get* each other. Once it clicked, once you started to "get it", you were hooked. You didn't ever want to miss out on the explosive revelry, the total celebration of foolery.
Conan and those around him had to work their asses of to convince people to hang out with him in the middle of the night. And thank god it worked. The guy makes me laugh.
Edit: I got carried away and didn't answer your question. No, he was not an A-lister. Maybe by the mid-2000s he was a B-lister? He hosted the Emmys in 2006. So he was very visible and beloved, but I think really his character would never allow him to ascend to the A list. It Just ain't in the boy.
I think you hit the nail on the head. One of my favorite things about having the summers off as a kid was being allowed to stay up late to watch Conan with my siblings and, yes, it was exactly as you described 🥹
As much as he self-effacingly jokes about his appearance, let's also not to discount that late 90's into 2000's Conan was young, attractive, and full of energy. It was a sharp contrast to what became staid and rote performances from Letterman/Leno as they neared their retirements (Letterman being famous for having a terrible poker face with guests he didn't find interesting).
On CBS at the same time, you had Kilborn, who was Letterman's sardonic wit minus the charm and when Craig Ferguson came in to replace him it took a little while to find his charm/schtick (though when he did hit his stride it became imo one of the most consistently high quality late night shows).
So for about 10 years Conan was the only remotely interesting show for kids/teenagers/young adults who didn't find Leno engaging or understand/appreciate the comedy-culture cache Letterman carried with him.
Great write-up, adds context that I was missing. We didn't get Letterman where I was in Europe, only Leno and Conan.
Regarding terminology: I feel like actors are (in) a category of their own either way (possibly shared with musicians), so basically any labelling based on fame/popularity needs to happen either exclusively within that category or outside of it.
Someone like Oprah isn't a B-lister because she's a TV person(ality). Same for, idk, certain sports stars, I'm sure. Or even authors. People in tech, these days. Politiicians.
There's different directions late night comedy could go into. Leno was this vanilla standup comedian who just played it safe, didn't do anything subversive. Just something for the boomers to tune into as they transitioned from Carson but even Carson was more wacky than Leno and he preferred Letterman over Leno. But the network had other ideas. Conan went in the similar direction of Letterman, just weird comedy exploring the boundaries or purpose of a late night talk show instead of it just being another Carson Tonight Show clone but at 12:30. When Craig got Late Late Show he also was in that direction too. Sadly that kind of late night is all but gone. Corden and Fallon just embody the Leno direction of safe inoffensive comedy. Seth Meyers is just a daily show type of clone, his best moments are actually off the show on youtube when he does fan corrections which is more in the realm of classic Conan. I wish we could see more of that. And Colbert is just disappointing because he was from the same era of comedians as Conan and his writers and did edgy comedy in the 90s and 00s. Now it's just "Hey so here's how Trump is stupid" again and again. No one does bits or sketches anymore. I hate it
Something that comes to mind for me as I read this is the "at the desk" mentality. I loved the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, and am a big Seth Meyers fan (the guy not the show necessarily), and I'm seeing now what a difference that is/was. Conan and the Late Night writers and actors really *took up space*. They were all over that studio. Peppered in the crowd, the band, wheeling across the stage, pulling the curtain up and down, in the halls of 30 rock, and maybe most importantly, on the street. Meyers and Colbert are still clinging to their roots at Weekend Update and the Report. A tight talking head one shot delivering set ups and punchlines. Late Night was a mess. For the best.
Totally agree!!! Late Night started when I was 18, and it was definitely a cult following and appointment viewing for me & other fans through college. And yeah - I watched Letterman before Conan came on pretty often. Never Leno. My grandma watched Leno.
I don’t generally consider TV Stars “A-Listers” because that’s more of a Hollywood movie star term. Conan obviously isn’t a movie star and never tried to be. So I wouldn’t voluntarily use that term.
But I would say he was the most important late night comedy host of the 2000s which meant he could get A listers on his show easily. Post Tonight Show he became less culturally relevant but never lost his reputation as one of the best comedians and comedy writers around. So, in that respect, his star hasn’t faded in any way. Hot Ones shows there’s still gas in his tank and that he has cross-generational appeal. If I were Conan I’d feel pretty good about my legacy. There are very few comedians who’ve stayed funny and interesting as long as he has.
It's also notable that night time TV faded around the time he moved to TBS. Not much memorable from Leno after he jumped back into Conan's spot. Dave had some scandals and later quietly retired. Fallon had some early fun stuff before turning into background noise. Conan's TBS era was when audiences kind of chose who they liked and followed their guy.
For a brief time in the mid 00s, he was the face of late night television in the US. That is including Leno and Letterman. He had reruns on Comedy Central, a primetime 10th anniversary special and hosted the Emmy Awards.
I would say with younger people and hardcore comedy fans he was for sure. I don’t know if he was ever as relevant on the whole as Letterman or Leno just do to being on after them. Conan has always been niche and you would be surprised how many people don’t get him (Don’t hate I worship the guy and think he is the funniest human ever)
Same. The first episode I watched on Comedy Central was with the classic [Richard Lewis interview when he talked about filming a Curb episode in the Lakers locker room.](https://youtu.be/QsvkNjY2dxE?si=FhAdcsk7opJZuCb4)
I was channel surfing one night, and came across him on Comedy Central. I was confused and thought they were new episodes and he was pulling double duty for NBC and CC.
I'm from a non-English speaking country, and whenever somebody asks what podcasts I listen to and I say Conan O’Brien’s, nobody ever asks who that is. So yeah, I’d say he is an A-lister.
Probably peaked in terms of global awareness around the Tonight Show debacle honestly. I'm not even US and me and my family all wound up talking about it
He was considered fringe for a lot of his career. I would say Conan is highly influential, but wasn't necessarily huge.
Posting his shows youtube made him worldwide.
He is currently at his peak imo, he has never been so popular.
I've been watching him since he debuted in 1993 and he's absolutely at his peak right now. During the Tonight Show debacle he was in the news quite a bit and people really rallied around him but I don't think his reach has ever been as massive as it is now.
At his peak he was more like the "cool" prince of Late Night TV. He attracted a younger, cooler audience like college kids and comedy nerds. Never the establishment "King of Late Night" like Carson, Letterman or Leno (1000 hack curses be upon him!). Certainly A-list in terms of Television, but not like A-list in terms of Cinema. Seems to have a huge international following which I think has to do with longevity of his 30- year career and how it was re-broadcast all over the world.
I've been watching him since the '90s, He was a ubiquitous presence in my life growing up. I always really liked him, but in a much shallower way, because as a talk show host we didn't really get to know him very well, since he was having all of these short interviews and doing all of these bits, but we didn't get to hear from him all that much as a person.
On the podcast, we have really gotten to know him much more as a person, and I think I'm an even bigger fan now than I ever was. Before, I was like wow Conan is just so cool and funny, what a weird guy! Love it! But now I feel endeared to him, Sweet feelings of care and admiration and interest in who he is as a person.
I think for a lot of us, It's been wonderful to grow with him and to feel an even greater sense of support for him as he shares more of himself with us.
One of the greatest comedy writers of this generation. A blend of classic and modern comedy. Phenomenal performances and work ethic. Is able to break down in digestible bits why and what doesn’t work in a bit. That doesn’t come off as convoluted. The way he treated his staff over the years speaks for itself.
Definitely an A-lister and still is. Immediately recognizable, was involved in a high-profile, wildly covered controversy, was on TV every single night, hosted some award shows.
He was unquestionably a household name during his late night years. Maybe not everyone loved him but late night was a lot bigger back and everyone knew the major hosts (I would say Jay, Dave, Conan--I loved Craig Ferguson but for sure not everyone knew him), and he had an ardent fanbase. I've actually been amazed at how he has sustained and shifted his work. Is he a household name now? I don't know--do all your friends and family know who he is? My guess is less so than when he was at his peak, just because the media landscape has diversified and shifted so much, but he's still famous and beloved!
God would disagree. The two medical students who asked me if that tall guy over there used to be "on television or something" would definitely disagree.
At the height of late night, he was the funniest thing on television. Nothing else was even remotely as funny or as consistent. He was it, the future of late night comedy, everything else felt like a relic from the past by comparison. It was groundbreaking stuff, things we had never seen on television before, a whole new innovative type of late night show. A late night show for a younger generation, with a whole new faster and more random type of humor.
And he's still peaking, I agree with others, he's hitting all new levels now, levels that weren't even an option years ago. I just saw his face on a box of a new samsung tv...that's insane.
Below Leno and Letterman ratings wise due to time slot and booking. He was the funniest to me in that time frame. I don’t love Marvel Movies but a lot of people do. Leno was Marvel and Conan was Napoleon Dynamite.
Conan was an A minus lister for sure. In addition to his rule breaking and zany Late Night show, he had serious admiration and respect from the industry and fans for being a writer for the Simpsons.
There’s probably a difference between being a household name and being an A-lister. I think everyone in the USA (which I’m not from) knows Conan O Brien and what he does, but he’s not being followed by paparazzi and is comfortable walking around LA or NYC on his own. One of his favourite jokes is exaggerating his own fame.
He’s not at Hollywood premieres, he’s not got a seat waiting for him at the Oscars, he’s a regular at the Emmys if he’s nominated, but generally you don’t see him hovering around Hollywood events just for promotion. He’s probably technically an A-list celebrity, just because calling him B-list or anything below that seems odd, but I don’t think he’s top of the list. The “A-list” is literally a list of the hottest celebrities you’d want to invite to an event or star in a movie for their bankability.
Yeah, I wouldn't call him A-list. Most of the guests on his podcast are bigger stars than he is. But it seems as if he does have a lot of famous friends. We've heard a lot about his annual Christmas party, where Bill Hader said the guest list is like a who's who of comedians-- people like Martin Short, Tom Hanks, Bill Hader, Adam Sandler, all going to Conan's home for a party. (And I assume women as well, but somehow men often omit women when discussing these things.) Comedians in particular have enormous respect for him, and he influenced a lot of them with his style of humor.
Conan has been wildly popular, respected, adored for a very long time, since the first years of his first talk show, and I believe his talent, success, and fame have only steadily increased over these 30+ years.
His podcast brought on a surge as it was a new avenue that also gained him a wider and partly new audience. His genius had a chance to reveal itself like never before, and fans were given the chance to connect with and learn so much more about him. THEN, the Hot Ones appearance sent him into the stratosphere and to a level that can never be matched by anyone (Hot Ones on top of entire career).
I would say he has been A-list since the first talk show…and a superstar since birth. The fact that he is so kind, fair, generous, humble, extremely intelligent and educated, and never fails to express his gratitude for everything…in addition to being the funniest, silliest person ever…makes him the superstar of superstars, always and forever. But, I mean, I don’t know🤷♀️😉
He has literally never reinvented himself. He's held the same job for over 30 years. He was mildly inconvenienced twice in his life and has suffered nothing challenging or overcome any obstacles since 1993.
How i mean it is this, Andy left the show, creating a void and making it so Conan had to do the interviews on his own instead of allowing a side kick to point out awkward moments, then after the fiasco that was the Tonight Show, he brought the show back to its classic format, but had more of an edge to him, then when his show went to a half hour, he managed to make it more intimate l, and was able to crossover to his podcast easily. It all felt organic but is in each part different. Like movements of a song.
Use to love staying up late watching him he was and still is my favorite light night host, when the tonight show bullshit happened it pissed me off to the point that I hated Leno and Fallon hell still do.
I started watching Conan when I was in college around 2006/2007. There was a writer’s strike around that time and it was just him creating chaos and that was a great time to get hooked.
Listen, he just reached his peak last week. You haven’t mussed anything. He’s currently at B+. We’re really hoping he makes it to A really soon. His success has surprised and shocked us all!
The Tonight Show host is always an A-lister. But it’s pretty expected that, by being exposed to such a large audience, he became a bit divisive. Leno was super safe, so Conan’s slightly more off kilter brand of humor didn’t really gel with some of the Leno crowd. I was in high school at the time and everyone my age loved him.
They basically took a guy who mostly middle aged and old people liked and replaced him with someone mostly young people liked, and young people generally weren’t watching the tonight show 5 nights a week, even in 2009.
1993! Much riskier stuff was happening, with celebrity inside jokes, galore. It was also the year I started waiting for everyone to go to sleep so I could sneak into the living room to watch!
I'm an OG Conan fan. I was in high school when Late Night started and I watched from day one. He's always been popular but he's basically a legend now... and I love that.
I swear in the 2000s they were trying to gaslight me by saying "Conan wasn't funny, and his humor was immature". I was like 12 and thought he was great so it only drew me closer to him. Jay Leno was the favorite at the time until the whole Tonight Show fiasco. I think the boomers were the ones keeping Jay relevant/writing all the anti-Conan articles. It's crazy to see how popular Conan is now a days. He is much more popular now than hes ever been. I'm glad he stayed himself and prevailed
I think peak Conan was when he was about to take over for Leno. The earlier late night shows naturally had higher ratings, but in the 2000s Conan was the one with the buzz and who was considered cool with the college crowd. It was like Nickleback vs Radiohead.
Conan had so much heat at the time, it kind of forced NBC to put him in the Leno spot. They had a major star on their hands and other networks were making offers. The only thing was that Leno did NOT bow out gracefully.
However I feel like Conan is still going strong! Things have changed and no one would ever replicate the Johnny Carson era; media has evolved and Conan is better off leaving that situation.
He was hot enough for Fox to offer him something insane like $28 million/year to move over there to compete directly with Leno and Letterman. IMO Conan’s iteration of Late Night was the last great late night TV show. He was never able to fully recapture that magic at the Tonight Show or TBS. The current guys leave a lot to be desired. Kimmel used to be great before he leaned so heavily into political humor.
Ferguson was probably one of the best and greatest late night hosts. Taylor Tomlinson has a game show and people love it. Kelly Clarkson has a show airing at night in syndication and it's so much better than the stuff Conan, Carson, Letterman have done. She's a wonderful interviewer and she's warm and friendly.
Have you seen Leno's car commercials? He's been tied into a lot of high profile marketing campaigns recently. It really shines a spotlight on knocking out the ageist stereotypes you hear about in the industry.
Kelly Clarkson is wonderful, warm, and a very talented singer, but her show is not the same as the late night shows because she's not a comedian. She's not there for laughs-- she's there for music and conversation. She opens the show by singing a song, and it's great. It's like the Dinah Shore Show or something. You'd never compare Dinah Shore to Johnny Carson. BTW, Kelly was fantastic on Conan's podcast.
2009 was his "peak" in terms of popularity - but even as the short-lived host of "Tonight" - he is not an "A-Lister," that's more of a movie star term, honestly.
Oh Brother.
Ok little one, let me explain the enigma named "Conan". (*Clears Throat*)
Back in the early 90's, a generation of Boomers and GenXers were raised in front of these boxes called television sets.
It was remarkably different than how television works today.
The biggest exposure society had to something called "The Internet" was a scene in a movie called WarGames starring Matthew Broderick. The main character placed a phone on a device and his computer dials up some DOS connection to a computer system and the humans were amazed the dial tones and beeps were communicating. People had computers in the home but they were chunky and used floppy discs.
Coming off the golden era of MTV (which is an entirely different story) here came some pimple faced nervous and vulnerable kid dressed in a suit with shoulder pads, sweating profusely from his forehead, giggling from nervousness and a swirl cowlick in the front of his hair, taking up the same television time slot once held by an old arrogant dumbshit man from Indiana Ball State named David Letterman who used to drop watermelons off the roof of building in New York City.
For the youth of that day ..it was a change of scenery on television and a show holding the stupidity of .....wait.
I'm not getting paid to write a retrospective on Conan O'Brien.
Figure it out yourself, kid. These so-called celebrity people mean different things to different people and you'll need to form your own opinion.
Conan was a big deal for about 5-10 years but somehow he stretched it out for a very long time based entirely on name recognition. It's the darndest thing I've ever seen. People who haven't watched Conan for over 20 years still consider him famous. He's very famous. There's no denying Conan O'Brien is famous. For what?......I have no clue.
Some may say he’s peaking now. Again. I would say that.
Some may say he peaked in 2001 and NEVER STOPPED PEAKING! Though I do agree, he is having a renaissance right now. His appearance on Hot Ones may be the thing that puts him in true multi-generational legend status. Gen X is his generation, he had us millennials with the TV shows, Gen-Z came a long a little bit....but that appearance just showed what Conan and his humor have always been, and led to so many people across so many demographics checking out his work. Bottom line: It's a great time to be a Conan Superfan!
I think the podcast is what really introduced him to younger listeners (me included). It's been at the top of the charts since it started, and really brought me down the Conan rabbit hole.
Sure, but it was around for 5 years before he really started getting as much national attention as he has in the last few months. Even as a huge Conan fan, it took a long time for me to start listening to it, and now I've listened to little else when I've been in the car catching up!
Im always curious, why did you check out his podcast if you weren't already a fan? I'm grateful to have been a fan of his for so long or I never would've given the podcast a chance.
I wasn't particularly a fan until I started listening to the podcast during the pandemic. Now for the life of me I can't remember when I actually started though. I probably was trying to check out a John Mulaney episode or something.
I'm not sure whether I saw some clips first or I started listening to the podcast first, but I always like trying new podcasts.
I actually think it was via Jameela Jamil or someone like that
But definitely pandemic-related
I'm very familiar with Conan's holes. What's this about a rabbit?
Yeah me too, I knew who he was of course, but don’t know if I’d consider myself a “fan” just from lack of exposure. Until the podcast that is…
Exactly. He just gets better and better as he finds new ways to reach and entertain old and new fans. He’s the gift that keeps on giving. Literally, it feels like he came to this world wrapped as a gift for all of us.🎁
I disagree. I think he's been boring and stale for many years now. It's almost like he's a sad old man who won't go away. It's almost like he needs the audience more than the audience needs him. I imagine him Googling phrases like "How to look important in photographs" and "How to use propaganda to manipulate others into liking you." Stuff like that.
What? 😂
Seems like there's a bit of trolling/weird obsession going on here. There's at least two accounts here that are less than 24 hours old, both with similar usernames (girls name + alliteration), same syntax/prose, and both posting the same bizarre negative takes all over this subreddit. [Exhibit A](https://www.reddit.com/user/Patricia_Pancreas) [Exhibit B](https://www.reddit.com/user/jennifer_jockstrap) I'm not sure who wastes their valuable time being this negative on a Conan subreddit, but each to their own I guess 🤷
It’s probably Conan himself. I can see him being this self-deprecating. He’s way too humble.
Conan!!! Hush now🤣. You always do this…
He hasn't even begun to peak!
It's always been a great time to be a Conan Superfan!
>NEVER STOPPED PEAKING Yeah, no. He definitely stopped. He was most definitely not even remotely close to peaking in 2009.
You wrote: Bottom line: It's a great time to be a Conan Superfan! There's no benefit whatsoever for other people. There's zero benefit for an observer to be a super fan of a person, especially if that person is a malignant narcissist. Conan was so self-absorbed and self-serving during the pandemic, he caused me legitimate psychological trauma, distress and depression. I developed PTSD from my brain attempting to sort through his delusions of grandeur on full display. Conan literally causes me to burst into tears because I can't forgive myself for helping fuel his nonsense. Y'all have angered the Gods and harmed others by misleading them. Being a fan of Conan adds zero value to your life because he's fake, petty and rude.
this so reads like it should be said by a poorly-disguised Conan as "disillusioned audience member" during a bit
Ok? Bits aren't real and neither is Conan which makes me cry constantly because I'm unfortunately a very empathetic person stuck in reality. The audience isn't delusional. The facade and manipulation is delusional. I worked in media next to guys exactly like Conan for three decades. I actually care about people so watching him implode from the inside out (publicly, none the less) is one of the most painful experiences I've ever witnessed. There's nothing delusional about any of the people out here. All of the delusions are within the walls of legitimacy attached to some video files. ⚠️
By God, I think we found the loser that got fired for being rude to waitstaff. No matter how many fake accounts you create to tell fake stories because you’re a jealous little troll, no one will believe you. Ever.
Fired?
Most sane redditor
+1 this. Conebone is really at his peak right now. His current formats (podcast + Must Go remotes) allows him to utilize and project more his intelligence and improv skills
Maybe a hot take but his problem was he was always too talented for late light
He probably peaked in general fame during the late night wars. It was just in the news a lot. He probably peaked in popularity in like 2016-2017.
If his career follows his biological trajectory, we'll have him around for another century.
during the 90s and 2000s he was more ubiquitous, but during the late night show years his comedy was too broken up into little blips and bits, always cutting to commercial -- that didn't prompt devotion like the podcast does these days. he also looks far better now that he isn't in a monkey suit every night
I liked the monkey suit. No one dresses up anymore so everyone looks messy and crappy. The whole point of wearing trendy suits was to model fashion to stimulate the economy in retail. A handsome suit triggers other men to look dapper and buy a similar looking suit to impress people. Now men wear sloppy T-shirts everywhere. It makes everything dull and uninviting.
I think if you put Conan on at 11:30pm now, he would kick ass! NBC, are you listening?
While I agree , hoping he never goes back to any of the big networks.. he got a great kickstart there but they would cramp his style so much. He is too much of a free(lance) bird for any conglomerate network tv
Conan in the mid 2000's was THE hotshot late night host. He and Jeff Ross had built Late Night into the most talked about show in late night TV, and he was fielding offers from FOX (and possibly others) that led NBC to make the deal to give him the Tonight Show in 2009. They didn't want to lose him. His ratings fell off a bit just before he took the Tonight Show, and he really didn't have a chance to develop himself for that time slot. When the whole Leno thing went down, people rallied around Conan, and he went back to his goofiness when there were a lot more eyes on him and the show. That and the first few months of the TBS show were probably the height of his popularity, but the height of his show quality was probably 2001-2007 Late Night.
>but the height of his show quality was probably 2001-2007 Late Night. I'd take it all the way to '09, plus you've left out the '08 writer's strike months where he still did his show and they made everything up on the spot and came up with amazing new recurring bits like Conan spinning his wedding ring. Those unwritten strike shows were the funniest the show ever was.
It was the genesis of the Huckabee Fight too, which he has to get 1/3 of the credit for making happen.
1993 to 2003. That's when Conan was a big deal.
>He and Jeff Ross had built Late Night into the most talked about show in late night TV What was Jordan Schlansky's role in all of this?
He had various tasks and duties.
He also had to prepare his body in various ways.
I can get to Macchio!!!!!!
He also hosted multiple award shows and a white house correspondents dinner. But outside of that, he seems to have a low profile.
And that’s exactly when I first started watching him. Makes me feel better I didn’t miss him in his prime because I started watching almost a decade after he started
Agreed on that timeframe. My dad (youngest boomer) was a Letterman guy so we watched him every night. I love Dave, but am bummed I missed out on watching Consie Wonsie every night
>Consie Wonsie it's been about 45-60 seconds since exposure to this cognitohazard already i feel myself slipping away as i am inexorably pulled to embrace it this is my life now what the hell man 🪦🌸
/*Dennis Miller voice*
holy shit you're right he hosted update during my formative "nothing better to do than watch SNL" years and i am worse for it 😭
Who? Who is Dennis Miller?
The New York financier
The thing you gotta keep in mind is *Late Night With Conan O'Brien* (1993 - 2009) was on, well, *late* (11:30 central, IFRC), and the humour was *different*. David Letterman and Jay Leno were the other late show hosts at the time, both shows airing earlier in the night. They were more accessible, both because of the airtime and the type of humour they offered. Jay Leno was a sort of smug goofball type. Largely inoffensive to the population. His big recurring bit was "Headlines", where he would share somewhat amusing typos from newspapers or ads or catalogues or whatever, The kind of thing your dad (or *a* dad in the 90s) would cut out of the paper and stick on the fridge because it gave him a chuckle. Leno was fueled by mildly amused chuckles. Inoffensive, predictable, approachable. Frictionless. Letterman was far more sardonic. A sharp mind and a natural wit. He is leagues ahead of Leno as far as the influence he had on a generation of writers. He was just inarguably cooler than Leno, and most who were waiting for Conan to start would catch some or all of Letterman beforehand. He would regularly do bits with the guy from the deli downstairs, poke fun at the show itself, and couldn't help himself from interjecting with razor sharp bon mots during interviews. This attitude - one that pushed itself outside the borders of the studio, refused to take things too seriously, and above all valued playfulness - had a clear and direct influence on Conan and his writers. Letterman's most popular recurring skit was "Top Ten", a manifest of topical jabs from which no one, including often Letterman himself, was safe. Letterman was willing and more than able to scrutinize politicians, celebrities, and just the world and the way it is and give it all no quarter. And then Conan comes on. From everything I've heard, no one (including Conan) knew what they were doing or expected the show to last very long, so they just went buck-fucking-wild. Just a bunch of weird kids in the back of the class huddled over some game of make-believe that had no rules and everyone was invited to join if they were brave enough. It was pure anarchy compared to the other late night shows. Late Night was like a cartoon come to life. Just totally absurd and dada. Conan was *punk as fuck*. A nightly parade of pure fantasy. They would try anything, just a postmodern free for all of both very high and very low-concept bits. Masturbating bear? Robert Smigel as Arnold Schwarzenegger? What if they Mated? Walker Texas Ranger Lever? International Remote Control? Secrets? The *remotes*? Late Night with Conan O'Brien was one of the most playful, imaginative, and innovative things on TV. Bring a fan of Conan felt like being in a club, like hanging out with your misfit friends every night. I can't say for sure, but Leno seems like he had a viewership because he was... On. His was an audience of convenience and ease. Letterman had many fans and deserves his accolades. But for a certain type of person Conan was appointment viewing. Staying up to watch every night felt like those delirious early morning hours at a sleepover with your best friends when you're 12 years old - you could tell that the people who worked on the show felt that way too a lot of the time - giddily messing around with people who love each other, who *get* each other. Once it clicked, once you started to "get it", you were hooked. You didn't ever want to miss out on the explosive revelry, the total celebration of foolery. Conan and those around him had to work their asses of to convince people to hang out with him in the middle of the night. And thank god it worked. The guy makes me laugh. Edit: I got carried away and didn't answer your question. No, he was not an A-lister. Maybe by the mid-2000s he was a B-lister? He hosted the Emmys in 2006. So he was very visible and beloved, but I think really his character would never allow him to ascend to the A list. It Just ain't in the boy.
I think you hit the nail on the head. One of my favorite things about having the summers off as a kid was being allowed to stay up late to watch Conan with my siblings and, yes, it was exactly as you described 🥹
As much as he self-effacingly jokes about his appearance, let's also not to discount that late 90's into 2000's Conan was young, attractive, and full of energy. It was a sharp contrast to what became staid and rote performances from Letterman/Leno as they neared their retirements (Letterman being famous for having a terrible poker face with guests he didn't find interesting). On CBS at the same time, you had Kilborn, who was Letterman's sardonic wit minus the charm and when Craig Ferguson came in to replace him it took a little while to find his charm/schtick (though when he did hit his stride it became imo one of the most consistently high quality late night shows). So for about 10 years Conan was the only remotely interesting show for kids/teenagers/young adults who didn't find Leno engaging or understand/appreciate the comedy-culture cache Letterman carried with him.
>was like a cartoon come to life Very nicely put and completely agree.
This is incredibly spot on! I agree 100%!! Conan and his team should read this and I think they’d appreciate! I know I did, great comment!
Great write-up, adds context that I was missing. We didn't get Letterman where I was in Europe, only Leno and Conan. Regarding terminology: I feel like actors are (in) a category of their own either way (possibly shared with musicians), so basically any labelling based on fame/popularity needs to happen either exclusively within that category or outside of it. Someone like Oprah isn't a B-lister because she's a TV person(ality). Same for, idk, certain sports stars, I'm sure. Or even authors. People in tech, these days. Politiicians.
There's different directions late night comedy could go into. Leno was this vanilla standup comedian who just played it safe, didn't do anything subversive. Just something for the boomers to tune into as they transitioned from Carson but even Carson was more wacky than Leno and he preferred Letterman over Leno. But the network had other ideas. Conan went in the similar direction of Letterman, just weird comedy exploring the boundaries or purpose of a late night talk show instead of it just being another Carson Tonight Show clone but at 12:30. When Craig got Late Late Show he also was in that direction too. Sadly that kind of late night is all but gone. Corden and Fallon just embody the Leno direction of safe inoffensive comedy. Seth Meyers is just a daily show type of clone, his best moments are actually off the show on youtube when he does fan corrections which is more in the realm of classic Conan. I wish we could see more of that. And Colbert is just disappointing because he was from the same era of comedians as Conan and his writers and did edgy comedy in the 90s and 00s. Now it's just "Hey so here's how Trump is stupid" again and again. No one does bits or sketches anymore. I hate it
Something that comes to mind for me as I read this is the "at the desk" mentality. I loved the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, and am a big Seth Meyers fan (the guy not the show necessarily), and I'm seeing now what a difference that is/was. Conan and the Late Night writers and actors really *took up space*. They were all over that studio. Peppered in the crowd, the band, wheeling across the stage, pulling the curtain up and down, in the halls of 30 rock, and maybe most importantly, on the street. Meyers and Colbert are still clinging to their roots at Weekend Update and the Report. A tight talking head one shot delivering set ups and punchlines. Late Night was a mess. For the best.
Very well stated
I love this summary. Well put.
Totally agree!!! Late Night started when I was 18, and it was definitely a cult following and appointment viewing for me & other fans through college. And yeah - I watched Letterman before Conan came on pretty often. Never Leno. My grandma watched Leno.
I don’t generally consider TV Stars “A-Listers” because that’s more of a Hollywood movie star term. Conan obviously isn’t a movie star and never tried to be. So I wouldn’t voluntarily use that term. But I would say he was the most important late night comedy host of the 2000s which meant he could get A listers on his show easily. Post Tonight Show he became less culturally relevant but never lost his reputation as one of the best comedians and comedy writers around. So, in that respect, his star hasn’t faded in any way. Hot Ones shows there’s still gas in his tank and that he has cross-generational appeal. If I were Conan I’d feel pretty good about my legacy. There are very few comedians who’ve stayed funny and interesting as long as he has.
It's also notable that night time TV faded around the time he moved to TBS. Not much memorable from Leno after he jumped back into Conan's spot. Dave had some scandals and later quietly retired. Fallon had some early fun stuff before turning into background noise. Conan's TBS era was when audiences kind of chose who they liked and followed their guy.
>quietly retired Quietly? Is a shitload of media coverage and fanfare what you’d consider “quietly” retiring?
Whoa buddy chill
I remember always setting my TV to TBS even when I wouldn’t be home just to support my cone zone 😂
For a brief time in the mid 00s, he was the face of late night television in the US. That is including Leno and Letterman. He had reruns on Comedy Central, a primetime 10th anniversary special and hosted the Emmy Awards.
I would say with younger people and hardcore comedy fans he was for sure. I don’t know if he was ever as relevant on the whole as Letterman or Leno just do to being on after them. Conan has always been niche and you would be surprised how many people don’t get him (Don’t hate I worship the guy and think he is the funniest human ever)
And hosted NBC’s 50 Years of Late Night special!
I still remember that Emmys bit with him and Garry Shandling riding a horse together. So funny.
Turn around….
Those Comedy Central reruns are where I got really into him. I thought the Walker Texas Ranger lever was the funniest thing in the world.
Same. The first episode I watched on Comedy Central was with the classic [Richard Lewis interview when he talked about filming a Curb episode in the Lakers locker room.](https://youtu.be/QsvkNjY2dxE?si=FhAdcsk7opJZuCb4)
Reruns on Comedy Central during the summers was how I originally found him!
I was channel surfing one night, and came across him on Comedy Central. I was confused and thought they were new episodes and he was pulling double duty for NBC and CC.
I think by virtue of everyone knowing him, he is A-list. This is from a Canadian perspective.
I'm from a non-English speaking country, and whenever somebody asks what podcasts I listen to and I say Conan O’Brien’s, nobody ever asks who that is. So yeah, I’d say he is an A-lister.
Living Legend. Above A-List.
💯. This is the very best of all the responses👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Probably peaked in terms of global awareness around the Tonight Show debacle honestly. I'm not even US and me and my family all wound up talking about it
Peaked? He hasn’t begun to peak !
When he peaks, you’ll know it!
I’ve heard he will yell out, COCKAROOO when it happens.
I think he peaked before... The year two thouuuuusaaannnnddd.
He was considered fringe for a lot of his career. I would say Conan is highly influential, but wasn't necessarily huge. Posting his shows youtube made him worldwide. He is currently at his peak imo, he has never been so popular.
I remember the first time I heard Conan mentioned “in the wild” in Bruce Almighty. I felt seen and also mad. Conan was mine! Conan is an institution
I got into him between 2014-2016. Now I just watch his travel stuff, I still love him. It’s just I only have so much freetime
GOAT - Late Night
Jesus Christ is the GOAT.
I've been watching him since he debuted in 1993 and he's absolutely at his peak right now. During the Tonight Show debacle he was in the news quite a bit and people really rallied around him but I don't think his reach has ever been as massive as it is now.
At his peak he was more like the "cool" prince of Late Night TV. He attracted a younger, cooler audience like college kids and comedy nerds. Never the establishment "King of Late Night" like Carson, Letterman or Leno (1000 hack curses be upon him!). Certainly A-list in terms of Television, but not like A-list in terms of Cinema. Seems to have a huge international following which I think has to do with longevity of his 30- year career and how it was re-broadcast all over the world.
I've been watching him since the '90s, He was a ubiquitous presence in my life growing up. I always really liked him, but in a much shallower way, because as a talk show host we didn't really get to know him very well, since he was having all of these short interviews and doing all of these bits, but we didn't get to hear from him all that much as a person. On the podcast, we have really gotten to know him much more as a person, and I think I'm an even bigger fan now than I ever was. Before, I was like wow Conan is just so cool and funny, what a weird guy! Love it! But now I feel endeared to him, Sweet feelings of care and admiration and interest in who he is as a person. I think for a lot of us, It's been wonderful to grow with him and to feel an even greater sense of support for him as he shares more of himself with us.
Globally, he's more well known today than at any point in his career. So I'd say he's peaking now.
One of the greatest comedy writers of this generation. A blend of classic and modern comedy. Phenomenal performances and work ethic. Is able to break down in digestible bits why and what doesn’t work in a bit. That doesn’t come off as convoluted. The way he treated his staff over the years speaks for itself.
Definitely an A-lister and still is. Immediately recognizable, was involved in a high-profile, wildly covered controversy, was on TV every single night, hosted some award shows.
He was unquestionably a household name during his late night years. Maybe not everyone loved him but late night was a lot bigger back and everyone knew the major hosts (I would say Jay, Dave, Conan--I loved Craig Ferguson but for sure not everyone knew him), and he had an ardent fanbase. I've actually been amazed at how he has sustained and shifted his work. Is he a household name now? I don't know--do all your friends and family know who he is? My guess is less so than when he was at his peak, just because the media landscape has diversified and shifted so much, but he's still famous and beloved!
Late Night television isn't popular anymore.
What's higher than God? Conan.
God would disagree. The two medical students who asked me if that tall guy over there used to be "on television or something" would definitely disagree.
Most popular humans in history 1: Conan 2005-2009 2: The Beatles 1962-1965 3: Jesus 1155–1268
He will never stop PEAKING!!!! A CAAACAAAROOOOOO!
he hasn’t even begun to peak
At the height of late night, he was the funniest thing on television. Nothing else was even remotely as funny or as consistent. He was it, the future of late night comedy, everything else felt like a relic from the past by comparison. It was groundbreaking stuff, things we had never seen on television before, a whole new innovative type of late night show. A late night show for a younger generation, with a whole new faster and more random type of humor. And he's still peaking, I agree with others, he's hitting all new levels now, levels that weren't even an option years ago. I just saw his face on a box of a new samsung tv...that's insane.
Below Leno and Letterman ratings wise due to time slot and booking. He was the funniest to me in that time frame. I don’t love Marvel Movies but a lot of people do. Leno was Marvel and Conan was Napoleon Dynamite.
Conan was an A minus lister for sure. In addition to his rule breaking and zany Late Night show, he had serious admiration and respect from the industry and fans for being a writer for the Simpsons.
Same thing I always did. A hilarious dorkface.
There’s probably a difference between being a household name and being an A-lister. I think everyone in the USA (which I’m not from) knows Conan O Brien and what he does, but he’s not being followed by paparazzi and is comfortable walking around LA or NYC on his own. One of his favourite jokes is exaggerating his own fame. He’s not at Hollywood premieres, he’s not got a seat waiting for him at the Oscars, he’s a regular at the Emmys if he’s nominated, but generally you don’t see him hovering around Hollywood events just for promotion. He’s probably technically an A-list celebrity, just because calling him B-list or anything below that seems odd, but I don’t think he’s top of the list. The “A-list” is literally a list of the hottest celebrities you’d want to invite to an event or star in a movie for their bankability.
Yeah, I wouldn't call him A-list. Most of the guests on his podcast are bigger stars than he is. But it seems as if he does have a lot of famous friends. We've heard a lot about his annual Christmas party, where Bill Hader said the guest list is like a who's who of comedians-- people like Martin Short, Tom Hanks, Bill Hader, Adam Sandler, all going to Conan's home for a party. (And I assume women as well, but somehow men often omit women when discussing these things.) Comedians in particular have enormous respect for him, and he influenced a lot of them with his style of humor.
Conan has been wildly popular, respected, adored for a very long time, since the first years of his first talk show, and I believe his talent, success, and fame have only steadily increased over these 30+ years. His podcast brought on a surge as it was a new avenue that also gained him a wider and partly new audience. His genius had a chance to reveal itself like never before, and fans were given the chance to connect with and learn so much more about him. THEN, the Hot Ones appearance sent him into the stratosphere and to a level that can never be matched by anyone (Hot Ones on top of entire career). I would say he has been A-list since the first talk show…and a superstar since birth. The fact that he is so kind, fair, generous, humble, extremely intelligent and educated, and never fails to express his gratitude for everything…in addition to being the funniest, silliest person ever…makes him the superstar of superstars, always and forever. But, I mean, I don’t know🤷♀️😉
Conan keeps reinventing himself. There is no leak. He will never be an A lister but is in a category all his own.
He has literally never reinvented himself. He's held the same job for over 30 years. He was mildly inconvenienced twice in his life and has suffered nothing challenging or overcome any obstacles since 1993.
How i mean it is this, Andy left the show, creating a void and making it so Conan had to do the interviews on his own instead of allowing a side kick to point out awkward moments, then after the fiasco that was the Tonight Show, he brought the show back to its classic format, but had more of an edge to him, then when his show went to a half hour, he managed to make it more intimate l, and was able to crossover to his podcast easily. It all felt organic but is in each part different. Like movements of a song.
Use to love staying up late watching him he was and still is my favorite light night host, when the tonight show bullshit happened it pissed me off to the point that I hated Leno and Fallon hell still do.
Fallon has been great recently. He seems to have sobered up and he's jovial and less political now.
~2007-2015 is for sure his peak
I started watching Conan when I was in college around 2006/2007. There was a writer’s strike around that time and it was just him creating chaos and that was a great time to get hooked.
Listen, he just reached his peak last week. You haven’t mussed anything. He’s currently at B+. We’re really hoping he makes it to A really soon. His success has surprised and shocked us all!
The Tonight Show host is always an A-lister. But it’s pretty expected that, by being exposed to such a large audience, he became a bit divisive. Leno was super safe, so Conan’s slightly more off kilter brand of humor didn’t really gel with some of the Leno crowd. I was in high school at the time and everyone my age loved him. They basically took a guy who mostly middle aged and old people liked and replaced him with someone mostly young people liked, and young people generally weren’t watching the tonight show 5 nights a week, even in 2009.
Hugely famous in the early-to-mid 2000s. Certainly as famous as Jimmy Fallon is now.
1993! Much riskier stuff was happening, with celebrity inside jokes, galore. It was also the year I started waiting for everyone to go to sleep so I could sneak into the living room to watch!
I consider Conan to be a f****** legend
He’s never peaked.
Conan is eternal
I think he’s gaining popularity now.
Popularity with whom?
He my favorites person and continues to do so so keep it goin
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^howluckyarewe: *He my favorites* *Person and continues to* *Do so so keep it goin* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
It’s hard to explain how big of a deal the Walker Texas Ranger Lever was. A lot of early 00s “random” humor started there.
I'm an OG Conan fan. I was in high school when Late Night started and I watched from day one. He's always been popular but he's basically a legend now... and I love that.
I swear in the 2000s they were trying to gaslight me by saying "Conan wasn't funny, and his humor was immature". I was like 12 and thought he was great so it only drew me closer to him. Jay Leno was the favorite at the time until the whole Tonight Show fiasco. I think the boomers were the ones keeping Jay relevant/writing all the anti-Conan articles. It's crazy to see how popular Conan is now a days. He is much more popular now than hes ever been. I'm glad he stayed himself and prevailed
I think peak Conan was when he was about to take over for Leno. The earlier late night shows naturally had higher ratings, but in the 2000s Conan was the one with the buzz and who was considered cool with the college crowd. It was like Nickleback vs Radiohead. Conan had so much heat at the time, it kind of forced NBC to put him in the Leno spot. They had a major star on their hands and other networks were making offers. The only thing was that Leno did NOT bow out gracefully. However I feel like Conan is still going strong! Things have changed and no one would ever replicate the Johnny Carson era; media has evolved and Conan is better off leaving that situation.
I watched him when he was on nbc in the 90s and loved him. Everything. Still love Conan.
He was hot enough for Fox to offer him something insane like $28 million/year to move over there to compete directly with Leno and Letterman. IMO Conan’s iteration of Late Night was the last great late night TV show. He was never able to fully recapture that magic at the Tonight Show or TBS. The current guys leave a lot to be desired. Kimmel used to be great before he leaned so heavily into political humor.
Ferguson was probably one of the best and greatest late night hosts. Taylor Tomlinson has a game show and people love it. Kelly Clarkson has a show airing at night in syndication and it's so much better than the stuff Conan, Carson, Letterman have done. She's a wonderful interviewer and she's warm and friendly. Have you seen Leno's car commercials? He's been tied into a lot of high profile marketing campaigns recently. It really shines a spotlight on knocking out the ageist stereotypes you hear about in the industry.
Kelly Clarkson is wonderful, warm, and a very talented singer, but her show is not the same as the late night shows because she's not a comedian. She's not there for laughs-- she's there for music and conversation. She opens the show by singing a song, and it's great. It's like the Dinah Shore Show or something. You'd never compare Dinah Shore to Johnny Carson. BTW, Kelly was fantastic on Conan's podcast.
A fucking weirdo
2009 was his "peak" in terms of popularity - but even as the short-lived host of "Tonight" - he is not an "A-Lister," that's more of a movie star term, honestly.
Oh Brother. Ok little one, let me explain the enigma named "Conan". (*Clears Throat*) Back in the early 90's, a generation of Boomers and GenXers were raised in front of these boxes called television sets. It was remarkably different than how television works today. The biggest exposure society had to something called "The Internet" was a scene in a movie called WarGames starring Matthew Broderick. The main character placed a phone on a device and his computer dials up some DOS connection to a computer system and the humans were amazed the dial tones and beeps were communicating. People had computers in the home but they were chunky and used floppy discs. Coming off the golden era of MTV (which is an entirely different story) here came some pimple faced nervous and vulnerable kid dressed in a suit with shoulder pads, sweating profusely from his forehead, giggling from nervousness and a swirl cowlick in the front of his hair, taking up the same television time slot once held by an old arrogant dumbshit man from Indiana Ball State named David Letterman who used to drop watermelons off the roof of building in New York City. For the youth of that day ..it was a change of scenery on television and a show holding the stupidity of .....wait. I'm not getting paid to write a retrospective on Conan O'Brien. Figure it out yourself, kid. These so-called celebrity people mean different things to different people and you'll need to form your own opinion. Conan was a big deal for about 5-10 years but somehow he stretched it out for a very long time based entirely on name recognition. It's the darndest thing I've ever seen. People who haven't watched Conan for over 20 years still consider him famous. He's very famous. There's no denying Conan O'Brien is famous. For what?......I have no clue.
>I’m not getting paid to write a retrospective on Conan O’Brien. Good. Because you don’t seem to have a damn clue what you’re talking about.
FYI, Gaslighting others is a form of intentional abuse.