Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend

I have always admired the talent of Conan O’Brien. He is 60 years old, and from Brookline, Massachusetts. Even before his late-night show, he had a very impressive resume. Personally, he is my #3 favorite late-night host of all time, behind only Carson and Letterman. He graduated from Harvard, (like many successful television writers), studied improv comedy at The Groundlings Theater in Los Angeles, wrote for The Simpsons and SNL. Conan's friend and writing collaborator from Harvard was Greg Daniels, who created the American version of The Office for NBC, Parks and Recreation and King of the Hill. Conan had no stand-up experience or hosting experience, but Lorne Michaels recruited him for the NBC Late Night show, filling the formidable shoes of David Letterman. Conan debuted as the host of that show in 1993, as Letterman went to CBS and his show which was one hour earlier. Jay Leno was given The Tonight Show after the departure of Johnny Carson in 1992. Letterman wanted that job, and decided to jump ship. Conan hosted Late Night from 1993-2009. He hosted The Tonight Show from 2009-2010. NBC wanted to hang onto Jay Leno, so they put him at 10 pm Monday-Friday. I think that affected the numbers for Conan's Tonight Show. That whole mess was a blunder by the folks at the peacock network. I felt bad for Conan since he got a raw deal. He hosted his TBS show from 2010-2021. So, Conan worked in late night TV for almost 30 years. Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show for 30 years (1962-1992). Between his NBC and CBS shows, David Letterman worked in late night TV for 33 years (1982-2015). So, Conan will go down in history as one of the giants of the late night TV genre. According to celebrity net worth, Conan has accumulated $200 million. David Letterman and Jay Leno are each worth $400 million. November of 2018 was the first episode of Conan's podcast. At this point, the TBS show was transitioning from one hour to 30 minutes. Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend is released on Mondays, Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan is released on Thursdays. Both shows feature Conan O’Brien, Sona Movsesian (Conan’s assistant) and Matt Gourley (Podcast producer). This is available on Amazon Music, Earwolf, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Sirius XM, Google Podcasts, etc. This is put out by Conan’s company, Team Coco, which produces 17 podcasts. Other than Conan’s show, the company produces podcasts by Rob Lowe, J.B. Smoove, Conan’s longtime sidekick Andy Richter, Rob Lowe, and Lea Thompson. Conan's podcast has featured interviews with some of the biggest names in show biz, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Paul Reubens, David Letterman, Dana Carvey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Martin Short, Steve Martin and many more. I have always had a fascination with the world of entertainment, especially late night TV. Thos ewho have an interest in celebrities and show biz will enjoy this podcast. Conan can be very funny of course, but he also is an excellent interviewer, and his subjects feel at ease with him, and discuss things with him that they might not discuss elsewhere. All of the best late night hosts are excellent interviewers who listen closely to their guests, and come up with thoughtful questions. Some of the best interviewers in the late night genre have included Johnny Carson, David Letterman, Conan, Tom Snyder and Dick Cavett. I would include Bob Costas in this list, due to his 30 minute show on NBC called Later. I never saw Jay Leno as a strong interviewer, but he has been very successful in the late night genre, probably due to his stand up skills and his likeability factor with people of all backgrounds. Conan’s Thursday show, Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan, is an interview with a non-celebrity, but someone who is a Conan fan. Many of them are from overseas, and they tend to have unique careers. The people from this show will appear on Conan’s new show on MAX (formerly HBO Max). The release of that show was delayed by the writer's strike. This show should be entertaining since Conan's remote pieces were always his strong point.