Conan O’Brien isn’t optimistic about the future of late-night TV as we know it.
During a speech at the Television Academy Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 16, the comedian predicted the current late-night television format will go away, but stressed that the comics who host those shows still have a bright future in the industry.
“Late-night television, as we have known it since around 1950, is going to disappear,” O’Brien said. “But those voices are not going anywhere. People like Stephen Colbert are too talented, and too essential, to go away. It’s not going to happen. He’s not going anywhere. Stephen is going to evolve and shine brighter than ever in a new format that he controls completely.”
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Conan O’Brien attends the Academy Awards on March 2, 2025.
O’Brien’s comments came about a month after CBS announced its shock cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” which the network described as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night.” The move sparked speculation that Colbert’s fellow late-night hosts could also be on the chopping block, though no other network has followed CBS’ lead since then.
After the “Late Show” cancellation, some suggested Colbert could move into podcasting, pointing to O’Brien as a successful example of that pivot. After almost three decades hosting various late-night shows, O’Brien left the format in 2021 with the end of TBS’ “Conan” but has stayed active as host of his podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.” He also stars in the HBO Max travel show “Conan O’Brien Must Go” and hosted the Academy Awards in 2025, with plans to return in the role in 2026.
Stephen Colbert is out at CBS. Is all of late-night TV officially doomed?
Conan O’Brien attends “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” on Feb. 16, 2025.
While being inducted into the Hall of Fame, O’Brien joked in his speech, “For those of you under 40, late-night television was a service designed to distract college students until science could perfect the internet and online pornography.”
Joking aside, the former “Late Night” host shared a positive message in the face of changes in the television landscape.
“We’re having this event now in a time when there’s a lot of fear about the future of television, and rightfully so,” he said. “The life we’ve all known for almost 80 years is undergoing seismic change. But, this might just be my nature, I choose not to mourn what is lost because I think, in the most essential way, what we have is not changing at all.”
He added, “Streaming changes the pipeline, but the connection, the talent, the ideas that come into our homes? I think it’s as potent as ever.”
‘I would worry about myself’: Seth Meyers reveals concern about his show being canceled
“Late Night” host Seth Meyers recently shared his concerns about the future of late-night TV in an interview on the “Armchair Expert” podcast, which was recorded before the Colbert cancellation.
“I shifted from fearing that I wouldn’t be good enough, and now, my fear is weirdly more outside of my control, which is at some point, the ecosystem might not support it,” Meyers said. “I guess that’s better than thinking it’s your fault, but it is weird to not feel any control over it.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Conan O’Brien expects end of late-night TV after Colbert canceled
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