Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Encyclopedia
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night
talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien
that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC
between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am Eastern/11:37 pm Central
and 12:37 am Mountain
in the United States. From 1993 until 2000, Andy Richter
served as O'Brien's sidekick
; following his departure, O'Brien was the show's sole featured performer. The show's house musical act was The Max Weinberg 7, led by E Street Band
drummer Max Weinberg
.
The second incarnation of NBC's Late Night franchise
, O'Brien's debuted in 1993 after David Letterman
, who hosted the first incarnation of Late Night
, moved to CBS
to host Late Show
opposite The Tonight Show
. In 2004, as part of a deal to secure a new contract, NBC announced that O'Brien would leave Late Night in 2009 to succeed Jay Leno
as the host of The Tonight Show
. Jimmy Fallon
began hosting his version of Late Night
on March 2, 2009.
's retirement from The Tonight Show
in 1992, executives at NBC announced that Carson's frequent guest-host Jay Leno would be Carson's replacement, and not David Letterman. NBC later said that Letterman's high ratings for Late Night were the reason they kept him where he was. Letterman was bitterly disappointed and angry at not having been given The Tonight Show job and, at Carson's advice, he left NBC
after eleven years on Late Night. CBS
signed Letterman to host his own show opposite The Tonight Show. He moved his show over to CBS virtually unchanged, taking most of the staff, skits, and comedy formats with him. However, NBC owned the rights to the Late Night name, forcing Letterman to re-christen his show Late Show with David Letterman
.
NBC was not prepared to replace both Letterman and Late Night. Aside from the name, it needed to build a new show. Both Dana Carvey
and Garry Shandling
declined to host it. Saturday Night Live
producer Lorne Michaels
was brought in to develop the new show and comedians Jon Stewart
, Drew Carey
, and Paul Provenza
auditioned to host. Michaels suggested to O'Brien, an unknown writer for The Simpsons
and former writer for Saturday Night Live, that he should audition for the job. Despite having "about 40 seconds" of television-performance experience as an occasional extra on Saturday Night Live sketches, O'Brien auditioned for the show on April 13, 1993. His guests were Jason Alexander
and Mimi Rogers
, and the audition took place on the set of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
. O'Brien was offered the show on April 26, and made his first meaningful television appearance later that day when Leno introduced him on Tonight. On the final episode of his 16-year run, O'Brien stated that he "owed his career to Lorne Michaels."
chosen as O'Brien's sidekick. The premiere episode featured John Goodman
(who received a "First Guest" medal for his appearance), Drew Barrymore
, and Tony Randall
. The episode featured a cold open
of O'Brien's walk to the studio with constant reminders that he was expected to live up to Letterman, parodying a popular sentiment expressed in the media at the time. After seeming to be unaffected by the comments, O'Brien arrives at his dressing room and cheerfully prepares to hang
himself. However, a warning that the show is about to start causes him to abandon his plans.
O'Brien's inexperience was apparent and the show was generally considered mediocre by critics in terms of the host's ability. The Chicago Sun-Times
Lon Grankhe called O'Brien "nervous, unprepared and generally geeky" and Tom Shales
wrote "As for O'Brien, the young man is a living collage of annoying nervous habits. He giggles and titters, jiggles about and fiddles with his cuffs. He has dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit. He's one of the whitest white men ever." The originality and quality of the comedy, however, led by original head writer Robert Smigel
, was widely praised. Although O'Brien benefited by comparison from the quick critical and commercial failure of the fellow new late-night The Chevy Chase Show
, NBC only offered short-term contracts, 13 weeks at a time and once for six weeks, as widely reported by the press at the time. O'Brien was reportedly almost fired at least once in this period, but NBC had no one to replace him. According to Smigel, "We were basically canceled at Conan, and then they changed their minds in August of ’94, gave us a reprieve."
According to O'Brien a network executive told him, in regards to Andy Richter, he'd "never succeed until I ‘got rid of that big fat dildo.’ That was the tone of the conversations between us and the network." It was widely suspected that the host of Talk Soup
, Greg Kinnear
would take over the role, but Kinnear turned down the opportunity and decided to pursue a career in acting. Stars like Tom Hanks
agreed to appear on Late Night, which boosted audience awareness. Even Letterman, who admired O’Brien’s comic sensibility, appeared as a guest to register his support. O'Brien's performance style improved through experience and he began to receive more favorable reviews and ratings the following year. With the ratings gradually improving over the course of two years, Late Night reached a new level of critical and commercial success in 1996. Tom Shales officially recanted his previous critical review with the headline "I was wrong", and O'Brien received his first Emmy writing nomination, which he has gone on to receive every year since.
instead of towards Richter.
In 2003, O'Brien's own production company, Conaco
, was added as a producer of Late Night. The show celebrated its 10th anniversary, another milestone that O'Brien said he wanted to achieve with his 2002 contract. During the anniversary show, Mr. T
handed O'Brien a chain with a large gold "7" on it.
O'Brien's last season on Late Night attracted an average of 1.98 million viewers, compared to 1.92 million viewers for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
.
, who served as head writer in 1993, the show's comedic approach was to focus on being different from David Letterman:
Typically O'Brien would play the 'straight man' role to the general absurdity of the comedy, treating the material or wacky nature of the sketches with sincerity. The show had an unusual quantity of comedy and original content rather than other talk shows such as Late Show with David Letterman
or The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
that relied heavily on recurring segments and 'found' humor. The show was particularly unique in the lack of 'found' humor to derive content from i.e. most content being scripted as opposed to Letterman's Small Town News or Jay Leno's headlines that used this "found humor". O'Brien would often playfully chide his audience for an underwhelming or overly enthusiastic response to his jokes.
Particularly in the early years, comedic sketches overtook all segments on the show, occasionally even interrupting guest interviews and O'Brien's monologue. Frequently sketches would randomly begin without introduction, such as during banter between Richter and O'Brien. A lot of the humor had a fantasy-like quality to it, where inanimate objects would talk or silly characters would disrupt the show. Sometimes a short story would emerge in these sketches with a resolution culminating in a song. Generally, throughout the later years, original sketches, ideas and characters were constantly being introduced, rather than relying heavily on a few recurring segments like other past and current talk shows. There still were quite a number of recurring segments, but again, a much higher quantity than a typical talk show.
(See List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketches for an extensive list)
was The Max Weinberg 7, led by drummer Max Weinberg
, who also served as a sounding board for O'Brien on the show (more so after Andy Richter's departure). The other six members were Mark Pender
on trumpet, Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg on trombone, Mike Merritt on bass, Jerry Vivino
on saxophone and brother Jimmy Vivino
on guitar, and Scott Healy
on keyboards. James Wormworth
served as backup drummer when Weinberg went on tour with Bruce Springsteen
. With the departure of Andy Richter, Max Weinberg assumed a bigger role as an interlocutor for O'Brien's jokes. One common running gag was Max's awkwardness on camera and his apparent lack of chemistry with Conan. Weinberg was often used in sketches as well, which usually revolved around his purported sexual deviance (mostly a penchant for bedding barely legal groupies), although long running sketches also spoofed Max's lack of knowledge of current affairs.
"LaBamba" was also used as the butt of many of Conan's jokes. These humorous sketches usually revolved around LaBamba's sizeable mustache, his poor acting skills, and his alleged inability to read written music
. Mark Pender would often sing songs on the topic of a current event which ended with him screeching uncontrollably and climbing the risers into the audience. All members of the 7 had successful side careers as studio musicians.
As is common in the talk show format, the Max Weinberg 7 performed the show's opening and closing themes, played bumpers
into and out of commercial breaks (they actually played through the entire break for the studio audience), and a short piece during O'Brien's crossover to his desk after his monologue (except for several months beginning in April 2008, where a commercial break was inserted at that point). The show's opening theme was written by Howard Shore
and John Lurie
(a finalist for the job as band leader). The show's closing theme was called "Cornell Knowledge", and was lifted from Jerry and Jimmy Vivino's first album together. However, on Late Night, it was played at a much quicker tempo than the album version.
The band played a wide variety of songs as bumpers—usually popular music
from a variety of eras. Weinberg sometimes took extended leaves of absence to tour with Bruce Springsteen
as the drummer for his E Street Band
. During his absence, temporary replacement drummers were hired (most commonly James Wormworth
), and the band was led by Jimmy Vivino ("Jimmy Vivino and the Max Weinberg 7").
, a long-time announcer for NBC shows, was the show's announcer and a frequent comedy contributor. These comedy bits usually revolved around Godard's supposed homosexual fetishes, deviant sexual habits, substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies. The humor came in part from Godard's delivery. No matter how depressing or deviant the topic being discussed was, he always did so in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice and with a huge smile plastered on his face. Several sketches ended with Godard apparently committing suicide in his announcer's booth.
When Andy Richter left the show in 2000, Joel Godard became more common among sketches, with Andy Richter no longer around for bits.
as the head writer, Bob Odenkirk
, Louis C.K.
, Tommy Blacha
and Dino Stamatopoulos
. Smigel left his position as head writer of the show in 1997 to pen several movies but continued to appear on the show to do bits as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and the 'Satellite Interviews'. Jonathon Groff took over his position until replaced by Mike Sweeney
in 2001.
Members of the show's writing staff frequently appeared in sketches on the show. Among the most prolific were: Brian McCann
(Preparation H Raymond, FedEx Pope, The Loser, Airsick Moth, Jerry Butters, Awesome Dave, Funhole Guy, Bulletproof Legs Guy, Adrian "Raisin" Foster, S&M Lincoln, etc.), Brian Stack
(Hannigan the Traveling Salesman, Artie Kendall the Ghost Crooner, The Interrupter, Kilty McBagpipes, Fan-tastic Guy, Clive Clemmons, Frankenstein, Ira, Slipnut Brian, etc.), Jon Glaser
(Segue Sam, Pubes, Awareness Del, Wrist Hulk, Ahole Ronald, Gorton's Fisherman, Jeremy, Slipnut Jon, etc.), Kevin Dorff
(Coked-up Werewolf, Jesus Christ, Mansy the half-man/half-pansy, Joe's Bartender, Todd the Tiny Guy, etc.), and Andy Blitz
(Awful Ballgame Chanter, Vin Diesel's brother Leonard Diesel, Slipnut Andy, Chuck Aloo aka the star of the 24 spin-off series 60). Blitz went so far as to travel to India for one bit in which he carried his computer through the streets of India to get technical support firsthand from the telephone representative at NBC's technical help center.
, Amy Poehler
often appeared as a regular in many sketches, though she was best remembered for playing the recurring role of Andy Richter's Conan-obsessed teenage sister, Stacy. Other notable comedians such as Jack McBrayer
, Rob Riggle
, Rob Corddry
, H. Jon Benjamin
, Ellie Kemper
, Bobby Moynihan
, Matt Besser
, Ian Roberts
, Matt Walsh and Andrew Daly
also frequently appeared as sketch actors on the show for several years. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (created and voiced by original head writer Robert Smigel
) began as part of a sketch on Late Night. Celebrities such as Dr. Joyce Brothers, Nipsey Russell
, Abe Vigoda
, James Lipton
, Bob Saget
and William Preston
as the character, Carl 'Oldy' Olsen, also made frequent cameo appearances in comedy sketches on the show at different periods. One of the show's graphic designers, Pierre Bernard was featured several sketches, such as: "Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage", and "Nerding It Up For Pierre".
Celebrity guests of the night would also occasionally appear in sketches either during their interviews or during the earlier comedy segments, e.g. in "in the year 2000" (which always included the participation of a celebrity guest after Andy Richter left the show) or a sketch where Conan would pretend to write in his diary while an attractive female guest was there. Quite rare for a talk show, sometimes interviews began normally but turned into sketches with both the guest and Conan participating, usually when the guest was a "friend of the show".
pimp
, while The Masturbating Bear was a man in a bear costume wearing an oversized diaper who would inevitably begin to fondle himself to the tune of Aram Khachaturian
's "Sabre Dance
" when brought on stage. Many of these characters did little more in their appearances than walk across the stage or be wheeled out from behind the curtain, but some had extensive sketches on the show.
special Elmopalooza
, where Conan was interviewing two aliens while Big Bird
was passing by them carrying a video tape.
The show also made an appearance on The Simpsons
in the episode "Bart Gets Famous
", where Conan interviews a now famous Bart
.
Late Night was a production of Lorne Michaels' Broadway Video
(and, since 2003, O'Brien's Conaco). It was taped in Studio 6A in the GE Building
at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Next to the door were framed pictures of Letterman, Carson, Jack Paar
and Steve Allen
, each of whose groundbreaking late-night shows originated from studio 6A or 6B (where Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
is currently taped). The studio holds just over 200 audience members. It was taped at about 5:30 pm as an uninterrupted hour-long program, with the band playing music through the portions that would be filled by commercials.Generally, shows were taped at 5:30 pm Monday through Friday.
The show's format consisted of an opening monologue from O'Brien, followed by various "desk bits". These generally included several brief sketches, recurring segments, or some other form of comedy. Typically O'Brien would play the 'straight man' role to the general absurdity of the comedy, treating the material or wacky nature of the sketches with sincerity. In the show's second and fourth segments, O'Brien interviewed two celebrity guests, between which, in the third segment, O'Brien listed the next night's/week's guests. There was often a comedy bit as well during this segment. The show's fifth segment was usually reserved for a musical or stand-up comedy performance, or occasionally another guest interview. The show's final segment was usually a quick "goodnight" and the closing credits, which sometimes featured part of a bit from earlier in the show. Quite rare for a talkshow, frequently comedy segments would also spill into the interviews, typically when a guest was a 'friend'of the show.
During the live tapings, and prior to the show, there was an audience warm-up, during which the audience watched a montage of highlights from the show, and staff writer Brian McCann
greeted the audience (this task was formerly undertaken by head writer Mike Sweeney). McCann delivered a few jokes, told the audience what to expect, and finally introduced the band and then O'Brien. O'Brien then thanked the audience for coming, meeting as many audience members as he could. He would often then do a musical number with the band to pump up the audience (Burning Love
was one standard). After the show was finished taping, O'Brien sang the "End of the Show Song", which never aired on Late Night, although in February 2009, a short video of it was posted on Late Night Underground.
The End of the Show Song finally did reach air on January 21, 2010, his penultimate show as Tonight Show host. The tradition of singing The End of the Show Song has continued, un-aired as usual, on Conan.
ATSC on April 26, 2005, with a downscaled letterbox
ed NTSC
simulcast (unlike The Tonight Show, whose NTSC simulcast is fullscreen). O'Brien celebrated the conversion to the widescreen
HDTV
format with jokes throughout the week.
On December 6, 2005 Late Night with Conan O'Brien segments began selling on the iTunes Store
. Most segments were priced at $1.99, as were most episodes of other shows, with "special" best-ofs and other longer segments priced at $9.99. In December, 2007 NBC stopped selling all its television shows on iTunes, but the network returned it to iTunes in September 2008 after NBC and Apple worked out a new agreement. The show was offered free at Hulu.com and the NBC website but is now unavailable on the Internet due to the 2010 Tonight Show conflict
.
"). The show was broadcast from NBC's L.A. studios and an L.A.-themed set was built, very similar in layout to the New York set.
From February 10–13, 2004, Late Night broadcast from the Elgin Theatre
in Toronto, Canada. The guests for these episodes were all Canadians (with the exception of Adam Sandler
), and included such stars as Jim Carrey
and Mike Myers
. As the show was taped at a theater, unlike the trip to L.A., the set built was not like the show's standard set.
From May 9–12, 2006, the show made a similar venture to the Chicago Theatre
in Chicago, Illinois, taking cues from their previous trip to Toronto. Between April 30 – May 4, 2007, the show originated from the Orpheum Theatre
in San Francisco.
In a sketch called "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland", Conan mocked every nation in the world to see which ones he gets letters from. An announcer on the Finnish entertainment channel SubTV, which airs the show a couple of days after it is aired in the USA, asked people to defend Finland before Conan got to insult it, and the viewers in Finland began sending mail before the bit had even gotten to the letter F. Conan responded by assuming the Finnish "just couldn't wait" to be insulted and officially insulted Finland in the segment. An overwhelming number of postcards were supposedly received, which apparently "forced" Conan to give Finland a formal apology. Conan then went as far as to have the flag of Finland shown in the background during a speech and slandered the Finns' "hated" neighbor Sweden
with a sign saying "Sweden Sucks!" printed over the flag of Sweden. It would seem that this chain of events led to elevated ratings in Finland and subsequently also sparked a special relationship with the viewers in Finland. Later when Conan was talking to audience members before the show, a group of fans visiting from Finland commented that he resembled their, female, president Tarja Halonen
. Conan mentioned the resemblance on his show, even showing pictures of Halonen next to himself. When he discovered that Halonen was up for reelection he began making satirical commercials in support of Halonen and vowed to travel to Finland to meet her if she won re-election. When she did indeed win re-election in January 2006, Conan traveled to Finland and met with her. One episode, broadcast on March 10, 2006, was compiled mainly of footage from O'Brien's trip to Finland
. In the episode, Conan greeted fans at the airport, participated in a Sami cultural ceremony, appeared on a Finnish talk show, and attempted to visit a fan who had written to him. The episode was not strictly taped as a live episode there, however, but was prefaced by an introduction by O'Brien taped in New York. The Finland episode came as the culmination of a long running joke on the show.
Aside from location shows, the show also did special one-shots in its early years. In 1995, one episode of the show was taped aboard a New York City ferry in New York Harbor. Dubbed "The Show on a Boat" by the showtunes-style song-and-dance number performed by a trio of "sailors" at the start of the show, O'Brien, Richter, the band and guests were all crammed onto the deck of the ferry. The show was taped at its normal afternoon time, while it was still light out.
statue and 30 Rock serving as a backdrop. Furthering the unfortunate nature of the evening's circumstances was the final guest, Julie Scardina
, who brought along wild animals, including birds that Conan explained had to be kept tied up, as they could not be freed outside. Earlier in the show, O'Brien and Richter walked into Brookstone
(located in the lobby of Rockefeller Center), camera crew in tow, and bought a massaging leather recliner for the first guest, Samuel L. Jackson
. The second of the two "fire shows", on Friday night, was taped in the Today Show studio, which was not affected by the fire.
During the Northeast Blackout of 2003
, O'Brien and the staff taped a short 5-minute introduction explaining that the episode they had planned would not be taking place due to the blackout. Studio 6A was powered by a generator and lit by battery-powered floodlights. A standby show was aired in-progress after the intro. One of the scheduled guests that night, The Dandy Warhols
, commandeered the studio's green room
, where they stayed until they performed on the show the next night.
Lots of high-concept gimmick episodes were done in the early years of the show, such as a 1994 episode literally done in a giant hole, a 1994 show done entirely on a boat of the circle line or "Time Travel Week", four episodes from early 1996, where Conan and Andy (and the rest of the crew) "time-traveled" to a different point in time each night. Times and locations included The Civil War
, Ancient Greece
, The future, and The early '80s (featuring a cameo by David Letterman
in the cold open, who occupied Conan's studio in 1983, cruelly brushing off Conan and Andy's attempt at explaining their presence in Letterman's dressing room by saying, "Why don't you two fellas go find a nice, warm place to screw yourselves? Security!").
In 1997, a special episode was taped in which the studio audience was composed solely of grade-school age children, primarily 5–10 years of age. Conan interacted with the children, encouraging them to boo whenever guest Dave Foley
became too long-winded and boring.
A 2003 episode was re-shot entirely in clay animation
several months after its first airing, including the opening credits and commercial bumpers. The episode's originally broadcast soundtrack was retained while the visuals were reproduced to mirror the original footage in a small-scale reproduction of the studio 6A.
On October 31, 2006, a similarly conceptualized Halloween
episode was created from an episode which originally aired in May and featured Larry King
, among other guests. Using a process the show called "Skelevision", all the visuals were re-shot with a Halloween motif, with human skeleton
s adorned with the clothing and accessories of the humans. This re-shoot was shot using the actual studio, and the puppeteers moved the skeletons with wires and cables while being visually obscured by green screen
technology. Once again, the opening and bumpers were altered, this time including a model of a hearse winding through a foggy landscape and cemetery, and the voice of Bill Hader
as Vincent Price
in place of Joel Godard
.
, marking the first time in the show's then 12-year run that it had devoted an entire show to a single guest. Jim Pitt, the talent executive in charge of booking acts for the show, remarked that in his 12 years of working for Late Night, U2 and Johnny Cash
were the "dream artists" he'd tried, but never succeeded in getting. The band performed three songs, two more than the customary one song, then had a lengthy interview with Conan.
on January 2, 2008 featured a small musical segment at the beginning of the show detailing O'Brien's newly grown beard in a show of support for the striking writers. At the beginning of the January 28 episode, it was revealed that Conan had shaved his beard, which was followed with a similar musical segment.
Several times during the episodes produced during the writer's strike, O'Brien would kill time by spinning his wedding ring on his desk, which he previously only did during rehearsals. His personal best was 41 seconds, achieved during an un-aired rehearsal. After several unsuccessful on-air attempts to break his record, during the show originally broadcast on February 9, 2008, O'Brien broke his record for endurance ring spinning, setting a time of 51 seconds by coating his wedding ring with Vaseline
and spinning it on a Teflon surface. The feat was accomplished with the help of MIT
physics
professor Peter Fisher.
's status in the polls, due to his use of the Walker Texas Ranger Lever while Chuck Norris
was coincidentally sponsoring Huckabee. Stephen Colbert
made the claim that because of "the Colbert bump", he was responsible for Huckabee's current success in the 2008 presidential race. O'Brien claimed that he was responsible for Colbert's success because he had made mention of him on his show. In response, Jon Stewart
, host of The Daily Show
, claimed that he was responsible for the success of O'Brien, and in turn the success of Huckabee and Colbert. This resulted in a three-part comedic battle between the three faux-pundits, with all three appearing on each other's shows. The feud ended on Late Night with an all-out mock brawl between the three talk-show hosts.
, Scott Thompson
, Tony Randall
and George Wendt
. Typical of O'Brien's style of comedy, he introduced his first guest (Wendt) by listing his notable achievements in television (particularly Cheers
) then introduced each subsequent guest by repeatedly listing Wendt's achievements (insinuating that all of his guests for that night's show played the role of Norm on Cheers). In 1998, Late Night aired a fifth anniversary special in prime time, mostly consisting of clips from the first five years. It was taped in the Saturday Night Live studio, also in the GE Building. The special was later sold on VHS tape. In 2003, a similar tenth anniversary special was taped in New York City's famed Beacon Theatre and later made available on DVD.
sent a farewell video message, singing a song about how Los Angeles is "going to eat [Conan] alive." In a short remote
piece, Conan released regular contributor Abe Vigoda
"into the wild," as he could not bring him to Los Angeles for the move to The Tonight Show. Will Ferrell
made a surprise visit as George W. Bush
, which quickly devolved into Ferrell tearing off his business suit to reveal an ill-fitting green leprechaun outfit that had been worn in a number of previous appearances on the show.
Former sidekick Andy Richter
joined O'Brien onstage for two segments, watching clips and reminiscing about the show. Among the clips shown, O'Brien noted that his all-time favorite Late Night piece was when he attended a re-enactment of an American Civil War
-era baseball game, played at a Long Island NY museum, Old Bethpage Village Restoration. During the course of the final week, O'Brien began violently dismantling and handing out pieces of the production set to the audience. In the final show, a large piece of the stage's frame was pulled down and chopped into pieces. O'Brien then promised to give each audience member in attendance a piece of the set.
One of Conan's favorite bands, The White Stripes
, performed a new, slower arrangement of their song "We're Going to Be Friends
" based on Conan's lullaby rendition of the song, with drummer Meg White
playing second guitar and singing along with vocalist/guitarist Jack White
. The performance proved to be the band's last before their breakup in February of 2011. The program concluded with a visibly emotional O'Brien giving a farewell speech from behind his desk, thanking his fans, writers, producers, backstage crew, his family, the Max Weinberg 7, David Letterman
, Joel Godard
, Jay Leno
, and Lorne Michaels
, as well as a final assurance that he would not "grow up" as he moved to The Tonight Show
.
About 3.4 million viewers watched O'Brien's final episode of Late Night, the largest audience since the January 24, 2005 episode that followed Jay Leno's
tribute to Johnny Carson
.
After the end of the series, the sixth floor studio at Rockefeller Center used for the show was remodeled for The Dr. Oz Show
.
CNBC Europe used to air Late Night with Conan O'Brien on weeknights from 11:45 pm–12:30 am CET, with weekend editions on Saturdays and Sundays at 9:45 pm–10:30 pm CET. However in March 2007, CNBC Europe
decided to show only the weekend editions, and drop the weeknight editions, to make way for more business news programmes in their weeknight schedules.
On the week of August 4, 2008, however, CNBC Europe has discontinued showing the NBC Nightly News
, which for many years was shown live from America in a 12:30 am–1:00 am CET slot. Late Night with Conan O'Brien has now replaced NBC Nightly News in the 12:30 am–1:00 am slot. The weeknight editions are a 30-minuted condensed version of the show. The show follows the weeknight condensed version of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno which airs at 12:00 am CET.
In September 2008, CNBC Europe changed the weeknight schedules to include full uncut editions of Late Night with Conan O'Brien broadcast in the 11:45 am CET/10:45 pm GMT 45 minute time slot. This schedule usually runs from Tuesdays to Fridays. CNBC Europe decided to stop broadcasting Late Night as of January 1, 2009, a mere two months before Conan's last show as host. Instead of following The Tonight Show reruns on weekends, CNBC now broadcasts two Tonight Show episodes in a row.
Late night television
Late night television in the United States is the block of television programming airing after 11:00 pm and usually through 2:00 am. Traditionally, this type of programming airs after the late local news and is most notable for being the daypart used for a particular genre of programming that falls...
talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien
Conan O'Brien
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer and performer. Since November 2010 he has hosted Conan, a late-night talk show that airs on the American cable television station TBS....
that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am Eastern/11:37 pm Central
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...
and 12:37 am Mountain
Mountain Time Zone
The Mountain Time Zone of North America keeps time by subtracting seven hours from Coordinated Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time, during the shortest days of autumn and winter , and by subtracting six hours during daylight saving time in the spring, summer, and early autumn...
in the United States. From 1993 until 2000, Andy Richter
Andy Richter
Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS...
served as O'Brien's sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
; following his departure, O'Brien was the show's sole featured performer. The show's house musical act was The Max Weinberg 7, led by E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
drummer Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.Weinberg grew up in suburban New Jersey...
.
The second incarnation of NBC's Late Night franchise
Late Night (NBC)
Late Night is an American late-night talk and variety show airing on NBC since 1982. Late Night has been hosted by David Letterman , Conan O'Brien , and Jimmy Fallon...
, O'Brien's debuted in 1993 after David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
, who hosted the first incarnation of Late Night
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
, moved to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
to host Late Show
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
opposite The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
. In 2004, as part of a deal to secure a new contract, NBC announced that O'Brien would leave Late Night in 2009 to succeed Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
as the host of The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
. Jimmy Fallon
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon, Jr. is an American actor, comedian, singer, musician and television host. He currently hosts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, a late-night talk show that airs Monday through Friday on NBC...
began hosting his version of Late Night
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
on March 2, 2009.
Replacing David Letterman
Upon Johnny CarsonJohnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
's retirement from The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
in 1992, executives at NBC announced that Carson's frequent guest-host Jay Leno would be Carson's replacement, and not David Letterman. NBC later said that Letterman's high ratings for Late Night were the reason they kept him where he was. Letterman was bitterly disappointed and angry at not having been given The Tonight Show job and, at Carson's advice, he left NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
after eleven years on Late Night. CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
signed Letterman to host his own show opposite The Tonight Show. He moved his show over to CBS virtually unchanged, taking most of the staff, skits, and comedy formats with him. However, NBC owned the rights to the Late Night name, forcing Letterman to re-christen his show Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
.
NBC was not prepared to replace both Letterman and Late Night. Aside from the name, it needed to build a new show. Both Dana Carvey
Dana Carvey
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian, best known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for playing the role of Garth in the Wayne's World movies.-Early life:...
and Garry Shandling
Garry Shandling
Garry Emmanuel Shandling is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work in It's Garry Shandling's Show and The Larry Sanders Show....
declined to host it. Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
producer Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
was brought in to develop the new show and comedians Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
, Drew Carey
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey is an American actor, singer, comedian, photographer, sports executive, and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, Carey eventually gained popularity starring on his own sitcom, The Drew Carey Show, and serving as...
, and Paul Provenza
Paul Provenza
Paul Provenza is an actor, comedian and filmmaker, a self-professed skeptic currently based in Los Angeles.-Early years:...
auditioned to host. Michaels suggested to O'Brien, an unknown writer for The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and former writer for Saturday Night Live, that he should audition for the job. Despite having "about 40 seconds" of television-performance experience as an occasional extra on Saturday Night Live sketches, O'Brien auditioned for the show on April 13, 1993. His guests were Jason Alexander
Jason Alexander
Jay Scott Greenspan , better known by his professional name of Jason Alexander, is an American actor, writer, comedian, television director, producer, and singer. He is best known for his role as George Costanza on the television series Seinfeld, appearing in the sitcom from 1989 to 1998...
and Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers
Mimi Rogers is an American movie actress and competitive poker player.-Early life:Rogers was born Miriam Spickler in Coral Gables, Florida, the daughter of Philip C...
, and the audition took place on the set of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
. O'Brien was offered the show on April 26, and made his first meaningful television appearance later that day when Leno introduced him on Tonight. On the final episode of his 16-year run, O'Brien stated that he "owed his career to Lorne Michaels."
Debut
O'Brien's Late Night debuted on September 13, 1993, with Andy RichterAndy Richter
Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS...
chosen as O'Brien's sidekick. The premiere episode featured John Goodman
John Goodman
John Stephen Goodman is an American film, television, and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Dan Conner on the television series Roseanne for which he won a Best Actor Golden Globe Award in 1993, and for appearances in the films of the Coen brothers, with prominent roles in Raising...
(who received a "First Guest" medal for his appearance), Drew Barrymore
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...
, and Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
. The episode featured a cold open
Cold open
A cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...
of O'Brien's walk to the studio with constant reminders that he was expected to live up to Letterman, parodying a popular sentiment expressed in the media at the time. After seeming to be unaffected by the comments, O'Brien arrives at his dressing room and cheerfully prepares to hang
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
himself. However, a warning that the show is about to start causes him to abandon his plans.
O'Brien's inexperience was apparent and the show was generally considered mediocre by critics in terms of the host's ability. The Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
Lon Grankhe called O'Brien "nervous, unprepared and generally geeky" and Tom Shales
Tom Shales
Thomas William "Tom" Shales is an American critic of television programming and operations. He is best known as TV critic for The Washington Post; in 1988, Shales received the Pulitzer Prize...
wrote "As for O'Brien, the young man is a living collage of annoying nervous habits. He giggles and titters, jiggles about and fiddles with his cuffs. He has dark, beady little eyes like a rabbit. He's one of the whitest white men ever." The originality and quality of the comedy, however, led by original head writer Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel is an American actor, humorist, comedian and writer known for his Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.-Early life:...
, was widely praised. Although O'Brien benefited by comparison from the quick critical and commercial failure of the fellow new late-night The Chevy Chase Show
The Chevy Chase Show
The Chevy Chase Show was an American late night talk show hosted by actor, comedian and Saturday Night Live alumnus Chevy Chase that aired in 1993 on Fox...
, NBC only offered short-term contracts, 13 weeks at a time and once for six weeks, as widely reported by the press at the time. O'Brien was reportedly almost fired at least once in this period, but NBC had no one to replace him. According to Smigel, "We were basically canceled at Conan, and then they changed their minds in August of ’94, gave us a reprieve."
According to O'Brien a network executive told him, in regards to Andy Richter, he'd "never succeed until I ‘got rid of that big fat dildo.’ That was the tone of the conversations between us and the network." It was widely suspected that the host of Talk Soup
Talk Soup
Talk Soup was a television show produced for cable network E! that debuted on January 7, 1991, and aired until August 2002. Talk Soup aired selected clips of the previous day's daily talk shows—ranging from daytime entries like The Jerry Springer Show and to celebrity interview shows like The...
, Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
would take over the role, but Kinnear turned down the opportunity and decided to pursue a career in acting. Stars like Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
agreed to appear on Late Night, which boosted audience awareness. Even Letterman, who admired O’Brien’s comic sensibility, appeared as a guest to register his support. O'Brien's performance style improved through experience and he began to receive more favorable reviews and ratings the following year. With the ratings gradually improving over the course of two years, Late Night reached a new level of critical and commercial success in 1996. Tom Shales officially recanted his previous critical review with the headline "I was wrong", and O'Brien received his first Emmy writing nomination, which he has gone on to receive every year since.
1996–2000
In 2000, Richter left Late Night (although on good terms) to pursue his acting career, a move that emotionally affected O'Brien, as evidenced by Richter's last show. The show's comedy bits and banter had usually depended on O'Brien's interaction with Richter. O'Brien's wacky non sequitur comedy became more pronounced as he played all of his comedy and commentary directly to the audience and Max WeinbergMax Weinberg
Max Weinberg is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.Weinberg grew up in suburban New Jersey...
instead of towards Richter.
2001–2009
In 2002, when time came to renew his contract, O'Brien had notable offers from other networks to defect. O'Brien decided to re-sign with NBC, however, joking that he initially wanted to make a 13-week deal (a nod to his first contract). He ultimately signed through 2005, indicating that it was symbolic of surpassing Letterman's run with 12 years of hosting.In 2003, O'Brien's own production company, Conaco
Conaco
Conaco is the television production firm owned by entertainer Conan O'Brien. It has produced programs primarily for NBCUniversal, including O'Brien's Late Night and Tonight shows. David Kissinger, former NBCU executive and the son of Henry Kissinger, has been president since 2005.Conaco's first...
, was added as a producer of Late Night. The show celebrated its 10th anniversary, another milestone that O'Brien said he wanted to achieve with his 2002 contract. During the anniversary show, Mr. T
Mr. T
Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
handed O'Brien a chain with a large gold "7" on it.
O'Brien's last season on Late Night attracted an average of 1.98 million viewers, compared to 1.92 million viewers for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is a Peabody Award-winning American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish American comedian Craig Ferguson. Ferguson, the third regular host of the Late Late Show franchise, follows Late Show with David Letterman in the CBS late-night lineup...
.
Humor
The show was known for its wacky and absurd sophomoric comedic sensibility that is edgier than most other talk shows. Like his Late Night predecessor, David Letterman, the show's humor also had a streak of biting sarcasm and irony. According to Robert SmigelRobert Smigel
Robert Smigel is an American actor, humorist, comedian and writer known for his Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.-Early life:...
, who served as head writer in 1993, the show's comedic approach was to focus on being different from David Letterman:
Typically O'Brien would play the 'straight man' role to the general absurdity of the comedy, treating the material or wacky nature of the sketches with sincerity. The show had an unusual quantity of comedy and original content rather than other talk shows such as Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
or The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
that relied heavily on recurring segments and 'found' humor. The show was particularly unique in the lack of 'found' humor to derive content from i.e. most content being scripted as opposed to Letterman's Small Town News or Jay Leno's headlines that used this "found humor". O'Brien would often playfully chide his audience for an underwhelming or overly enthusiastic response to his jokes.
Particularly in the early years, comedic sketches overtook all segments on the show, occasionally even interrupting guest interviews and O'Brien's monologue. Frequently sketches would randomly begin without introduction, such as during banter between Richter and O'Brien. A lot of the humor had a fantasy-like quality to it, where inanimate objects would talk or silly characters would disrupt the show. Sometimes a short story would emerge in these sketches with a resolution culminating in a song. Generally, throughout the later years, original sketches, ideas and characters were constantly being introduced, rather than relying heavily on a few recurring segments like other past and current talk shows. There still were quite a number of recurring segments, but again, a much higher quantity than a typical talk show.
(See List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketches for an extensive list)
The Max Weinberg 7
The show's house bandHouse band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
was The Max Weinberg 7, led by drummer Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg
Max Weinberg is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.Weinberg grew up in suburban New Jersey...
, who also served as a sounding board for O'Brien on the show (more so after Andy Richter's departure). The other six members were Mark Pender
Mark Pender
Mark "The Loveman" Pender is a trumpet player and vocalist who has played with Southside Johnny, Little Steven and Bruce Springsteen. Since 1993 he has performed on Late Night With Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien as a member of The Max Weinberg 7 and The Tonight Show Band...
on trumpet, Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg on trombone, Mike Merritt on bass, Jerry Vivino
Jerry Vivino
Jerry Vivino is an American musician. He is currently a member of the Basic Cable Band, the house band for the TBS late night program Conan...
on saxophone and brother Jimmy Vivino
Jimmy Vivino
Jimmy Vivino is an American guitarist, keyboard player, singer, producer, and music director. He is best known as the leader of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band, the house band for the TBS late night program Conan...
on guitar, and Scott Healy
Scott Healy
Scott Healy is a Los Angeles-based keyboardist and composer best known as the keyboardist for the Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band on Conan on TBS. His long association with O'Brien dates back to the original Late Night with Conan O'Brien show, and the subsequent The Tonight Show with Conan...
on keyboards. James Wormworth
James Wormworth
James Wormworth is an American drummer and percussionist. Wormworth is a member of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band on the TBS late night comedy program, Conan. Wormworth often filled in for Max Weinberg during the band's run as The Max Weinberg 7 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien while...
served as backup drummer when Weinberg went on tour with Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
. With the departure of Andy Richter, Max Weinberg assumed a bigger role as an interlocutor for O'Brien's jokes. One common running gag was Max's awkwardness on camera and his apparent lack of chemistry with Conan. Weinberg was often used in sketches as well, which usually revolved around his purported sexual deviance (mostly a penchant for bedding barely legal groupies), although long running sketches also spoofed Max's lack of knowledge of current affairs.
"LaBamba" was also used as the butt of many of Conan's jokes. These humorous sketches usually revolved around LaBamba's sizeable mustache, his poor acting skills, and his alleged inability to read written music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
. Mark Pender would often sing songs on the topic of a current event which ended with him screeching uncontrollably and climbing the risers into the audience. All members of the 7 had successful side careers as studio musicians.
As is common in the talk show format, the Max Weinberg 7 performed the show's opening and closing themes, played bumpers
Commercial bumper
In broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper or break-bumper is a brief announcement, usually two to 15 seconds that can contain a voice over, placed between a pause in the program and its commercial break, and vice versa...
into and out of commercial breaks (they actually played through the entire break for the studio audience), and a short piece during O'Brien's crossover to his desk after his monologue (except for several months beginning in April 2008, where a commercial break was inserted at that point). The show's opening theme was written by Howard Shore
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
and John Lurie
John Lurie
John Lurie is an American actor, musician, painter and producer. He is co-founder of The Lounge Lizards, a jazz ensemble. Lurie has acted in 19 films including Stranger than Paradise and Down by Law, composed and performed music for 20 television and film works, and he produced and starred in...
(a finalist for the job as band leader). The show's closing theme was called "Cornell Knowledge", and was lifted from Jerry and Jimmy Vivino's first album together. However, on Late Night, it was played at a much quicker tempo than the album version.
The band played a wide variety of songs as bumpers—usually popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
from a variety of eras. Weinberg sometimes took extended leaves of absence to tour with Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
as the drummer for his E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
. During his absence, temporary replacement drummers were hired (most commonly James Wormworth
James Wormworth
James Wormworth is an American drummer and percussionist. Wormworth is a member of Jimmy Vivino and the Basic Cable Band on the TBS late night comedy program, Conan. Wormworth often filled in for Max Weinberg during the band's run as The Max Weinberg 7 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien while...
), and the band was led by Jimmy Vivino ("Jimmy Vivino and the Max Weinberg 7").
Joel Godard
Joel GodardJoel Godard
Joel Clinton Godard, Jr. is an American television presenter, best known as the announcer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien during its entire 16-year run from 1993 to 2009.-Early life:...
, a long-time announcer for NBC shows, was the show's announcer and a frequent comedy contributor. These comedy bits usually revolved around Godard's supposed homosexual fetishes, deviant sexual habits, substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies. The humor came in part from Godard's delivery. No matter how depressing or deviant the topic being discussed was, he always did so in an exaggeratedly cheerful voice and with a huge smile plastered on his face. Several sketches ended with Godard apparently committing suicide in his announcer's booth.
When Andy Richter left the show in 2000, Joel Godard became more common among sketches, with Andy Richter no longer around for bits.
Writing staff
In the first few seasons of the show the writing staff consisted of several now-prolific comics including Robert SmigelRobert Smigel
Robert Smigel is an American actor, humorist, comedian and writer known for his Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.-Early life:...
as the head writer, Bob Odenkirk
Bob Odenkirk
Robert "Bob" Odenkirk is an American actor, comedian, writer, director and producer. He is best known as the co-creator and co-star of the HBO sketch comedy series Mr...
, Louis C.K.
Louis C.K.
Louis Szekely , known professionally as Louis C.K., is a stand-up comedian, television and film writer, actor, producer, and director...
, Tommy Blacha
Tommy Blacha
Thomas "Tommy" Blacha is an American comedy writer, working for shows such as Da Ali G Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Tommy is currently working on Metalocalypse as co-creator and voice actor with Brendon Small....
and Dino Stamatopoulos
Dino Stamatopoulos
Dino Stamatopoulos is an American television comedy writer, actor and producer who has worked on Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O'Brien...
. Smigel left his position as head writer of the show in 1997 to pen several movies but continued to appear on the show to do bits as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and the 'Satellite Interviews'. Jonathon Groff took over his position until replaced by Mike Sweeney
Mike Sweeney
Michael John "Mike" Sweeney is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Sweeney played his first 13 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals, originally as a catcher and then moving to first base. Sweeney has also played for the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and Philadelphia...
in 2001.
Members of the show's writing staff frequently appeared in sketches on the show. Among the most prolific were: Brian McCann
Brian McCann (actor)
Brian McCann is an American Emmy and WGA award-winning writer/actor/comedian best known for his sketch comedy work on the late night talk show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and more recently on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and Conan.-Biography:McCann was born and raised in Wheaton,...
(Preparation H Raymond, FedEx Pope, The Loser, Airsick Moth, Jerry Butters, Awesome Dave, Funhole Guy, Bulletproof Legs Guy, Adrian "Raisin" Foster, S&M Lincoln, etc.), Brian Stack
Brian Stack
Brian Stack is an American actor, writer and comedian best known for his sketch comedy work on all three Conan O'Brien late-night talk shows, previously working on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, and currently on O'Brien's newest show, Conan on TBS.-Early...
(Hannigan the Traveling Salesman, Artie Kendall the Ghost Crooner, The Interrupter, Kilty McBagpipes, Fan-tastic Guy, Clive Clemmons, Frankenstein, Ira, Slipnut Brian, etc.), Jon Glaser
Jon Glaser
Jonathan Daniel "Jon" Glaser is an American actor, comedian and television writer based out of New York City. A graduate of the University of Michigan where he performed in the sketch comedy troupes Comedy Company and Just Kidding with Jon Hein, he is a five-time Emmy nominee with the writing...
(Segue Sam, Pubes, Awareness Del, Wrist Hulk, Ahole Ronald, Gorton's Fisherman, Jeremy, Slipnut Jon, etc.), Kevin Dorff
Kevin Dorff
Kevin Dorff is an American actor and comedian known for his work as a writer and sketch performer on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. Dorff co-starred as "Mike the Federal Agent" on the first season of the Adult Swim series Delocated with his former Late Night...
(Coked-up Werewolf, Jesus Christ, Mansy the half-man/half-pansy, Joe's Bartender, Todd the Tiny Guy, etc.), and Andy Blitz
Andy Blitz
Andrew "Andy" Blitz is an American comedian and writer best known for his sketch comedy and writing work on the late-night talk show Late Night with Conan O’Brien, where he earned 7 Emmy nominations. Blitz was born in New York City, grew up in Ridgewood, New Jersey and graduated from Columbia...
(Awful Ballgame Chanter, Vin Diesel's brother Leonard Diesel, Slipnut Andy, Chuck Aloo aka the star of the 24 spin-off series 60). Blitz went so far as to travel to India for one bit in which he carried his computer through the streets of India to get technical support firsthand from the telephone representative at NBC's technical help center.
Sketch actors and cameo appearances
Late Night employed a number of sketch actors, many of whom were frequently reused in different roles in different episodes. Several years before joining the cast of Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
often appeared as a regular in many sketches, though she was best remembered for playing the recurring role of Andy Richter's Conan-obsessed teenage sister, Stacy. Other notable comedians such as Jack McBrayer
Jack McBrayer
Jack McBrayer is an American actor and comedian. He gained national exposure for his characters on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien"...
, Rob Riggle
Rob Riggle
Robert Allen "Rob" Riggle, Jr. is an American actor, comedian and United States Marine Corps officer. He is best known for his work as a correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show from 2006–2008, as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2004–2005, and for his comedic roles in films such...
, Rob Corddry
Rob Corddry
Robert William "Rob" Corddry is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his work as a former correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and for his starring role in the comedy film Hot Tub Time Machine...
, H. Jon Benjamin
H. Jon Benjamin
Henry Jon Benjamin , known professionally as H. Jon Benjamin and Jon Benjamin, is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for his voice-over roles as Jason and Coach McGuirk on Home Movies, Ben on Dr...
, Ellie Kemper
Ellie Kemper
Elizabeth Claire "Ellie" Kemper is an American actress, comedian and writer best known for her role as Erin Hannon in NBC's The Office.-Personal life:...
, Bobby Moynihan
Bobby Moynihan
Robert M. "Bobby" Moynihan, Jr. is an American actor and comedian who is currently a cast member on Saturday Night Live.-Early life:...
, Matt Besser
Matt Besser
Matthew Gregory "Matt" Besser is an American actor and comedian best known as one of the founding members of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe who also had their own show on Comedy Central from 1998-2000....
, Ian Roberts
Ian Roberts (actor)
Ian Michael Roberts is an American actor, comedian and writer best known as a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade sketch comedy troupe.-Life and career:...
, Matt Walsh and Andrew Daly
Andrew Daly
Andrew "Andy" Daly is an American actor, comedian and writer best known for playing Principal Terrence Cutler in the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down.-Early life:Daly was born in Mount Kisco, New York and raised in New Jersey...
also frequently appeared as sketch actors on the show for several years. Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (created and voiced by original head writer Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel is an American actor, humorist, comedian and writer known for his Saturday Night Live "TV Funhouse" cartoon shorts and as the puppeteer and voice behind Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog.-Early life:...
) began as part of a sketch on Late Night. Celebrities such as Dr. Joyce Brothers, Nipsey Russell
Nipsey Russell
Julius "Nipsey" Russell was an American comedian, best known today for his appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth and Pyramid...
, Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda is an American movie and television actor. Vigoda is well known for his portrayal of Sal Tessio in The Godfather, and for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the sitcom television series Barney Miller from 1975–1977 and on its spinoff show Fish that aired from February 1977 to...
, James Lipton
James Lipton
James Lipton is an American writer, poet, composer, actor and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He is the executive producer, writer and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994...
, Bob Saget
Bob Saget
Robert Lane "Bob" Saget is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Although he is best known for his roles as Danny Tanner in Full House, host of America's Funniest Home Videos and Future Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, Saget is also known outside of television for his blue...
and William Preston
William Preston
William Preston may refer to:*William Preston , Scottish author of Illustrations of Masonry*William Preston , Irish-born frontier Virginia leader, signer of the Fincastle Resolutions...
as the character, Carl 'Oldy' Olsen, also made frequent cameo appearances in comedy sketches on the show at different periods. One of the show's graphic designers, Pierre Bernard was featured several sketches, such as: "Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage", and "Nerding It Up For Pierre".
Celebrity guests of the night would also occasionally appear in sketches either during their interviews or during the earlier comedy segments, e.g. in "in the year 2000" (which always included the participation of a celebrity guest after Andy Richter left the show) or a sketch where Conan would pretend to write in his diary while an attractive female guest was there. Quite rare for a talk show, sometimes interviews began normally but turned into sketches with both the guest and Conan participating, usually when the guest was a "friend of the show".
Costumed characters
Unusual for a late night talk show, Late Night made frequent use of various costumed characters such as The Masturbating Bear, Robot on a Toilet, and Pimpbot5000. The humor in these sketches often derived from the crude construction of the characters' costumes as well as the absurdist nature of their conceptions. For example, Pimpbot5000 was a 1950s-style robot who dressed and acted in the manner of an exaggerated blaxploitationBlaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
, while The Masturbating Bear was a man in a bear costume wearing an oversized diaper who would inevitably begin to fondle himself to the tune of Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
's "Sabre Dance
Sabre Dance
"The Sabre Dance" is a movement in the final act of the ballet Gayane , written by Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's and completed in 1942. It evokes a whirling war dance in an Armenian dance, where the dancers display their skill with sabres. Its middle section incorporates an Armenian folk...
" when brought on stage. Many of these characters did little more in their appearances than walk across the stage or be wheeled out from behind the curtain, but some had extensive sketches on the show.
Appearances in other shows
The show made a cameo appearance in the Sesame StreetSesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
special Elmopalooza
Elmopalooza
Elmopalooza is a Sesame Street special that aired on ABC on February 20, 1998.-About the show:The show is a musical, featuring performances from guests Jon Stewart, David Alan Grier, Rosie O' Donnell, Gloria Estefan, En Vogue, The Fugees, Kenny Loggins, Shawn Colvin, Jimmy Buffett, and The Mighty...
, where Conan was interviewing two aliens while Big Bird
Big Bird
Big Bird is a protagonist of the children's television show Sesame Street. Big Bird, like many of the other Sesame Street characters, is a Muppet character. He is sometimes referred to simply as "Bird" by his friends....
was passing by them carrying a video tape.
The show also made an appearance on The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
in the episode "Bart Gets Famous
Bart Gets Famous
"Bart Gets Famous" is the twelfth episode of The Simpsons fifth season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 3, 1994. In the episode, Bart gets a job as Krusty the Clown's production assistant. However, he soon becomes sick of the job and comes close to quitting....
", where Conan interviews a now famous Bart
Bart Simpson
Bartholomew JoJo "Bart" Simpson is a fictional main character in the animated television series The Simpsons and part of the Simpson family. He is voiced by actress Nancy Cartwright and first appeared on television in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
.
Production
Broadway Video
Broadway Video is a media production and distribution company located within the Brill Building on Broadway, New York, United States. Founded in 1979 as a production house tasked with post-production work on Saturday Night Live, Broadway Video has since become one of the largest independent...
(and, since 2003, O'Brien's Conaco). It was taped in Studio 6A in the GE Building
GE Building
The GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the midtown Manhattan section of New York City. Known as the RCA Building until 1988, it is most famous for housing the headquarters of the television network NBC...
at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Next to the door were framed pictures of Letterman, Carson, Jack Paar
Jack Paar
Jack Harold Paar was an author, American radio and television comedian and talk show host, best known for his stint as host of The Tonight Show from 1957 to 1962...
and Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
, each of whose groundbreaking late-night shows originated from studio 6A or 6B (where Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
is currently taped). The studio holds just over 200 audience members. It was taped at about 5:30 pm as an uninterrupted hour-long program, with the band playing music through the portions that would be filled by commercials.Generally, shows were taped at 5:30 pm Monday through Friday.
The show's format consisted of an opening monologue from O'Brien, followed by various "desk bits". These generally included several brief sketches, recurring segments, or some other form of comedy. Typically O'Brien would play the 'straight man' role to the general absurdity of the comedy, treating the material or wacky nature of the sketches with sincerity. In the show's second and fourth segments, O'Brien interviewed two celebrity guests, between which, in the third segment, O'Brien listed the next night's/week's guests. There was often a comedy bit as well during this segment. The show's fifth segment was usually reserved for a musical or stand-up comedy performance, or occasionally another guest interview. The show's final segment was usually a quick "goodnight" and the closing credits, which sometimes featured part of a bit from earlier in the show. Quite rare for a talkshow, frequently comedy segments would also spill into the interviews, typically when a guest was a 'friend'of the show.
During the live tapings, and prior to the show, there was an audience warm-up, during which the audience watched a montage of highlights from the show, and staff writer Brian McCann
Brian McCann (actor)
Brian McCann is an American Emmy and WGA award-winning writer/actor/comedian best known for his sketch comedy work on the late night talk show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and more recently on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and Conan.-Biography:McCann was born and raised in Wheaton,...
greeted the audience (this task was formerly undertaken by head writer Mike Sweeney). McCann delivered a few jokes, told the audience what to expect, and finally introduced the band and then O'Brien. O'Brien then thanked the audience for coming, meeting as many audience members as he could. He would often then do a musical number with the band to pump up the audience (Burning Love
Burning Love
"Burning Love" is a song written by Dennis Linde, first recorded by Arthur Alexander, who included it on his self-titled 1971 album, and made famous by Elvis Presley, who took it to #2 in the United States in 1972...
was one standard). After the show was finished taping, O'Brien sang the "End of the Show Song", which never aired on Late Night, although in February 2009, a short video of it was posted on Late Night Underground.
Broadcast
Late Night began broadcasting in 1080i1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
ATSC on April 26, 2005, with a downscaled letterbox
Letterbox
Letterboxing is the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the film's original aspect ratio. The resulting videographic image has mattes above and below it; these mattes are part of the image...
ed NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
simulcast (unlike The Tonight Show, whose NTSC simulcast is fullscreen). O'Brien celebrated the conversion to the widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
HDTV
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
format with jokes throughout the week.
On December 6, 2005 Late Night with Conan O'Brien segments began selling on the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. Most segments were priced at $1.99, as were most episodes of other shows, with "special" best-ofs and other longer segments priced at $9.99. In December, 2007 NBC stopped selling all its television shows on iTunes, but the network returned it to iTunes in September 2008 after NBC and Apple worked out a new agreement. The show was offered free at Hulu.com and the NBC website but is now unavailable on the Internet due to the 2010 Tonight Show conflict
2010 Tonight Show conflict
In early 2010, American television network NBC and two of its late-night talk show hosts, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, engaged in a media and public relations conflict over the host and airtime of The Tonight Show, the network's long-running late night program...
.
Remote pieces and episodes shot on location
Remote pieces shot on location were a recurring staple on Late Night, but occasionally, entire episodes were shot on location, usually during sweeps months. The first vacation for the show was a week-long stint of shows in Los Angeles the week of November 9–12, 1999. This was the only location week for the show while Andy Richter was with the show, and the only time the show's theme was altered for the week, with a more surf-style version of the show's normal theme (though the Toronto shows ended the normal theme with a piece of "O CanadaO Canada
It has been noted that the opening theme of "O Canada" bears a strong resemblance to the "Marsch der Priester" , from the opera Die Zauberflöte , composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and that Lavallée's melody was inspired by Mozart's tune...
"). The show was broadcast from NBC's L.A. studios and an L.A.-themed set was built, very similar in layout to the New York set.
From February 10–13, 2004, Late Night broadcast from the Elgin Theatre
Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres
The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres are a pair of stacked theatres in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Winter Garden theatre is seven stories above the Elgin Theatre....
in Toronto, Canada. The guests for these episodes were all Canadians (with the exception of Adam Sandler
Adam Sandler
Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and film producer.After becoming a Saturday Night Live cast member, Sandler went on to star in several Hollywood feature films that grossed over $100 million at the box office...
), and included such stars as Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
and Mike Myers
Mike Myers (actor)
Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
. As the show was taped at a theater, unlike the trip to L.A., the set built was not like the show's standard set.
From May 9–12, 2006, the show made a similar venture to the Chicago Theatre
Chicago Theatre
The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban and Katz group of theaters run by A. J. Balaban, his brother...
in Chicago, Illinois, taking cues from their previous trip to Toronto. Between April 30 – May 4, 2007, the show originated from the Orpheum Theatre
Orpheum Theatre (San Francisco)
The Orpheum Theatre is a performance venue located at 1192 Market at Hyde Street in the Civic Center district of San Francisco, California. The theatre first opened in 1926 as one of the many designed by architect B. Marcus Priteca for theater-circuit owner Alexander Pantages. The interior features...
in San Francisco.
In a sketch called "Conan O'Brien Hates My Homeland", Conan mocked every nation in the world to see which ones he gets letters from. An announcer on the Finnish entertainment channel SubTV, which airs the show a couple of days after it is aired in the USA, asked people to defend Finland before Conan got to insult it, and the viewers in Finland began sending mail before the bit had even gotten to the letter F. Conan responded by assuming the Finnish "just couldn't wait" to be insulted and officially insulted Finland in the segment. An overwhelming number of postcards were supposedly received, which apparently "forced" Conan to give Finland a formal apology. Conan then went as far as to have the flag of Finland shown in the background during a speech and slandered the Finns' "hated" neighbor Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
with a sign saying "Sweden Sucks!" printed over the flag of Sweden. It would seem that this chain of events led to elevated ratings in Finland and subsequently also sparked a special relationship with the viewers in Finland. Later when Conan was talking to audience members before the show, a group of fans visiting from Finland commented that he resembled their, female, president Tarja Halonen
Tarja Halonen
Tarja Kaarina Halonen is the incumbent President of Finland. The first female to hold the office, Halonen had previously been a member of the parliament from 1979 to 2000 when she resigned after her election to the presidency...
. Conan mentioned the resemblance on his show, even showing pictures of Halonen next to himself. When he discovered that Halonen was up for reelection he began making satirical commercials in support of Halonen and vowed to travel to Finland to meet her if she won re-election. When she did indeed win re-election in January 2006, Conan traveled to Finland and met with her. One episode, broadcast on March 10, 2006, was compiled mainly of footage from O'Brien's trip to Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. In the episode, Conan greeted fans at the airport, participated in a Sami cultural ceremony, appeared on a Finnish talk show, and attempted to visit a fan who had written to him. The episode was not strictly taped as a live episode there, however, but was prefaced by an introduction by O'Brien taped in New York. The Finland episode came as the culmination of a long running joke on the show.
Aside from location shows, the show also did special one-shots in its early years. In 1995, one episode of the show was taped aboard a New York City ferry in New York Harbor. Dubbed "The Show on a Boat" by the showtunes-style song-and-dance number performed by a trio of "sailors" at the start of the show, O'Brien, Richter, the band and guests were all crammed onto the deck of the ferry. The show was taped at its normal afternoon time, while it was still light out.
Technical and production difficulties
A more unexpected shoot occurred on October 10, 1996, when a five-alarm fire in Rockefeller Plaza rendered the 6A studios out of commission for the remainder of that week. The fire occurred on early Thursday morning, which left O'Brien's staff precious little time to assemble a show elsewhere. Pressed for time as 12:35 approached, O'Brien taped the show outside, after dark, despite the cold weather, on a makeshift set with the PrometheusPrometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
statue and 30 Rock serving as a backdrop. Furthering the unfortunate nature of the evening's circumstances was the final guest, Julie Scardina
Julie Scardina
Julie Scardina is Animal Ambassador for SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove, zoological parks. She was formerly curator of animal training for SeaWorld of California...
, who brought along wild animals, including birds that Conan explained had to be kept tied up, as they could not be freed outside. Earlier in the show, O'Brien and Richter walked into Brookstone
Brookstone
Brookstone is a chain of retail stores in the United States. Its first store was opened in 1973 in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Its headquarters are currently located in Merrimack, New Hampshire....
(located in the lobby of Rockefeller Center), camera crew in tow, and bought a massaging leather recliner for the first guest, Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
. The second of the two "fire shows", on Friday night, was taped in the Today Show studio, which was not affected by the fire.
During the Northeast Blackout of 2003
Northeast Blackout of 2003
The Northeast blackout of 2003 was a widespread power outage that occurred throughout parts of the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Ontario, Canada on Thursday, August 14, 2003, just before 4:10 p.m....
, O'Brien and the staff taped a short 5-minute introduction explaining that the episode they had planned would not be taking place due to the blackout. Studio 6A was powered by a generator and lit by battery-powered floodlights. A standby show was aired in-progress after the intro. One of the scheduled guests that night, The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols
The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band formed in Portland, Oregon in 1994. The band was founded by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström, with keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford later joining. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by...
, commandeered the studio's green room
Green room
In British English and American English show business lexicon, the green room is that space in a theatre, a studio, or a similar venue, which accommodates performers or speakers not yet required on stage...
, where they stayed until they performed on the show the next night.
Gimmick episodes
Other shows that were taped in the regular 6A studio were augmented by special gimmicks:Lots of high-concept gimmick episodes were done in the early years of the show, such as a 1994 episode literally done in a giant hole, a 1994 show done entirely on a boat of the circle line or "Time Travel Week", four episodes from early 1996, where Conan and Andy (and the rest of the crew) "time-traveled" to a different point in time each night. Times and locations included The Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, The future, and The early '80s (featuring a cameo by David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
in the cold open, who occupied Conan's studio in 1983, cruelly brushing off Conan and Andy's attempt at explaining their presence in Letterman's dressing room by saying, "Why don't you two fellas go find a nice, warm place to screw yourselves? Security!").
In 1997, a special episode was taped in which the studio audience was composed solely of grade-school age children, primarily 5–10 years of age. Conan interacted with the children, encouraging them to boo whenever guest Dave Foley
Dave Foley
David Scott "Dave" Foley is a Canadian comedian, writer, director, and producer best known for his work in The Kids in the Hall, NewsRadio, A Bug's Life, and Celebrity Poker Showdown...
became too long-winded and boring.
A 2003 episode was re-shot entirely in clay animation
Clay animation
Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay....
several months after its first airing, including the opening credits and commercial bumpers. The episode's originally broadcast soundtrack was retained while the visuals were reproduced to mirror the original footage in a small-scale reproduction of the studio 6A.
On October 31, 2006, a similarly conceptualized Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
episode was created from an episode which originally aired in May and featured Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
, among other guests. Using a process the show called "Skelevision", all the visuals were re-shot with a Halloween motif, with human skeleton
Human skeleton
The human skeleton consists of both fused and individual bones supported and supplemented by ligaments, tendons, muscles and cartilage. It serves as a scaffold which supports organs, anchors muscles, and protects organs such as the brain, lungs and heart....
s adorned with the clothing and accessories of the humans. This re-shoot was shot using the actual studio, and the puppeteers moved the skeletons with wires and cables while being visually obscured by green screen
Green Screen
The Green Screen international wildlife film festival is held annually in Eckernförde, Germany. The festival shows full-length and short nature documentaries about animals in their natural habitat. It is the only festival of its kind in Germany...
technology. Once again, the opening and bumpers were altered, this time including a model of a hearse winding through a foggy landscape and cemetery, and the voice of Bill Hader
Bill Hader
William "Bill" Hader is an American actor, comedian, producer and writer. He is best known for his work as a creative consultant on the hit show South Park and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his supporting roles in comedy films such as Superbad, Hot Rod, Tropic Thunder,...
as Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
in place of Joel Godard
Joel Godard
Joel Clinton Godard, Jr. is an American television presenter, best known as the announcer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien during its entire 16-year run from 1993 to 2009.-Early life:...
.
U2 exclusive
The October 6, 2006 episode of Late Night was devoted entirely to the band U2U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, marking the first time in the show's then 12-year run that it had devoted an entire show to a single guest. Jim Pitt, the talent executive in charge of booking acts for the show, remarked that in his 12 years of working for Late Night, U2 and Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
were the "dream artists" he'd tried, but never succeeded in getting. The band performed three songs, two more than the customary one song, then had a lengthy interview with Conan.
Episodes during the 2007–2008 writer's strike
After two months of being off-air, the first show to air during the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly referred to as simply the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
on January 2, 2008 featured a small musical segment at the beginning of the show detailing O'Brien's newly grown beard in a show of support for the striking writers. At the beginning of the January 28 episode, it was revealed that Conan had shaved his beard, which was followed with a similar musical segment.
Several times during the episodes produced during the writer's strike, O'Brien would kill time by spinning his wedding ring on his desk, which he previously only did during rehearsals. His personal best was 41 seconds, achieved during an un-aired rehearsal. After several unsuccessful on-air attempts to break his record, during the show originally broadcast on February 9, 2008, O'Brien broke his record for endurance ring spinning, setting a time of 51 seconds by coating his wedding ring with Vaseline
Vaseline
Vaseline is a brand of petroleum jelly based products owned by Anglo-Dutch company Unilever. Products include plain petroleum jelly and a selection of skin creams, soaps, lotions, cleansers, deodorants and personal lubricants....
and spinning it on a Teflon surface. The feat was accomplished with the help of MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
professor Peter Fisher.
Feud with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
Early on in the later half of the 2007–2008 Writer's Guild strike, Conan O'Brien accused his show of being the sole cause of presidential candidate Mike HuckabeeMike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
's status in the polls, due to his use of the Walker Texas Ranger Lever while Chuck Norris
Chuck Norris
Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris is an American martial artist and actor. After serving in the United States Air Force, he began his rise to fame as a martial artist and has since founded his own school, Chun Kuk Do...
was coincidentally sponsoring Huckabee. Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert (character)
The Reverend / Sir / Dr. / Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A., brain-child of Google, is the persona of political satirist Stephen Colbert, as portrayed on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot", the character is a self-obsessed right-wing...
made the claim that because of "the Colbert bump", he was responsible for Huckabee's current success in the 2008 presidential race. O'Brien claimed that he was responsible for Colbert's success because he had made mention of him on his show. In response, Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
, host of The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, claimed that he was responsible for the success of O'Brien, and in turn the success of Huckabee and Colbert. This resulted in a three-part comedic battle between the three faux-pundits, with all three appearing on each other's shows. The feud ended on Late Night with an all-out mock brawl between the three talk-show hosts.
Anniversary episodes
In 1996, a third anniversary episode was taped, though it aired in the regular 12:35/11:35 late night time slot. The show was composed of clips of the best of the first three years, and featured cameos from many former guests, including Janeane GarofaloJaneane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
, Scott Thompson
Scott Thompson
Scott Thompson is a Canadian television actor and comedian, best known for his time as a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall.-Personal life:...
, Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
and George Wendt
George Wendt
George Robert Wendt III is an American actor, best known for the roles of Norm Peterson and Tug Clarke on the television shows Cheers and Modern Men.-Early life:...
. Typical of O'Brien's style of comedy, he introduced his first guest (Wendt) by listing his notable achievements in television (particularly Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
) then introduced each subsequent guest by repeatedly listing Wendt's achievements (insinuating that all of his guests for that night's show played the role of Norm on Cheers). In 1998, Late Night aired a fifth anniversary special in prime time, mostly consisting of clips from the first five years. It was taped in the Saturday Night Live studio, also in the GE Building. The special was later sold on VHS tape. In 2003, a similar tenth anniversary special was taped in New York City's famed Beacon Theatre and later made available on DVD.
The final episode
Late Night with Conan O'Briens last episode was recorded February 20, 2009, and aired shortly after midnight that next morning. The episode featured clips from past shows and a reflection on the show's sixteen-year-long run. John MayerJohn Mayer
John Clayton Mayer is an American pop rock and blues rock musician, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and music producer. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston. He moved to Atlanta in 1997, where he refined his...
sent a farewell video message, singing a song about how Los Angeles is "going to eat [Conan] alive." In a short remote
Remote broadcast
In broadcast engineering, a remote broadcast is broadcasting done from a location away from a formal television studio and is considered an electronic field production . A remote pickup unit is usually used to transmit the audio and/or video back to the television station, where it joins the...
piece, Conan released regular contributor Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda
Abe Vigoda is an American movie and television actor. Vigoda is well known for his portrayal of Sal Tessio in The Godfather, and for his portrayal of Detective Sgt. Phil Fish on the sitcom television series Barney Miller from 1975–1977 and on its spinoff show Fish that aired from February 1977 to...
"into the wild," as he could not bring him to Los Angeles for the move to The Tonight Show. Will Ferrell
Will Ferrell
John William "Will" Ferrell is an American comedian, impressionist, actor, and writer. Ferrell first established himself in the late 1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and has subsequently starred in the comedy films Old School, Elf, Anchorman, Talladega...
made a surprise visit as George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, which quickly devolved into Ferrell tearing off his business suit to reveal an ill-fitting green leprechaun outfit that had been worn in a number of previous appearances on the show.
Former sidekick Andy Richter
Andy Richter
Paul Andrew "Andy" Richter is an American actor, writer, comedian, and late night talk show announcer. He is best known for his role as the sidekick of Conan O'Brien on each of the host's programs: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC, and Conan on TBS...
joined O'Brien onstage for two segments, watching clips and reminiscing about the show. Among the clips shown, O'Brien noted that his all-time favorite Late Night piece was when he attended a re-enactment of an American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
-era baseball game, played at a Long Island NY museum, Old Bethpage Village Restoration. During the course of the final week, O'Brien began violently dismantling and handing out pieces of the production set to the audience. In the final show, a large piece of the stage's frame was pulled down and chopped into pieces. O'Brien then promised to give each audience member in attendance a piece of the set.
One of Conan's favorite bands, The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
, performed a new, slower arrangement of their song "We're Going to Be Friends
We're Going to Be Friends
"We're Going to Be Friends" is a promotional single by the American alternative rock band White Stripes from their album White Blood Cells. It was released in late 2002, and tells the story of meeting a new friend at the beginning of a school year...
" based on Conan's lullaby rendition of the song, with drummer Meg White
Meg White
Megan Martha "Meg" White is an American drummer best known for her work in the Detroit rock duo The White Stripes.-Early life:...
playing second guitar and singing along with vocalist/guitarist Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
. The performance proved to be the band's last before their breakup in February of 2011. The program concluded with a visibly emotional O'Brien giving a farewell speech from behind his desk, thanking his fans, writers, producers, backstage crew, his family, the Max Weinberg 7, David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
, Joel Godard
Joel Godard
Joel Clinton Godard, Jr. is an American television presenter, best known as the announcer for Late Night with Conan O'Brien during its entire 16-year run from 1993 to 2009.-Early life:...
, Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
, and Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
, as well as a final assurance that he would not "grow up" as he moved to The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
.
About 3.4 million viewers watched O'Brien's final episode of Late Night, the largest audience since the January 24, 2005 episode that followed Jay Leno's
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
tribute to Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
.
After the end of the series, the sixth floor studio at Rockefeller Center used for the show was remodeled for The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show
The Dr. Oz Show is an American syndicated television talk show, hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and teaching professor at Columbia University who became famous for his appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show from 2004 until 2009....
.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| 1997 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Writers Guild of America Award Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Award for outstanding achievements in film, television, and radio has been presented annually by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America, West since 1949... |
Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won | |
| 1998 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| 1999 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated | |
| 2000 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won | |
| 2001 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won | |
| 2003 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won | |
| 2004 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| People's Choice Award | Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host | Nominated | |
| Telvis Award | Special Telvis | Won | |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won | |
| 2006 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) for VMC Programming | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| PGA Award | Television Producer of the Year Award in Variety Television | Nominated | |
| People's Choice Award | Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host | Nominated | |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Won | |
| 2007 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Won |
| Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) for VMC Programming | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated | |
| PGA Award | Television Producer of the Year Award in Variety Television | Nominated | |
| 2008 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Outstanding Lighting Direction (Electronic, Multi-Camera) for VMC Programming | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety, Music Series or a Special | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series | Nominated | ||
| 2009 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing for a Variety or Music Program | Nominated |
| Writers Guild of America Award | Comedy/Variety (Including Talk) – Series | Nominated |
Set design
The set of Late Night changed a few times cosmetically, but retained the basic structure used when Letterman occupied Studio 6A: the performance space at the viewer's left, and the desk area, to the viewer's right, where interviews were done. O'Brien did his monologue in the performance area, emerging at the start of each episode from the area where musical guests perform. The Max Weinberg 7 were in the corner made by the stage-right wall and the wall in front of the audience. The desk area had a desk for O'Brien, a chair and couch(es) to the viewer's left for guests (and originally Andy Richter), and a coffee table. Primarily, set changes involved the background behind the desk and chair and couch. On his final episodes, Conan took an axe to parts of the set, giving it out to audience members as souvenirs; not wanting to allow it to simply be thrown away.International broadcasts
| Country | TV Network(s) | Weekly Schedule (local time) |
|---|---|---|
 Israel Israel |
Yes stars Comedy Yes Stars Comedy Yes Comedy is an Israeli television channel carried by the Israeli satellite television provider - yes, which broadcasts American and British TV shows of the sitcom, dramedy and comedy genres... |
11:15 pm Weeknights |
 Australia Australia |
The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel The Comedy Channel is an Australian subscription television channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:... |
11:15 pm Weeknights |
 Canada Canada |
'A' | Simulcast with NBC |
 Finland Finland |
Sub Sub (TV channel) Sub is a Finnish TV channel owned by Bonnier. The previous owner Alma Media sold Sub and its sister channels to Swedish Bonnier and Proventus in 2005.-Programs and audience:... |
Usually starts at 12:00 am Weeknights, otherwise starts during the following hour |
 Sweden Sweden |
TV4 Plus TV4 Plus Sjuan is a sister channel of Swedish TV4, owned by TV4 AB. The main focus of the channel is on entertainment, sports and lifestyle programmes. The channel started as TV4 Plus in 2003 but changed name to Sjuan in September 2011.... |
Usually starts some time between 11:55 pm and 12:10 am Weeknights |
| The Middle East | Super Comedy | |
 Philippines Philippines |
JackTV | 4:00 pm 1st Telecast and 12:00 am encore Tuesdays to Saturdays |
| Latin America | I-Sat | 12:30 am Weeknights |
 Turkey Turkey |
e2 E2 (TV channel) e2 is a Turkish television channel that often broadcasts American series. It is owned by the Doğuş Group.-Entertainment programmes:The following is an incomplete list of shows which have aired and/or are currently airing on e2:* 24... |
11:00 pm Tuesday–Friday |
 Portugal Portugal |
SIC Radical SIC Radical SIC Radical is a cable television channel in Portugal owned by Sociedade Independente de Comunicação.SIC Radical is an entertainment channel targeted at teens and young adults. Programs are mostly imported, mainly from the United States and the United Kingdom... |
|
 Republic of Ireland Ireland |
3e | Usually starts at 12:00 am Weeknights, otherwise starts during the following hour |
CNBC Europe used to air Late Night with Conan O'Brien on weeknights from 11:45 pm–12:30 am CET, with weekend editions on Saturdays and Sundays at 9:45 pm–10:30 pm CET. However in March 2007, CNBC Europe
CNBC Europe
CNBC Europe is a business and financial news television channel, the pan-European sister station of CNBC. The network is owned and operated by NBC Universal and headquartered in London, where it shares the Adrian Smith-designed 10 Fleet Place building with Dow Jones...
decided to show only the weekend editions, and drop the weeknight editions, to make way for more business news programmes in their weeknight schedules.
On the week of August 4, 2008, however, CNBC Europe has discontinued showing the NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
, which for many years was shown live from America in a 12:30 am–1:00 am CET slot. Late Night with Conan O'Brien has now replaced NBC Nightly News in the 12:30 am–1:00 am slot. The weeknight editions are a 30-minuted condensed version of the show. The show follows the weeknight condensed version of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno which airs at 12:00 am CET.
In September 2008, CNBC Europe changed the weeknight schedules to include full uncut editions of Late Night with Conan O'Brien broadcast in the 11:45 am CET/10:45 pm GMT 45 minute time slot. This schedule usually runs from Tuesdays to Fridays. CNBC Europe decided to stop broadcasting Late Night as of January 1, 2009, a mere two months before Conan's last show as host. Instead of following The Tonight Show reruns on weekends, CNBC now broadcasts two Tonight Show episodes in a row.
See also
- List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien sketches
- The Tonight Show with Conan O'BrienThe Tonight Show with Conan O'BrienThe Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
- Pale ForcePale ForcePale Force was a series of short animations starring Jim Gaffigan that aired on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Its humor was derived from "paleness" of both Gaffigan and O'Brien, as well as from portraying Conan as a weakling to poke fun at the real-life TV host on his own show...
- List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien Characters
- List of late night network TV programs
- List of Late Night with Conan O'Brien episodes (2009)