Conan O’Brien returned to The Tonight Present final evening, reflecting again with host Jimmy Fallon about his time on NBC’s late-night reveals. The comic hosted Late Night time for 16 seasons from 1993 to 2009, earlier than briefly helming The Tonight Present from 2009 to 2010, when he was fired from the present.
“It’s bizarre to return again,” O’Brien mentioned. “I haven’t been on this constructing for such a very long time, and I haven’t been on this ground in endlessly. I used to be right here for 16 years doing the Late Night time present earlier than we went out to LA. And proper throughout the corridor, all these reminiscences got here flooding again to me.”
After debuting on The Tonight Present in June 2009, Conan O’Brien was abruptly ousted from his dream job after being on air for a short seven months. He was unceremoniously changed by Jay Leno in January 2010 (which Rolling Stone likened on the time because the comedy-world equal of being jilted on the altar for a Jersey Shore solid member) and hadn’t set foot on the NBC franchise’s stage since.
“The very first thing that may hit you, and it’ll hit you too — you’ll have this present so long as you need it, however once you’re 98 you’ll transfer on and another person might be on this studio,” O’Brien continued. “When another person is in your studio, it feels bizarre. So I walked in and mentioned, ‘Who’s in my outdated studio?’ They usually mentioned, ‘Kelly Clarkson.’ And I really like Kelly Clarkson. Who doesn’t love Kelly Clarkson? However nonetheless I felt like, ‘It’s not proper! Blasphemy! They need to have burned it to the bottom!’”
Fallon additionally recalled showing on Late Night time as a visitor in 1999, noting that it was his “first-ever speak present.” “I used to be honored to be in your present,” Fallon mentioned. O’Brien replied, “ what I bear in mind most? You had been on the present, nice. And I come out within the hallway and your dad and mom are within the corridor, which is true right here. His dad and mom are within the corridor they usually’re like, ‘How did Jimmy do?’ And so I simply mentioned, ‘That child’s going all the best way!’” He added, “After which I noticed I say that to all people.”
Later within the interview, O’Brien mentioned chatting with individuals like Paul McCartney and Barack Obama on air, and his new Max sequence Conan O’Brien Should Go, which premieres April 18. Earlier than leaving, O’Brien complimented Fallon’s work on The Tonight Present.
“I’m very completely happy for you,” he mentioned. “I’ve had the respect of assembly each Tonight Present host going again to Steve Allen and I feel what you’ve carried out with the present is gorgeous and also you made it your individual. You’ve carried out a lot nice high quality work and I couldn’t be happier for you.”
“You raised the bar,” Fallon replied. “You made me work laborious.”
Following his 2010 departure from The Tonight Present, O’Brien would go on to helm his flagship TBS late-night speak present Conan for an 11-season run. The sequence finale aired June 2021 — that includes friends Will Ferrell and Jack Black, and came about in entrance of a stay viewers at Los Angeles’ iconic membership Largo.
Conan O’Brien Should Go is a four-episode Max Unique journey sequence primarily based on O’Brien’s podcast Conan O’Brien Wants a Fan. It follows the host as he visits new associates in Norway, Thailand, Argentina, and Eire.
