Conan obrien new show hbo max

Conan O’Brien may be finished hosting his nightly talk show, but the iconic comedian is still set to return via a new variety show on HBO Max. Ahead of that, O’Brien briefly spoke about the series on his new podcast.

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During the opening episode of the third season of his Inside Conan podcast (via Deadline), which is due out tomorrow, the comedian spoke about his upcoming HBO Max series. “I hope there’s some appetite for [the HBO Max show]. I must keep going places and making nothing happen of any consequence that benefits humanity in no way,” O’Brien said.

O’Brien also touched on the fact that, despite being called a “weekly variety show,” there won’t be any sorts of crazy skits or wacky antics occurring on it.

“Someone in the machinery somewhere at the network threw the word variety in there because we’re in the variety comedy category, which is an old term. A lawyer in the bowels called it a variety show,” O’Brien said. “That is completely not what’s going to happen. What I’d like to do is something that does not come on every night. We have this world now, in this streaming universe, where people can make fewer of something, and I was thinking I’d really like to double down on the things I love, which involves getting out of the studio, which combines a lot of the elements that make me a little different.”

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O’Brien initially announced the series alongside WarnerMedia in November 2020, following his 28-year run in the world of late-night television. The upcoming variety show set for HBO Max will arrive sometime in the future.

Conan O'Brien is giving another update on his upcoming HBO Max variety show. The comedian, who ended his late-night reign in TBS' Conan in June, revealed Thursday in his Conan Needs A Friend podcast that he is working on his new show but doesn't have an exact timeline for its premiere, joking, "Have you ever had a term paper when you were in high school and it was due on a Thursday and Thursday came by and you didn't have it?"

O'Brien reiterated the show won't be a nightly one but will feature more travel segments like those from Conan Without Borders. "What I'd like to focus on is the stuff that I think I'm particularly useful at or adept at. I want to double down on that... remotes and when I'm with real people in real situations, that's exactly the kind of stuff I'm thinking about and want to do," he said. 

"When I travel, people say they just saw the one where I went to Korean spa and they saw my whole body and now can't unsee it. It's really nice... I would like to add more foolishness to that mountain," he continued. O'Brien noted how difficult COVID-19 made those kinds of segments but said he was optimistic "things are turning a corner and I can't wait to get back out there."

Back in October, O'Brien gave a similar update on his podcast, saying, "I hope there's some appetite for it. I must keep going places and making nothing happen of any consequence that benefits humanity in no way." WarnerMedia first announced O'Brien's weekly variety show would be coming to HBO Max back when he announced in November 2020 he would be stepping back from the late-night world, but the former Simpsons writer assured fans there would be no juggling or gongs involved. 

"Someone in the machinery somewhere at the network threw the word variety in there because we're in the variety comedy category, which is an old term. A lawyer in the bowels called it a variety show," he said. "That is completely not what's going to happen. What I'd like to do is something that does not come on every night. We have this world now, in this streaming universe, where people can make fewer of something, and I was thinking I'd really like to double down on the things I love, which involves getting out of the studio, which combines a lot of the elements that make me a little different."

Conan O’Brien is making a show on HBO Max, but the industry scuttlebutt about what that show will be has apparently been all wrong so far. According to O’Brien, who ended his late-night run on TBS earlier in the year, some lawyer completely messed up the way people are talking about his new show. Which is probably why he’s clearing the air about what people should expect.

O’Brien addressed it on his podcast this week, denying the notion that he will bring back an old TV format for the modern streaming age. As his co-hosts pointed out, many described the new venture as a “variety show,” which traditionally meant bringing on a variety of performers in rapid succession a la The Andy Williams Show or some early Muppets Show stuff. Late-night TV shows have evolved out of that genre for sure, but O’Brien made it clear that there will be no juggling or vaudeville revival coming on HBO anytime soon.

“I know exactly why that happened, which is someone in the machinery somewhere I think at the network threw the word ‘variety’ in there because we’re in the variety comedy category,” O’Brien said. He actually said the news made a juggler and magician friend excitedly reach out to him about an opportunity to perform on the new show, which obviously will not happen.

“That hit the press and I had friends saying, ‘So you’re bringing back the old variety show?’” O’Brien said, making some jokes about what a modern variety show would look like. And while it’s clear the media reports got the framing wrong here, O’Brien isn’t lacking ideas for what the show actually will be. For starters, it will be a weekly program that will hopefully get him out of the studio a lot more than he could while on air five nights a week.

“I’ve been thinking, we have this world now, this streaming universe, where people can make fewer somethings. And it comes on once a week, and I’m thinking I really want to double down on the things I love,” he explained. “Which involves getting out of the studio and combining a bunch of the elements I think maybe make me a little different. Because whatever I do obviously I’d like to be something that can contribute or feel like it’s needed.

“There’s so many late-night shows now and I feel like I’ve done so much of that,” he continued. “I feel like it should be something that is more unique to me and something that maybe we can spend a little more time crafting. I have a lot of ideas, I have a lot of very specific ideas.”

Fans of his earlier work in late-night will certainly perk their ears up at the thought of Conan on the streets and exploring the space a bit more. But there will be some disappointment in the news that a variety program is out the window. Especially among the juggling enthusiasts out there.

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