Conan (talk show)
Conan is an American variety and late-night talk show that aired each Monday through Thursday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time on TBS in the United States for 11 seasons, from 2010 to 2021. The show premiered on November 8, 2010, and was hosted by writer, comedian, and performer Conan O'Brien, accompanied by his long-time sidekick Andy Richter. Running for eight years and identifying as a traditional late-night talk show, Conan drew its comedy from recent news stories, political figures, and prominent celebrities, as well as aspects of the show itself. The hour-long show was akin to O'Brien's previous NBC late-night shows and was directed by Billy Bollotino. Starting January 22, 2019, the show was reformatted to a half-hour length. In November 2020, TBS announced that the show would air its final episode in June 2021. The final episode aired on June 24, 2021. Guests for the show came from a wide range of cultural sources, and included actors, musicians, authors, athletes and political figures. Episode format 2010–2018: Hour-long format Structure Conan initially followed the established six-piece late-night format popularized by evening talk show hosts such as Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson and David Letterman, and previously executed during O'Brien's tenures as host of NBC's Late Night and The Tonight Show. Each episode of Conan from its first eight years runs 60 minutes in length, including commercials, and typically consists of: Act 1: Monologue Act 2: Comedy Bit(s) Act 3: Celebrity Interview 1 Act 4: Celebrity Interview 1 continued Act 5: Celebrity Interview 2 Act 6: Musical or Stand-Up Comedy Guest, Signoff Opening titles The original hour-long show opened with Richter proclaiming "Coming to you from Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, it's Conan!", and introducing O'Brien, The Basic Cable Band, as well as the episode's guests. For the first several seasons, each episode had a title, which Richter would announce at the end of the opening sequence. The titles were in the style of old-fashioned murder-mystery radio shows, television sitcoms, or other assorted jokes. The episode titles were dropped in early 2014. The original title sequence was designed by Rob Ashe, Dan Dome and Eric McGilloway. There were several different variations of the opening credits, with the final product being inspired by graphic designer Saul Bass. The opening design process was described by Ashe as utilizing "organic-looking textures made of construction paper, soak them in soda, and light them in Photoshop." Monologue O'Brien opened each episode with a monologue drawing from current news stories and issues. The monolog was sometimes accompanied by clips and brief comedy skits, in addition to occasional interactions between O'Brien and Richter, and the audience. Sketches and comedy bits One or more comedy bits followed the monolog. Following the monolog, some comedy bits (such as those based on video clips) were presented from the monolog stage. Following the first commercial break, additional comedy sketches were typically presented from the desk area. Some sketches were original and appeared only once. Occasionally an additional sketch would air between the first