Conan O’Brien Moves To HBO Max

Team Coco is taking its hijinks to HBO Max.

WarnerMedia announced Tuesday that Conan O’Brien has signed a deal with the video on demand streaming service for a new weekly variety series.

The news marks the end of O’Brien’s TBS late-night show Conan, which the comedian has hosted for 10 years. It also reiterates the sea change in the world of television as more and more TV shows jump to streaming platforms.

The award-winning nightly talk show’s final episode will air in June 2021.

“In 1993 Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: ‘As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform,’ O’Brien said in a release provided by HBO Max. “I’m thrilled that I get to continue doing whatever the hell it is I do on HBO Max, and I look forward to a free subscription.” 

While no premiere date has been set for the still-untitled series, O’Brien’s signature travel specials will continue. Since 2015, he has filmed multiple travel segments in locations including Israel, Haiti, Cuba and Mexico.

“Twenty-eight years is a monumental achievement in late-night television,” said Brett Weitz, general manager, TNT, TBS and truTV, noting O’Brien’s growth across the WarnerMedia family. “We’re incredibly proud of the groundbreaking work that Conan and his team have accomplished during 10 years at TBS and are so glad that we will continue to have his presence on our air with Conan Without Borders specials.”

“…We can’t wait to see what he and the rest of Team Coco will dream up for this brand new, variety format each week,” said Casey Bloys, chief content officer of HBO and HBO Max.

The demise of TBS’s Conan show comes as cable television continually encounters growing competition from multiple streaming services. Media juggernauts like NBCUniversal and Disney
DIS
have even restructured to emphasize their own streaming platforms.

Yet streaming heavyweights like Netflix
NFLX
and Hulu have struggled to find the right ingredients for successful satirical TV news programs. Chelsea Handler’s talk show dwindled away at Netflix while the streamer also canceled The Joel McHale Show With Joe McHale after a short stint. Sarah Silverman had a brief run with her late-night show at Hulu.

For his part, O’Brien has survived his chair of transitions. He came to TBS in 2010 after taking over NBC’s The Tonight Show from Jay Leno only to quit when it was pushed back to the 12:05 a.m. time slot. Prior to that, he hosted Late Night with Conan O’Brien for over 15 years. O’Brien was also a writer for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons.