Conan O’Brien has been the elder statesman of late-night TV since the retirement of his Late Night predecessor David Letterman. With the news that he’ll be leaving TBS in favor of a weekly variety show on HBO Max, O’Brien moves into a new kind of job for the first time since 1993. According to one tabloid, he is not doing so willingly. Was O’Brien forced out of TBS? Gossip Cop investigates.
‘Conan Was Pushed’
According to the National Enquirer, O’Brien has been “forced out” of hosting a daily show. “Conan was made aware months ago that [Conan] would not be renewed” and insider told the tabloid, for “ratings weren’t great, and the network was looking to replace it.” O’Brien then “set up meetings with other networks” as soon as he learned he was going to get the ax, so that made this hasty announcement happen so quickly. While O’Brien does see “this as a new beginning,” he “would have preferred leaving on his own terms.”
HBO And TBS Are The Same Company
While this new HBO Max show will be a big departure for the late-night legend, O’Brien will still be answering to the same bosses. Both HBO Max and TBS are subsidiaries of WarnerMedia. This company famously took O’Brien in after his debacle with NBC. He’s staying in the family doing exactly what he wants to do and isn’t being forced out of anything. O’Brien’s shift to streaming is more indicative of the state of the television industry than O’Brien’s career.
O’Brien’s Shifting Interests
It’ll be strange to see O’Brien do a show unlike the one we’re all accustomed to seeing, but it’s been clear for a few years now that O’Brien has been growing disillusioned with this day-to-day talk show. He cut the length of Conan in half at the same that he launched his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, which has been enormously successful. His creative interests are changing, so WarnerMedia is supporting his new endeavors.
Other Bogus Tabloid Tall Tales
Gossip Cop busted the Enquirer when it laughably claimed O’Brien was going get a makeover to appeal to a younger audience. O’Brien’s look, specifically his haircut, is iconic, and this never happened. This tabloid cited O’Brien’s podcast in its story about Michelle Obama feeling cheated by marrying Barack Obama. It lifted comments she made out of context to support a bogus story, which is pretty standard for this tabloid.
This tabloid shouldn’t be trusted when it comes to reports about cancellations either. It claimed American Idol had been canceled over low ratings. Ratings haven’t been as good as the early days when this reality show was a national phenomenon, but they’re not so bad that the show is at risk of getting canceled.
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Our Verdict
Gossip Cop has determined this story is totally false.
