I’m bummed as I have no intention of subscribing to yet another streaming service, but I loved watching him on TBS and clips of his shows on Facebook. I wonder how protective of the content HBO will be-- will they put clips up on social media? Anyway, end of an era…
I think this could be great news; Conan’s strong points were never the interviews (they were fine but not mind-blowing), they were his segments where he interacted with people outside the studio, IMO.
I’m already an HBO Max subscriber so I will definitely watch. I’m a big Conan fan, but I do think his TBS show has gotten a bit stale, especially since they went to a half-hour format. I’m looking forward to what he does with a weekly slot. He does have a lot of talent for reinventing himself.
That’s good (I guess. I’m still bummed it’s moving to a streaming platform that I have no intention of subscribing to).
Those Conan Without Borders shows can sorta be hit or miss imo, but Conan’s trip to Italy with Jordan is one of my favorite hours of television. The one to Israel was good too.
I do like his surrealist bent in the segments. It’s funny, because I agree with you about the interviews in the late night show context. But on his “Needs a Friend” podcast I really enjoy his interviews. Not only are they typically very funny, he comes across as a thoughtful and empathetic person. I think the long form more casual approach works better for him.
TBS and HBO are both owned by AT&T, so I wouldn’t be too surprised if it was a corporate decision to move his show onto a streaming platform that they own.
I have a friend who works for Turner; they got bought by AT&T a couple of years ago, were folded into Warner Media last year, and have gone through several waves of job cuts (including a big one last week). This move with Conan’s show may well be a cost-cutting move.
@Bijou_Drains: possibly, but I tend to doubt it. Conan’s ratings weren’t that bad, and he was doing well among 18-49 year olds (a more desirable audience for advertisers). The reason why Conan was forced out of The Tonight Show was that NBC had botched how they handled Leno’s “retirement,” and forced him to leave the late-night slot before he was ready to – also, the 10pm ET show that they had given to Leno as a consolation prize didn’t do terribly well in the ratings, which led to lower ratings for the 11pm local newscasts, and angry affiliates.
As Leno had a far bigger contract thatn Conan did, they chose to buy Conan out, instead.