Conan O’Brien recently made a return to NBC late night, appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in April 2019. O’Brien reflected on his time hosting Late Night before moving to Los Angeles, sharing memories of his time in the building where the show is filmed. He had previously taken over The Tonight Show for seven months in 2009 before Jay Leno returned to his role as host. Leno remained until 2014 when he was succeeded by Fallon, while O’Brien went on to host the TBS show Conan from 2010 to 2021.
There has been speculation about whether Leno unfairly took back his role from O’Brien, something that Leno denies. Leno has stated that he did not sabotage his successor and that he simply did the best he could during his time hosting. O’Brien, on the other hand, has chosen to take the high road when addressing the Leno drama, preferring not to engage in any potential confrontation. Despite this, O’Brien has admitted that losing his job at NBC was a difficult experience, likening it to the sudden break-up of a marriage and causing him to go through a period of depression.
Following his departure from The Tonight Show, O’Brien received a settlement of around $32 million from NBC. He then embarked on a nationwide comedy tour, which helped him to feel better almost immediately after leaving the show. O’Brien expressed that doing the comedy tour every night was a great antidote to the challenges he had faced in his career. Despite the difficulties he experienced, O’Brien continued to pursue his passion for comedy and find ways to move forward after his time at The Tonight Show.
