Conan O’Brien returned to Late Night with a mix of humor and praise.
O’Brien hosted the show for 16 years before Seth Meyers took over. Last night marked his first visit back since leaving.
Joking about what NBC did with his old studio, O’Brien said, “Between my show, the Late Night show I took over from Letterman, and then SNL, I was here almost 20 years. Then I didn’t come here for a long time. When I returned briefly, they showed me my old studio—and it was Dr. Oz’s.”
Meyers responded, “We thought that was a nice tribute.”
O’Brien laughed and added, “It’s like going to see the house where you grew up, and finding out it’s now a Jiffy Lube. They told me, ‘You missed Dr. Oz,’ and I said, ‘No, I didn’t.’ I’m not sure he’s a real doctor.”
O’Brien also recalled some of his favorite segments from his Late Night run, like “Horse Riding A Horse,” “Shoeverine,” and “The Always Disappointing FedEx Pope.” He said, “I’ve always had a very cartoonish sense of humor.”
He gave credit to his own writers and to Meyers’ team. He praised Meyers for doing a “beautiful” job with the show.
“You’ve found the things you really love to do that stand out,” O’Brien said. “We are on very late at night, with a giant orchestra and a lot of noise, and I’m just banging my triangle. But if you stay true to what you believe in and keep doing it with purpose, eventually they’ll only hear the triangle.”
He continued, “You and your team are proof of that. There is more late-night competition than ever, plus the internet. I didn’t have to compete with all that. But you keep focusing on sharp, smart content, not trying to copy anyone else. That’s what cuts through the fog. It’s really beautiful.”
