From The TV IV

Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2008) is a late night talk show hosted by comedy writer Conan O'Brien. The series is the second to take up the "Late Night" brand on NBC, with the first being Late Night with David Letterman. It will be replaced by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in early 2009. O'Brien will move to The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien starting June 1, 2009.

Contents 1 History 2 Cast 3 Seasons 4 In-Depth 5 DVD Releases 6 External Sites

[edit] History

In 1992, when Johnny Carson decided to retire from comedy, David Letterman, the host of Late Night with David Letterman vied for the vacated hosting position for The Tonight Show (reportedly with the blessing of Carson himself) but lost out to Jay Leno. After Letterman left NBC for CBS, NBC was faced with the task of reinventing Late Night entirely.

The network brought in Lorne Michaels, executive producer of Saturday Night Live, to develop a new incarnation of Late Night. Michaels suggested O'Brien as a potential host, who was then an unknown writer for The Simpsons but previously worked on SNL with Michaels. When the first choices, Dana Carvey and Garry Shandling, turned down offers to host the show, the series was given to O'Brien despite protests from NBC, who expected a seasoned comedian to take up the gig.

The first three years for the series were intensely turbulent behind-the-scenes. O'Brien's contracts were short-term, lasting 13 weeks each, and the series was in constant jeopardy of cancellation. O'Brien's inexperience with being on camera also showed through until he found his groove. On the 10th anniversary special this was mocked by Mr. T, who gave Conan a gold chain with a large seven on it because he had "only been funny for seven" years.

In 2000, long-time sidekick Andy Richter left the show in order to pursue an acting career, which caused O'Brien to dramatically refocus his comedy so that his commentary was directed at the audience and the non-sequitor humor became more and more prominent. O'Brien attempted to replace Richter, as such, with Max Weinberg 7 band leader Max Weinberg, but only in small doses which mainly make fun of their lack of chemistry.

The series will come to an end in early 2009 when O'Brien leaves the show to replace Jay Leno on The Tonight Show. The Late Night brand will continue with former Saturday Night Live cast member Jimmy Fallon as the new host.

[edit] Cast

Person	Role	Duration
Key Performers
Conan O'Brien	Host	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Andy Richter	Sidekick	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Joel Godard	Announcer	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
The Max Weinberg 7
Max Weinberg	Drums	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Jimmy Vivino	Guitar	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg	Trombone	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Jerry Vivino	Saxophone	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Mark Pender	Trumpet	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Scott Healy	Keyboards	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Mike Merritt	Bass	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Current Frequent Performers
Brian McCann	Various		2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Brian Stack	Various				4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Kevin Dorff	Various						6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Andy Blitz	Various						6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16

[edit] Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale	#
NBC
Season One	September 13, 1993	September 9, 1994	230
Season Two	September 12, 1994	September 8, 1995	228
Season Three	September 11, 1995	September 13, 1996	195
Season Four	September 17, 1996	August 22, 1997	162
Season Five	September 9, 1997	August 28, 1998	170
Season Six	September 15, 1998	???	160
Season Seven	September 7, 1999	August 18, 2000	166
Season Eight	September 5, 2000	August 17, 2001	157
Season Nine	September 4, 2001	August 16, 2002	160
Season Ten	September 3, 2002	August 15, 2003	160
Season Eleven	September 3, 2003	August 13, 2004	153
Season Twelve	August 31, 2004	August 19, 2005	166
Season Thirteen	September 6, 2005	August 30, 2006	162
Season Fourteen	September 5, 2006	August 31, 2007	195
Season Fifteen	September 4, 2007	August 29, 2008	—
Season Sixteen	September 1, 2008	2009	—

[edit] In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series
• Recurring Bits: A listing of recurring sketches, segments and characters from the series.

[edit] DVD Releases

Title	Release Date	#
Individual Episodes
10th Anniversary Special	August 10, 2004	1
"Best Of" Collections
The Best of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog	August 10, 2004	1

[edit] External Sites

• Official NBC website for Late Night with Conan O'Brien
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien TV Listings, Episode Guide, Photos, Message Board, Cast and More at TVGuide.com