Conan O’Brien Says He Reaches ‘More People’ 4 Years After Leaving Late Night: ‘I Have All This Freedom’

Christopher EdwardsMon, February 23, 2026 at 7:31 PM UTC

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Conan O'Brien in 2025.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty

Conan O'Brien is opening up about life after the end of his long-running late-night talk show Conan

The comedian told The New Yorker's David Remnick that his podcast and travel show give him more "freedom" than previous formats

Conan ended in 2021 after 11 years on the air. O'Brien previously hosted two other late-night talk shows, dating back to 1993. In March, he will host the Oscars for the second year in a row

Conan O'Brien is opening up about life after the end of his long-running late-night talk show, Conan.

During a recent interview with The New Yorker's David Remnick, the late-night veteran opened up about his return to hosting the Oscars, his relationship with Rob and Michele Reiner and life after the end of his talk show.

"I left my late-night show four years ago. I’ve had a wonderful time. I think I reach more people now, either through the podcast or doing the travel show," said O'Brien, 62, who now hosts the Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend podcast and a travel show, Conan O'Brien Must Go.

O'Brien ended his late-night talk show, Conan, in June 2021 after 11 years on the air. He previously hosted The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, dating back to 1993, making him the longest-running late-night host in U.S. history with over 28 years on the air.

"I have all this freedom to be me in different ways, in different formats. There’s a lot of really beautiful opportunities, and I’ve been having a blast and getting to have types of interviews I never could have had in that old 'You’re up in the attic' format," O'Brien said of his career now.

"I mean, this old format is going away, but they’re being replaced by a multitude of other ways to connect with people and be funny, and be satirical, and be probing, and let your talent run wild—that in some ways are more freeing," he continued.

The comedian will host the Oscars on March 15 for the second year in a row. Weeks ahead of the show, O'Brien says he's already deep in preparation and getting some help.

"I started writing a while ago. Ideas are like R.A.F. pilots in 1940. You have to generate a lot of them. A lot of them fall by the wayside and then some endure," said O'Brien on coming up with jokes for the gig.

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"I can’t fake enjoyment," he continued. "I need to find ways to make sure that I’m having a lot of fun. I need to prepare—I mean, I’m a big preparation person. I work with this brilliant team of writers who are just downstairs from where I’m doing this podcast, and they’re cranking away."

Conan O'Brien hosting 'The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien' in 2009.

Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank

Later in the interview, O'Brien broke his silence on the December killings of his friends Rob and Michele Reiner, which happened just hours after the couple left a holiday party at O'Brien's home.

"I knew Rob and Michele, and then increasingly got closer and closer to them, and I was seeing them a lot. My wife and I were seeing them a lot, and they were so — they were just such lovely people," said O'Brien.

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Conan O'Brien and Rob Reiner in 2024.

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Rob, 78, and wife, Michele, 70, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Dec. 14. Their son Nick was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. All three Reiners attended O’Brien’s holiday party on Dec. 13.

"And to have that experience of saying good night to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they’re gone... I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward," he said. "I mean, there’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful."

"And I think about how Rob felt about things that are happening in the country, how involved he was, how much he put himself out there — and to have that voice go quiet in an instant is still hard for me to comprehend," O'Brien concluded.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”