Conan O'Brien to end 28-year run as late-night talk show host

Conan O'Brien appears on stage at The Paley Honors: A Special Tribute To Television's Comedy Legends at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on November 21, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)

Conan O'Brien, who replaced David Letterman on "Late Night" and briefly hosted "The Tonight Show," announced Tuesday he will end his TBS talk series "Conan" next year.

O'Brien will switch his efforts to a new weekly variety series for the streaming platform HBO Max.

"In 1993, Johnny Carson gave me the best advice of my career: `As soon as possible, get to a streaming platform,"' O'Brien quipped in a statement released by WarnerMedia. "I'm thrilled that I get to continue doing whatever the hell it is I do on HBO Max, and I look forward to a free subscription."

Details of the new variety show haven't been released. O'Brien will also continue his series of travel specials, "Conan Without Borders," for TBS.

Get your top stories delivered daily! Sign up for FOX 11’s Fast 5 newsletter. And, get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.

His current talk show, "Conan," will end in June at the end of its 10th season.

A former writer for "Saturday Night Live" and "The Simpsons," O'Brien began his talk show career in 1993 as a surprise choice to replace Letterman on CBS' "Late Night." Although critically panned at first, the show built a loyal following and continued until 2009.

O'Brien took over as host of NBC's "The Tonight Show" that year, replacing Jay Leno, who moved to a prime-time program. But with the ratings of both shows struggling, NBC eventually proposed juggling the lineup, pushing Leno's program into the coveted 11:30 p.m. time slot, and pushing "The Tonight Show" after midnight. O'Brien objected to the move and agreed to leave the show after just seven months, with Leno returning as "The Tonight Show" host.

He began his TBS "Conan" show in 2010.