Conan is an American variety and late-night talk show that aired each Monday through Thursday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time on TBS in the United States for 11 seasons, from 2010 to 2021.

The show premiered on November 8, 2010, and was hosted by writer, comedian, and performer Conan O'Brien, accompanied by his long-time sidekick Andy Richter.

Guests for the show came from a wide range of cultural sources, and included actors, musicians, authors, athletes and political figures.

The opening design process was described by Ashe as utilizing "organic-looking textures made of construction paper, soak them in soda, and light them in Photoshop.

[11][12] In July 2020, it was announced that Conan would continue with this format, but would now be filmed with limited on-site staff from the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles and no studio audience — making it the first American late-night talk show to return to filming outside of the host's residence (albeit still not from its main studio).

The series began in February 2015, followed the onset of the Cuban thaw, with O'Brien became the first American television personality to film in Cuba for more than half a century.

[31] Steve Koonin, President of Turner Entertainment Networks, went on to comment of the announcement, "Conan has been the comedic voice for a generation.

TBS already has a huge audience of young comedy lovers, and Conan's show will give these fans even more reasons to watch our network.

"[31] In his own statement about the deal, O'Brien stated, "In three months I've gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I'm headed to basic cable.

The show featured O'Brien as host, and was accompanied by Andy Richter, as well as Jerry Vivino, a member of the Basic Cable Band.

The broadcast hosted several guests, including actor Jim Parsons and indie rock band Steel Train, and lasted a total of four minutes, and 51 seconds.

Designed by Blue Sky, an Atlanta firm,[39] the dirigible provided aerial footage for 2010 Major League Baseball postseason games airing on TBS.

It was subsequently incorporated into sketches on Conan, including a running gag where the blimp would follow actor Gary Busey around southern California, much to his chagrin.

The poll also consisted of Pope Benedict XVI, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, performers Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga, and actor Jack Nicholson, among others.

[44] Wagner's brief appearance was followed by actor and comedian Seth Rogen and actress Lea Michele, along with musical guest Jack White, who performed "Twenty Flight Rock", along with O'Brien himself.

[41][45] Actor Jon Hamm, appearing as his character Don Draper from the AMC series Mad Men, and talk show host Larry King, of CNN's Larry King Live, made cameo appearances in the show's cold open, with actor and comedian Ricky Gervais sending Conan a pre-taped message expressing his well wishes on the new series, then going on to express condolences for future job losses.

[46] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly also appreciated the Masturbating Bear cameo, and went on to call the show "pleasant, if a bit underwhelming.

[56] In August 2011, TBS secured the cable syndication rights to The Big Bang Theory at a reported $2 million per episode to serve as a lead-in to Conan three nights a week, in an effort to boost his ratings.

[62] In its final season (2020–21), the show averaged a paltry 282,000 viewers, representing a total drop of 29% over its last year, and 36% in its main demographic.

[64] In contrast to its live audience, Conan boasted strong online revenues with its Team Coco website,[65] attracting a particularly young viewership that TBS leveraged into lucrative advertiser relationships targeting digital and social media.

Characters and bits that eventually made appearances on Conan included The Masturbating Bear, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, Celebrity Survey, The Audiency Awards, Clutch Cargo interviews, and an update on the "Late Night" sketch If They Mated called If They Melded.

[77] In keeping with a change made during The Tonight Show, Richter joined O'Brien during celebrity interviews on the main set rather than remaining behind a lectern after the monologue.

[78] The first show of 2018 saw the debut of a new set by production designer Christopher Goumas, which replaced the ocean backdrop with one depicting a studio backlot reminiscent of the Warner Bros. lot where the program was recorded.

[79] O'Brien explained that the space was also deliberately tighter to promote a more "intimate" atmosphere, and jokingly demonstrated the ability for the set to be moved even closer to the audience on demand.

[80] With the debut of the half-hour format in 2019, a new set was introduced with an even more compact design than before, which Richter jokingly compared to looking like "a strip club from Grand Theft Auto", with the desk area replaced by a series of armchairs around a coffee table.

O'Brien announced that he was moving on to produce a weekly "variety" show on WarnerMedia's streaming service HBO Max.

[90] The band also included Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg on trombone, Scott Healy on keyboard, Mike Merritt on bass guitar, Mark Pender on trumpet, Jerry Vivino on woodwinds, and James Wormworth on drums.

Citing recent open heart surgery and a desire to remain on the East Coast, Weinberg officially departed in September 2010.

After viewer complaints about the missed episodes, Comedy elected to move both shows back to their previous timeslots, meaning that Conan was rescheduled on that channel to midnight, on a one-hour delay from TBS.

The local Atlanta station through which Canadian cable subscribers had previously received TBS programming then adopted a distinct schedule as WPCH-TV.