Today it seems like Conan O’Brien is the only talk show host who is loved. Almost every other talk show host seems so soulless, like they’ve sold their soul to Hollywood. But upon looking at the host, a lot of people might not think much of them.

But during his time on television, he has quickly become one of the most well-loved hosts in history. So how did he do this? Why does everyone seem to love Conan? And did Conan ever sell his soul to Hollywood?

Before anything else in his life, Conan O’Brien was always goofing around, a trait that has often come to be expected from people who grew up under the rigid rulings of Catholicism. As a young boy, he loved comedy and making people laugh, and it was a love he would carry with him even as he grew older. As the years passed, Conan would eventually turn his love of comedy into something lucrative and become one of the most well-loved talk show hosts in history. So how did he go from being just a funny kid to taking over all of the entertainment industry?

Well, before interviewing celebrities and putting on wacky skits, O’Brien was entertaining audiences through his writing. Between 1988 and 1993, he was the pen behind several *Saturday Night Live* skits. He also served as a writer and producer for *The Simpsons*, taking a show about a suburban family with more normal problems and turning it into the amazing show people love today. While the scripts were undeniably funny, no one actually knew who Conan O’Brien was, which made it even more surprising when NBC chose him as the successor to David Letterman on *Late Night*.

When he appeared on the screen for the first time with a psychic and fellow writer Andy Richter, many people wrote him off, describing him as awkward and uneasy. If you look at the clips, you can see how nervous he really was, which was to be expected from a man who went from being behind a writer’s desk to the face of a show in the span of just a few months. While the show was almost canceled several times, things got so bad that NBC interns had to fill the seats that the audience members had left empty. But it wouldn’t take long for the public’s opinion of Conan to soon change, as he developed his humor and delivery. Fans and critics noticed that he had great chemistry with his guests and a brilliant way with words.

Raised by a professor father, a mother, and attending Harvard University, it only makes sense that he graduated from Harvard University, where he honed his comedic writing skills. You can clearly see that his intelligence often shines through his comedy in the form of wit, fast wit, well-set-up jokes, and the way he handles different situations, whether he’s adjusting to better suit the personality and humor of his guests or dealing with a heavy loss. Unlike what seems to be most talk show hosts these days, Conan seems to be genuine both on and off stage.

This was especially true when he conducted staff performance reviews or hung out with his interns. While he acts like a bad boss, throwing stuff around the office, yelling at people, and asking slightly inappropriate questions, almost everyone he interacts with either looks like they’re desperately trying to hold it together or they’re just openly laughing. This is in stark contrast to someone like James Corden, who couldn’t even name two of the cameramen on his show during a *Spill Your Guts* or *Fill Your Guts* segment with Jimmy Kimmel.

“Name two of the cameramen in this room.”

“It’s a different crew tonight.”

Actually, the host tried to play off his lack of knowledge as the show had a different crew that night, but still, it was obvious from everyone’s reaction that he wouldn’t have known anyone’s names anyway. Corden hasn’t even tried to pretend to be a good boss. During the writer strike in 2019, Corden took the internet by storm when it was revealed that he had gone to a WGA meeting without any of his writers and tried to advocate for a program that would allow his show to pay writers less than the guild had set as a minimum.

While Corden tried to claim that he just wanted to give young writers better opportunities, no one was buying it. Some even pointed out that he had one of the most successful talk shows around and yet was still trying to take advantage of young writing interns desperate for an opportunity and willing to accept any offer they were made. Conan O’Brien at least seems to value his staff and their conduct, something he’s proved many times over the years. He makes a point of getting to know his employees and has even congratulated those who have gone on to make names for themselves.

For example, during an interview with Larry King, John Krasinski mentioned that he used to work as a script intern for Conan O’Brien during his junior year of college.

“I was an intern for Conan O’Brien my junior year of college, summer for a summer, and I was his script intern.”

The actor cited O’Brien as his inspiration when it comes to comedy and spoke about how he appeared beside his former employer to discuss *The Office* in 2005.

“People have asked me before, ‘What’s your biggest influence comedically?’ and I said without a doubt it’s Conan O’Brien.”

One of the most surreal moments of my entire life has been the first night I went on that show. I get to the blue curtain back on the 12:30 slot in NBC, and they pulled the curtain and I blacked out. That is not an exaggeration. I totally blacked out, don’t remember anything until Conan was shaking my hand and pushed me into the couch and said, ‘Everything’s going to be fine.'”

The two bounced easily off of each other, rehashing memories and exchanging jabs. However, as the interview came to a close, Conan took a moment to let John know that he was proud of him and what he’d managed to achieve. At the end of the interview, you can see that John actually ends up tearing up because at the end Conan takes a moment in the segment to say how proud he is of him, and he’ll never forget it.

Conan also makes a point of ensuring that his staff is looked after and has often paid their salaries out of pocket during writer strikes. However, he also expects his staff and crew to maintain a certain amount of respect and politeness and doesn’t take kindly to anyone who doesn’t have patience for others, especially waiting staff, something James Corden doesn’t even expect of himself.

In 2022, the owner of a popular restaurant named Bazar took to Instagram to tell the world about his employees’ experience with Corden. He described him as a “tiny cretin of a man” before explaining how on two separate occasions Corden had shouted at his servers, demanding free drinks by the threat of a nasty review on Yelp after discovering a hair in his food the first time, and absolutely exploded the second because his wife’s egg yolk omelet accidentally had a bit of egg white mixed in and after the dish had been made, the server brought it out with fries instead of salad.

According to the restaurant owner, Corden started yelling at the server about how they couldn’t do their job and how he would have to go into the kitchen and cook the omelet himself, apparently forgetting the fact that servers don’t prepare the food. The owner then finished by asserting that in the 25 years his restaurant had been open, they’d never had to serve such an abusive customer before, proceeding to ban him.

While the ban was temporarily lifted after Corden called the owner to apologize (the owner, mind you, not the servers he screamed at), that didn’t last long after an interview with the New York Times in which he insisted that he hadn’t done anything wrong and that the issue was beneath him. The owner had enough, couldn’t believe that Corden had denied being abusive to his staff who had nothing to gain out of lying about his treatment of them. He officially banned Corden from ever stepping foot in his restaurant unless he apologized to the two servers he insulted.

While this was going on, and Corden was making a very poor attempt at damage control by not taking any real responsibility for what had happened, one of Conan O’Brien’s writers took the opportunity to let people know by announcing to the public that when the host witnessed a member of his staff being rude to a server at a restaurant, Conan fired them. Not only was it a perfect jab, but it was a great indicator of just how different the two hosts were. One is a performative, funny guy with a deep repressed mean streak inside of him, and the other is a genuinely kind person who likes to make people laugh.

Based on everything, there’s no denying that Conan cares about his staff. He treats them almost like his family and can joke and laugh with everyone from the producers who handle his show to his interns. Understandably, he’d want to continue working with them for as long as possible. Taking all of this into consideration, it then makes sense why NBC started causing problems for Conan, and he would not only do everything in his power to make sure his staff were looked after but also do his best to try and take them with him wherever he went, which proved to be true in 2010.

You see, we can’t talk about Conan O’Brien without discussing what happened with NBC and Jay Leno, especially after the way their last

few years played out. Conan O’Brien took over for Jay Leno on *The Tonight Show* in 2009. Things started off great, with the ratings looking good and Conan continuing to put on a fantastic show. However, within the year, the ratings took a dip, and NBC started making noise about how they wanted Leno back on the air.

While NBC technically had the right to do this, especially since it was their show and they were paying Leno to host it, the big problem came in the way they were pushing Conan O’Brien out. The network executives told Conan to go against his usual schedule and air reruns, something that angered his fans. While it was obvious the network was already planning to make Leno return to his old show, Conan would remain the host of *The Tonight Show* for a while before eventually being pushed out.

Because Conan’s ratings had started to drop, and Leno had been secretly slated to come back, it was clear to Conan’s fans that the network had done nothing but try to push him out of the show as early as they could and push Leno in his place. To add insult to injury, Conan’s staff were left without a job, something the host would not tolerate. When it came time for his departure, Conan made sure to take his entire staff with him to his new show.

As part of his final gesture, he also took the opportunity to go public and tell the world exactly how he felt about NBC. He told his fans to remember to be kind to each other and not take life too seriously, no matter what had happened to him. He had many reasons to be bitter about the whole situation but instead chose to be grateful for everything he’d achieved and the staff he’d been able to work with.

In a televised speech, Conan openly admitted that while he hadn’t expected his departure to happen, he couldn’t be more thankful for the support he had received and the incredible people who had worked with him. He made it clear that he would not allow anything to bring him down or ruin the joy he’d always felt about making people laugh.

Conan O’Brien always managed to keep his humor and smile even in the darkest of times, especially when he was at NBC. He used the situation to remind everyone to find the joy in life and to be kind to each other. Because of this, it’s easy to see why he quickly won the love of his audience and his fans. When he made his return to television with *Conan*, his fans showed up in full force, and he made sure to continue to make them laugh.

Unlike many talk show hosts who have moved on to different projects, Conan has remained true to himself and continues to bring a genuine sense of humor to everything he does. He’s always stayed grounded and has maintained his belief in the importance of laughter and kindness. It’s this authenticity and dedication that have earned him a place in the hearts of many.