Conan O’Brien reveals what’s going on with his HBO Max show

Last year, Conan O’Brien left the nightly talk show format after 28 years, making him the third longest tenured host in the history of late night. (Only behind his two heroes, Johnny Carson and David Letterman). On the upside of his departure was that he wouldn’t be gone long. He’d be coming back with a weekly show on HBO Max. And yet, it’s been over 6 months since we’ve heard any sort of update.

“It’s the same question that HBO Max is asking me all the time,” he joked in response to a fan who asked when we can expect the new show at a recent podcast taping. “We are working on something. I cannot tell you exactly when it’s going to come out. It will not be a night-to-night show.”

He continued, “What I’d like to focus on is the stuff that I do that I’m particularly useful at or adept at. And I want to double down on all that. So when you talk about remotes and things where I’m with real people and in real situations, that’s exactly the kind of stuff that I’m thinking about and what I want to do.”

He ended by saying “I’m quite optimistic that things are going to get better and we’re turning a corner. And I can’t wait to get back out there.”

His statement is a departure from what HBO Max initially described as a “weekly variety show.” Plus, we assumed it would be a lot more remote heavy, as that seems to be what most people come to expect from him at this point. But it’s nice to know that it’s still in the works, at least.