“Stephen [Colbert] is going to evolve and shine brighter than ever in a new format that he controls completely,” former Late Night host says of (soon-to-be-former) Late Show host’s next move<\/p>\n
\n\tConan O\u2019Brien said that late-night shows will eventually \u201cdisappear\u201d from television amid the \u201cseismic change\u201d in the industry, but that hosts like Stephen Colbert<\/a> \u2014 whose Late Show run will end next year<\/a> \u2014 are \u201ctoo talented and too essential to go away.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tSpeaking at the Television Academy Hall of Fame on Saturday, O\u2019Brien \u2014 a veteran of Late Night, Conan, and (briefly) The Tonight Show \u2014 said that, \u201cYes, late-night television, as we have known it since around 1950, is going to disappear. But those voices are not going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of fear about the future of television, and rightfully so. The life we\u2019ve all known for almost 80 years is undergoing seismic change,\u201d O\u2019Brien said (via Variety<\/a>).<\/p>\n \n\tHowever, O\u2019Brien, who successfully pivoted to streaming and podcasting after his late-night run ended, added that those platforms are how younger generations are now ingesting comedy, as traditional television and its constraints are \u201ca high-protein, chewable, vanilla-flavored capsule with added fiber.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cPeople like\u00a0Stephen Colbert are too talented and too essential<\/a> to go away,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cStephen is going to evolve and shine brighter than ever in a new format that he controls completely. So, technology can do whatever they want.\u201d<\/p>\n