\u201cLate-night television, as we have known it since around 1950, is going to disappear,\u201d O\u2019Brien said, after being inducted into the Hall of Fame by Friends actress Lisa Kudrow.<\/p>\n
Still, the comedy veteran stressed that while the structure of late-night may be crumbling, its strongest voices aren\u2019t going anywhere.<\/p>\n
![\"Conan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NZKGYGPRZJAFVFJ7ZHPNZ4ZGN4.JPG\")
Conan O’Brien appears onstage during the 26th Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 2025. Craig Hudson\/REUTERS <\/p>\n
He pointed to The Late Show host Stephen Colbert, who revealed last month that CBS was scrapping the iconic program he\u2019s hosted for nearly a decade. The final episode is expected to air in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople like Stephen Colbert are too talented, and too essential, to go away,\u201d O\u2019Brien said. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to happen. He\u2019s not going anywhere. Stephen is going to evolve and shine brighter than ever in a new format that he controls completely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Executives cited shifting viewer habits and declining ad revenue as the primary reasons for ending The Late Show, stoking further anxiety over the future of late-night television.<\/p>\n
![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/7EK3ZYDVSBCBRGTIIXLFACFRVQ.JPG\")
Stephen Colbert arrives for the Saturday Night Live 50: The Anniversary Special at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City on February 16, 2025. Caitlin Ochs\/REUTERS <\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien acknowledged those forces and cautioned that the \u201cfear\u201d over television\u2019s future is very real.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe life we\u2019ve all known for almost 80 years is undergoing seismic change,\u201d he said. \u201cBut this might just be my nature\u2014I choose not to mourn what is lost. Because I think in the most essential way what we have is not changing at all.\u201d<\/p>\n