Conan O’Brien Owns ‘The Tonight Show’ in Long-Awaited Return

More than 14 years after being canned as host of The Tonight Show, Conan O’Brien made a triumphant return to the scene of the crime on Tuesday when he sat down with Jimmy Fallon to chat about his new Max series, which—ironically enough for this particular interview—is titled Conan O’Brien Must Go.

While Fallon made plenty of time to chat with his predecessor about his new series, it was impossible to ignore the elephant in the room: that this was the first time O’Brien had returned to his old stomping grounds after the tumult that occurred in early 2010– just seven months into O’Brien’s tenure as The Tonight Show’s host–when NBC decided to move Jay Leno (O’Brien’s predecessor) back into his old time slot. The change prompted O’Brien to tender his resignation and end a 22-year-career at NBC.

But O’Brien didn’t miss a beat upon his return. In response to rapturous applause and a standing ovation, O’Brien jokingly chastised the crowd. “I had The Tonight Show for 10 minutes,” he lamented. “You’re cutting into my time.”

When Fallon described his guest as “larger-than-life,” O’Brien quickly shot back: “The word’s ‘iconic.’” But he admitted that it was “weird” to be back.

“I haven’t been in this building for such a long time, and I haven’t been on this floor,” O’Brien said. “Flashbacks happen… I mean, I was here for 16 years doing the Late Night show before we went out to L.A. and right across the hall. All these memories came flooding back to me.”

The strangest part, according to O’Brien, was seeing his old studio, where The Kelly Clarkson Show now shoots.

“The first thing that will hit you—and it will hit you too, because… when you’re 98, you’ll move on and someone else will be in this studio. When someone else is in your studio, it feels weird.”

Eventually, talk turned to O’Brien’s new series, which premieres on Max on April 18. But Fallon couldn’t let his guest go before thanking him for giving him his first opportunity to appear on a talk show (yes, there was a photo) and for the many innovations O’Brien made to the late-night format. But Conan also got very candid.

“I want to say, I’m just very happy for you,” O’Brien told Fallon. “I’ve had the honor of meeting every Tonight Show host going back to Steve Allen. And I think what you’ve done with the show is beautiful. You made it your own. You’ve done so much great, quality work. And I couldn’t be happier for you.”

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