Conan O'Brien will drop the suit, tie and desk for his shorter late-night show

The New York Times

Conan O'Brien says "I decided to scare myself" with his new Conan format launching on Jan. 22. He'll not only break tradition by reducing each episode's airtime by half, but he'll also drop talk show conventions like the desk and a suit-wearing host. Conan says he wants to have a more intimate show that pulls the audience closer to him. "I wanted it to have a little bit of that compressed feeling, and I like having the audience right there. It feels less presentational in the old-school way," he tells The New York Times, adding: "I grew up revering the format, and then over time, you think, what’s feeling like it’s vestigial? I really don’t miss the desk. It started to feel like I’m doing someone’s taxes. None of my guests are wearing suits. I look fine in a suit, and I will wear a suit sometimes. If one of the Obamas stops by, or when Trump comes, as he inevitably will, I’ll wear a suit. The most successful things that we’ve ever done on YouTube are me wearing my Indiana Jones-as-archaeology teacher look. And people accept that." Conan also says watching other half-hour shows like Samantha Bee's Full Frontal and The Daily Show convinced that he's been padding his hourlong show for too long. When asked if the revamped show will set up his final act, Conan says: "I’m never going to have a better farewell show than I did on The Tonight Show I loved that show and so I feel, in a weird way, I had my farewell show. I did it. I died, and talked to my grandfather and saw the light and was called back. This concept that I must be the king of late night, I don’t even know what that means anymore. I don’t know who that is anymore. It’s an outmoded concept. I’ve come to realize that there’ll come a point where it’s just not even thought of as late night: 'Oh, you make that stuff that makes me laugh.'"