Shannon Finney/WireImage National treasureConan O'Brien— the first person to kill ithosting the Oscarsin years — appeared onChristina ApplegateandJamie-Lynn Sigler's podcastMeSsythis week, to talk about the ups and downs of his remarkable career. And to thank an unexpected group that's been in his corner. The 62-year-old writer, talk show host, comedian, and occasionalsalsa musicianreflected on what was a pretty rough moment in his life — the time when he was essentially booted from hostingThe Tonight Showback in 2010. "I've had multiple times in my career where things kind of blew up or went sideways," O'Brien said. Emerging from the comedy shadows as aSaturday Night LiveandSimpsonswriter to take over David Letterman's gig hostingLate Nightcertainly qualifies as a time when things went well. But his seven months onThe Tonight Show, which involved shifting time schedules and a previous host (Jay Leno) who wanted to come back to late night, caused some anguish. Lesly Weiner/Network/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty "I had no regrets about giving [The Tonight Show] a shot. And when, for all these complicated reasons, it blew up, I was deeply upset. I thought, 'I'm in real trouble and this could be the end of my career [at 46],'" he recalled. "But lo and behold, this thing calledthe internetrose up, and I got this huge groundswell of love and appreciation that I didn't expect," he shared. "Because [when] you're doing a show like [LateNight], day in and day out, for 16 years, it's submarine duty." O'Brien continued, "You don't get a chance to understand fully that there's a generation of people out there that have been watching, they're younger than me, and they all knew how to use the internet. So, they all got on social media and it was this big thing." Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free daily newsletterto get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. And itwasa big thing. AsThe New York Timesreported, the online support of "Team Conan" amounted to a "wired army" as the host tussled with NBC over time slots and his contract. "The one thing that saved me is I'm very restless, and I'm willing to change it up. The idea of doing one thing for 35 years in television and getting a gold watch and leaving just sounded awful to me and still does," he said about a possibly stagnant career, before adding, "Although a gold watch would be great." To help demonstrate O'Brien's appeal to viewers of different generations, here he is connecting with people younger than he. You can, and should, listen to O'Brien's full appearance onMeSsybelow. Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
