Conan O’Brien’s emotional new chapter amid heartbreaking loss

Conan O’Brien has opened his heart about life after late-night and the devastating loss that left him reeling.

The 62-year-old comic legend says he’s embracing “all this freedom to be me in different ways” since stepping down from his TBS show Conan in June 2021.

He ended a glittering late-night run that began with Late Night with Conan O’Brien and included a turbulent stint on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien.

Speaking to David Remnick for The New Yorker, Conan revealed he has “had a wonderful time” since leaving nightly TV. 

Now fronting the hit podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend and globetrotting series Conan O’Brien Must Go, he believes he’s reaching more fans than ever.

“I have all this freedom,” he said. 

“There’s a lot of really beautiful opportunities, and I’ve been having a blast.”

The funnyman is also gearing up to host the Academy Awards on March 15, joking that crafting ideas is like being an R.A.F. pilot in 1940, “a lot fall by the wayside and then some endure.”

But amid the career highs, he admitted that he is still haunted by the brutal deaths of close friends Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner, who were found stabbed at their California home in December. 

Their son, Nick Reiner, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.

“To say good night to somebody and find out the next day that they’re gone… I was in shock,” he shared. 

“It’s just so awful.”

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