'Hot Ones' Helped Conan O'Brien Realize Late-Night Shows Were Doomed

Having been a huge fan of late-night comedy growing up, I think it really sucks to watch it die this slow, painful death. 

Throw on an old Carson, and you'll see a fun, engaging interview that served as an escape and a great way to end the day.

Now, you've got Colbert and Kimmel whining and/or sobbing at you about how awful Trump is.

Learn More About The Ultimate College Hoops Experience

So, we all knew it was coming, and that includes one of the best to ever do it, Conan O'Brien.

However, the thing that tipped Conan off to the death of late-night is a little unexpected, and his revelation came a bit later than it did for the rest of us.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, O'Brien said the YouTube interview show Hot Ones tipped him off to the fact that late-night was doomed.

"That was the moment the scales fell from my eyes," he said. "If a guy can do World Series numbers with overhead that looked, to me, to be about $600, and you have every big star lining up to do his show or Chicken Shop Date … that’s when I profoundly understood that late-night shows are in trouble."

Conan O’Brien says Hot Ones exposed late night’s shaky future, highlighting soaring costs and shrinking audiences. (Getty Images)

I think that revelation may have come a bit earlier for him, honestly. The comedy great's appearance on Hot Ones was in 2024. That's a few years after he bowed out of late-night himself.

He didn't do that because he was sick of money. You've got to assume he saw the writing on the wall.

The cost is definitely a reason why old-school late-night shows are going away. With so many staffers involved, they are expensive to produce, and these days, the audiences are dwindling.

Although Gutfeld! seems to be doing a-oh-kay.

But these shows were always expensive to produce; it was only when the audiences started evaporating that networks started second-guessing producing them.

They can blame cord-cutters and streaming all they want, but we all know the moment people were done with most late-night shows is when they went from being that Carson-esque escape to being political lectures.

READ: CONAN O’BRIEN TALKS ABOUT THE PROBLEM WITH ‘F TRUMP’ COMEDIANS: ‘YOU ALWAYS NEED TO BE FUNNY’

Hell, I'd say it died the moment Colbert had those dancing vaccines. It was a lame bit, and worse, propaganda.

I'm a fan of late-night, so this is a bummer. Growing up, coming home from school to watch the episodes of Conan I recorded from the night before while my friends smoked pot and went on dates made me want to become a writer.

Fortunately, this is all cyclical, and someone will figure out a more cost-effective way to produce a quality late-night show.

I mean, the aforementioned Gutfeld! already has.

Hopefully, it doesn't get ruined next time around.