Overview
- Conan O’Brien, speaking on his 'Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend' podcast on Sept. 12, 2026, said joining The Simpsons pulled him out of a career and personal low after he left Saturday Night Live.
- O’Brien said Reiss and Al Jean learned he was available, submitted his sketches and told him he had to be in the show’s writers’ room within four days to start the job.
- He described feeling intimidated by the shift from short sketch pieces to multi-act episodic animation and said he had to learn a new story structure on arrival.
- O’Brien left The Simpsons in 1993 and soon launched his late-night hosting career with Late Night, a move he and outlets link back to the experience and growth he gained on the show.
- The exchange with Groening, which included O’Brien’s public thanks and a joking remark about O’Brien’s old office being kept for storage, highlights how The Simpsons’ writers’ room has long acted as a career incubator in TV comedy.