Conan O'Brien
American television show host and comedian
- Entries
- 9
- On the record
- 3
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Mar 15, 2026
The record
Outside his 2010 exit from NBC's Tonight Show, Conan O'Brien's record is mostly a television awards list. The Television Academy credits him with six Emmy wins from 36 nominations, starting with a 1989 writing award for Saturday Night Live and including writing for Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2007. His travel series Conan O'Brien Must Go won for nonfiction writing in 2024 and for hosted nonfiction series or special in 2025.
The court record in his file beyond NBC is a copyright suit. Comedy writer Robert Alexander Kaseberg sued Conaco, Turner Broadcasting, Time Warner, O'Brien and others in federal court in San Diego in 2015, alleging that jokes he had posted to his blog and Twitter account turned up in Conan monologues. In May 2017 the court granted the defendants summary judgment on two of the jokes and held that his jokes were entitled only to thin copyright protection, but otherwise denied the motion, leaving the dispute over independent creation for trial.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences then chose him to host the Oscars in consecutive years: the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, 2025, and the 98th on March 15, 2026, both at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The court filings in the Kaseberg case describe him as the creator and host of the late-night show Conan, which he made with a staff of writers.
Roles and honours on the record
Every entry, newest first
- Admitted
NBC announced a signed agreement releasing O'Brien from his contract; Jay Leno to return as host March 1. Biggest celebrity lawsuits ranked: Apple's $1B Samsung win leads
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
- 1989 Official He won the Emmy for outstanding writing in a variety or music program for Saturday Night Live. Television Academy, Conan O'Brien awards page
- 2007 Official He won the Emmy for outstanding writing for a variety, music or comedy program for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Television Academy, Conan O'Brien awards page
- 2015 Filed Comedy writer Robert Alexander Kaseberg sued Conaco, Turner Broadcasting, Time Warner, O'Brien and others for copyright infringement, alleging that jokes he posted online in late 2014 and early 2015 were used in Conan monologues. The defendants maintained the jokes were independently created. U.S. District Court, S.D. Cal., order, No. 15-cv-1637
- 2017-05-12 Ruled The court granted the defendants summary judgment on two of the jokes and ruled that the jokes were entitled only to thin copyright protection, but denied summary judgment on the rest, finding factual disputes over independent creation for trial. U.S. District Court, S.D. Cal., order on summary judgment, No. 15-cv-1637, ECF 131
- 2024 Official Conan O'Brien Must Go won the Emmy for outstanding writing for a nonfiction program. Television Academy, Conan O'Brien awards page
- 2025 Official Conan O'Brien Must Go won the Emmy for outstanding hosted nonfiction series or special, his sixth Emmy win from 36 nominations. Television Academy, Conan O'Brien awards page
- 2025-03-02 Official He hosted the 97th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 97th Academy Awards
- 2026-03-15 Official He hosted the 98th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood, his second consecutive year as host. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 98th Academy Awards
Documents
- Order granting in part and denying in part summary judgment, Kaseberg v. Conaco, S.D. Cal. No. 15-cv-1637 (May 12, 2017)
- Television Academy, Conan O'Brien awards page
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 97th Academy Awards (2025)
- Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, 98th Academy Awards (2026)