History Trivia / LateNight

* NetworkToTheRescue: Given how much of a shambles his relationship with NBC ended up becoming, it's easy to forget that hiring Letterman for ''Late Night'' was a gamble for the network after the high-profile flop of ''The David Letterman Show'' in 1980.

** When Letterman left to host ''Series/TheLateShow'' on CBS, Creator/DavidSpade was approached as a replacement, but he declined.

%%!!Jimmy Fallon era:

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Creator/ConanOBrien applied for a job as a writer for ''Late Night with David Letterman'' around 1986, and was apparently seriously considered. When Letterman was reminded (years after the fact) just who he'd turned down, his response was, "Well, our loss."
** When Letterman began hosting ''Series/TheLateShow'' on CBS, Creator/DavidSpade was approached as a replacement, but he declined.

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: One such instance was addressed in an actual episode: Before Conan left for Toronto, he read a news story from a Canadian newspaper that said, "Die-hard fans can only hope O'Brien includes some of his program's popular regulars, like the Masturbating Bear, the Dancing Gorillas, the Quake Guy or the Constipated Robot." Conan was thoroughly confused who the Dancing Gorillas and the Quake Guy were supposed to be, and asked current and former writers if they have any recollection of these characters (they didn't). Rather than fight this, he decided to make nice with Canada before his visit, so he debuted the Dancing Gorillas and the Quake Guy on the show.
* CrossDressingVoices: Women celebrities in "Live via Satellite" are almost always played by men instead; for example, Music/MichaelJackson is played by Robert Smigel, while Martha Stewart is played by Brian Stack.
* InvisibleAdvertising: Conan frequently complained about the odd way NBC frequently advertised his show; Jay Leno (which preceded him) would get detailed announcements about his guests and a segment they were doing, while Conan got a brief mention after it, with such vague lines as, "And Conan's got ducks!" or "And Conan's back with a new-found intensity!"
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Thanks to the 2010 ''Tonight Show'' debacle, NBC will never release any ''Late Night With Conan O'Brien'' [=DVDs=] or digital downloads. The only two [=DVDs=] that exist are a 10th Anniversary Special and a Triumph the Insult Comic Dog best-of, both of which were released when Conan's ''Late Night'' was still on the air.
* ProductionPosse: Familiar faces during filmed pieces include staff writers A.D. Miles, Morgan Murphy, and Bashir Salahuddin, as well as {{Sidekick}} Steve Higgins, and his niece, ''[[Series/SaturdayNightLive SNL]]'' actress Creator/AbbyElliott.

* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Thanks to the 2010 ''Tonight Show'' debacle, NBC will never release any ''Late Night With Conan O'Brien'' [=DVDs=] or digital downloads. The only two [=DVDs=] that exist are a 10th Anniversary Special and a Triumph the Insult Comic Dog best-of, both of which were released when Conan's ''Late Night'' was still on the air.

* SerendipityWritesThePlot: An episode in October 1996 was filmed outside after a fire in Rockefeller Center, while the next night's episode was filmed in the ''{{Today}}'' studio. Both episodes played off their respective locations; the latter in particular parodied some of the regular idiosyncrasies of ''Today''.

* InvisibleAdvertising: Conan frequently complained about the odd way NBC frequently advertised his show; Jay Leno (which preceded him) would get detailed announcements about his guests and a segment they were doing, while Conan got a brief mention after it, with such vague lines as, "And Conan's got ducks!" or "And Conan's back with a new-found intensity!"