Conan O’Brien credits ‘The Simpsons’ with saving his life

Comedian Conan O’Brien has credited the animated series ‘The Simpsons’ with saving his life during a difficult period in his early career. During a recent episode of his podcast, ‘Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend’, O’Brien spoke with the show’s creator, Matt Groening, about his professional and emotional struggles in 1991.

O’Brien revealed that he resigned from ‘Saturday Night Live’ without having another job lined up because he was in a ‘bad place’ and experiencing a mental slump. Following his departure, writers Mike Reiss and Al Jean learned of his availability and invited him to audition for ‘The Simpsons’. After submitting sketches from his time at ‘SNL’, O’Brien was hired and told he needed to start within four days.

O’Brien described the transition from sketch comedy to animated writing as intimidating but ultimately a ‘magical’ experience that helped stabilize his career before he moved into late-night talk show hosting.