Don’t know about that, as Conan started around the same time as TLS. It would be awfully strange to draw inspiration from a factionalized talk show from a sitcom that was on the at the same time as your own real talk show. And Gary was parodying cliches from actual talk shows, and the backstage environment. The fictional TLS didn’t really do much that set itself apart from traditional talk shows, and Conan’s show, while a bit edgy and crass compared to other contemporary shows, was still very much a traditional talk show format, so naturally there would be some similarities.

Not a lot of new television comedies being developed at the moment, and it would probably be hard to land a part as an old guy at this point, even without his controversies, so it’s hard to say.

I love the show, but like with a lot of shows that were ahead of their time, it’s pretty inconsistent imo. There are some really strange episodes and moments that don’t quite work for me. At times, it seems like it almost wants o go for a more realistic approach, but it ends up still feeling like a multi-cam sitcom half the time, in a weird way. It exists sort of between the worlds of what TV comedies have become over the last couple decades (The Office, Curb, Sunny, Arrested Development) and traditional sitcoms. That leaves it feeling a bit dated but still quite good (imo of course), with moments of genius here and there.