I know there are, like, 12 rules for late night: a desk, a band. Will people take me seriously if I don't wear a tie?

If I have one criticism of the other late-night shows, it's that they're almost entirely scripted.

The truth is, we have this idea that late night is about creativity and being cool, but that's not our job. Our job is to get as many people watching the commercials in between our show. That's the reality of it.

I missed the boat when I was doing Late Night.

When I was in college, I wanted to write for 'Late Night With Conan O'Brien,' and I was an intern there.

On 'Late Night,' it's like we're all in on the joke. That's what I wanted it to be. I'm not doing something sneaky. Inside jokes, I don't like those. We can all ride together, and everyone's on the same thing going, 'Aha, I know where you're going here.'