What’s next for Conan?

By PHIL ROSENTHAL

Conan O’Brien finished taping his final edition of “The Tonight Show” on Friday evening, just 236 nights after his first.

O’Brien will remain something of an apparition on the network that finalized its formal exit agreement with the host Thursday.

NBC plans to air his “Tonight” reruns for the next few weeks as a segue to the Winter Olympics and then Jay Leno’s March 1 return to the late-night institution he fronted for the previous 17 years.

The $45 million “Tonight” settlement that enables NBC to reinstate Leno on “Tonight” in hopes of returning it to No. 1 in late-night reportedly will pay O’Brien more than $32 million to go away, with the remainder earmarked for his displaced staff.

More significant for O’Brien’s legion of fans, who sought to demonstrate their support for “Coco” in recent days as it became clear his nights on NBC were numbered, the severance deal also allows him back on television on Sept. 1.

Where’s Coco going to go?

And what kind of revenge might the former “Late Night” host wreak on Leno and NBC?

Much of the speculation for O’Brien’s destination has centered on Fox, which has failed in previous attempts to launch a weeknight late-night franchise.

Hiring O’Brien, who spent 16 years building a following as host of NBC’s “Late Night” before “Tonight,” might be its last best chance.

There remain the scars at Fox of “The Wilton North Report,” on which O’Brien was once a writer, and “The Chevy Chase Show,” each of which lasted just a few weeks, as well as Joan Rivers’ “Late Show.”

Not everyone at Fox thinks O’Brien has broad enough appeal to be a viable late-night host.

Cable networks, who don’t need broadcast numbers for a hit, may be inclined to step up, sources indicated.

Comedy Central might be looking to build on what Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have established in late-night.

For a channel such as Fox cousin FX, it would be the opportunity to stake a claim to new original programming.