TIME Names Conan O'Brien As One Of The "People That Mattered" In 2010

Conan O'Brien didn't make the cover of TIME Magazine as Person Of The Year this year, but he still made a big impression as was named as one of the "People Who Mattered" for 2010. And that's a major victory of sorts.

After the TONIGHT SHOW ratings disaster over at NBC that led to the network wanting to move him back to after midnight and bring Jay Leno back, O'Brien walked away from NBC, banned from TV work for months according to the terms of a legal agreement with NBC. And with a $30 million dollar settlement in hand, and only doing a low-key road show comedy act with most of his writers and musicians, Conan returned to TV, besting the ratings of rival Jay Leno on his first night premiere of his new cable TBS TV show.

An army of fans have stuck with Conan, through the good times and the bad. And with friends like that, O'Brien is still on the air, and should remain so for years to come. Conan's fans are as loyal as they come.