O'Brien would leave the series halfway through the production of the season to host his own show on NBC, Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He had been working on "Homer Goes to College" when he found out he was chosen to host Late Night and was forced to walk out on his contract.
During the mid-production of a season, O'Brien chose to leave the series to host his own NBC show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien. While he was developing "Homer Goes to College," he learned that he had been selected as the host and thus canceled his agreement.