Conan O'Brien Must Go | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy Travel show |
Created by | Conan O'Brien |
Directed by | Mike Sweeney |
Presented by | Conan O'Brien |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Conan O'Brien Jeff Ross |
Production company | Conaco |
Original release | |
Network | Max |
Release | April 18, 2024 – present |
Related | |
Conan O'Brien Must Go is a travel show starring former late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien. The series is a spin-off of his podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend and a successor to his many remotes and the Conan Without Borders travel specials that originally aired as part of his TBS show Conan . Premiering on the streaming service Max in the United States on April 18, 2024, the series features O'Brien meeting various fans in person whom he had previously featured via video calls in his podcast series. In the first season, O'Brien travels to Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland. The show received widespread critical acclaim and received an Emmy Award. In May 2024, the series was renewed for a second season.
O'Brien has a long history of featuring segments that occurred outside the traditional studio environment, dubbed "remotes", ever since his first late-night show, Late Night with Conan O'Brien . [1] [2] They became some of his best-received segments, including a famous remote when O'Brien visited a historic, Civil War–era baseball league. [3] The piece was one of O'Brien's personal favorites, later remarking, "When I leave this earth, at the funeral, just show this, because this pretty much says who I'm all about." [4]
The apotheosis of the Late Night remotes centered on the realization, in 2006, that O'Brien bore a striking resemblance to Tarja Halonen, entering her second term as president of Finland. Capitalizing on the resemblance and on the 2006 Finnish presidential election, O'Brien and Late Night aired mock political ads both in support of Halonen and against her main opponent, which influenced popular perception of the race, [5] and traveled to Finland shortly after the election. [6] "We took the show to Helsinki for five days," O'Brien recalled, "where we were embraced like a national treasure." [3] [7] As part of the five-day trip, which was released as a one-hour special episode of Late Night, O'Brien met with Halonen at the Finnish Presidential Palace. [8]
O'Brien began hosting the show Conan on TBS in 2010. The first international travel special on the show was in February 2015. Following the onset of the Cuban thaw, O'Brien became the first American television personality to film in Cuba for more than half a century. [9] A few months later, O'Brien visited Armenia in an episode that featured his assistant Sona Movsesian, who is Armenian American. [10] [11] [12] [13] Thirteen specials in total aired before the ending of Conan in 2021. The travel series, collectively referred to as Conan Without Borders , became some of O'Brien's most popular work, winning an Emmy in 2018 and being nominated in 2019. [14] [15] [16] [17]
Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend premiered November 18, 2018, when O'Brien's talk show was on hiatus and being retooled from an hour-long format into a half-hour format. [18] The title refers to the podcast's premise that O'Brien is only friends with people who work for him, and the friendly conversations he has with celebrities on his talk show rarely translate to lasting friendships, an issue he is looking to fix. [19] [20] In April 2021, O'Brien launched a subseries on the podcast titled Conan O'Brien Needs a Fan , in which he and cohosts Movsesian and Matt Gourley take questions from fans via video calling. [21]
In November 2020, it was announced O'Brien would host a weekly variety series for what was then known as HBO Max. [22] O'Brien stated in a 2024 interview that this announcement was a miscommunication, and that he never intended to produce a weekly show or variety show. [1] Conan O'Brien Must Go was announced in May 2023. The show began filming in Norway in March and Thailand in April before production was halted by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike which lasted from May to September 2023. [23] [24] It was released on Max in the United States on April 18, 2024. The series features O'Brien meeting various fans in person whom he had previously featured via video calls in his podcast series Conan O'Brien Needs a Fan. He travels to Norway, Thailand, Argentina, and Ireland. [25] [17] [26] The opening of each episode includes an introduction voiced by Werner Herzog. [27] [26]
The show is produced by Jason Chillemi, Sarah Federowicz, Aaron Bleyaert, and Jordan Schlansky. It is written and produced by Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, Jessie Gaskell, and Mike Sweeney and executive produced by Conan O'Brien and Jeff Ross through O'Brien's company Conaco. [28] [23] [29]
On May 15, 2024, the series was renewed for a second season that is set to consist of six episodes. [30]
The first season received widespread critical acclaim. [30] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Conan O'Brien Must Go has an approval rating of 94% based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Less an informative travelogue than a pretense for Conan O'Brien to mug in exotic locales, Must Go is a must watch for fans of the comedian's antic shenanigans." [31] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 77 out of 100 based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [32] Tania Hussain writing for Collider described the show as "what might be the year's most inventive and wildly hilarious series," and that it was "a shame there are only four episodes." [33] Stephen Rodrick writing for Variety gave the show a positive review. [34] In another positive review, Eric Deggans writing for NPR called the show a "funhouse mirror version of a travel show", with Jen Chaney writing for Vulture similarly noting the series "is much more blatant about its interest in riffing on and subverting the tropes of the travel format" than the Conan Without Borders series. [27] In an otherwise positive review from The A.V. Club , Meredith Hobbs Coons noted that, "the vibes can be a bit off at times, and certain scenes seem to drag, as if he's willing with all his might to draw comedy from them", with Variety similarly mentioning that, "some of the stuff goes on a bit long". [34] [35]
Many reviewers praised O'Brien's self-deprecating approach to comedy, noting that the choice helped avoid any cultural insensitivity. The episode in Ireland in which O'Brien explores his heritage was especially praised for its profundity and heartwarming qualities. [36] [34] At the 76th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the show won in Outstanding Writing For A Nonfiction Program for the episode "Ireland" and was nominated in Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series Or Special. [37] [38]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Norway" | Mike Sweeney | Jessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, and Mike Sweeney | April 18, 2024 | |
Conan travels to Bergen, Norway where he visits his fan Jarle, a Norwegian rapper, and criticizes his unrefined bachelor lifestyle and apartment. Conan addresses his missing luggage by purchasing traditional Norwegian clothing, interacts with locals, and attends a knitting circle. Conan then travels to Gudvangen to learn about and dress like the Vikings. He then records a song with Jarle's rap duo E.D.A, learns about sex culture in Norway from a sex therapist, and travels to Lofoten to visit another fan named Kai who is a salmon farmer. In Oslo, he attempts to get his and E.D.A's song played on a radio station and performs it with them at a music venue. | ||||||
2 | 2 | "Argentina" | Mike Sweeney | Jessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, and Mike Sweeney | April 18, 2024 | |
Conan travels to Buenos Aires, Argentina to visit his fan Sebastian, an artist whom he commissions to create a mural. After learning about Argentine culture from a translator and tour guide, he drinks wine and eats asado while antagonizing his longtime producer and comedic foil Jordan Schlansky. He then visits another fan named Matías and joins him on his radio show. He takes tango lessons. He then introduces a fan named Cammy to a Larry David impersonator. He trains with association football team San Lorenzo de Almagro and sings with gauchos in the Pampas. Conan visits the completed mural he commissioned, which features him with Lionel Messi and Pope Francis and is titled Hijos Sagrados de Argentina (Sacred Sons of Argentina). | ||||||
3 | 3 | "Thailand" | Mike Sweeney | Jessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, and Mike Sweeney | April 18, 2024 | |
Conan travels to Bangkok, Thailand where he visits his fan Anna and her mother. He performs at a Thai television show where he attempts to sing a song in Thai. He then visits the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market before visiting a tailor where he purchases formal Thai costume. He visits Wat Arun, Wat Pho and Chinatown, Bangkok where he samples Thai street food. He visits another fan named Whitney who is a rock climber. He then visits an animation studio and a Muay Thai boxing gym. | ||||||
4 | 4 | "Ireland" | Mike Sweeney | Jessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, and Mike Sweeney | April 18, 2024 | |
Conan visits Ireland to trace his family's roots. He visits the Barack Obama Plaza in County Tipperary where he unveils the "Conan O'Brien Air Pump". He then visits Dublin where he learns Irish slang. He searches for Bono, luring him in with a humanitarian award. He then visits a fan named Mohammed, a Pakistani immigrant, and his siblings. He then travels to Galway to appear on the Irish-language soap opera Ros na Rún and sings with The Irish Tenors. He then meets a genealogist who describes his family's history as agricultural workers. He samples blood sausage at a butcher before traveling to Wicklow. He visits the Wicklow Head lighthouses and its keeper before "going mad" in a parody of The Lighthouse . He visits Galbally and the farmstead where his great-grandfather lived. |
Tarja Kaarina Halonen is a Finnish politician who served as the 11th president of Finland, and the first and to date only woman to hold the position, from 2000 to 2012. She first rose to prominence as a lawyer with the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), and as the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary (1974–1975) and a member of the City Council of Helsinki (1977–1996). Halonen was a Social Democratic Party member of parliament from 1979 until her election to the presidency in 2000. She also served as a minister at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health from 1987 to 1990, as Minister of Justice from 1990 to 1991, and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2000.
Dana Thomas Carvey is an American stand-up comedian, actor, podcaster, screenwriter and producer.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the second installment of the Late Night. Hosted by Conan O'Brien, it aired from September 13, 1993 to February 20, 2009, replacing Late Night with David Letterman and was replaced by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am Eastern/11:37 pm Central and 12:37 am Mountain in the United States. From 1993 until 2000, Andy Richter served as O'Brien's sidekick; following his departure, O'Brien was the show's sole featured performer. The show's house musical act was The Max Weinberg 7 and led by E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg.
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is a puppet character created, puppeteered, and voiced by actor/comedian/director Robert Smigel. As his name indicates, Triumph's comedic style is almost exclusively insult comedy. A Montenegrin Mountain Hound, Triumph often is seen with a cigar in his mouth, which usually falls out of it when he starts talking. He first appeared in 1997 on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and also appeared on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien from time to time, as well as the short-lived TV Funhouse, TBS's Conan, Adult Swim's The Jack and Triumph Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Daily Show. Smigel and Triumph have been ejected from several events for Triumph's antics, including the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the Honolulu line for auditions for American Idol, and the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
KonstantinosPolluxAlexandros "Dino" Stamatopoulos is an American writer, producer, and actor. He has worked on TV programs such as Mr. Show, TV Funhouse, Mad TV, The Dana Carvey Show, Late Show with David Letterman, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He has also created multiple animated TV shows such as Moral Orel, Mary Shelley's Frankenhole, and High School USA!. As an actor, he is best known for his recurring role as the character Alex "Star-Burns" Osbourne on the NBC comedy series Community, on which he also worked as a producer, a consulting writer, and wrote two animated episodes.
Paul Andrew Richter is an American actor, comedian, writer, and talk show announcer. He is best known as the sidekick for Conan O'Brien on each of O'Brien's talk shows: Late Night and The Tonight Show on NBC and Conan on TBS. He was also star of the Fox television series Andy Richter Controls the Universe. He voiced Mort in the Madagascar film franchise and Ben Higgenbottom in the animated television series The Mighty B! on Nickelodeon.
Conan is an American variety and late-night talk show that aired each Monday through Thursday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time on TBS in the United States for 11 seasons, from 2010 to 2021. The show premiered on November 8, 2010, and was hosted by writer, comedian, and performer Conan O'Brien, accompanied by his long-time sidekick Andy Richter. Running for eight years and identifying as a traditional late-night talk show, Conan drew its comedy from recent news stories, political figures, and prominent celebrities, as well as aspects of the show itself. The hour-long show was akin to O'Brien's previous NBC late-night shows and was directed by Billy Bollotino.
Conaco, LLC is the television production firm owned by entertainer Conan O'Brien. The name is a portmanteau of the words "Conan" and "Co", an abbreviation of company. The name is also a parody of the petroleum oil company Conoco. It has produced programs primarily for NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery, including O'Brien's Late Night,Tonight Show, and Conan. David Kissinger, former NBCU executive and the son of Henry Kissinger, has been president since 2005.
Brian Stack is an American actor, comedian, and writer best known for his sketch comedy work. He worked on all three late-night talk shows hosted by Conan O'Brien including Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on NBC, and Conan on TBS. Stack left Conan in April 2015 to join the writing staff of the CBS series The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Conan Christopher O'Brien is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for having hosted late-night talk shows, beginning with Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993–2009) and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (2009–2010) on the NBC television network, and Conan (2010–2021) on the cable channel TBS. Before his hosting career, O'Brien was a writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1991, and the Fox animated sitcom The Simpsons from 1991 to 1993. He has also been host of the podcast series Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend since 2018 and starred in the 2024 travel show Conan O'Brien Must Go on Max.
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fifth installment of The Tonight Show. Hosted by Conan O'Brien. It aired from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, replacing The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and was replaced by The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Late Night is an American late-night talk and variety show airing on NBC since 1982. Four men have hosted Late Night: David Letterman (1982–1993), Conan O'Brien (1993–2009), Jimmy Fallon (2009–2014), and Seth Meyers (2014–present). Each iteration of the show was built around its host, and maintained distinct identities aside from the title, time slot, and network. The longest-serving host to date was O'Brien, who hosted Late Night with Conan O'Brien for almost 16 years, from September 1993 to February 2009.
The 2010 Tonight Show conflict was a media and public relations conflict involving the American television network NBC and two of its late-night talk show hosts, Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno, over the timeslot and hosting duties of the long-running franchise The Tonight Show.
Richard Adam Ludwin was an American television executive and former vice president at NBC Television. He is notable as the executive who backed Jerry Seinfeld's series Seinfeld, which went on to become one of the most popular and successful television sitcoms of all time. During his 31 years at NBC, Ludwin worked with every The Tonight Show host—Steve Allen and Jack Paar, albeit after their time on Tonight, as well as Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, and Jimmy Fallon. He also helped guide the network through the Conan O'Brien and Jay Leno conflict in 2010.
Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend is a weekly podcast hosted by American comedian and retired talk show host Conan O'Brien. It is co-hosted by O'Brien's assistant, Sona Movsesian, and producer, Matt Gourley. The podcast debuted in November 2018 and features O'Brien talking with comedians and actors in the industry, including Jeff Goldblum, Adam Sandler, Stephen Colbert, David Letterman, Bill Burr, Tom Hanks, and Tina Fey, along with personal friends, such as Lisa Kudrow, Joel McHale and Timothy Olyphant, people he admires such as Carol Burnett, Neil Young, Paul McCartney, John Cleese, and Robert Caro, and political figures, such as Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
Talin Sona Movsesian is an American executive assistant, author, and media personality. She has been the personal assistant of late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien since 2009, and has been featured in show segments, including as a guest in 2019. Movsesian has co-hosted the podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend since 2018. In 2022, she released a humorous how-to book titled The World's Worst Assistant, which became a New York Times Best Seller.
Conan Without Borders is an American travel show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired on TBS in the United States as a series of specials on O'Brien's talk show Conan. The series began in February 2015 and included thirteen episodes when the series ceased production due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and the subsequent ending of Conan. A follow-up series, titled Conan O'Brien Must Go, was released on Max in April 2024.
"Conan O'Brien Needs a Doctor While Eating Spicy Wings" is the twelfth and final episode of the twenty-third season of the American talk show Hot Ones. The episode premiered on YouTube on April 11, 2024. In the episode, host Sean Evans interviews television host and comedian Conan O'Brien.