Gratitude for a Lifetime of Conan O’Brien
In a brazen act of product placement, our Samsung TV automatically tunes to its own “Samsung TV Plus” channel every single time we turn it on no matter what was on before.
This used to be annoying, but now it is actually a joy, because we discovered that Samsung TV Plus has a channel called “Conan O’Brien TV” that only plays clips from Conan’s many shows over the years. Instead of being annoyed, sometimes we turn the TV on to watch Severance and instead end up laughing at Conan for a long time.
I don’t know how to properly convey what this means for how much Conan O’Brien media has changed in my lifetime. As a kid I used to stay up to catch glimpses of his late night show, and now literally every single time I turn my TV on, Conan is there trying to make me laugh. It’s so great.
If you don’t know who Conan O’Brien is, he is my former boss Luke O’Brien’s brother. A writer for SNL & The Simpsons, TV talk show host, travel show star, and popular podcaster, Conan never fails to make me laugh.
In the spirit of Kind & Funny’s Self-Expression Club, our reminder to practice Creativity, Authenticity, and Vulnerability, here are some things I like about Conan:
Creativity
Listen, the guy is a creative genius, and the range of shows he has worked on is staggering. He’s smart enough to surround himself with other creative geniuses, and silly enough to try and make any situation funny. There are a million examples, so I’ll pick one with another of my all-time favorite funny people, Sam Richardson:
It’s this combination—always trying to be funny in relation to other people—that’s my favorite thing about Conan. He has the most fun doing bits with other people, and he seems to have just as much fun with his co-host Andy Richter as with his assistant Sona Movsesian as with celebrity talk show guests as with random people on the street. Every person is a potential muse for Conan’s comedy, and I think that’s beautiful.
On his podcast he’d probably joke that it’s because he is desperate for attention and approval, which may be true, but it’s also true that creative collaboration is just a lot of fun. When Kel I work on a project we each have aspects we focus on individually because we’re best at those, but we also have practices to share and get feedback and ideas from each other throughout the process. I think it also inspires each of us to do our best work so that the other person likes it.
I think that Conan creates these amazing comedic partnerships because they allow for a unique chemical reaction every time, fueled by the spontaneity of not exactly knowing what another person is going to do, and I love it.
Authenticity
Conan has complete control over his ability to appear authentic in almost all situations, and he uses this like a judo master to redirect the emotion of a setting to hilarious results.
Why do I say “appear authentic” instead of “be authentic?” Because Conan will do anything in service of being funny, including convincing you that something he is doing or saying is real only to rip the rug out from under you.
Why do I say “almost all situations?” Because the only time you know for sure Conan is being really real is when he’s really laughing. Few people demonstrate that better than authenticity-judo Yoda, Martin Short.
A laugh that you try to keep inside but it breaks out anyway is a special kind of laugh.
Vulnerability
Conan’s podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend allows for a lot of real talk in between all of the silliness, and I think that format works well by allowing the combination space to breathe, something that is especially clear after you’ve watched a half-dozen late show celebrity interviews in a row on “Conan O’Brien TV” (they’re funny, but they aren’t real).
Case in point: the extremely moving recent episode about the podcast team’s experience in the LA fires, specifically Sona and family losing their house. Conan and Sona have a relationship built over many years that allows them to have a meaningful conversation full of honesty, sadness, care, humor, empathy, and hope. For me, after seeing so much of the fires on TV and feeling for the people of California, this was a powerful way to hear what it feels like during and after, and I think you might agree if you listen or watch.
That may not seem like the funniest note to end on, but I assure you that the podcast has more laughs than tears. And fortunately Conan will be back the next time I turn my TV on, and I guarantee that he will be trying to bring a smile to my face.
Amazingly, this blog is not product placement for Samsung or for Conan O’Brien TV, I just wanted to write it. Who is one of your self-expression heroes? What have you learned from them? Do you or does your business need some help with self-expression? We do some great branding projects! jed@kindandfunny.com.