Conan O’Brien Reveals The Late Night Sketches He Loves No One Ever Mentions (And That Time He Tried To Wildly Change The Name Of The Show)
Currently, it’s an exciting period for Conan O’Brien admirers. His podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” is thriving, his travel series “Conan O’Brien Must Go” is streamable with a Max subscription, and in March, he hosted the 97th Academy Awards and was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (which can be viewed with a Netflix subscription). Yet, many continue to remember him fondly from his late-night talk show era, commencing with his 16-year tenure as host of “Late Night,” following his role as a writer on “Saturday Night Live” and “The Simpsons.
During his time on Late Night, many well-known sketches were produced (including Sarah Silverman’s comeback after leaving SNL), but more recently, O’Brien has been revisiting the less mainstream skits he and his team developed. Furthermore, he reminisced about a moment when he considered giving the show an outrageous new name – something I find completely fitting for the creative mind behind it.
What Conan O’Brien’s Favorite Obscure Late Night Sketches Are
If you recall Conan O’Brien hosting Late Night in the past, certain comedic segments that might pop up in your memory could be Masturbating Bear, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, The Interrupter, Pimpbot 5000, and for me, the Walker, Texas Ranger lever stood out. However, during his visit to Late Night with Seth Meyers, marking his first return since 2009, he took a moment to shine light on sketches that weren’t as famous, starting with:
There are some that no one ever mentions that I loved, which was, we did ‘Horse Riding A Horse.’
Absolutely, you’ve nailed the essence of it! Picture a man astride a real steed, clad in a horse suit – quite a sight, I must say. Yet, the absurdity doesn’t stop there; Conan O’Brien adds another layer of randomness to this spectacle.
“Indeed, you’ve got it spot on! A man on a real horse wearing a horse costume – quite a scene, I can confirm. But the strangeness doesn’t end there; Conan O’Brien takes the absurdity up a notch.
The concept was absent; instead, I sought humor that felt right in my head. We also had another production, titled ‘The Never-Satisfying FedEx Pope’, featuring Brian McCann. It was essentially about a man portraying the pope with a FedEx box, and it struck a chord with me.
Ignore me for a moment, as I ponder an alternate version of the popular streaming series Conclave, featuring The Frustrating FedEx Pope. Conan O’Brien recently brought up a reimagining of one of the most renowned X-Men characters who seems to underperform compared to the original:
I’m musing about a different storyline for the hit series Conclave featuring The Disappointing FedEx Pope, and Conan O’Brien mentioned an idea for a less effective X-Men character compared to the actual one.
I’m quite fond of “Shoeverine” penned by Andrew Weinberg. Instead of the usual Wolverine without footwear, this version has him wearing shoes on his hand-feet, which I find particularly appealing.
Absolutely, I’d choose adamantium claws over hand shoes any day, but at least Spider-Man’s punches would have a bit more power with his webby gloves. These characters perfectly showcase O’Brien’s humor in visual storytelling, which he described as follows:
“Indeed, I prefer the metallic talons over human footwear on hands, but at least the Web-Slinger would have a stronger wallop with his webbed gloves. These characters epitomize O’Brien’s wit in visual narratives, a trait he once described as follows:
In my case, I’ve often appreciated comedy with a playful, almost exaggerated flair, and I find visual silliness particularly amusing. My idea has always been to create content that would still be funny even if the audio was muted.
Conan O’Brien is perfectly suited to quirky humor, and that’s one reason he continues to be well-liked. In shows like “Conan O’Brien Must Go“, he consistently manages to elicit laughter through creative visual gags, many of which involve wearing unusual costumes or outfits. It’s not surprising that he still holds fond memories for the odd characters from his days on “Late Night“.
What Conan O’Brien Wanted To Call His Show Instead Of Late Night
Conan O’Brien took over hosting duties from David Letterman on Late Night, who had been at the helm for 11 years before shifting to CBS for The Late Show due to being overlooked for The Tonight Show. With Letterman’s long tenure and O’Brien being relatively unestablished, there was significant pressure on him to make a strong impression as the new Late Night host. In his chat with Seth Meyers, O’Brien reminisced about how he and original writer Robert Smigel thought a good strategy for standing out was to rename the show.
Initially, we were apprehensive about being compared to Letterman due to his exceptional talent. He pioneered the time slot and style we were emulating. We constantly worried about being linked to him, preferring to establish our own identity. Hence, we seriously considered renaming the show from “Late Night” to “Nighty Night with Conan O’Brien.” I’m not joking; we truly believed that was the best choice for our program.
The title change suggestion for “Nighty Night With Conan O’Brien” was fortunately nixed. This decision was made during discussions between O’Brien, Smigel, and NBC executive Rick Ludwin. During their conversation, O’Brien humorously commented that he observed “four blood vessels burst” in the man’s head. Later, Ludwin clarified that “Late Night” is an established and successful franchise that will endure long after them, so they abandoned the idea and swiftly moved on.
Though Conan O’Brien’s late-night TV era may have ended, he continues to engage and amuse audiences on various television formats. In the near future, “Conan O’Brien Must Go” has been renewed for its third season, he is scheduled to host the Oscars in 2026, and he lends his voice to Smartypants in “Toy Story 5.
Read More
2025-06-15 02:38