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Conan O'Brien Must Go

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Conan O'Brien Must Go
Title card for the show
GenreComedy
Travel show
Created byConan O'Brien
Directed byMike Sweeney
Presented byConan O'Brien
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes4
Production
Executive producersConan O'Brien
Jeff Ross
Production companyConaco
Original release
NetworkMax
ReleaseApril 18, 2024 (2024-04-18) –
present (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.

Background

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A medium shot of Conan O'Brien smiling at the camera
Conan O'Brien talking to a bomb defusing robot
(Left) O'Brien at the US Embassy in Helsinki in 2006 and (Right) at Al Udeid Air Base during an episode of Conan Without Borders in 2016.

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]

Production and release

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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]

Reception

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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]

Episodes

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No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Norway"Mike SweeneyJessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, and Mike SweeneyApril 18, 2024 (2024-04-18)
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.
22"Argentina"Mike SweeneyJessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, and Mike SweeneyApril 18, 2024 (2024-04-18)
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).
33"Thailand"Mike SweeneyJessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, and Mike SweeneyApril 18, 2024 (2024-04-18)
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.
44"Ireland"Mike SweeneyJessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien, and Mike SweeneyApril 18, 2024 (2024-04-18)
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.

References

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  1. ^ a b O'Connell, Mikey (April 11, 2024). "Conan O'Brien's Excellent Adventure". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  2. ^ Allen, Samantha (April 21, 2015). "The Lost Art of the Late-Night Remote". Paste. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Hirschberg, Lynn (May 20, 2009). "Heeeere's . . . Conan!!!". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 19, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  4. ^ Greene, Steve (April 16, 2019). "Conan's 'Old-Time Baseball' Is the Highlight of Team Coco's Growing Archive Project". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 19, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  5. ^ Ritter, Karl (January 14, 2006). "Conan O'Brien's mock endorsement of Finnish president is no joke to her opponents". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  6. ^ Lemola, Johanna (February 13, 2006). "A Trip to Conelandia, Also Known as Finland". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 18, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  7. ^ Barish, Mike (January 26, 2010). "5 places Conan should go on vacation". CNN. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  8. ^ Huuhtanen, Matti (February 14, 2006). "Conan O'Brien meets Finnish president". Arizona Daily Sun. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  9. ^ France, Lisa Respers (February 16, 2015). "Conan O'Brien Takes Show to Cuba". CNN. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  10. ^ Butler, Bethonie (November 18, 2015). "Here's what happened when Conan O'Brien went to Armenia". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 7, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  11. ^ Aslanian, Karlen (October 15, 2015). "Late night with Conan O'Brien... in Armenia". The Guardian. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  12. ^ Horn, John (November 19, 2015). "Conan O'Brien on Bringing Conan to Armenia, Meeting Syrian Refugees, and Peaking in His 23rd Season". Vulture. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
  13. ^ Snierson, Dan (October 12, 2015). "Conan O'Brien is taking his late-night talk show to Armenia". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 28, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  14. ^ "CONAN Without Borders". Television Academy. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  15. ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 18, 2018). "TBS' Revamped 'Conan' Gets A Premiere Date". Deadline. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  16. ^ Goldstein, Ian (November 8, 2019). "Every Conan Without Borders International Special, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Schneider, Michael (March 9, 2024). "'Conan O'Brien Must Go,' the Host's Return to TV, Gets a Max Premiere Date". Variety. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  18. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (January 21, 2019). "Can Conan O'Brien Reinvent 'Conan'?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  19. ^ Donaghey, River; Schwartz, Drew (November 8, 2018). "Conan O'Brien's New Podcast Has an Insanely Good Guest Lineup". Vice. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  20. ^ Saincome, Matt (December 28, 2018). "Best New Comedy Podcasts of 2018". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  21. ^ White, Peter (April 13, 2021). "Conan O'Brien Launches Fan Call-In Podcast". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  22. ^ Pallotta, Frank (November 17, 2020). "Conan O'Brien ends his long run in late night for a new show on HBO Max | CNN Business". CNN. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  23. ^ a b Cavanaugh, Patrick (April 26, 2024). "How Conan O'Brien Must Go Came to Life on Max". TV Shows. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  24. ^ Swisher, kara (September 11, 2023). "Conan O'Brien on Late Night's Decline and Trump's Greatest Crime". Intelligencer. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  25. ^ Schneider, Michael (May 17, 2023). "'Conan O'Brien Must Go' International Travel Series Ordered by Max". Variety. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  26. ^ a b Pandya, Hershal (March 9, 2024). "Conan to Be Borderless Again in Conan O'Brien Must Go". Vulture. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  27. ^ a b Deggans, Eric (April 18, 2024). "'Conan O'Brien Must Go' is side-splitting evidence of life beyond late night TV". NPR.org. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  28. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (March 9, 2024). "'Conan O'Brien Must Go' Travel Series Gets Max Premiere Date As Comedian Cracks Up SXSW". Deadline. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  29. ^ "Conan O'Brien Must Go on Max". Max. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  30. ^ a b Otterson, James (May 15, 2024). "Conan O'Brien Must Go Renewed for Season 2 at Max". Variety. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  31. ^ "Conan O'Brien Must Go: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  32. ^ "Conan O'Brien Must Go: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
  33. ^ Hussain, Tania (April 12, 2024). "'Conan O'Brien Must Go' Review: Please Inject More of This Uproariously Funny Show Into Our Veins". Collider. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  34. ^ a b c Rodrick, Stephen (April 18, 2024). "'Conan O'Brien Must Go' Is a Keeper: TV Review". Variety. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  35. ^ Coons, Meredith Hobbs Coons (April 15, 2024). "Conan O'Brien Must Go review: Max's travel show will delight Coco fans". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  36. ^ Surrey, Miles (April 18, 2024). "'Conan O'Brien Must Go' Is the Best Version of Conan". The Ringer. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
  37. ^ Cosgrove, Jennifer (September 10, 2024). "Conan O'Brien wins Emmy for Ireland episode of travel show featuring Ros na Rún". The Irish Times. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  38. ^ "Outstanding Informational Series Or Special Nominees / Winners 2024". Television Academy. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
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