Conan O’Brien Was NEVER Funny: Now He is Giving Up Late Night TV Talk Show

You are kicked off of Team Coco.

There are just too many of these shows.

I am even getting tired of the ones I like.

I see O'Brien as a Robin Williams or Jim Carey type. He tries to be the center of attention and funny EVERY moment. It wears thin quick.

When Williams & Carey evolved to share the lead and even went to serious roles they became much more palatable. In Williams case, really good in serious roles.

The jury is out to see if O'Brien improves as well in a potentially "less spotlight" role like hosting a variety show. If he or the program tries to make him the star it is likely nothing much will change.

I always compare to Johnny Carson...there is no comparison.

Conan did his funniest work in his younger days as a writer for some of the best episodes in the early '90s golden years of SNL and The Simpsons. I think he probably works best behind the camera, but it's not as profitable as being in front of it. Good on him for making it work for him, though.

stan the corgi wrote:

I always compare to Johnny Carson...there is no comparison.

Carson was King because he was the only game in town. He was good yes, but he wouldn't necessarily have been the king had he been in his heyday.

I thought Conan’s early seasons were pretty good. I agree he same some Jim Carrey like qualities. It’s funny material when the goofball is in their 20s and 30s, not so much when they are pushing 60. Chevy Chase is another example.

I don’t really watch any late night shows any more since I actually go to bed at a reasonable time now and it’s all way too political. He does seem the least political of any of the current late night shows, but I also haven’t seen it in years.

Cor wrote:

I see O'Brien as a Robin Williams or Jim Carey type. He tries to be the center of attention and funny EVERY moment. It wears thin quick.

When Williams & Carey evolved to share the lead and even went to serious roles they became much more palatable. In Williams case, really good in serious roles.

The jury is out to see if O'Brien improves as well in a potentially "less spotlight" role like hosting a variety show. If he or the program tries to make him the star it is likely nothing much will change.

You are kidding right? Not even close to their level. Lol

corek wrote:

Cor wrote:

I see O'Brien as a Robin Williams or Jim Carey type. He tries to be the center of attention and funny EVERY moment. It wears thin quick.

When Williams & Carey evolved to share the lead and even went to serious roles they became much more palatable. In Williams case, really good in serious roles.

The jury is out to see if O'Brien improves as well in a potentially "less spotlight" role like hosting a variety show. If he or the program tries to make him the star it is likely nothing much will change.

You are kidding right? Not even close to their level. Lol

Where did you see "at their level"?

There are some that are funny when they don't force it. Williams & Carey were not like that. They seemed to force everything, every moment. They eventually evolved and became much funnier and watchable in my eyes.

ALTHOUGH NOWHERE NEAR THE LEVEL OF WILLIAMS & CAREY, I see O'Brien in the same light, trying to be funny and the center of attention every moment. I wonder if a less starring role like the host of a variety show will neuter him and improve his palatability.

Better?

The true revelation from Covid , is Twitter exposed the real personalities of these late night creeps

I think Conan is entertaining. I don’t think he’s funny. I enjoy his chat show. I wish he wasn’t always so Jokey jokey. But it’s not as irritating as Fallon, et.al. Sad to see him go. Not much left of value on late night. Bring back arsenio... for a 3rd thyme.

Cor wrote:

corek wrote:

You are kidding right? Not even close to their level. Lol

Where did you see "at their level"?

There are some that are funny when they don't force it. Williams & Carey were not like that. They seemed to force everything, every moment. They eventually evolved and became much funnier and watchable in my eyes.

ALTHOUGH NOWHERE NEAR THE LEVEL OF WILLIAMS & CAREY, I see O'Brien in the same light, trying to be funny and the center of attention every moment. I wonder if a less starring role like the host of a variety show will neuter him and improve his palatability.

Better?

Meh. He is another bought and paid for liberal Hollywood type. People are getting tired of these privileged hacks by the day. If you like him, that is your choice. I get it

I never found Conan funny, but, late night talk shows are so politically one way now that they are not worth watching. Same material, recycle it for another night. You would think one of them would mix it up.

corek wrote:

Meh. He is another bought and paid for liberal Hollywood type. People are getting tired of these privileged hacks by the day. If you like him, that is your choice. I get it

I agree. I don't know how someone could watch a Hollywood talk show beyond seeing a snippet when changing channels. Blathering self absorbed people absolutely yelling for attention.

I tried to give O'Brien the benefit of the doubt that he might become more likeable if he didn't try to garner attention every moment.

Jackoo wrote:

Conan was embarrassingly unfunny. Now he is moving to a streaming weekly variety show next year.

He’s not that funny, and the sad thing is he’s the best late night host right now.

The best thing about his show is that Andy Richter was in the classic film Cabin Boy starring the great Chris Elliot.

*****Please disregard this post as I just learned via his Wikipedia page that Andy is a supporter of Planned Parenthood, the organization that promotes the genocide of the unborn.

It should be noted Andy plays a small part in Cabin Boy and does not add much to the comic brilliance of this fine piece of cinema.

Randy the Pyloric Sphincter

In the Year 2000

Triumph

those were the truly excellent years, super absurd sketches that were reminiscent of old Letterman

history repeats itself - everyone was better when they were young and took real risks

I could never get through one of his monologs. He'd fiddle and dance around and mug to the camera and I was like "get on with it and tell the joke already". Just couldn't stand him.

BUT

The past few years some of his new and old bits pop up on my youtube suggestions and quite a few are pretty funny.

As a person of the tallish persuasion I really *wanted* Conan to be a credit to his height...but I tried him a handful of times over the years and was never entertained.

Some hosts are inherently funny/entertaining themselves; others are not, but are great "enablers" of their guests. Conan was neither IMO, at least the few times I saw his show(s). As observed above, he's better in the writers' room or behind the camera.

But he's made it work (apparently his net worth is in the low nine figures), so good for him, I guess. Not my cuppa.