Conan O’Brien’s gonzo Hot Ones sends the Internet Coco-crazy
Conan O'Brien sacrificing his sanity for hot wings led to an Internet-wide celebration of the comedy icon
Aux Features Conan O'Brien
Like we said: Conan O’Brien did Hot Ones the best. Anyone familiar with O’Brien’s work couldn’t have been surprised by his utter and complete commitment to the bit. (Though he said himself in the episode it’s no bit: “What’s the point of even being alive if we can’t do this!” he declared while drowning himself in hot sauce.) But if you weren’t familiar with O’Brien’s work, you’re in luck, because Conan clips are everywhere right now.
Following Hot Ones, Twitter/X flooded with fans sharing their favorite clips from Conan O’Brien’s long television career, from Ginger the Homicidal Dog to Pierre Bernard’s Recliner of Rage. The love was prompted not only by widespread agreement with O’Brien’s comedy philosophy, which he outlined while profusely sweating through the pain on Hot Ones, but also by the cultural hole left behind in the late night space, where O’Brien was never afraid to try something different or strange in the name of a laugh. The level of admiration and celebration of his talk show run reached levels usually reserved for when after a beloved performer passes away—such that at least a few fans mistakenly thought O’Brien actually died.
Thankfully, O’Brien is still with us to experience this spike in praise—though his enthusiastic consumption of hot sauce did severe damage. “I had a complete breakdown—physically, emotionally, spiritually,” he said in conversation with Jake Tapper after the Hot Ones episode aired. (via The Wrap). “If I think something’s funny, I will do it and suffer later. And that’s exactly what happened.” O’Brien went on to admit that “When I got home, my hand was burning. I realized that the sauce got underneath my wedding ring and was burning through my skin. Because it’s an acid, you idiot!”
The streaming service now known as Max—“They used to call it HBO, but people found that too popular,” O’Brien snarked on Hot Ones—couldn’t have asked for better promotion for the comic’s new travelogue, Conan O’Brien Must Go, which airs on April 18. (That happens to be O’Brien’s birthday, but the timing is just a coincidence, he clarified while suffering through the hot wings.) In her B review for The A.V. Club, Meredith Hobbs Coons writes that the travel series is “freewheeling foolishness courtesy of Conan” (with narration from Warner Herzog): “There will be obligatory food-tasting, dress-up sight gags galore, and, all the while, our hero will wield the full instrument of his pale, long-limbed form as only he can, to draw laughter or disgust from all who behold him, ‘the defiler’ of ‘the astounding grandeur of this planet,’ as Herzog calls him. For his fans, at home and on screen, this brings clear delight.”
Based on the Internet’s response this past weekend, O’Brien obviously has plenty of fans delighting in his presence. Over the course of a nearly 30-year late-night talk show career, he’s spawned innumerable beloved bits—a scroll through Twitter right now is basically a crash course in comedy. Feel free to share your own favorite moments in the comments!
35 Comments
I remember distinctly the clip that got me into Conan. I was born in the mid 90s and was unfamiliar with his work growing up apart from some appreciation for him being a part of the simpsons. But in college I came across his trip to the American Girl doll store and it remains one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. The doll (a mysterious german misanthropist) telling the waitress Conan is hitting on that Conan is married is just…perfection.
I loved his follow-up with Taylor Tomlinson (one off my favorite stand-ups):
Even as a straight male – knowing that everyone involved is aware the dolls aren’t real – I still got the Sophie’s Choice element of that.
My first memory of Conan was when I was 16, watching an episode with a Triumph bit while in the ER getting a spinal tap to make sure I didn’t have meningitis.
I know it was a bit, but man, by the time Conan was screaming and chugging hot sauce directly from the bottle, I was actually starting to get a little worried.
He is on record as saying he has no real-world talents…but if he thinks something is going to be funny, he’s convinced he can do just about anything. He said he’d be a terrible actor because in order to commit, he has to think it’s going to be funny.
I mean, he can say he has no real-world talents, but I think it’s safe to say at this point that he’s a pretty talented comic writer and performer.
Yeah, just his views on comedy writing and performing that Conan talks about in his podcasts makes it clear that this is a man that has a profound understanding of the art form.
I remember him once saying in an interview that if he didn’t go into comedy, he probably would have taught English (he has a BA from Harvard in History and Literature). Whether teaching is itself a “real world talent” is debatable, I suppose, but as an English prof., myself, I think he would’ve been great at it. His undergrad thesis at Harvard was entitled “Literary Progeria in the Works of William Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor”, which, as an admirer of Southern Gothic literature, sounds fascinating.
I thought Progeria was a pharmaceutical.
Progeria is a rare genetic disorder that results in drastic early onset of the aging process. It’s a pretty sad condition.In terms of what that means in connection with Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner I have no idea except through context clues and passing familiarity with their work.
I can imagine him having the most enjoyable classes about the nichest literary shit, and it’d be awesome to attend.
“Whether teaching is itself a “real world talent” is debatable”….hey, I know it’s not, but c’mon.
HE FATHERED* THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS IGUANA!*Metaphorically speaking. I hope.
I think Sean’s clearly a little worried about him, too. I recently experimented with a Hot Ones variety pack, and I can tell you right now I didn’t handle the Last Dab (which was a weaker version than what he had) nearly as well as he did.
Pierre Bernard is more right than you’d think about the X-Men paperback novelizations. Or so I remember …
I’ve only read a couple of them, but the X-Men/Star Trek crossover novel in particular is a surprisingly-fun read.
apple picking with mr t was probably the first time i remember having to stifle my laughing to not wake my parents up, but this simple premise always sticks out as my absolute favorite bit ever.
The moment they’re in the truck, singing Conan’s “Pity The Fool” folk song, and Mr. T is serendipitously smacked in the face by a tree during the instrumental section is so goddamn funny. I couldn’t believe how hard it made me laugh.
“I pity ‘im too”
Conan has been a gift to the world that continues on giving plentifully.Just wanted to restate something obvious.
He’s always been my favourite late night host, and I like the podcast. Just so talented and seems to surround himself with great people as his team. I did like Craig Ferguson as well.
Ferguson would be a dream guest for the podcast. He did the late night show a few times.
During his Hot Ones episode, I wanted him to say to Sean, “Sit perfectly still. Only I may eat wings.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it a thousand more times until it actually happens, but Jimmy Fallon can go die in a fire.
I mean, he was voted “Most Likely to Die in a Fire” in high school…
They really never should’ve let Iggy edit the Yearbook.
I’m not very anti Fallon, as I tend to just ignore him, but I did watch his recent interview with Conan and it’s amazing how bad he is at controlling himself as an interviewer, and how great Conan is at holding the tempo of the conversation even as interviewee. There’s a part in the middle where Conan is talking about how much of a trickster Prince was, and Fallon says something like “Yeah, I got so many crazy Prince stories” with all the endeavor of a middle schooler talking about how many chicks he’s banged.
The thing with this format is that the host is there for the guests and the audience. Jimmy Fallon thinks that the guest and the audience are there for him.
Leno more than Fallon. Also Jeff Zucker.
I must be the only person who did not enjoy this episode of Hot Ones…
My condolences
“Walker told me I have AIDS.”
Was looking for this. His look of shock is priceless.
Also see any time Harrison Ford showed up.
How did no one post nut spoon?!