Guileless child Conan O’Brien let Paul Rudd play a clip “from his new Audible show” on his podcast
"Oh for Christ's sake!" O'Brien yells in the aftermath of the moment. "You can’t do that on a podcast!"
Aux News Conan O'Brien
Paul Rudd and Conan O’Brien have been friends of at least some flavor for years at this point, a relationship that has been demonstrated, most consistently, via Rudd’s long string of appearances on O’Brien’s various late night shows. (And his choice of clips from his career to run when making said appearances.) But given that the whole premise of O’Brien’s Earwolf podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, is that he’s never managed to make a “real” friendship with any of the famouses he’s spent his career talking to, maybe it makes sense that he’d have Rudd on the show not once, but twice, to really nail this friendship thing down.
Of course, Rudd—who’s currently in post-production on Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, and whose last major project was AppleTV+’s The Shrink Next Door—wouldn’t just show up for a return appearance on said podcast without something to promote. As it turns out, he’s been working on a new Audible show, crafting, with Ken Marino and Celia Weston, a new narrative podcast for fans to enjoy. Rudd spends fully two minutes setting up this new series, before innocently mentioning that, hey, he’s brought a clip. “We’ve recorded it,” Rudd notes, noose gently tightening. “If you want to play a little bit of it…”
“Sure!” says Conan O’Brien, consummate professional and guileless child. (This bit starts at 28:00 in the episode.)
And, reader? There is nothing in this world quite like hearing the immediate disappointed shock in Conan O’Brien’s voice as the clip starts playing, and he realizes that Paul Rudd—the Lucy-with-the-football of talk show guests—has actually, genuinely, gotten him with that goddamn Mac And Me clip again. After 25 years! He actually got him!
“Oh for Christ’s sake!” O’Brien yells, laughing. “Why? WHY?! You can’t do that on a podcast! It’s a visual joke.” “I know!” Rudd responds cheerfully. “It’s an audio medium!” “I know, would it work that way? I dunno!” Rudd responds, with joy. It’s beautiful chaos.
“Was there any truth to anything you said in the setup?” O’Brien asks.
“No.”
If that’s not friendship, what is?
49 Comments
Aw, I haven’t listened that far into the episode and the headline ruined the bit. It’s still a funny bit, but thanks for diminishing it.
It’s called ‘news’ for a reason – not ‘olds’.
Maybe don’t read articles about things you haven’t finished if you don’t want spoilers, genius, I dunno.
The headline spoils the gag, dummy.
I thought the inherent value of podcasts is being able to listen to them on your own schedule but evidently I’ve been doing it wrong and you have to play them the second they hit your feed.
All the headline says is that Paul Rudd played a clip, I just don’t see how that ruins it for you.
In what way lol
How do you know he’s a genius? He might not be, I mean a lot of people aren’t. I don;t think I am anyway. We should never assume as the old saying goes; “you should never assume’
You don’t have to be a piece of shit about it
I feel you. I listened to it yesterday, and Rudd is so good at selling the premise that when it happened, I was angry-laughing. It sounded like a compelling podcast idea.Sorry it was ruined for you.
Eh, it’s not the end of the world; I just think it’s lame for the AVClub to broadcast what happened within the headline when the joy of the bit is the surprise. Whether it’s on the AVClub for tipping it hand within the headline or on me for seeing Paul Rudd’s name on the episode description and not expecting that bit to appear, I’ll let the chuds of the comments sound off snidely and sympathetically.
Yeah, before he dropped the penny, I paused the podcast, and searched my Audible app for this supposed audio story. It really is something that Rudd has gotten Conan twice rather recently with this gag – on the podcast, and then on one of the final Conan TBS shows, with the help of Bill Hader.
Why would you be browsing this website at the same time as a podcast? I mean, I do that all the time, but I have to pause one thing since the human brain can only process one cognitive thing at a time. You’re supposed to exercise, clean, drive, cook, assemble furniture, something that doesn’t need concentration.
I listened to ~15 minutes this morning, then used this feature on my podcast app that allows me to pause an episode’s playback so I can resume playing the episode at a later date. It’s a neat feature and life’s been better since I’ve stopped having to put aside PTO to catch up on Hardcore History.
Keep up or stay offline. This isn’t a new rule. Spoilers are everywhere, and easy to avoid if you want to.
“Don’t look at the internet until you’re caught up on all your popular culture.” Got it.
I’m with you, man. I dunno what these chunder heads are all on their high horses about.
More like “accept that a pop culture news site might occasionally spoil a (very small and extremely predictable) bit of pop culture.” You don’t have to stay off the internet if you want to remain unspoiled, but if you want to experience absolutely everything as fresh as newly-fallen snow then going to sites that cover notable pop culture news seems like a barrier to that.And yes, I’m absolutely on the side that thinks if you care enough about Conan to listen to his podcast then the fact that Paul Rudd is the guest should have already counted as the spoiler. The joke’s been going for literal decades now and happens every single time.
Keep up or stay offline. Ooh, okay tough guy.
The spoiler is literally in the thumbnail of the clip that the podcast themselves uploaded.
. . . [H]eadline ruined the bit . . .Dude, if I see the names “Conan O’Brien” and “Paul Rudd” in the same sentence, somewhere to follow will be that damn “Mac and Me” clip. I think it is so ingrained in our collective consciousness now that they’re probably thinking of preserving the bit somehow at the Library of Congress as being “culturally significant”But God damn, Paul Rudd sells it Every. Damn. Time. The dude could sell ice to Eskimos.
What? But it’s just Paul Rudd playing… a clip… to Conan O’Brien…
yeah, it’s gonna be Mac and Me.
And here I thought only Conan wouldn’t be expecting Mac and Me from Paul Rudd. Let me spoil the next time Paul is a guest……it’s actually Mac and Me.
I’m laughing just reading about it. I hope Paul Rudd does this at Conan’s funeral. Or has someone set it up for Conan at his own funeral.
Not if Conan kills him first!.
Even if that happens, Rudd will have arranged for Conan to speak at his funeral anyway, and Conan’s speech will introduce a montage of clips of Rudd on Conan’s show, but it will just be the Mac & Me clip again.
And again and again.And again and again and again.
I’m sure he has a plan in place for that.
There’s not a doubt in my mind he does.
Paul Rudd has a heart rate monitor, when his heart stops this clip plays automatically on his phone.
If this is just a long con for Rudd pushing Conan’s casket over a cliff he’s going to lose a lot of goodwill. Or possibly gain it, could go either way really.
I foresee one of two possibilities for Paul Rudd at Conan’s funeral.1. He’s going to get up to speak and say that he can’t bring himself to deliver the eulogy he’d prepared, but fortunately he recorded himself rehearsing it to practice his delivery, and brought the recording along…2. He gets up to speak, but rather than delivering the eulogy himself he brings out Jade Calegory, who played the kid in the wheelchair in Mac and Me.
One of these days, god forbid, Paul Rudd will pass from this Earth. Conan will get the news, and when he asks how it happened that person will start with how Paul was at the park with some friends when his wheelchair slipped down a hill and over a ravine.
Beignet done that
That was brilliant, the setup was downright excellent. I can’t think of another running gag that has gone as long and worked so well.
Man, these guys have really been in the shit, huh?
When they started talking about people scrubbing through and still hearing them say that, I actually started scrubbing through, and every 30 seconds increment was “in the shit” for like an entire 4 more minutes. lmao
Joyously pointless shit.
They really stepped into the shit
I listened to this earlier. About halfway through the setup, I knew what was coming. I thought, “this sounds like a Mac and Me setup” and it was. But it’s funny to realize it a few seconds before he plays it. And you can flat out recognize the clip from the sound. It was funny as heck.
Two minutes of the good stuff:
Also this is absolutely what friends are for, one of my friends and I have been springing bad impromptu renditions of Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights” on another friend for going on 25 years now.
I hope you include Kate’s dance moves.
Often. In the car. On video calls. In public especially. She has a milestone birthday next year and there is no way we’re not recreating the video on her lawn.
And here I was worried we’d lose this bit forever with Conan leaving TV.
Haven’t listened yet, hope Gourley got in a question about Halloween 6 like he wanted.
Apparently Conan start getting suspicious when the set up about a guy who fell in love with a woman wearing “Beignet done that” shirt.
It’s the effort to bring esteemed character actress Celia Weston into the explanation what seals it for me
As soon as I saw the title of the clip on YouTube mentioning Paul Rudd playing a clip, I knew what was coming. I do genuinely believe Conan didn’t see it coming, but I have to question *how* he didn’t see it coming.