Conan O’Brien is a fascinating character. He’s a middle-aged, 100% Irish comedy-writer-turned-TV-host-turned-podcaster with coiffed ginger hair. He has inscrutable wit, boundless charm and wears ridiculously tight jeans from time to time. Throughout the years, Conan has gained something of a cult reputation among late-night fans. He’s a great interviewer and a unique comedian who has been entertaining generations with his whacky remotes, his vaudeville office antics and, most recently, a remarkable “Hot Ones” appearance. As a longtime fan of Conan, I’ve had a few months to sit on it now, and I consider the appearance to be Conan’s masterstroke — an amalgam of everything that makes the character and the man behind it so compelling. Let’s break this down.
There are two trademarks that make Conan “Conan.” The first is his relentless self-deprecation. In the world of Conan, there’s rarely any punching up or down. Instead, Conan will happily punch himself as long as the laughs keep on coming. In a famous remote about his staff, Conan satirically portrays himself as a ruthless boss who “refuses” any funny business at his oh-so-esteemed establishment. It’s comedic precisely because he’s playing a character of himself, and that character is an awful human being. Conan constantly plays these roles in his show, having no qualms about feeding into despicable stereotypes like the perverted old man or the stuck-up “famous” person. In a world where Oprah Winfrey (“The Oprah Winfrey Show”) and Ellen DeGeneres (“The Ellen DeGeneres Show”) will try to save face by giving away cars like candy, it’s refreshing and jarring to watch Conan so gleefully put on the facade of villainy. He’s quite subversive for a talk show host and comedian because attacking others and glorifying yourself is light work. But building a persona on satire and self-deprecation like Conan or Craig Ferguson (“The Late Late Show”)? That requires not taking yourself too seriously, something that Ellen, Oprah and James Corden (“Cats”) lack.
The second trademark is Conan’s remarkable confidence: a cocksure belief that whatever he’s doing is comedic gold — even if the bit isn’t inherently funny. Look no further than any gag from his new series “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” where he is slap-happy to drag awkward moments to near collapse or, conversely, follow a bit all the way through to its natural conclusion. Together, these elements form the basis of Conan’s style, one in which he is so sure of himself and his comedic abilities that he welcomes humiliation, ridicule and failure as though they were his best friends.
In that viral “Hot Ones” episode, a series where the guests eat increasingly spicy chicken wings while answering oddly specific questions, Conan plays the perfect Conan. He’s there to promote his then-new show “Conan O’Brien Must Go.” Sean Evans, the host, begins the episode by asking how well Conan handles spice, with him being pasty white and all. Conan delivers the hilarious but crucial set-up to this half-hour-long bit: “I never saw a spice till I was about 52 years old.”
The next ten minutes are the standard interview affair. The wings are a tasty amount of spicy, and so Conan responds kindly to all of Evans’ great questions. However, once the wings get demonstrably hotter, Conan leans into that self-deprecating set-up, playing the role of a man somehow immune to spice. “I don’t fear your wings, man,” he says, smirking mischievously. Sean lightly chuckles — and so do we — not knowing that our mild amusement at Conan’s smugness will soon turn into horrific astonishment.
In the second half of the episode, Conan morphs into a spice monster, recklessly dumping thousands of Scoville units on his wings and lathering himself in hot sauce. “You don’t know what real danger looks like anymore!” Conan says as he begins casually drinking from the hot sauce bottle, making an absolute mockery of any person who has ever waved the white flag on the show. As Evans says, Conan has the bravado of “Ric Flair cutting a promo,” except that it’s Conan. And while Conan isn’t technically self-deprecating here, he — in typical fashion — creates humor at his own expense, sacrificing his taste buds and stomach for some short-lived internet relevancy. The bit only gets funnier as Conan’s pain becomes more apparent. The more he denies the heat and doubles down on how he can handle everything, the more rapturously horrified our reaction becomes.
Perhaps, the best part is that Conan is still rather cogent. By the end, he’s making an incredible speech about consuming different types of art and finding inspiration in unexpected places. “Don’t be a snob! Look high and look low,” he says. Conan, drooling in his own spit and covered in hot sauce, effortlessly monologues about a topic that YouTube essayists would draft and pen for days on end. Incredible.
There are plenty of other great gags, too. Doctor Arroyo, played by Conan’s staff writer and producer Jose Arroyo (“Conan”), acts as Conan’s longtime personal physician, who seems extremely unqualified for the job. At one point, Conan asks Arroyo to take his pulse; Arroyo wraps his arms around Conan’s neck instead and lightly chokes him. How did Conan even hire this man? Throughout the episode, Conan also pockets the wings, as though they were memorabilia. And then, there’s the off-the-cuff wit that we expect from the veteran comedian — “I’ve never felt so alive! I’m erect for the first time in 15 years!”
Usually, a “Hot Ones” episode is rather formulaic. The guests answer the questions well at first, and as the wings ramp up in heat, their suffering carries the entertainment, compensating for their scanter, more unintelligible answers. But Conan came into “Hot Ones” with a different mindset than all the rest. He transcended the formula and made a loud statement. About exactly what? I’m not sure. Maybe Conan is in a mid-life crisis or maybe he wanted to prove that he’s still got it, that no one commits to a comedic bit quite like him. Who knows?
But Conan delivered a fantastic show, and I believe that his appearance is a work of art. Sure, it isn’t a fancy stand-up special, but it’s inspiring to see a man in his 60s so readily sacrifice his well-being to entertain the masses. Most importantly, none of the entertainment comes at the expense of anyone but himself. It’s this willingness to confidently make light of himself that has separated Conan from other late-night hosts (and comedians) who will embarrass others or edgily complain about “cancel culture.” Conan’s work in this episode, as it has been in much of his career, is rather wholesome, if a bit vulgar. He’s a good showman through and through, and if you can’t appreciate that, then you’re missing out on comedic genius.
Daily Arts Writer Ben Luu can be reached at benllv@umich.edu.
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