Latest news with #ConanO'BrienMustGo
NZ Herald
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
Conan O'Brien meets New Zealand namesake in comedic clash
United States late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien faced his Kiwi namesake, Rotorua Lakes District Councillor Conan O'Brien, in a viral comedic clash. The pair met late last year as part of the US star's travel series, Conan O'Brien Must Go. O'Brien (the Rotorua
The Spinoff
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The trouble with all these celebrity travel shows in New Zealand
Why are we watching so many overseas travel documentaries about a place we already live in? Only 3.2% of The Spinoff's readership supports us financially. We need to grow that to 4% this year to keep creating the work you love. Sign up to be a member today. Conan O'Brien is standing in front of a large statue of a donut in the small Canterbury town of Springfield. Apart from the giant pink cake behind him, it's an otherwise unremarkable moment, until O'Brien is approached by a man holding a plate of crepes and a pair of blue snorkelling flippers. O'Brien doesn't flinch. 'I'm a big fan,' the stranger says, explaining that he grabbed the two items closest to him as soon as he unexpectedly laid eyes on the American comedian. 'Thank you for sharing your C+ pancakes with me,' O'Brien replies, his mouth still full as he theatrically wipes his greasy hands on the stranger's jacket. It's not your typical New Zealand tourist experience, but it's one of the more delightful moments from Conan O'Brien Must Go, the travel series that sees O'Brien roam the world to meet his fans. In the latest episode, O'Brien is lured to our shores by Riley, a fan from Hokitika who reveals on O'Brien's podcast that he lives in a container house and poops into a bucket. 'It's a journey that would bring me to the brink of madness,' O'Brien tells us, as we watch him dramatically hack his way through New Zealand's thick native bush. Conan O'Brien Must Go mixes comedy with sightseeing, as O'Brien meets Taika Waititi ('as required by the government'), learns how to be 'skux' from comedian Abby Howells, and even pops up on Shortland Street. As is also required by the New Zealand government, there's a bit about how much we love sheep, and O'Brien even enjoys a coffee with his namesake, Rotorua councillor Conan O'Brien. It's an especially funny and charming episode, with the self-deprecating comedian happy to be laughed at while he points out the quirks of a tiny country plonked at the end of the world. But O'Brien is far from the the first celebrity to enjoy a light-hearted romp around Aotearoa recently. A steady stream of famous folk have turned up here to make a TV show, like reality TV judges Colin Fasnidge and Manu Fiedel, currently hauling a caravan around the country in Colin and Manu: Off the Grid (TVNZ+). Before them, actor Miriam Margolyes farted her way across the motu in Miriam Margolyes in New Zealand (Neon), while Location Location Location's Phil Spencer returned this year to film a second season of the top-rating Phil Spencer: New Zealand's Best Homes (TVNZ+). But wait, there's more. Fellow British TV presenter George Clarke also toured the country to film the upcoming Homes In the Wild (Neon), and Hoff Roading, the much-delayed New Zealand travel-comedy series featuring David Hasselhoff and Rhys Darby, will screen later this year. Essentially, we bloody love it when famous people come here and point at our stuff. 'He loves New Zealand as much as we love him,' the NZ Herald gushed during The Hoff's visit, while copious media coverage was given to Hollywood actor Jason Momoa's astonishing nationwide tour. We thrive on any attention from foreign celebs, we go wild when celebrities have small-town beef, we turn unruly tourist hijinks into operas. Let's face it: New Zealanders never feel more validated than when a celebrity likes our pies. These photogenic travel shows must also be a dream come true for Tourism New Zealand, given they'll inspire rich tourists around the world to come and channel their inner Miriam Margolyes, breaking wind from Cape Reinga to Rakiura. But amid those crepe plates and giant donuts, we're being served up a lot of travel shows about a place we already live in – and at a time when record numbers of New Zealanders are leaving the country. Are we being gaslit about how good things are here, and why are we leaving these shows of discovery and exploration to people who don't even know us? Where are more of the insightful homegrown shows that tell the unique, dynamic stories of our everyday lives, like Whakaata Māori's beautiful Homesteads or Neon's heartwarming Shepherdess? Remember those classic docu-series like Off The Rails and Heartland, which took us into communities around the country and revealed us to be a surprising and complex nation? Guy Williams' satirical New Zealand Today celebrates the eccentricities of small town New Zealand, but there's still so much more room for local shows that take us far beyond what the tourism industry wants people to see. Shows like Conan O'Brien Must Go give viewers a taste of New Zealand, but they barely scratch the surface of who we really are. There's only so many times you can see a sweeping shot of Queenstown's mountains or hear a French chef say how beautiful our country is, before you start to wonder if that's all there is. As the nature of television changes and it becomes more and more challenging to make our own dramas, comedies and documentaries, these endless celebrity travel series beg an important question: are we now destined to only see ourselves on screen through someone else's lens?
Los Angeles Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
On his travel show, Conan O'Brien is on a treasure hunt for the unexpected
If we had planned it better (and had the budget for it), this interview with Conan O'Brien would been better suited to happen in Vatican City rather than a Zoom room. Our conversation coincided with the start of the papal conclave, the hush-hush assembly of cardinals who gathered to elect a successor to Pope Francis, and O'Brien can't help but reference the event when explaining his slight delay: 'Sorry, it took me a second to figure out there was a passcode to get into this secret room,' he says. 'It felt like I was joining a conclave.' 'I think you and I should put our own vote in,' he continues. 'Why can't they listen to us? Are you paying attention? Are you rooting for somebody?' 'I'm not rooting for anyone except Stanley Tucci,' I tell him, referring to the actor's turn as a shrewd and calculated cardinal in last year's 'Conclave.' 'I love that you want Tucci. I love that you blurred the line between reality and drama.' (As we know by now, Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the first U.S.-born pontiff, taking the name Pope Leo XIV. Sorry, Tucci.) Absorbing the scene outside St. Peter's Basilica alongside thousands of visitors from around the world is the sort of thing O'Brien and his crew might revel in on his Max travel show 'Conan O'Brien Must Go.' The series, which will conclude its three-episode second season on Thursday, plays like a video postcard of silly and enlightening adventures as O'Brien travels around the world to meet with fans and experience different cultures. It carries on the tradition from his talk show era of international getaways and blends it with his podcast 'Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.' After venturing to Norway, Ireland, Thailand and Argentina in the show's debut season, the second landed him in Spain, where hijinx included cuddling with actor Javier Bardem and doing Spanish voice-overs, and New Zealand, where he got lessons from one of Aotearoa's leading cultural advisors and attempted to break a haka world record with filmmaker and actor Taika Waititi. It culminates with this week's finale, which was filmed in Austria. At this moment, he's not on the go. He is beaming in from his home in Pacific Palisades, which he recently returned to after months of living in a hotel while smoke remediation and other restorative measures took place in the wake of January's wildfires. 'We were so lucky, crazy lucky,' he says. 'We live far enough so that we don't have that thing where you walk out your front door and it looks like you're on the moon.' It's one reason why the season is truncated: 'Initially we were going to do four [episodes], but between my parents passing away and the Oscars and the fires, we just were like, 'We could do three.' I hope it doesn't feel too short to people, but this is what we could do this time around.' O' Brien discussed standout moments from this season of 'Conan O'Brien Must Go,' which has been renewed for a third season, his plans for his Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and making his feature film debut. You cuddled with Javier Bardem. You did Spanish voice-overs. You dressed as Freud. You went to the snow globe museum. What moment stood out for you from these trips? You can't cuddle with Javier Bardem and wipe it from your memory. Be you man, be you woman — I don't care which. It doesn't matter. He crosses over all gender barriers. It was really fun to be in these ridiculous pajamas. A highlight with him is, there's a scene where we're eating together in a restaurant and we're doing improv together. I've done improv with all the best improvisers in entertainment, he's as good as anybody. I loved being on the hill where Julie Andrews did 'The Sound of Music.' And one of our writers, Jose Arroyo, wrote — obviously, you can't do that song — this song about how we can't do the song, which I loved and it's one of the things I love to do, is come close to the thing. Like on the Oscars, do a musical number called 'I won't waste your time' — I love doing the thing and making it about not doing the thing. I have to say, [dressing up as] Freud was a standout, because I think I went a little insane. Sometimes when you put me in makeup and dress me up, I become the thing that I'm pretending to be. And doing the haka [a traditional dance form of the Māori people] in New Zealand with thousands and thousands of people. I thought we were just going to do it once. As we're doing it, I'm finding out in real time — because, you know me, when I do something, I do it 110% whether it's going on 'Hot Ones' or dancing the haka, I will put all the dials to 11 — so when I start dancing, I'm going all out and I've got Taika and I've got this whole crowd with me. Then I realized they're not stopping. They're doing it over and over and over again and you can't stop because you're in a stadium. When that was done, I felt like I needed to go to the hospital. When you come up that hilltop in the lederhosen, I just thought, 'What would Martin Short have to say about these shorts?' Oh my God, you're right. Marty Short would have 1,000 jokes about my legs: spam, freckles, pale. He would just be an immediate encyclopedia. I have to make sure that that episode does not air in Toronto, because I think he goes to Toronto for the summer. A moment that killed me was at the snow globe museum when you asked about that life-size doll on the shelf, and the woman said it's her father. But that wasn't the best part. When you asked what his best advice for her was, and she said, to 'f— around as much as possible as long as you're not married.' What's fun is it reminds me of that thing that I've learned over and over and over again, and it's one of the things that the travel show takes advantage of, and remotes [on location segments] in general take advantage of: You're always on the hunt for a mistake. You're always on the hunt for someone to say something you don't expect. I couldn't in a million years script what she said. The doll is so creepy that's peeking out the window. I think one of the things that I really love about the travel show is I'm curious about other cultures. I'm curious about other people. I'm kind of on a mission to show Americans as humble and willing to be laughed at. But the ultimate treasure is someone saying something awkward or weird that I wasn't expecting to me; once I get one of those, I'm like Gollum with the ring. I'm like [imitates Gollum voice], 'Yes, yes, I can go back to my cave now,' and just 'my precious, my precious.' 'Conan O'Brien Must Go' is essentially work trips. But how would your family describe your traveling persona? I would say my wife, Liza, is the one who wants to be at the airport while they're still building the plane. If she could, she'd be there days in advance. She's the one who takes the lead on, 'Here's where we're staying; I got a guide for this, I got a guide for that.' She is very organized about those things, which is a luxury. On the flight, I don't sleep that much. My goal is show up in a country and get on their sleep schedule immediately — that I'm religious about. If that means I have to get a coffee enema, I'm getting a coffee enema. I'm going to do whatever I have to do, to stay up and get on their time zone. I love to just wander. This is where my wife and I disagree — and it will be, eventually, the thing that destroys our marriage — is that she wants to go to the place that has the very best food. 'Oh, it's been written up in all these food magazines.' I don't care about that. I want to go to the place where you sit outside and you see everybody. I love a tourist trap. The show has been renewed for a third season. Are you in the process of narrowing down the places you'll visit? Yes, we're in the process of looking through [locations]. Are you worried about the Trump tariffs? What this will mean of how you're received or what's possible? It's possible. I went to Haiti during Trump's first term, after he called them a 's—hole country.' We went there and, at one point, there was a group of men who seemed very hostile; our interpreter said, 'They're not happy. They know you're American and they're not happy about you being here.' My instinct is always to go toward the thing and not just, 'Get in the van and let's get out of here.' With my interpreter, we showed them clips of who I am and what I do. We looked at about three minutes of 'Conan' clips, and they're like, 'OK, he's harmless. He seems to have no dignity, so let's leave him alone.' But it's a changing world. We're in a moment right now where we seem to have a leader or a government that's terrified of the outside world and wants to say, 'OK, let's build a moat and America first.' My instinct is known. I mentioned it in the Twain award speech, but now more than ever, we need to be out there representing our country in a positive way and trying to spread positivity. I'm hoping that we won't be affected by it, and if we are, if we encounter a hostility, if we encounter difficulty, that will be part of the show. And if it's not particularly funny, the show can allow for me making an attempt to bridge a gap or make a friend. Speaking of your speech for the Mark Twain Prize, have you found a spot for the award now that you're back in your home? I'm weird about awards. I tend to put them in a closet. This one's a little strange because it's Mark Twain and he's bare-chested. It's like, what? Why can't he put on a shirt? I might buy a little shirt for him, a little white suit. I'll do something. I'll figure it out. I don't like a bare-chested Mark Twain, I'm sorry. I think it stops right at the nipple. You always look like you're having fun. Does the work you do now gratify you any differently than it did when you were starting out? I've been thinking about it a lot, and it's not that I didn't like what I did before, but you have to meet whatever age you are. You have to meet wherever you are in your life. When I started in 1993 behind a desk in that format, I loved it. It was terrifying at times and there were a lot of difficulties and we almost didn't make it, but I loved going in there and living in Studio 6A; then I loved the different iterations of the show over the years, and even the brief time I was doing 'The Tonight Show.' But then I got to a point where it became clear to me, 'I've done this for 28 years. I need to go and explore these other things.' Because you can't stay still. You have to, for lack of a better word, evolve. And there was a nice series of events — trying the podcast, which is now almost six years old, and realizing: Oh my God, I've talked to these people before for a total of seven minutes at a time and then I would have to throw to commercial, and the band would play. Now I'm talking to them for 45-50 minutes and it's magical. That, of course, led to the travel show — also the previous travel shows had shown me that I had a real wanderlust. When you're at a talk show desk, the idea of going to Geneva and getting into an altercation with somebody at a chocolate bunny factory just sounds amazing. I was doing that even before I had time to do it on the TBS show. And now being able to do it at Max affords us the ability to do it with drones. I love the open of our show because it's sets just the right tone so solemn and self important and and also vicious towards me. All of that makes me really happy. How about deciding to act in 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You'? Did it feel like you were pushing yourself out of your element? I was definitely pushing myself out of my element. When I said yes to the Oscars, it was, 'You get one life, try these things.' 'Legs' happened because [the film's writer and director] Mary Bronstein contacted me; she had a script and she said, 'Please read the script. It's an A24 script.' Adam Sandler also called me on behalf of the Safdies [Josh Safdie is a producer on the film] and said [launches into his Sandler impersonation], 'Buddddy, buddddy ... read the script.' I read the script and loved it. I have no aspirations to be an actor. I tried to talk to Mary Bronstein; I said, 'You could get a real actor.' And she was like, 'I'm telling you, I envision you doing this.' To her credit, she was tough. She said, 'I'm going to come out to L.A. and I'm going to work with you.' And she trained me. It was like a 'Rocky' montage. She would work with me. She would ask me, 'Who is this character? Let's dive deep on this character. Let's rehearse these lines.' Then on set, she is such an impressive person, Mary. And I have to say, who isn't in love with Rose Byrne? When I heard Rose was doing it, I was a little intimidated because I think she is a stellar actor. I realized all my scenes are with Rose, and they can get pretty intense. I don't want to let her down. I have to be a good scene partner for Rose Byrne. I was scared. And there's no audience. It's not my show. It's not me being me. I'm a very different person. I even look different. I saw the film and I think they did an amazing job. I'm so proud of Rose and Mary. The night before your first day of shooting, could you sleep? Do you get stage fright? I could sleep, but I will tell you ... it was shot on a location in what might actually be a therapist's office; very small room on the Upper West Side. There's a lot of fussing around. Then everyone leaves the room and they shut the door, and it's just me with Rose; and you hear way down the hall, 'Action!' And the first time around, I was in my head. I knew it wasn't good. But to her credit, Mary came back in and she was like, 'Great, great, great.' And she said the subtlest thing. She didn't say, 'Conan, what the hell! I've made a mistake.' She just said, 'On this next one, just a little more this way.' I realized, 'Oh, you get a couple of chances.' She gave me a good note. By the second time, third time and the fourth time, I just wasn't thinking about it. I was not in my head. I was just doing it. You're returning to host the Oscars; this time you have a little bit more runway. Do you have a sense of when you'll start prep? You really can't get the room together and fully up until early January, just because that's when you have the budget to really bring the writers in and everything. We need to wait to see what comes out — what's the narrative? Who are the players? But I know me, I will start the process before we officially start the process. One idea is that I have radical facelifts now, so that people when I walk out in the next calendar year as the Oscar host, I want there to be an audible gasp from the audience, like, what has he done? I mean, I've got injections, fillers, things are pulled back, things are misaligned. Hairline is down, eyebrows are gone. Or you can come out as Freud. And psychoanalyze all the movies on a Freudian level. Hey, you've got good ideas. If you want in, I'll get you in. You can give us some ideas.
Express Tribune
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Conan O'Brien joins ‘Toy Story 5' as new character Smarty Pants
Conan O'Brien has officially joined the cast of Toy Story 5, Disney and Pixar revealed during their Consumer Products presentation at the Disney Licensing Expo. The veteran comedian and talk show host will voice a new character named 'Smarty Pants,' though further details about the role remain under wraps. Set for theatrical release on June 19, 2026, Toy Story 5 marks the return of beloved characters like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie, while also introducing new voices and storylines. The film's plot centers on a clash between classic toys and modern tech gadgets, exploring how traditional playthings adapt in a world dominated by electronics. The upcoming installment will be directed by Finding Nemo and WALL-E filmmaker Andrew Stanton, with McKenna Harris serving as co-director. Jessica Choi is producing, and Pete Docter will executive produce. In addition to O'Brien, the voice cast includes Ernie Hudson, who will take over the role of Combat Carl previously voiced by the late Carl Weathers, and Anna Faris in a mystery role. Franchise staples Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack are expected to return as Woody, Buzz, and Jessie, respectively. Conan O'Brien is currently the host of HBO Max's Conan O'Brien Must Go, now heading into its third season. He recently garnered acclaim for hosting the 2025 Oscars and will return to host next year's ceremony. His upcoming film project, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, premiered at Sundance to critical praise.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Conan O'Brien Must Go Season 2: Where is Conan O'Brien going this week? Here's what we know about Episode 2, release schedule and Season 3
Conan O'Brien is back with a new season of his travel series Conan O'Brien Must Go . The second season is streaming on Max from May 8. The three-episode season will include appearances by Javier Bardem and Taika Waititi. New Destinations and Guest Appearances In this season, O'Brien will visit three countries. He travels to Spain , New Zealand and Austria . Actor Javier Bardem joins him in Spain. Director and actor Taika Waititi appears in the New Zealand episode. Each episode focuses on local cultures and interactions with people Conan met through his podcast. Also Read: Birthright Citizenship: Do countries around the world offer automatic citizenship to people born on their land? Here's list of nations which do and the ones don't 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Business Sneakers CEOs Actually Swear By Wolf & Shepherd Shop Now Undo Release Schedule Max released the trailer for Season 2 and confirmed the release dates. The season began on Thursday, May 8. New episodes will be available each Thursday. The season will conclude on May 22. The schedule is as follows: Episode 1: Spain – May 8 Live Events Episode 2: New Zealand – May 15 Episode 3: Austria – May 22 Series Background and Format The show is based on connections made through the Conan O'Brien Needs A Fan podcast. In the podcast, Conan spoke with fans from different countries. Season 1 featured visits to Norway, Thailand, Argentina and Ireland. The travel series focuses on these real fan interactions and cultural exchanges. Also Read: Sweet Magnolias Season 5: When will filming begin? Here's release window, production timeline and what to expect Reasons Behind Short Season This season includes only three episodes. There are two main reasons for the shorter format. Conan was selected to host the Oscars 2025, which required time and preparation. Also, during filming, Conan lost both of his parents within a short period. This impacted the production timeline. Season 3 Confirmed Despite the shortened second season, Max has confirmed a third season. The renewal signals ongoing interest in the show and its unique travel concept. FAQs Why does Season 2 of Conan O'Brien Must Go have only three episodes? The season was shortened because Conan was preparing to host the Oscars 2025 and also experienced the loss of his parents during filming. Who appears as guests in Season 2 of Conan O'Brien Must Go? Javier Bardem appears in the Spain episode and Taika Waititi features in the New Zealand episode of the show.
