Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend - Kaitlin Olson

Episode Date: February 3, 2025

Actress Kaitlin Olson feels apprehensive about being Conan O’Brien’s friend. Kaitlin sits down with Conan to discuss starring in the ABC crime series High Potential, cooking and critiquing with h...usband Rob McElhenney, and introducing their kids to the refined vulgarity of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Plus, Matt Gourley tests Conan and Sona’s trucker lingo knowledge with a CB slang quiz. For Conan videos, tour dates and more visit TeamCoco.com.Got a question for Conan? Call our voicemail: (669) 587-2847. Get access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using this show link: https://siriusxm.com/conan.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Hi, my name is Caitlin Olson and I feel apprehensive about being Conan O'Brien's friend. Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school, ring the bell, brand new shoes, walk and lose, climb the fence, books and pens. I can tell that we are gonna be friends. Yes, I can tell that we are gonna be friends. Hey there, welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. I'm the aforementioned Conan O'Brien, joined by some of Sessian.
Starting point is 00:00:41 Hi. Matt Gorley, and we're just... Hi. I feel like we're already rocketing through 2025. Really? Yeah, just rocketing through it. What do you mean?
Starting point is 00:00:51 Just rocketing through. Could you explain what the hell you're talking about? Time accelerates, is what I'm telling you. The more experience you've had in life, the less each single moment registers in your brain. So time actually accelerates. By the time I'm done speaking, we'll all be dead. I don't want to die with you.
Starting point is 00:01:11 No offense. That's the worst thing anyone's ever said to me. What a terrible thing to say. I'm sorry, it's just my wife, my daughter. Oh, come on. They've seen enough of you. You may be the death of me. Yes, there you go. No, I death of me. Yes. There you go.
Starting point is 00:01:25 No, I just think 2025, man. Yeah, man. Love it. Yeah? We did it. We did it. We did it. We're just starting. We haven't done anything. Oh, it's just beginning.
Starting point is 00:01:33 Oh, okay. Just starting. 2025. Yeah. We're a quarter of the way into this century. That's crazy. That's madness. We're in like a sci-fi year.
Starting point is 00:01:42 2025 sounds like a future year. Doesn't it? Yeah. You know, I used to think that the year 2000 sounded like a long time, this is when I was a kid. People would talk about the year 2000. And then we did a bit, Robert Smigel, he came up with this idea for a bit called year 2000,
Starting point is 00:02:01 which we did in 1988 at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. And then a couple of years later, when I got the late night show, we did it on the late night show in the year 2000. And still in 1993, it's getting a little squirrely then, but the year 2000 did feel like this kind of funny, distant future. And then I'll never forget, it was 1999,
Starting point is 00:02:24 and we were getting close to the year 2000, and we're doing the bit in the year 2000. And we didn't know what to do. I remember this. We didn't know what to do, and we were thinking, what do we do? And we were thinking, maybe La Bamba could sing, in the distant future.
Starting point is 00:02:38 Oh, weird. And we were like, no. And then we said, we're just gonna stick with in the year 2000. And you talked about this on the show, right? Because I remember watching this. And then, sure enough, you know, Sting would be on the show and it would be 2005.
Starting point is 00:02:55 And I'd say, you know, hey, maybe we should look to the future. And Andy had left at that point. So Sting, I'd do it with like whoever the celebrity was. And Sting would come through the curtain and go, the future and Andy had left at that point. So Sting, I do it with like whoever the celebrity was and Sting would come through the curtain go, the future Conan? And I'd say, yes Sting, all the way to the year 2000
Starting point is 00:03:14 and it's 2005. Talk about we just didn't deal with it. But I remember when I was a kid, there was a show on starring Martin Landau. And I think his co-star was Barbara Bain. I think it was a show that was made in England and it was called Space, 1999. And it was the same thing where it was the seventies
Starting point is 00:03:40 and this syndicated show would come on. And this is back when nothing was on television. And so whenever something came on, you watched it. And I remember thinking, oh, wow, space, 1999. And everyone on that show wore what looked to be like what they'd give you to wear on first class if you were going on a transatlantic flight. Everybody, and I thought-
Starting point is 00:04:00 Somehow mixed with tennis leisure. Yes, yes, exactly. So I just thought, in the future, we're all gonna be very comfortable. And we're gonna live on the moon. And the future, of course, came along, and really the big cars kind of looked pretty much the same. They didn't rust, but they kind of operated the same. There's still a steering wheel.
Starting point is 00:04:21 You're still driving on the same roads. You're not up in the air like they told us they would be. Real difference is that radio just turned to podcasting. Yes, exactly. The only thing that really changed, all this stuff they told us, ray guns, we're gonna be living on different planets, none of that happened.
Starting point is 00:04:36 No one talked about, you'll have a personal computer in your pocket. That's a big one. And it will also be, yes, but none of us thought of, and if you were told- Star Trek kinda did, they had their little like, you know. Oh, Spock had a tricorder. Well, famously, I'm a Star Wars guy.
Starting point is 00:04:55 Okay, well I'm a Star Trek guy. And what I love is that Spock had- Neither one guy. Spock had a- I'm a neither one guy. Spock had a- I'm a not nerd guy. Spock had what looked like maybe an AMFM radio, but it had a little screen on it. And whenever they would go on the planet,
Starting point is 00:05:16 it was a device that just did everything called a tri-quarter or something. And he would just be like, they'd be like, Spock, what's up? And he'd go like, well, according to this, my tricorder, we're going to have a conflict with a major character in about eight minutes. You know, or, I mean, basically it could tell you what you're having for lunch. It could supply whatever the writers needed it to supply.
Starting point is 00:05:40 Have you ever heard about- In the Phantom Menace, you know, the first Star Wars prequel, Qui-Gon Jim, played by Liam Neeson, has this little... First of all, I could have finished this whole sentence for you. But yeah, Qui-Gon Jim, played by Liam Neeson. Qui-Gon Jim. What? Qui-Gon Jim?
Starting point is 00:05:57 Even I know that. There's no normal names in any of the names. Hey, I'm Qui-Gon Jim! It's Qui-Gon Jim! Who's popping the cores? Meet Glimgor Penry. Yeah! Ha ha ha!
Starting point is 00:06:11 And Scalia Balal Sally. Ha ha ha! Oh, anyway. Well, he has this little machine to test Anakin's midichlorian count. Don't get into it. And it's made from a woman's shaving razor. Oh, wait a minute. So George Lucas just said, we need a device.
Starting point is 00:06:28 And they just- I just took this from my wife's shower. Basically, yeah. Wow. Oh no. Yeah. Okay. That's pretty great, huh?
Starting point is 00:06:36 What year was back to the future, the future? What year was that? Yeah, that just happened recently. Blake, you've got to know that. Wasn't it? You've got to know. What? When he goes to the future and back to the future, what year is that?
Starting point is 00:06:46 Isn't it like- It just happened not too long ago. Oh, I think it's, I do think it's 2023 maybe. But I wanted to bring up, there's another thing, the Sonic screwdriver. Nobody here is a Doctor Who fan, right? Cause I'm a Doctor Who fan. Sonic screwdriver.
Starting point is 00:07:00 I wish Harrison Ford was here right now to tell you to shut the fuck up. You just took us down. That's also a thing that does everything. Eduardo? It was 2015. 2015 was when we were supposed to have hoverboards. Come on, we really dropped the ball.
Starting point is 00:07:16 No, no, I think there should be a Senate investigation into why we're not flying around, because Blade Runner's also happened time-wise too, right? Because they had flying cars and that. No's also happened time-wise too, right? Cause they had flying cars in that. No, every future sci-fi movie, I mean, now they're smart enough to say in the year 4572,
Starting point is 00:07:35 they've picked a time when clearly humans will no longer be on the planet. Alien was always good about that. They were far, far into the future. Right, early sci-fi, if you listen to old radio shows that were made in the 1930s, they'll say, by 1948. And my favorite is, I listened to one once
Starting point is 00:07:55 where they called, robot was still a new word, and they called it rubbit. Rubbit. Yeah. Rubbit. There'll be a rubbit, and the rubbit will be a mechanical man. Who will unbuck. Named Qui-Gon Jim.
Starting point is 00:08:08 Named Qui-Gon Jim. Who will open the mayonnaise can for you. It was all very pedestrian. I will say, Eduardo just looked up the movie Her, which is everybody has an AI girlfriend, takes place this year, 2025. And we kind of do all have AI girls. We're finally getting a mistress there. Really? Oh. What?
Starting point is 00:08:27 Wow. What are you talking about? Don't talk about her that way. It's a victimless crime. Yeah. What do you mean? What are you talking about? He had a really special relationship with that AI.
Starting point is 00:08:38 Yeah, but he didn't cheat on any, but not with another person. And the Bible allows an exception if it's an AI girlfriend. Oh, come on. The Bible doesn't say, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's AI image. The Bible, we got around the Bible finally.
Starting point is 00:08:53 I can covet all I want. As long as it's made of pixels and hexels. Oh God. What, did I get something wrong? Yeah, hexels? Good. Did that cover it? What is a hexel?
Starting point is 00:09:04 Mixels and glaxels. Mmm, guh. Yeah. Did that cover it? Look at the hexel. Mmm, mixels and glaxels. Let me just refer you to this rap sign. Oh, look at that. It's handwritten. How quaint. Clearly you've not visited the year 2000. Oh no, I was in haste. All right, let's get into it.
Starting point is 00:09:20 My guest today is a terrific actress you know from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Hacks. There were many years, Sona, where I would pass you at your desk, and I couldn't get you to do a goddamn thing because you were watching It's Always Sunny on your computer. Yes, I was.
Starting point is 00:09:35 Well, now she stars in the hit series, High Potential, which releases new episodes Tuesdays on ABC and next day on Hulu. We're thrilled she's here today. We adore her. So it's Tuesdays on ABC and next day on Hulu. We're thrilled she's here today. We adore her. ["The New York Times"] Caitlin Olson, welcome.
Starting point is 00:09:56 I've been acting like a fool since you came in the building. Yeah, a lot of dad jokes so far. Yeah. I don't remember that from the podcast. Grandpa jokes at this point. That was my A material. Oh, no. From 70 years ago. A.
Starting point is 00:10:07 No, I've been so goofy around you for a reason. I'm a massive fan and I got giddy. And so then this tall drink of water comes walking in and I'm doing shtick left and right and I've made a complete fool of myself. You really did. And you know what? I apologize, but it came made a complete fool of myself. Yeah, you really did.
Starting point is 00:10:25 And you know what, I apologize, but it came from a place of great admiration and some drinking about an hour ago. I'll allow it. Yeah. I like that. I like the explanation. I'm thrilled you're here,
Starting point is 00:10:37 and I want to start by acknowledging you have a crazy stalker fan here. Oh. In the form of Sonam Obsessia. Why would you do that to her? Say it like stalker fan. I'm a fan, I don't stalk you. That's okay, I haven't seen her peeking around
Starting point is 00:10:54 in my bushes. I'm just a stalker. Oh, okay, but not of mine. But not your stalker, no. That's fine, I'm fine with both. Only Don Cheadle. True. It's just the guy I'm throwing in the, under the audio lately.
Starting point is 00:11:05 The point is that a number of years ago, I was aware of Always Sunny when it was first starting up and I would catch the show here and there and I was thinking, this is really funny. I like these people, I like what they're doing, but a lot of other stuff is going on. And then I would come to work and Sona's desk, Sona, my assistant, was a shrine to always sunny.
Starting point is 00:11:28 It wasn't a shrine. No, just let him do it. To always sunny. Just let him do it, I like it. I had a picture of the cast. You talked about it all the time. You're making me sound like a creeper. I had a picture of the cast
Starting point is 00:11:40 and sometimes I would watch it at work when I should have been doing things for him. So he's a little resentful about it. That's what watch it at work when I should have been doing things for him. So he's a little resentful about it. That's what's happening. But that's what got me more into the show because I would be asking Sona, you know those pills I need for my heart to keep me alive?
Starting point is 00:11:54 And she'd say, whatever, I'm busy. And then I would see that she was watching Always Sunny at work. Right. Important. Yeah, yeah, right. So then we flash forward to my children, my son and my daughter get to a certain age and I will say this about my kids,
Starting point is 00:12:12 I don't brag about them much because I'm not a fan. Um. Um. Uh, but, um, they have excellent, excellent, excellent comedy taste and they started from the beginning and they started binge watching Always Sunny, and then they pulled Liza and I into it. And as a family, we started from the beginning
Starting point is 00:12:30 and we knew that soon, like they're both going off to college, we watched all of them. Oh my God. All of them, I have not missed a one. Wow. And I was delighted because it's such an original comedic voice and voices. It's just coming at everything from a different angle
Starting point is 00:12:53 and it's just delightful. And so that's where a lot of my giddiness came from today. That's so sweet. It's true. It's absolutely 100% true. And then if you'd have the gall to go on and have all this other success outside of Sunny, I think it's too much.
Starting point is 00:13:13 Oh, too much success, yeah. I thought you had, I mean, you hit it out of the park. Just be the girl on the one funny show. Go home and take care of your kids. Exactly. I get it. But then you're on Hacks and you're fantastic on that show.
Starting point is 00:13:29 Although your name on that show is eerily similar to JD Vance. God, that was so, we were like, are you? First of all, I came along first. You were first. Had never heard of this man. Right. You're first and you're DJ Vance?
Starting point is 00:13:43 DJ Vance. Oh my God. And anyone who's watching it later is gonna go, oh, what a corny take on JD Vance. No, no, no. It stands for Deborah Jr. And yeah. Well, his name is Deborah Jr.
Starting point is 00:13:56 Oh, oh, well then we did copy him. Yeah, Deborah Jr. And then we're going to discuss your new show, which I watched yesterday, which is getting insane over the top reviews. Again, something I resent. Didn't see my mention of me anywhere on these reviews. Cause I'm not in the show and I'm not involved in any way,
Starting point is 00:14:17 but High Potential, which is an adaptation of a French show. It's a great idea and you're fantastic in it. Thank you. And what I like about it is that it is a good, someone I was trying to think about after this was like, I wouldn't say it's a comedy, it's a funny and at times very funny show that's a very good crime show and really smart.
Starting point is 00:14:43 Thank you. And I thought everyone wants to label something now and say, well, my wife said to me afterwards, she's like, is it a comedy? And I said, it's not a comedy. It is not, it's definitely not a comedy, but you get to be very funny in it. And some of the situations are very funny,
Starting point is 00:15:01 but it's also an excellent kind of one of those crime shows that is building a Rubik's Cube and solving it in front of you, which was really cool. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate that. That was the goal, was to really make sure that you believed the world and bought into the fact that there was something urgent and bad happening, and that wasn't gonna happen
Starting point is 00:15:22 if the rest of the world was funny. So yeah. Right. And also I was like the rest of the world was funny. So yeah. And also I was like, only I get to be funny on this show. You want me to do it? Only I will utter funny things. I have made that rule here at the podcast many times and it just doesn't seem to happen. No, they are breaking it.
Starting point is 00:15:36 I gotta come up with more good shtick at the top. There were a couple of things that I realized about you today that I didn't know before, which is that you lived on Vashon Island. I did. My wife is from Seattle. Oh, she is? She, yes.
Starting point is 00:15:49 And so I have wandered those islands and spent time on Vashon. And that's a very, and also Portland, that's a very special, specific part of the country. Yes, it's very Pacific Northwest. My parents were hippies, my mom's an herbalist. We like went fishing for salmon on the island for dinner. Yeah, and then we moved to like outside,
Starting point is 00:16:11 you say Portland, which is like, that was the big city 20 minutes away. We lived in Tigard, Oregon. And if you were hungry, you went outside and grabbed some whatever was ripe. Wash it off with the hose. Yeah. So when I...
Starting point is 00:16:27 We were very, you know, it was just the four of us living off the land. When I met my wife, she had moved to New York and she'd grown up in Seattle and she'd only been in New York a short time. And we start dating and then I'm going to, oh, we're invited to an event.
Starting point is 00:16:49 I'm doing the late night show and I invite this new woman I've met, who I'm in love with, like, oh, I'm gonna bring her to this event. And she would say, okay, let's go. And she only had fleece. And she'd be like, I've got this. Patagonia. Yeah, I've got this.
Starting point is 00:17:07 My timberland boots. I can put on this nicer fleece and I'm like, it's kind of blank time. Like I'm wearing a tux and she's like. I've got sandals. Yeah, I can put on the good sandals. And it was, there was a moment where I was like, we need to talk.
Starting point is 00:17:21 Yeah, is this gonna work? We need to talk about the fleece only, not everything's a fleece vest and a baseball cap. Yeah, that's right. But the other thing too was, I would say, I'm Irish Catholic Boston, so everything for me, and Sona has witnessed this many times, which is I need to eat a massive ham sandwich.
Starting point is 00:17:40 I've tried to change, I think I have changed, but my go-to is always a meal involves a massive piece of ham and potato and mayonnaise. And it has to be this big thing that you then sit around and digest like a bank vault in your stomach. Yep, that was Rob too. Yeah. I retrained him. Yes.
Starting point is 00:17:59 So my wife, I'd show up at the time, she was my girlfriend and I would show up at her tiny apartment and I would say, hey. Brought a ham. And I'd say like, yeah, I'd say, I'm wearing a ham. I had a hat that was made that just had hams around it. I would show up in her apartment and say like, hey, Eliza, I'm really hungry. Are you hungry?
Starting point is 00:18:19 And she'd say, I ate. And I'd say, oh, you ate? And she'd be like, yup. I had half a pear and then I had some walnuts and then I had some antioxidant juice. Oh yeah, I gotta meet this lady. And it's all that Pacific Northwest. I bet her gut health is just top shelf.
Starting point is 00:18:37 Well, she's a massive fan of yours, so she would be thrilled to meet you someday. But you say that you had to retrain Rob. Yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah. He, it was just all, first of all, I don't know that fresh vegetables existed on the East, I think it was just all cans and frozen stuff apparently. I never saw a vegetable, I think,
Starting point is 00:18:57 until after Reagan was in office. Right, I didn't believe him. I was like, that's not possible. Like it's, but no, it was all, they had like, you know, lima beans and steak and always, always a potato of some kind. Yes. God forbid you leave the potato out.
Starting point is 00:19:14 Meat, a potato and some bagged, rewarmed vegetable. Yeah. Yeah. We, that's interesting. And so how long did it take to retrain? Not long, cause I love cooking and he was like, Oh, what's this? Oh, and one time I asked if he liked eggplants. I was going to do like an eggplant Parmesan.
Starting point is 00:19:29 He was like, Oh no, I was going to do some eggplant thing that wasn't eggplant Parmesan. And I just ruined the whole story. And he was like, yeah, I love eggplant. I was like, great. So I made, so I don't remember what it was. We were still dating. It was 800 years ago.
Starting point is 00:19:44 Before the printing press. Yeah, it was before the printing press. Yeah, that's right. And he ate it and he just wasn't eating it. I was like, you don't like eggplant. He was like, I swear, this is not what eggplant tasted like when I was growing up. And he had eggplant parmesan. It was just like beaten to a pulp
Starting point is 00:19:58 and just mostly fried breading. Yes, it's breading and cheese. Yeah, I was like, that's not the eggplant part. Yeah, no, no, no. That's breading and cheese. Yeah, I was like, that's not the eggplant part. Yeah, no, no, no. That's the heart attack part. If you hit a vegetable in heart attack sauce, I was fine with it, you know? Everyone is, yeah.
Starting point is 00:20:12 Yeah, everyone is, but it's just- Now he loves a fresh vegetable, I will say. Oh, and I've completely changed. It's the same, I mean, this is interesting. I wanted to talk about this initially just for saying, cause I realized we've had a similar experience, but I had the same thing happen to me, which is now I'm like, I would like a salad please.
Starting point is 00:20:34 Your opposite. Yeah. Him too. He's like, he'll look at what his friends back East eat. And he's just like, how are they not all dead? And why are they wondering why I look good and they don't? Right. Oh, no.
Starting point is 00:20:46 They all look like 75-year-old men. Doughy. I love them. I want to make that clear. I love all of them. Can I geek out on It's Always Sunny for a Second and ask how much improvisation are you guys doing? First of all, it's the 17th season? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:21:19 Really weird. Really strange. Because it all began so improbably. And I know you've talked about it a million times, but you literally just went out, which is my favorite comedy is, let's make ourselves happy. And now it's 17 years later.
Starting point is 00:21:35 Yeah, that's a good life lesson. That philosophy goes towards auditioning too. I was always auditioning before that, reading the description of the character and trying to figure out exactly what they wanted and going in and doing an audition that I hoped that it was what they were looking for. It doesn't work like that. You got to go and like do your best version of whatever you think it is and make yourself like I might it turned into my only goal rather than like going over the lines in my head eight million
Starting point is 00:22:03 times was just have fun, just have fun. Do you say a my head eight million times was, just have fun, just have fun. Do you say a couple different words? Who cares? It's fine, just have fun. It's the only way it works. And then I started booking stuff. Cause you can't really make other people happy. It doesn't, that's not possible.
Starting point is 00:22:14 There's too many of them. We all start out in that situation where we're trying to make someone happy and you're told, yeah, they, someone, it went to someone else and you think it's a judgment on you. Totally. When it really isn't.
Starting point is 00:22:30 Not at all. Because in this town and this business, I was trying to explain to people, they're seeing 10,000 people and they might, you might've come in and nailed it in some way. Absolutely. But you're a little taller. Or more often than not, they've already offered it to someone way. Absolutely. But you're a little taller. Or more often than not,
Starting point is 00:22:46 they've already offered it to someone else. You're going in and spending days working on this thing, blow drying your hair, putting makeup on, driving to that lot, walking across the lot in 100 degree heat. You look like shit by the time you get there. You do your best. And all the while,
Starting point is 00:23:03 they're just waiting to get a phone call that the person they offered to is accepting or rejecting. And then they've got backups, and they're gonna keep offering it. And then if no one accepts it, then they're gonna turn to these auditions. It's crazy. There were so many auditions where I was like,
Starting point is 00:23:15 I felt so good about that. And plenty of auditions that I hated, because I would get anxious and be weird. That's not what I was meaning to do. Yeah, but now being on the other side of it, I'm like, oh yeah, you've already offered it to someone else. We auditioned like thousands of people to be Conan O'Brien on Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend
Starting point is 00:23:35 when we knew all along it was gonna be me. That's so mean. Everybody had to do their hair like that? And I was behind a one-way mirror and I was just laughing. We were earnestly trying to replace you. I was just laughing and drinking caramel out of a big pitcher. Warm caramel and laughing, and it was running down my face.
Starting point is 00:23:58 Bring in the next one. What? Why? I don't know. I'm broken inside. Caramel. Caramel or caramel? I'm a caramel person. What did you say?
Starting point is 00:24:10 Caramel. Caramel. Is anybody caramel? I think I say caramel unless I think about it. Not caramel, that's a city. I think I know, I think I even say that, but if I think about it, I'll say it right. Same with crayon and crayon. Oh, no, I'm caramel.
Starting point is 00:24:22 No idea what you're saying. I'm caramel. Well, no, no, no, I'm not the city. I'm the candy, I'm the toffee. Wait a minute, you're saying it correct. I understand what you're saying. I don't know what's happening with you. You're saying, I say caramel.
Starting point is 00:24:34 Caramel. No, he wants caramel. Caramel. Caramel. There we go. I don't even hear the difference. He says caramel. I think I was saying that because I'm conscious of it,
Starting point is 00:24:42 but I say what you say. And that goes for life. You know what? This is going to end up being the, this will be the moment that trends. Yeah. You're gonna get a lot of feedback. By the way, I have a strong feeling I'm wrong.
Starting point is 00:24:55 I think it might be caramel. It's caramel. It's caramel. All right, or it's caramel. Everyone's nodding, okay? It's probably an East Coast thing. Oh, East Coast, West Coast? I say caramel.
Starting point is 00:25:03 Caramel. That's weird. I'm upset. I think I say caramel. Caramel. That's weird. I'm upset. I think we're done. Caramel. Am I saying that weird? No, you sound great. I say things weird.
Starting point is 00:25:11 You sound great. Weirdly. Weirdly, thank you. Oh, I say things weirdly. Like I have a hard G at the end of my words. Yeah, awful. Oh, you say everything? Everything.
Starting point is 00:25:23 Oh, yeah. Everything. Everything. Everything. Oh. Everything. Everything. Everything. Wrong. Wrong. She says, oh, you're wrong-ga.
Starting point is 00:25:30 Oh. And it just drives me crazy because first of all, I'm never wrong-ga. Right, because you're never wrong-ga. It's wrong to say wrong wrong-ga. Okay. All right, listen. Let's just move on. I hate everybody.
Starting point is 00:25:40 I hate everybody. I have to pile this back into safer waters. Okay, thank you. Thank you, Captain. Conan O'Brien. I do think that there is a beautiful lesson to it's always sunny, which is you, it's like-minded people got together and said, we're gonna make something that doesn't fit any mold.
Starting point is 00:25:57 We are going to please ourselves. I don't think this is going to work, but we like doing this. And it became, and the other thing is, it cannot be copied. No one else can do what you guys are doing. And there's so many different levels to it. It's, I mean...
Starting point is 00:26:14 Because it's Rob, Charlie and Glenn. I mean, it's just like, and I just feel like I absolutely hit the jackpot on the show. It's exactly what you said is how I feel. I mean, we go in there, we have directors and a lot of them are our friends and they're wonderful, but at the end of the day, somebody else cut and we just gather and like what we like and you keep that and you keep that
Starting point is 00:26:33 and I'll do this and then we go again. And it's great. Well, as I said, my kids, they have superb comedy taste. Clearly. No, no, they really, no, I mean, I kids have superb comedy taste. And they- Clearly. No, no, they really, no, I mean, I could list all the shows they like and it's there. They take it really seriously.
Starting point is 00:26:53 They're, they don't watch my stuff. Which again, they're batting a thousand, but they, there's so many things that just kill them. One was that I think you guys, the gang had some idea and one of you said, who's it against? Yeah, yeah. And it wasn't against anybody and you- We couldn't take that.
Starting point is 00:27:13 None of you can understand the idea of it's not against somebody. Whose face are we shoving it into? Yes, exactly. And it's, I don't know, it's such a funny, I know those characters so well now and it is such a funny conceit that they will unite to defeat and humiliate someone else.
Starting point is 00:27:31 But someone could have a brilliant plan where you guys make a billion dollars, but if it's not against somebody, no one's in. No, it's not interesting. Yeah, so. So stupid, I love it so much. I'm very impressed with your kids. And I have a newly 14 year old now
Starting point is 00:27:46 who's been sneaking scripts and reading them for years. And we will pull up clips that he can watch, but he's so, and now he's just like, I mean, he's 14. So now he's seen probably half the episodes. He's completely obsessed. But not mature enough to be able to like go out into the world and speak like that. So he'll say things, and I'm like,
Starting point is 00:28:07 no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Oh, boy. We will fine-tune this, and one day you will be so funny, but that's not something to say at school. And Dennis, please, um, you know, let me explain. He's probably a rapist and murderer. Uh, but it's funny because, oh God.
Starting point is 00:28:27 Yeah, there's just like times where it's not even explained what something will happen and Danny DeVito's character will like a gun will drop out. And you're like, why did he have a gun? And it's not addressed why he had a gun. It's not necessary. No, it just fell. But yeah, there's so many different layers there.
Starting point is 00:28:50 And I do think, I had this thought a long time ago when I was, as the old man here, when I was young, the show that really lit me up was SCTV because they put, you know, SNL was the big thing. And then SCTV was this other show that they really crafted, and it had all these different layers, and they put all these little smart, weird runners in there
Starting point is 00:29:13 that you had to pick up on, and they didn't even know that anybody in America was watching it. We only saw it because it bounced off of an antenna in Buffalo, New York, and we managed to get it at my grandfather's little cottage in Miss Quamacut, and my brothers and I would watch it and go, this is, it's something that Always Sunny does,
Starting point is 00:29:30 and certain shows do it where they put these little things in there, and I think they're talking to me. Yes, yeah, they are. Yeah, exactly, and it's a conversation, you guys are having a conversation with me as a viewer, and I feel not only respected, but like you're pulling me in on the secret, which is a beautiful thing.
Starting point is 00:29:48 I love that. Charlie does that a lot. Well, he'll just improvise some kind of throwaway thing that's like a current event thing that it's just so funny and it gets left in there and we don't ever explain, it has nothing to do with the episode. And it's just, that's what I think of when you say that.
Starting point is 00:30:01 It's like, someone's gonna pick up on that and understand what he's talking about, or he'll just make a quick reference to something from 60 seasons ago that some people will get. But the intelligent part, I think, is what's so great because there are a lot of comedies that make me laugh, a lot of character-driven stuff that I admire the character someone's doing. But the writing is so smart. And I can tell when someone hasn't seen it, if they have something negative to say about it, usually online, because they didn't get it.
Starting point is 00:30:26 Like it's like, no, no, no, you watched a clip and you think you know what it is because we're making a commentary. Yes, yes. A bunch of dumb narcissistic psychopaths are, but the writers are making commentary. So either you're too dumb or you didn't watch the episode. I think it's cool to get to a place,
Starting point is 00:30:45 which you've clearly gotten to, where you can... You can have your cake and eat it too. I mean, between Hacks and Always Sunny and this... I mean, you've gotten to really own this comedy space. And then there's some part of you that said, I'd like to do this, it's not a comedy. You can't not be funny in things, and you are, your character's funny,
Starting point is 00:31:11 but it all comes off the character. Yeah, she's human. She's human, yeah. And the other characters I play really aren't human. I mean, they're not multifaceted characters. This is just a, there's a way to still be a grounded, hardworking woman with children and be funny. I think I can quickly set up,
Starting point is 00:31:33 it's a terrific idea for a show. I know it's adapted from this French show, but the series, and this isn't giving away too much, but it opens with you getting up at four in the morning. We don't know what you do. It's clear you don't have a lot of money. You go to work and you're getting dressed and you're getting a big trash can and cleaning supplies.
Starting point is 00:31:56 And it's clear that, oh, you're a woman who cleans up in the middle of the night. And then it's revealed, it's clear that you're cleaning up at a- A bullpen. A bullpen in a police station. And then it's revealed, it's clear that you're cleaning up at a... A bullpen. A bullpen in a police station. And then you knock into a box and all this stuff spills over and you're just cleaning it up.
Starting point is 00:32:13 Jerk the headphones off, music stops. Jerk the headphones off and you're just gonna clean up this stuff and it's evidence. And your character has a gift, you're cleaning, but you also need to make sense of things and you're highly intelligent and you start just quickly and it basically leads to your character's very good
Starting point is 00:32:29 and it's kind of a savant at seeing these patterns and you start to help the police. Kind of against their will. Oh yeah, get up and go to their case board and cross off suspect and write victim under one woman's picture. Yeah, I always think pilots are next to impossible. They're so hard.
Starting point is 00:32:47 Cause in a pilot episode, you need to lay out so much information that there's so many times that I've watched pilots and it's ding dong, hello, hi, I'm here. I'm your neighbor, remember me? Yeah, I'm your neighbor and guess what? We don't like each other, you know? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:33:03 Yeah. Yeah. I don't like you since that time you stole that, you know, whatever, because you know how you like to steal things. I guess I'm the stealer. Da-da-da-da-da-da. And then music. That's terrible.
Starting point is 00:33:20 No, but no, that's a show I actually wrote. Oh, I'm sorry. She was laughing because she thought it was so funny. It's funny, right? Ran nine years on WB slash UPN. But anyway, when they were united, I made hundreds of dollars on the Steeler. But this pilot is a very good episode.
Starting point is 00:33:45 I wanted people to want to come back. Like, I tune into stuff all the time where I'm like, yeah, it was great. And then I don't have a desire to come back for whatever reason. And I wanted you to really fall in love with this woman and who she is and be compelled to figure out, because I drop a thing at the end of the first episode
Starting point is 00:34:02 and I want people to buy into that and figure out what that's about. Yeah, what is that all about? Yeah. And I have to say, Drew Goddard wrote that script and I was not interested when they came to me and wanted to have lunch. I was like, ABC, hour long drama, no thank you.
Starting point is 00:34:16 And my agent was like, no, you're gonna go have lunch with them. And I was like, what did you just say to me? He was like, it's good, you're gonna read it and you're gonna have lunch and I'm gonna make you because I think you're gonna really wanna do it. I just had no interest in, well, first of all, working for a network.
Starting point is 00:34:28 I'm very spoiled on FX. They let us do whatever we want and say whatever we want. And I have a hard time with executives who aren't creatives telling me what I can and can't do because again, it's all fine and it works works and a lot of people are fine with that. I just am so blessed to be in a position where I want to show up and have fun with my life. That's at home and at work. I don't want to do something that is, I just want everything to be great or just I'll wait and wait until something comes along that I can make special.
Starting point is 00:35:01 So I was very gun shy and then I read his script and was like, oh, I think I'm in. And then I'd have to point out that Alethea Jones directed that episode and she was absolutely incredible. So one of the ways that you see my character solve things is what we call Morgan vision and kind of these like flashes of what she's putting together in her brain. I was really nervous about those because I was like, my mind went to like a horrible reenactment on a bad A&E crime show.
Starting point is 00:35:26 There was like someone who kind of looks like the murderer walking up. I was like, oh God, I just was very scared of the Morgan vision stuff. And I told her that and she was like, that's the stuff I'm most excited about. And I was like, okay, walk me through that. She just did such a tremendous job with that pilot.
Starting point is 00:35:41 Also some of the imagined recreations are really funny. Yeah, yeah. You know. Because it's just what's recreations are really funny. Yeah, yeah. You know. Because it's just what's going on in her. Yeah, your mind, you're thinking of serious things like how a murder happened, then there are these asides where you're thinking
Starting point is 00:35:53 of other possibilities that are actually really good sight gags that are funny. And they're quick, just like quick real pops. It's interesting to me because I would think what you wanna do, it's that old phrase, like you're playing with house money. And I think sometimes in sports, if a team has, if they know that they've got it,
Starting point is 00:36:11 if they know that they're going to the Super Bowl or something, they play differently because they, or conversely, if they feel like we got nothing to lose. And it's nice probably to be in a part of your career where you feel like, yeah, I wanna have fun. Yes. I wanna have a good time. Mm-hmm, yeah, there's quite a freedom in knowing that I really would walk away if it was not up
Starting point is 00:36:35 to the quality that I wanted to put out there. Because that's not like a threat, it's just really like, no thanks, I mean, thank you so much for thinking of me, but I don't, yeah, yeah. It would be perfect if you walked out on this podcast right now. Oh yeah, I should have done that. And away from my TV show.
Starting point is 00:36:51 And guess what? This is not up to my- Yeah, yeah. It's not too late. We still got 10 minutes. I was just gonna say- And then we could put in a car starting noise. Oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:59 Tires screeching. Me calling my agent. It's interesting, cause when you put something out in the world and you're seen a certain way, fans react to you in a certain way. And for so many years as Dee, people know you a certain way. Oh yeah. And that is not who you are.
Starting point is 00:37:17 No. But I heard this anecdote once that the three Stooges, the actual people who were the Three Stooges, that Moe Howard and Larry, when they would go out in the world, people who were fans would come up and- Slap them? Slap them, hit them, and do the eye poke.
Starting point is 00:37:36 Get your fingers away from my eyes. Because they were like, no, no, no, I love you. Hey, Curly, I love you. People are weird. And they would jab them in the eyes, and it was a huge problem for them. People are so stupid. But I'm thinking if you're, there's part of Dee, I mean, you're this very attractive, cool actress.
Starting point is 00:37:55 Thanks, Conan. Well, you know what I mean. You're an- I do now. Listen, I don't know where Rob is right now. Feels like he's not showing you the proper attention. I just, I'm sorry. That's right, put it on Rob.
Starting point is 00:38:10 Yeah. He's off somewhere eating a potato. I know. And I'm here talking to you about how attractive you are and talented as an actor and what a career you've had. And I don't know, I don't know if you have that syndrome where people come up to you and they're- Oh yeah, D's a bird.
Starting point is 00:38:26 Shut up bird, a lot of shut up bird, mostly shut up bird. Yeah, on a daily basis. And you're like with your kids. Yeah, they love it. They think it's the best thing in the world. Sona, I bet you've done that. Have you screamed shut up bird? I was gonna yell, hey bird, shut up bird
Starting point is 00:38:43 when you walked in. I was like, I shouldn't. I see, I love it. I wasn't gonna do that. The most fun is when people do it in the comment section of whatever social media and then I have so many fans jump on it and be like, you think she hasn't heard that before?
Starting point is 00:38:54 You know, she's other things that I'm like, oh my God, it's time. I find it hilarious. It doesn't bother me at all. Calling someone a bird is so not an insult. It's the stupidest. I actually love it when people come to your defense on social media for something that didn't need defending. Yes, I'm like, they're calling me a bird is so not an insult. It's the stupidest. I actually love it when people come to your defense on social media for something that didn't need defending.
Starting point is 00:39:06 Yes, I'm like, they're calling me a bird. Who cares? But I was very worried, very worried is maybe a little strong, but I did have a lot of thoughts about like, oh, I bet this show, this show might let a lot of my Sunny fans down or my The Mick fans down who just want me to do hard comedy.
Starting point is 00:39:25 Balls to the wall kind of. Yeah, just tell dick and ball jokes all day long. And set people on fire, you know? That's all anyone wants from me. Right. And have men yell at me and call me a bird. So I was like, oh, I don't know how, like the general public is gonna receive this.
Starting point is 00:39:42 I feel like I've got the moms and grandmas with this one, but people are really liking it. Which I'm very happy about. Yeah, the reviews have been great. Yeah, yeah, they really have. And it's okay, I guess we're all humans, so when you're waiting around- We need to take a shit.
Starting point is 00:39:56 When you're waiting. Why do you always take us into the gutter? There's something for the old fans. There you go, guys. There you go, and they're like, hey. There she's back. It's starting to get real serious there, but then it was okay again.
Starting point is 00:40:09 Dee is back. No, but you know, there's this, the uninitiated or people who wouldn't know would say, oh, by this point, you know, you wouldn't worry what people would say. Of course you would. Of course I would. Oh yeah.
Starting point is 00:40:24 Well, you must be very happy because people are loving it. I was, oh yeah. Even filming the pilot, between filming the pilot and watching it, when I got it, I didn't watch it right away. I was so nervous. I was just like, I really enjoy being in control.
Starting point is 00:40:40 And I felt very out of control with this one because it's a different genre, just a lot of trust. And like I said, I mean, I'm just used to 17 seasons on a show where we're all doing it together. This was me just trusting this woman. And I'm very glad that I did. She was incredible. But yeah, I care, I care very much.
Starting point is 00:40:57 And I was scared to show it to Rob. Rob's the harshest critic I've ever met in my life. And when he liked it, I was like, we did it guys, we did it. Now with Rob, okay, this is interesting because this is someone who is your comedic partner, but also your life partner. Brutally honest. Brutally honest? Brutally honest.
Starting point is 00:41:18 Doesn't matter if we're married. Yeah. Wow. He wouldn't be cruel about it, but he'd say something like, oh, no, you know what he would do? He would give me a million notes, even though it was already finished and edited. He would give me so many notes.
Starting point is 00:41:30 Right, you're like, no, it's on, we're watching it on television. We're watching it on television right now. It's airing on ABC right now. He's like, no, no, no, no, no, no, just trust me, just call the editor. For reruns. Yeah, that's right.
Starting point is 00:41:40 Never give up. That's a fascinating dynamic. It's very true, yeah. But he liked it. When I show my wife things that we're gonna do, I mean, she wouldn't say, oh, that's bad, but I can tell- She'd smile and nod.
Starting point is 00:41:53 She's got very, you know, Liza has these beautiful big eyes, and sometimes they're- They get sad. There's a little sadness in them, even though she's smiling, and I know, yeah, and I'm like, no, this isn't good. And then she goes to her closet
Starting point is 00:42:07 and pulls out one of 70 fleeces she has now. Cause she's rolling in dough. All she did was go get, yeah, it's my Gucci fleece. I love Liza. Yeah, Liza's great. She flies to Paris and has fittings and then comes back and it's still a fleece vest. And she puts the Patagonia label over the Gucci label.
Starting point is 00:42:35 Just smells like perfume. Yeah, yeah. And then she says, let's go get some cured salmon. Hang out by the water. Sounds great. Yeah. Well, that is amazing that you have figured that you two have that dynamic.
Starting point is 00:42:48 Yeah, it's, he's- Can you do it with him? Can you look at his stuff? Can you look at Rob's stuff and say, yeah. Ooh, good question. This is gonna sound super lame. I think Rob's got incredible taste,
Starting point is 00:43:05 so there's not really anything he's made that I haven't liked, but no, that's not my personality. I think I would find things, I do that thing where you go see a friend in a play and you have to find things that you liked about it because their acting sucked, and then you just give them those things. I do that.
Starting point is 00:43:20 I hope you've seen more than one person in a play because they're gonna know. I've only seen one play in my life. Shoot. Oh life. Shoot. Oh no. Yeah. It was three weeks ago. I only have one friend.
Starting point is 00:43:30 And it was her best friend in the world. Oh no. Yeah. Jenny Tyler is Gandhi. Jenny. Jenny. I shaved my head, what else? You have a very round head, Jenny.
Starting point is 00:43:44 That part where you're not eating was really- Probably really good for your diet. Yeah. Jenny Tyler is gone. Well, she is. It's playing on Highland. Go see it. Don't see it. It's at the Coronet Theater, check it out. Um, well, it is a delight.
Starting point is 00:44:10 It's a delight. It's my favorite thing is when I'm, and I've said this a million times, but there are days where I'm coming in to talk to somebody who I am a big fan of and kind of giddy to see. And I also know that first thing I'm gonna be doing when I get home is texting, you know, my kids
Starting point is 00:44:30 and saying, guess who I was with today? And then I get points. So I am- Oh my God, that's the best compliment. Seriously. Yeah, and you know what? The show probably premiered before Beckett was even born. Well, that's the other thing. That's the other thing too, is that my daughter's 21,
Starting point is 00:44:45 my son is newly 19, and they, I always liked evergreen comedy. I always liked comedy that doesn't live off of, this happened today and we're commenting on it. That was my favorite stuff. And I always wanted to make stuff that maybe would be funny if someone found it 30 years later. Definitely it's always sunny.
Starting point is 00:45:04 The fact that my kids are binge watching it and know every single twist and turn. What's the family you guys have the rivalry with? McPoyles. Yes, oh my God. The best. It's the best when it's real, the episodes where you realize at the end it's them
Starting point is 00:45:21 and they just run away. Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop. And you're like, this, okay. None of this adds up. So stupid. It's so stupid, but my life has been spent trying to prove to people that there is an intersection between stupid and smart.
Starting point is 00:45:36 Yes! And it comes and goes, and it's hard to find, and it's like the Northwest Passage. You know, many lives have been lost looking for it, but I believe in it with all my heart. Yeah, and it's hard the Northwest Passage. You know, many lives have been lost looking for it, but I believe in it with all my heart. Yeah, and it's hard to do. And so when you find it, it's special. So that's a big compliment.
Starting point is 00:45:51 Thank you. Well, congratulations on your new show, High Potential. And I watched it on Hulu. Yeah, you should. And is Hulu the one, or it's also on ABC? ABC and Hulu the next day. Yeah, it's just very smart and fun to watch and fun to watch your character who is also very funny
Starting point is 00:46:13 but grounded in reality, figuring all this stuff out. And I'm a true, I'm a crime fan. So when you were putting down these true detective shows, these recreation shows, I live off of those. Okay, good, good, good, good, same. And one of my, it really is my favorite compliment, which is happening a lot now because we're in our 17th season where grownups will come and say,
Starting point is 00:46:36 my kids are now old enough to watch Sunny and we watch it together as a family. And it's our show that we watch as a family. And now that my kids are 12 and 14, I'm like, oh, I get it. There's only like a, I feel like there's only a couple more years left where we will all want to watch stuff together. And you're just holding onto it.
Starting point is 00:46:53 And I'm like, whatever show you guys want. They're like, yes, let's get popcorn and watch it on the couch together. We are, I was shocked because my wife, who is an amazing mom, did an incredible job, was so sensible, and really careful about, no, no, they can't eat this because I did read that it has a little bit of zinc in it. She and I really need to be best friends.
Starting point is 00:47:14 Yeah, yeah. But, and she also, but she very quickly said, no, always sunny, the kids can watch Always Sunny, it's fine. And then she, without my knowledge or permission, she hyper jumped to Veep. Oh. And I come home and she and my daughter
Starting point is 00:47:33 and my son are watching Veep. Without you? Well, yeah, I wasn't there. I was doing something. I was out alley catting, you know me. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a guy with needs. I understand.
Starting point is 00:47:43 A man, you know, whatever. She's over there talking about minuscule levels of zinc. Yeah. I'm a guy with needs. I understand. A man, you know, whatever. She's over there talking about minuscule levels of zinc. Yeah. It's very unattractive. Yeah, so anyway, I'm out doing what a guy does. Yep. And Rob knows what I'm talking about.
Starting point is 00:47:55 And so, because I see him at the same pub. Sure, sure. We high five. Um, and, uh, no, but I come on there watching, and Veep, Veep is, come on there watching and Veep, Veep is, there's whole runs in Veep, which is like, I'm going to take your balls and shove them up your asshole so far that you choke on the cum that comes out
Starting point is 00:48:17 your ears and dribbles down your umbilical, you know, it's like insane. And she was like, yeah, but it's funny. And I'm like, it is funny. But I, I told Julia Louis Dreyfus, who I know, it's like insane. And she was like, yeah, but it's funny. And I'm like, it is funny. But I told Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who I know, I told her like, you know, why is this letting the kids watch VEEP? And she's like, what?
Starting point is 00:48:31 I know, I know. VEEP is another step beyond. It's a step up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, listen, you opened the floodgates with Sunny. What was she supposed to do? I think you guys were- The starter show.
Starting point is 00:48:42 You guys were the drug, a very good drug, by the way. An excellent drug that gave them a powerful but safe high. And then she went on to crack. She went to fentanyl. Yeah, she went to fentanyl. Thank you so much for coming in. Thanks for having me. An absolute joy to see you.
Starting point is 00:48:59 And my best to Rob and to the gang that's making the show and tell them I say hello. And thank you so much for going down into the mines and making such good stuff for all of us. You're the best. I'm not leaving. Let's just do another hour. Okay.
Starting point is 00:49:16 Hour number two. We talk about what's going on in the world. Oh God. And it gets really dark. I gotta go. Okay, no hour two. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me. I was cleaning out some stuff in my office the other day and I found that I had this
Starting point is 00:49:43 CB dictionary. Oh my God. Not surprised at all. Make sure that we enunciate CB. Yeah. It sounded a little bit like CD for a second. Oh, CB, Citizens Band Radio, which is the way people talk like truckers
Starting point is 00:49:54 and smoking the band. We've talked about that movie before. Yeah, and not just the movie, I remember very clearly there was a, the CB fad was huge in the late 70s. And there was a song called Convoy. That's right. Remember that song?
Starting point is 00:50:10 I do. Yeah. And that's. We got a little old convoy running through the night. We got a great big convoy. Ain't she a beautiful sight? Convoy. Sona, where are you going?
Starting point is 00:50:19 What's going on? Oh, I'm sorry. I was just trying to leave it alone. It was a big deal. And I remembered that one of my grandparents passed away, and some of us, why don't you wrinkle pages even louder? What are you? Oh my God!
Starting point is 00:50:32 Look at him, he's right. This is the guy who produces the podcast. I edit this, I cut my mic. You don't need to worry about it, you weirdo. Look at this, what are you, Chris Crinkle? Anyway. Why'd you laugh so hard? That wasn't that funny. I thought it was good. Chris Crinkle? It was funny. Chris Crinkle. Anyway. Why'd you laugh so hard? That wasn't that funny.
Starting point is 00:50:45 I thought it was good. Chris Crinkle? It was funny. Chris Crinkle's not good. You heard of Chris Crinkle. This guy's Chris Crinkle. Louder, Blay, louder. There you go.
Starting point is 00:50:54 Suck up. So anyway, one of my grandparents passed away and we were all like kids and we were, for some reason it got switched around. So we were in the funeral procession, you know, funeral procession. What's it called? The, in the cars.
Starting point is 00:51:10 Is it a funeral procession with the cars? I think so. Okay, anyway. It's a convoy. Hearst was driving with one of my grandparents in it. I can't remember which one. And then other cars. And our cool cousin was driving the station wagon
Starting point is 00:51:24 that my brothers and I, and my sisters and I were all jammed into, and we're headed to the graveyard when the song Convoy came on, and my cousin reached over and turned it up all the way. And there's a part of the song where they go, so let them tukers rule, 10-4, because we got a great big,
Starting point is 00:51:40 and we were all rocking out, and I love my granddad. But I, and it felt sacrilegious, but also great at the same time. So I have a font. No, he wouldn't have liked that at all. Yeah. Well, I thought I could quiz you guys on CB lingo and see if you can figure it out.
Starting point is 00:51:55 Because actually speaking of hearse, there is a CB term for hearse. Oh yeah. Anybody know what it is? Is it called an old rolling pine? The dead guy. The dead good. The dead guy. The dead guy. The dead guy.
Starting point is 00:52:09 The dead guy. No, yeah, let's see. I remember that. Well, obviously a Smokey is a policeman. Yeah, so we'll go over it. First of all, a hearse is called a bone box. Bone box. We got a bone box.
Starting point is 00:52:18 Here are just some of your regular things. Like the police are called, you could call them a Smokey or a bear. Smokey the bear. CB radio are your ears. Got my ears on. A Bear in the Air. A Bear in the Air is a whirly gig.
Starting point is 00:52:31 It's a helicopter with the cops inside. The police helicopter, yeah. Oh my God. Is that a police helicopter? I said a helicopter with police inside. I said a helicopter with police inside. It's a helicopter, but instead of a citizen, contained within, at the core of it, are police. This is what truckers say to each other.
Starting point is 00:52:58 When they're driving like long range semi-drivers. Yes. Okay, okay. Like a bear in the bush. Bear in the bush is, oh, that would be a smokey that's hiding out trying to catch people in a speed trap. Yeah, that's exactly right. Okay, so now I'm gonna quiz you guys.
Starting point is 00:53:12 Those are kind of the easy ones. Yep, got it. All right, here we go. Blood box. Blood box would be... Ambulance. That's right, one for Sona. Bed bug holler.
Starting point is 00:53:21 Bed bug holler, or be a motel, like a cheap motel. I think it's a furniture truck. A moving van, I'll accept that. Oh my God, I'm crushing it. I just learned what this was. Bikini state. Bikini state is Florida. That's right.
Starting point is 00:53:34 Oh. Wow. I just know, because I'm a bikini inspector. Are you looking at the thing? No, I was not looking at it. I was not. I don't have my glasses on either. Breaking wind. Breaking wind. Spe wind. Breaking wind.
Starting point is 00:53:45 Speeding, breaking wind. Going downhill. I'm sorry, neither of you. It's the first sea beer in a convoy. They're breaking the wind. Brush your teeth and comb your hair. That's something you'd say. What does that mean?
Starting point is 00:53:58 That's just, I mean, good hygiene. Yeah, I think that means I need to rest. No, no, say it again. Brush your teeth and comb your hair. It helps when you think of it like, 10 No, say it again. Brush your teeth and comb your hair. It helps when you think of it like, 10-4, good buddy, brush your teeth and comb your hair. Um, be a good, uh, see you around. Uh, brush your teeth and comb your hair.
Starting point is 00:54:14 There's a, there's a smokey up ahead. What? Look good, there's a smokey up ahead. Oh, that's stupid. See you around? Just say, there's a smokey up ahead. Why brush your teeth and comb your hair? Well, that's the whole point.
Starting point is 00:54:28 They could be listening, right? When they pull you over for speeding, they don't care about your attire and how well quaffed you are. No, the Smokys are listening in on the CB radio and then they hear you. If you say, hey, there's a Smoky, they'll be like, oh, the convoy is smart. Yeah. I don't know. I'm trying to figure it out. What are California turnarounds? On ramps. No.
Starting point is 00:54:49 Off ramps. Way stations. Conan? California turnaround. Yeah. That's when you hit the state of California cause you've made your drop and then you're headed back the other way.
Starting point is 00:54:59 Not really. Yes it is. They're Benzos or speed because if you're going as far as California, you gotta take some of those to go there and back. Oh, I see. You mean like a Benny or a big- Yes, I said Benzos.
Starting point is 00:55:13 Yeah. Benny. Yeah, Benny or a Jub-Jub. You guys are real hip. Those are called a Green Squanto, yeah. Choke and Puke. Choke and Puke. I would see.
Starting point is 00:55:23 That's in Smoky and the Bandit. They use that a lot. Choke and Puke? Yeah. I'm going to Choke and puke. Choke and puke, I would see. That's in Smokey and the Bandit. They use that a lot. Choke and puke? Yeah. I'm going to choke and puke. Going to a choke and puke. Going to a choke and puke. I'm like a bad diner.
Starting point is 00:55:32 It's a restaurant, but I'll give it to you. Thank you. Okay, Christmas card. Just like a way to wish people well. Use it in a sentence, please. I'm doing double nickels on the I-5 and I got myself a Christmas card. I'm gonna have to pay that come Tuesday.
Starting point is 00:55:45 Uh, traffic ticket. That's right. But why was it called a Christmas card? Well, it's just... These guys suck. It's CB Poetry. I'm sorry. I'm glad. You know what? There's a reason this died out.
Starting point is 00:55:56 You know what I mean? They had bad terms. I'm sorry! Oh my God, I'm fine. I don't even know that one. Now we're gonna get into some of the more colorful ones. What's the score? What's the score? I? What's the score? I'm winning. It's three, Sona, Conan, two.
Starting point is 00:56:08 Also, we don't know that this died out. There's truckers all over this great country. Yeah, but why don't they just email each other? Or text. Because you don't wanna be on your phone on the, while you're driving. Of course they can be on their phone. They have devices that handle all kinds of things
Starting point is 00:56:21 while they're driving. Let's get to that. What do you think Vacu suck is for? Well, I have one I'm using it now Three double-a batteries takes care of old Captain Jack down there What does abuse it mean? Um, well, okay. Abuse it. Just say it. Well, I don't want to. Masturbate. That's right.
Starting point is 00:56:50 I gave that to Sona because I didn't want to offend a lady. You didn't want to say masturbate? I didn't, no. You just called your dick Captain Jack. Yeah, he's in the army. That's his rank. You just did a whole vacuum suck thing.
Starting point is 00:57:01 He's his rank. I got a vacuumuck for Captain Jack. He did his time. You don't want to say masturbate, but you might- He was in Vietnam. What's a douche job? Oh man, don't get me started. A douche job is when-
Starting point is 00:57:18 Why did you put two fingers up very specifically? Car wash. Yes, that's right. Okay. I was going to say an actual anal. No. An actual anal. Okay, some of these have crossed over
Starting point is 00:57:35 into popular culture, but what's a beaver? A vagina. Well, no. No. I mean, it is. It's a woman driving a truck. It's just a woman, yeah, okay. Bra buster.
Starting point is 00:57:44 What is it? Bra buster. Bra buster. Oh man, talk about it. Skips me. What? Talk about it? A bra buster? Bra buster is a woman who is real tough.
Starting point is 00:57:59 No, bra buster's a speed bump. No, oh that's good. You go over it too fast, it's gonna bust your bra. No, it's just a large-breasted woman. Well, wait a minute. Oh, come on. I thought they have to relate to trucking somehow. Now you're gonna get into, yeah, that's an old itchy face. What's that, a guy with a beard?
Starting point is 00:58:15 Well, why are they talking in code? No one's changing the goalposts. No, if I'm driving a truck and I see, you know, lady with the titties, I go, hey guys, bra buster, come around. That beaver's a real bra buster. Yeah, but that's not, it's not coded enough. Oh. It's still, do you know what I mean?
Starting point is 00:58:32 Some of them are, some of them are. I mean, this is, this just evolved with the language. It's not like somebody sat down at a council. No, but there's a more clever way to do that if there's a large breasted woman. Well, maybe they're not, like, they're doing it on the radio, but the woman doesn't hear it. They're just like, hey guys, heads up., they're doing it on the radio, but the woman doesn't hear
Starting point is 00:58:45 it. They're just like, hey guys, heads up. Those are some big knobs on the radio. Yes. You know what I mean? Something like that. That's nice. High beams on.
Starting point is 00:58:53 Do you know what I mean? So something they could do better. The twin pillars of society. There's so many different ways to do it, but broadbusters just being unimaginative. Another reason why CB culture has died. All right, so this is a tiebreaker. And the last one, Coffee Break. Coffee Break, oh, tell me about it.
Starting point is 00:59:12 I'm just trying to use up time. Coffee Break. Coffee Break. Coffee Break. Now this doesn't necessarily have a one-to-one for what the name is to what the thing is. So you just have to think creatively. Remember we're in the kind of like, you know,
Starting point is 00:59:27 sexual section of this. Oh, we are. Oh, Coffee Break. Does it have anything to do with... This one's anal. Oh my God, you're obsessed. And again, they have a device for that too. Why?
Starting point is 00:59:41 So they don't have to use it because coffee's dark? Because coffee's dark. Oh God. No, not only are you not right, you're disqualified. Thank you. Coffee break? Um, I don't know. It's just a visit with a prostitute. But why? That's just, I'm taking a coffee break. You can't get upset.
Starting point is 00:59:58 I can get upset. I want these to be rewritten. Well the good news is I've only gone through A through D on these, so we've got lots more to do. Oh, my God. That's OK. I think this is our last visit to CB. What made you, why do you have a CB dictionary? That was my question.
Starting point is 01:00:14 Yeah. Just, I don't know, maybe someone gave it to me as a gift or I bought it. You know, I love the movie Smoke and the Bandits. It's one of my favorite movies. OK. And so I wanted to be able to speak the patois. Oh, God.
Starting point is 01:00:27 Jesus Christ. Okay, well. If you're going around saying coffee break or a bra buster, I just, I can't know you. I do think some of these could be better. I'm 10-10 in the shade Pickle Park and Taylor Made, so. See, that sounds good, but some of these just weren't very good.
Starting point is 01:00:41 Well, I'm gonna be honest, coffee break for a prostitute. There's a better way to do that, right? I think coffee break is cool. But what if you want a coffee break? It's a euphemism. But what I'm saying is, that's a bad idea because coffee is a regular part of what a trucker would be drinking.
Starting point is 01:00:56 So is prostitution. And they would want it. No! That's a terrible thing to say. Why are you telling other people that you're going on a coffee break? Like, why are you telling the other people on the radio that you're going to see a prostitute?
Starting point is 01:01:08 Why don't you just do it? I think you guys gotta put yourself in the mindset of the 70s in the American South and you're just talking to your buddies on a CB radio going, I'm gonna go on coffee break 10-4, come back. I'd say I'm gonna go hire a prostitute. And then I'm gonna have some coffee afterwards with said prostitute
Starting point is 01:01:26 My old college roommate Tom Crowe He came out of nowhere What's your handle there good buddy? Shut the fuck up no cap. Yeah, no, no My my old college roommate Tom Crowe his sister her job is coordinating long-haul truckers I can ask her how much of these are still in use today because she talks to a lot of truckers. That sounds good.
Starting point is 01:01:48 Yeah, find out if there are a lot of truckers out there taking coffee breaks. And you know what this segment really wants? A follow up segment. Okay. Yeah, it screams follow up. Sorry. And ask her about VacuSuck.
Starting point is 01:01:56 Is that the actual name? Is that the actual name? From the guy who won't say masturbate. Okay. No, I can't do it myself, but with machinery. Oh my God. Conan O'Brien needs a friend. With Conan O'Brien, Sonam Avsesian, and Matt Gourley.
Starting point is 01:02:19 Produced by me, Matt Gourley. Executive produced by Adam Sacks, Jeff Ross, and Nick Leow. Theme song by The White Stripes. Incidental music by Jimmy Vivino. Take it away, Jimmy. Our supervising producer is Aaron Blair, and our associate talent producer is Jennifer Samples. Engineering and mixing by Eduardo Perez
Starting point is 01:02:42 and Brendan Burns. Additional production support by Mars Melnik. Talent Booking by Paula Davis, Gina Battista, and Brit Kahn. You can rate and review this show on Apple podcasts, and you might find your review read on a future episode. Got a question for Conan? Call the Team Coco hotline at 669-587-2847 and leave a message.
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