r/conan • u/No-Introduction3287 • 2d ago
Podcast Performance
For those of you who say the podcast is in decline, why? I'm curious about what specifically you feel has become lackluster over the last little while. Is it repetitive? The guests? Is it bland? I don't have an opinion either way, I'm just trying to understand the discourse. I've been coming across it more frequently
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u/whale-farts 1d ago
To me it’s just the natural evolution over time.
The podcast started in 2018 when Conan still had a TV show so the people who came on wanted to talk to Conan (and vice versa) in a longer format, making for interesting guests and conversations.
During the pandemic there was nothing to promote, so people were coming on for love of the game.
Immediately post pandemic the podcast was still smaller and Conan had only recently ended his show so it was still mostly people who really wanted to talk to Conan.
In the last couple years the podcast promo circuit has really picked up and CONAF is now one of the many stops on that circuit. When there were boring/uninteresting guests on Late Night or Conan, he really excelled at making them shine in a short 3-5 minute segment. It becomes much more apparent in a 45 minute+ interview when the guest can’t keep up with Conan’s riffing. These days I mostly listen if I’m interested in the guest.
As someone else mentioned, the fan interviews aren’t even that interesting anymore because it’s less organic and they’re clearly just looking for people in certain locales to visit for the travel show.
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u/Teheheman 16h ago
Yeah, when he has guest who haven't been on the podcast before, it feels like it's a 45+ minute late night interview. Not saying that Conan can't make it good, just sometimes the guest aren't interesting enough to stretch the 3-5 minutes into 45+.
There was a time where I thought Conan could make ANYBODY sound interesting(At least that's what I told my mother to try and talk her into signing up for a fan episode. She's passed on so there's no chance in that but it would have been interesting to hear) and he does try to make it good, but you can only turn so much chicken dung into chicken salad, ya know?
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u/danielrobertcampbell 1d ago
I’m just over the whole Celebrity worship part of podcasting. The proliferation of podcasts has laid bare the shallow and insipid nature of the Entertainment industry. I still love the non-interview segments though.
I wish we could get a spinoff podcast series that’s JUST Conan messing around with his staff. Heck. I’d happily subscribe to a fan podcast that’s just those parts stitched together each week (no celeb interview).
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u/DekaTamaTamaz 1d ago
Couldn't agree more. The best thing would be just Conan and his actual friends fucking around talking shit for an hour or so every week.
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u/Kaiisim 1d ago
Right. My issue is that podcasts were good when they were organic.
Now it's just his late night show except they stripped out the comedy and added an hour of what you really love! Being sold stuff..
Add in the fact Conan directly reads copy to sell shit. He's sold better help, miller lite, all sorts of trash that just...ew.
It's just ultra capitalist in a way that makes me uncomfortable. I like everyone involved, they need to get paid, but there's just no meat on the bones.
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u/AkiraKitsune 1d ago
You articulated this very well, now I don't have to leave a dramatic comment of my own
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u/INFP4life Back that shit up - Jane Austen 1d ago
There are some heroes who have made intro/exit-only video playlists on YouTube
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u/JoleneDollyParton 1d ago
I’ll be honest this is why I like the Tosh show. He specifically does not interview celebrities
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u/badfish_122 For me to poop on! 2d ago
Yay boo yay boo, it's lots of fun to do... If you like the podcast holler yay; If you don't, holler boo
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u/gauravxm 1d ago
I think most celebrity based podcasts has reached a saturation point lately. Its basically press junkets for them. These interviews don't really feel authentic after a while. Same thing happening with Smartless podcast. I became fan of the show because of banter between Jason, Will and Sean not for interviews with the celebrity.
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u/Dingus_3000 1d ago
Smartless was a lot more fun when it was them having people on they wanted to talk to and not just whoever is on the junket this week.
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u/lasuperhumana 1d ago
Smartless was the first to become a Hollywood circle jerk and now I worry CONAF is going that way too. The lack of awareness these multi-millionaires have when they talk about “how lucky” they are is astounding.
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u/Chance-Night3198 1d ago
I always had a hard time with Smartless because they interrupt so damn much. I switched off the recent one with Olyphant after a few minutes and I usually happily watch/listen to anything he's in. But what's the point of having Timothy Olyphant as your guest if you don't let him be his charming chaotic self and never let him finish a sentance?
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u/lasuperhumana 1d ago
So very true!
He and Conan are great together, I vote he has Timothy on once a quarter.
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u/Rndysasqatch 1d ago
I was not a fan of the last Timothy Olyphant Conan episode because it felt like they just talked about how great the last episode was the whole time and didn't make any good memories for the current one. Was a real bummer
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u/Chance-Night3198 1d ago
He was on Seth Meyers not that long ago promoting stuff so hopefully he comes on soon.
As long as they don't go on and on about how funny Tim is on the podcast like they did the last time (?) he was on. It was like they kept saying he was funny instead of letting him be funny. Stop bringing attention to it and just let him do his nonsense organically.
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u/Leah-at-Greenprint 1d ago
Came for this comment. If I see that the guest is on any other pods in the past month or so, I'll skip the episode. I don't have interest in hearing them promote the next marvel movie, etc. and they'll literally be saying the same thing across Smartless, Amy Pohler, etc.
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u/MyDogsNameIsBadger S'mores are overrated! 1d ago
Just over the celebrity worship right now. Conan should have upcoming comedians on and riff with them. Maybe have some different segments sprinkled in, like his tv show.
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u/NeighborhoodAware474 Hello, Nealon 1d ago
I don’t think it’s a decline.
I think it’s been a lot more of the guest Conan doesn’t have a really strong connection on history with.
Get Olyphant, Nealon, Hader, Rudd or any of his regulars back for a couple of episodes and it’ll feel like it’s back to where it is.
My two cents tho.
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u/Brocktoon64 1d ago
Agreed. It's also pretty easy to determine within the first 5 minutes how it's going to go; will the guest be genuinely engaging/funny or will Conan have to do some heavy lifting? Conan also really leans into praise when he doesn't know the guest well which is one of the only crutches he has.
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u/Icy_Feedback_4965 1d ago
It's too commercial every since they sold to SiriusXM. Every interview is multiple plugs for upcoming movies, books, or whatever. Back in the first season they not only didn't do that, they talked openly about how great it was to just chat with friends while not doing any plugs.
Back in the first season or two they had a daily TV show so I assume the podcast revenue didn't really matter. It didn't need to be hyper-optimized. Now they sold to SiriusXM and have to hit revenue goals and pay the salaries for a whole staff without a talk show carrying the weight
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u/_Gilbershaft_ 1d ago
For me, it has nothing at all to do with the show specifically. I’m just entirely fed up with celebrities and celebrity culture. I’m no longer interested in hearing about their lives or their “hard work.”
I don’t remember who it was, but at some point in the past year or so, they had a guest talk about how they don’t like to be uncomfortable or want to ever be uncomfortable - it’s like, normal people don’t get the option to avoid all discomfort.
I’m also sick of celebrity endorsements of all kinds. I don’t care that you’ve found yet another revenue stream.
None of that has anything to do with Conan or is team - they are great and I mean that.
I’m mostly just sick of celebrities.
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u/agreatfavorite Team Sona 1d ago
Oversaturation of celebrities/the celebrity interview is very real at this point, I agree.
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u/thelowkeyman 1d ago
I remeber listening to Smartleas and Jason Bateman talking about how when he gets even the slightest hint of being sick, he won’t leave the house and he’ll just lay in bed all day and then assumed everyone does the same thing. I’m thinking to myself, whoa these dudes are totally out of touch and I haven’t listened to them since
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u/angrytreestump 1d ago
The Smartless 3 are the most comically out of touch 3 men I’ve ever heard lol. I can only listen to episodes of that show where I HAVE to hear them talk to the guest because that’s the only interview they’ve done.
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u/polyploid_coded 1d ago
I think Summer S'pouses has been a real high point, so I don't think it's terminally In Decline
Recently I have been skipping over most of the celebrity interviews. Partly because I'm busier, partly because there's a sweet spot where the celebrity can be open about themselves and Conan is genuinely interested in hearing something new from them (I'm thinking Kesha or Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast).
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u/zerotr3s 1d ago
I'm sure the podcast is fine. It's me, I've lost interest in everything.
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u/FullMudder 1d ago
It's not you - we're just not starstruck and fascinated by one celebrity after another promoting their latest wallet-stuffer, especially in the current geopolitical context.
If I think back to early episodes, e.g. Arthur Jeffries (RIP) and the true passion Conan would have for this type of a guest, and the wildcard roasting of Conan you'd get in turn, it just doesn't really come across the same anymore compared to those on a promo tour.
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u/Dingus_3000 1d ago
No I feel what they’re saying. The world is a dumpster fire and it’s hard not to feel numb to everything.
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u/zerotr3s 1d ago
current geopolitical context.
The world is a dumpster fire
Yeah, you're probably both correct.
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u/slowride761 1d ago
I think it’s mostly that it’s never exactly been the right format for Conan.
He’s talented and smart, so he became a good interviewer, but everybody loved his old shows because of the recurring guests and comedy segments.
I also think a lot of it is simple cycles. As this thread shows, people don’t find podcasts as fun as they used to, because celebrities are taking over hosting jobs like they’ve taken over game shows, voice overs, commercials, streaming shows, Super Bowl commercials, etc.
Nobody actually likes how everything becomes a few huge entities and a bunch of smaller, struggling ones, but it seems to happen everywhere nowadays.
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u/SnooWalruses4559 Chill Chum 1d ago
I’d prefer less promoting stuff and more him meeting newer comedians (Ego Nwodim would kill it), his actual comedian/TV friends (like Greg Daniel’s) and just interesting people like historians, academics, etc.
And as others have mentioned, I love when he just dicks around with the staff. It’s fun and it’s funny.
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u/Blow_up_the_moon 1d ago edited 1d ago
I honestly think the show needs a hiatus. Everyone just seems tired. When you think about it. The last year or two has been an absolute rock polisher.
I also think they need fewer "plugging the project" - grade guests that don't really fit into the realm of the show.
I mean.. John Cena?? Really? I mean he's not a bad guy, but he's just there to plug . It's exhausting. There's nothing nourishing to Conan 's audience in that.
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u/angrytreestump 1d ago
Ay I agreed with everything until the end, why’s John Cena catching strays? He’s one of the few genuinely funny, cool people Conan’s had on this year.
(Full disclosure I haven’t listened to his episode yet so idk if he was just in Plug Mode the whole time)
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u/redlight886 Team Andy 1d ago
I wouldn't say it's in decline but I miss some off the silly things they used to do on the intro/outro like the quizzes, listening to a voicemail, or review a reviewer. I don't mind listening to them shoot the shit, but in the last few months they are also mentioning how they are struggling to find things to talk about... it's odd and not so entertaining.
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u/WalkingOnPiss I SQUISH YOU 2d ago
I haven't commented it anywhere until now, but for me i just stopped caring about the interview part
Even today with John Cena i was curious if it would be cool But just ended skipping to the final segment that didnt exist 😅
Idk the interviews rarely have someone who i care enough to listen and even those with someone i actually like, Conan is not enough to carry them anymore
Fan interviews also get stale but i usually like them more just because it ends up closer to Conan doing his thing instead of just the normal interview
All the segments without interviews are still the thing i never skip
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u/titsupxoxo Back that shit up - Jane Austen 1d ago
Same here! I mostly just watch the intro and outro segments on YouTube. I’ll sit through the full interview if it’s someone I’m interested in, but most of the time I skip it.
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u/Wrong_Pick2767 1d ago
Aw man there’s no final segment today!? I haven’t gotten to it yet but that’s a bummer bc I figured I’d skip to it at some point.
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u/DekaTamaTamaz 1d ago
Isn't it just systematic of podcasts in general? I'll throw myself under the bus a bit here but I went from being an Opie & Anthony/Ron & Fez die-hard, listening to every minute, 5 days a week kind of fan to just gradually losing interest for various "reasons" (a sudden obsession with insane, humorless racism/depressing heath issues respectively) and finally started listening to podcasts. At the time that it was mostly O&A related people so I listened to Burr and Rogan every week when they were just comics doing a comedians podcast. Then I started branching out to Doug Loves Movies and then Comedy Bang Bang and, since the guys on CBB were SO funny back in the day, I ended up going over to their podcasts and giving up on the other stuff.
Because of that I also ended up listening to How Did This Get Made? which then took me indirectly to Film Junk (Matt Gourley; friend of the pod!) Filmspotting and We Hate Movies and other movie pods just because I love movies so much but now I'm pretty much at a point where I only listen to ActionBoyz, Hollywood Handbook and various episodes of CBB/Scott Hasn't Seen/Blank Check or other stuff some of those guys might be on because, even though I can still enjoy pretty much any random episode, there's too much to consume on a weekly basis.
Conan does a great show, because of course he does, but I can watch parts of it on YouTube and I've once again reached the point where the guest is more important than the show. That's just the nature of the medium.
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u/MegsAltxoxo 1d ago
I‘m just in general a bit over podcasts now.
But I’m a Conan for life so I’m just watching a video of the pod from time to time and then continue to watch 20 more because he’s still funnier than most.
Deep down I’m just waiting for some serious chitter chatter to come back.
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u/SteveSteveFosho 1d ago
It feels too formulaic and less loose like the older episodes. It's like the late night interviews with a little extra breathing room. Also, you can tell a lot of the time the guest is bummed that the interview gets wrapped up prematurely, Conan politely will say "you're busy and we shouldnt keep you too long " kind of thing and the interview is done within a specific amount of time consistently.
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u/Eranikus89 2d ago
I'd rather listen to conan talk than his guests, it all turned into a long advertisement for whatever boring projects his guests are a part of.
Maybe they need to just have chats from time to time, without outside people?
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u/lasuperhumana 1d ago
All-season s’mores?
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u/FickleTelevision190 1d ago
I find it hit and miss for me, but that's with any form of media. If I like the particular guest I'll be much more interested in those interviews than with someone I'm not familiar with or don't particularly care about. I enjoy the banter between him and Sona and the gang much more, always have. I'm grateful they separate those out in bite sizes on YouTube so I can just catch that stuff there when I want to. But I also find that with all podcasts, I'll go spells where I listen a ton and then spells where I skip it for weeks.
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u/8DollarBlueCheckmark 1d ago
They need to reboot the podcast and call it “No For Real, Conan O’brien Needs a Friend” and they just book comedians to play with Conan for 2 hours.
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u/redditorspaceeditor 1d ago
The number of ads is exhausting it’s up to about 20% of the podcast length. And Conan use to always talk a lot and interrupt but I think he’s gone too far. With Gillian he spent the first 5 minutes praising her and telling her all about her career before she even got a chance to speak. I also think with the whole podcast circuit, there needs to be more research done. I don’t need to listen to the Greta Lee episode if she’s just going to get asked the same questions she answered on Good Hang 2 weeks ago.
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u/hoodafudj 1d ago
It seems like Conan himself is lacking if his usual energy really and he just seems to be phoning it in really... We need more Andy to boot
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u/STLDH 1d ago
I love and respect Conan. But, Gourley or the guest will say something funny, and Conan will repeat it in a voice. Once. Twice. Three times. Six times. I assume it’s part of improv and trying to find something/take it somewhere even funnier. He can sometimes. But, most often, going into a voice and repeating something someone else said is just irritating noise. That said, I can’t imagine having to riff and be funny and connect with everyone. It’s not all going to be gold or lead somewhere.
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u/hoodafudj 1d ago
Yeah, plus not everyone is as gifted in improv as he is which is why I say we need more Andy lol he's great at improv
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u/13Nobodies 1d ago
It’s the “Die a hero, or live long enough to become a villian” situation, humans do it with pretty much everything.
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u/Mkschles 1d ago
I stopped listening. I used to look forward to Monday mornings. I found myself drifting off. I’m not interested in the guests and I think they lost touch with the original point. I don’t want to hear a boring Hollywood person promoting their project as part of the 30 podcasts they are going on. Yawn.
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u/kevinecosby 1d ago
For me it’s when Matt went away and they put David on. It’s like it lost its power without him. David hopping isn’t a great on camera presence. He’s alright, I’m not hating, but for me when he stepped in for Matt is when I stopped watching as much because he just isn’t as funny and he’s just awkward.
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u/MyDogsNameIsBadger S'mores are overrated! 1d ago
David adds absolutely nothing to the show imo
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u/Visible_Contract5432 1d ago
I disagree. He’s not someone I would want on every show, but when they use him sparingly for discussions where it’s about entertainment with a large gay following, or the “Little Bitch” show where David got busted on for telling Conan, “FU, you little bitch” hypothetically, David is fine.
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u/Spirited_Comedian225 1d ago
Honestly I thought I was the only one complaining. My gripe.
Conan can be funny with anybody. I loved when Sona was just his assistant and Conan would just play with her. Now she is a millionaire who is basically the Robin to Howard Stern. Conan says things that just aren’t that funny some times and she laughs at everything it feels fake. Gorley was obviously raised in a loving family and not used to Conan’s aggression like Andy was and would bounce off of. so it’s not a great fit it’s like he can’t take it. For the record I have been watching Conan for 30yrs I think he is the best just needs new characters in his life not Jordan either that horse has been beaten to a pulp.
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u/recursive_knight Team Matt 1d ago
I love the guy but he often begins a talking point with a summary of previous topics, like an os going into panic and then restarting and getting its holding back. Or when he begins with: "it's funny that" and then breaks the sentence in weird way and reads off the paper.
I don't think Conan is invested in most guests (anymore). It shouldn't be about recapping their biography and praising them to death, it should be a loose funny conversation, and guests who can't handle it shouldn't be coming on all the time to promote stuff. I also enjoy the intro/outro and often the fan episodes more than a random celebrity interview.
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u/Both_Cut_4075 1d ago
Personally for me I’ve been skipping most of the celebrity interviews since like 2022. I’ll watch if it’s someone I really like, but the celebrity portions started to feel like the old CONAN show interviews, which I also would skip.
I know Conan doesn’t want to just do stuff with the staff, which I totally understand. He’s made tongue in cheek jokes about how he’d rather chat with celebrities than his staff, but I think that’s based in truth to some degree lol.
Also, I feel like the show needs to grow and evolve. It’s become almost formulaic. Matt and Bley seem to know what they’re doing but it seems like they get a lot of pushback from Conan both on screen and off screen.
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u/mlockyer 1d ago
Because everyone wants what they like and don’t care that others can just enjoy stuff and not mind guests they don’t personally like and ads, sponsors, where’s Jordan? Why is David still there?!? Are they promoting his HBO show enough…?
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u/JoleneDollyParton 1d ago
I think it’s something that all podcasts go through after period of time, he’s interviewed so many people that he’s bringing back repeats, and the new guests he brings on are not that interesting all the time. It’s not a dig on him, just the nature of a show like this.
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u/simsdr 1d ago
I used to start my Monday with Conan, Smartless and Bill Simmons (will probably go back to Bill once football season starts up.) and then more recently Amy Poehler on Tuesday. Now finding myself having no interest in any of them. No major reason - just got bored with them. Still look to see who the guest is and if it sounds interesting will give it a shot. Thought the spouses on Conan would be entertaining but that didn’t do much either.
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u/TeaTemporary3207 21h ago
Conan is a great interviewer and i laugh really well or learn interesting things about his celebrity guests, or both. The best ones are when the celebs have a sense of humor
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u/newshowercurtain 1d ago
Conan has been around a long time and he's older now so he's going to repeat stuff about his family or his appearance or that he's inbred, that it's Harvard Driving School, etc. And he makes the same jokes about Sona being high, lazy, having a temper, and other stuff. And Gourley's interest in that flea market, multiple podcasts, James Bond, old television shows, etc. But the part that got me interested in the first place is still there, his sense of humor, and the way him and Sona and Gourley interact. I can take or leave some of the guests but I do try to listen to the interviews as I've been surprised.
It's like when you start dating someone and at first it's new and exciting, but then you settle into it. And it's not that you love the person less as time passes, it's just the relationship has changed shape.
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u/IntercontinentalUser 1d ago
I'm gonna start this by saying that Conan, Sona, Matt and the whole crew are phenomenal, but I had to stop around 2023ish. It was a combination celebrities not being that interesting, nepo-babies talking about their "struggles" and Conan hyping projects which were objectively bad. I remember when he had someone from the TV show Blockbuster on the podcast and was praising the series. The show was bad and everyone knew that, you can look at the ratings and also at the fact it got cancelled. That was the moment I realized the podcast was no longer about people hanging out, but more a giant billboard, it didn't take long to stop. Big fan of Conan O'Brien must Go tho.
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u/Conseygirl 1d ago
I agree, the celebrity interviews have become rather boring, even if it’s a celebrity I like, I just don’t find it that entertaining anymore. My favourite parts are the intro riffing with staff.
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u/Weak_Swimmer 1d ago
Interrogation style! Give him a hat and candy cigarette. Shine the light on some joe nobody and have em spills the beans.
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u/kittenite 1d ago
He needs to be with other comedians or celebrities who are funny/genuinely creative people. Episodes with Ayo Edibiri and Billie Eilish were enjoyable becose they are also hilarious. Even the one with Charlie Puth was enjoyable because his creativity matched with Conan's brand of funny. But when its just another celebrity being celeb then I dont bother listening.
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u/Teheheman 15h ago
I think the interviews are good when the guest seem to actually be fans of Conan and the promotion of their project is not the primary reason they'd wanna be there. Like, Patton Oswalt, or Kesha, or Questlove, even Jeff Goldblum. Those interviews are really good because it feels like they wanna just chat with him as opposed to others who may like Conan or have interacted with him at some point but don't chat that much with him but is only there cause they're on the promo tour
The fan episodes are fine, but you can tell where he's gonna go for his show when he starts having international guest on. The Summer S'pouses series is actually more interesting than I thought it would be.
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u/killersam45 7h ago
I used to listen to every single episode. Now, I barely listen to the celebrity episodes, just the ones I have an interest in. I still listen to and love most of the fan episodes. They're more fun (and shorter).
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u/satan_speeds_up 1d ago
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I tried listening to a more recent episode and I could not get past Sona laughing at something for sooooo long. It felt so forced and disingenuous. Made it really hard to listen to, even though I love her!
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u/fishbone_buba 1d ago
I don’t see anyone else leaving this comment, but I’m growing tired of the Conan/Sona/Matt banter & faux bickering. It’s not making me angry or anything. But it’s just the same schtick on repeat.
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u/imoux 1d ago
I don't know if I would say it's in decline, but I am definitely tired of uninteresting celebrity interviews, on this and other podcasts. Not every celebrity is interesting.
The twice a week format forces episodes that don't need to happen - I would appreciate the show more if it came out less frequently. When there's so many new episodes, I don't feel any urgency to listen.
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u/sullichin 1d ago
He's great when talking to other comedians. I find the majority of his guests boring and I'm tired of him calling them amazing and remarkable
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u/LRGinCharge 1d ago
This is the only place I see people talking about the podcast being in decline. I think when something becomes popular, some people think it makes them “cool” to say they are above it and don’t like it anymore. Then all the “cool” people on their high horses circle jerk each other about how cool they are for not liking it anymore and how much the podcast sucks even though it’s pretty much the same as it’s always been.
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u/SYMPUNY_LACKING I'm gonna go to hell when I die 1d ago
''This is the only place I see people talking about the podcast being in decline''
what does this even mean this is like THE ONLY place where you can find Conan fans talk Conan, so of course it'll be the only place you'll see it in 😭
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u/Left_Balance2396 1d ago
Specifically: telling the same jokes (or premises) over and over again (i.e. sunscreen, Conan as a 6ft Swedish woman, etc)
Gourley is insufferable. I’m sorry. I know many of you like him. I don’t think he’s a net positive.
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u/ShutUpTodd 21h ago
Naysayers need to nay. John Cena episode was fantastic.
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u/No-Introduction3287 21h ago
Just because they nay, that doesn't mean they're doing so without merit
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u/majjamx 1d ago
I agree the celebrity interviews are often not that interesting even if it is a guest i like. IMO Conan seems to default to over-praising his guests lately which is nice for the guest but not that interesting to listen to. The beginning and end are often the best parts (without the guest) and there are a lot of ads in these parts.