transcript
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Speaker 3:
[01:22] Hi, my name is Dan Levy, and I'm feeling thrilled, titillated, excited, stimulated. How to be Conan O'Brien's friend?
Speaker 2:
[01:33] I think you're thinking of a different Conan O'Brien.
Speaker 3:
[01:35] I'm just feeling really good right now.
Speaker 2:
[02:00] Hey, everybody, welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, and I sit here quite proudly with my good friend, Sona Movsesian, hey, Sona.
Speaker 4:
[02:07] Hi.
Speaker 2:
[02:08] And of course, Yvette Hopping.
Speaker 4:
[02:10] Hello.
Speaker 2:
[02:10] We were chatting just before the podcast started about different things that we were excited about. And then, David, you were electrified because you said, and you had a huge smile on your face, you said they just renewed Grey's Anatomy.
Speaker 4:
[02:23] I know.
Speaker 2:
[02:24] For what season?
Speaker 4:
[02:25] 23.
Speaker 2:
[02:26] Okay, this show started, I think, shortly after the end of the Civil War. Whole cast have aged out and died.
Speaker 4:
[02:35] There's only three originals left.
Speaker 2:
[02:37] I know, but how could this show still be going? And I don't mean to be ignorant or, and I'm so happy that people love Grey's Anatomy, but I was unaware that it was still...
Speaker 4:
[02:46] It's still kicking. And I'm still watching. I started it at Warner Brothers when Sona gave me permission to watch TV. I watched the first 14 seasons.
Speaker 2:
[02:55] Wait a minute, hold on a second. Wait a minute, hold on a second. Sona was my assistant. And then you were supposed to help her, and she gave you permission to watch.
Speaker 4:
[03:04] Never forget it, Sona, because I was... So at Warner Brothers, Sona was on the second floor with you.
Speaker 2:
[03:08] This is for the TBS show.
Speaker 4:
[03:09] Yeah, I was up on the third floor. So anytime you needed something, Sona would call me. And one day she called and she was like, Hey, you know, if you're up there waiting for me to tell you to do something, like feel free to watch Netflix. And I said, great. And I watched 14 seasons of Grey's Anatomy.
Speaker 2:
[03:23] You are, you are a cancer.
Speaker 5:
[03:26] What the fuck?
Speaker 2:
[03:28] You are a cancer that turns everyone into an indolent clown. You instructed him, and he didn't just watch one show or half a show. He watched 14 seasons.
Speaker 5:
[03:41] This is your work environment. You are the boss. You set the tone. It comes from the top. Yes, it does.
Speaker 2:
[03:48] I don't think so. I think that there is a, the tone I set, I'm a very hard worker, I'm very intense. And then you come along and everyone around me.
Speaker 5:
[03:57] Are you being serious? You say, I understand you work hard.
Speaker 2:
[04:01] Yes.
Speaker 5:
[04:01] But you're not a serious person. I walked into the Oscar rehearsal and you asked everybody there if they all smell garlic. You said that to a room full of people I've never met before. He's like, hey, what's that smell? Is that garlic? And you looked over at me. You're like, oh, hey Sona.
Speaker 2:
[04:22] It killed with all the seat fillers. They love my riffs about you. Anyway, let's get back to you and how you failed me. So you got him to watch. So you watched 14 seasons of Grey's Anatomy. Well, guess what? You have like 35 more seasons to go.
Speaker 4:
[04:39] Isn't it incredible?
Speaker 2:
[04:40] Well, how do you think this show will end? There's a theory that when Grey's Anatomy does end, humanity will end.
Speaker 4:
[04:47] Oh, I thought maybe you were gonna have a real theory there first.
Speaker 2:
[04:50] No, there's a theory that it's been around as long as Earth has been orbiting the sun.
Speaker 4:
[04:55] Sure.
Speaker 2:
[04:56] I know you think the sun orbits the Earth, but that's not the case. It's insane how long it's been going for.
Speaker 4:
[05:02] I know. Isn't it incredible? I mean, as long as Meredith Grey is on our TV, what else could we want?
Speaker 2:
[05:07] Which one is Meredith Grey?
Speaker 4:
[05:08] Alan Pompeo.
Speaker 2:
[05:09] Okay. They're still doctors. Has the show morphed into now they live in a tree house or something? A lot of shows that have been on that long morph, and now they live on a dude ranch, and they're not doctors. Does that happen?
Speaker 4:
[05:19] No, but the amount of just natural disasters and awful things that happen in the hospital.
Speaker 2:
[05:24] What kind of stuff happens?
Speaker 4:
[05:25] There's a whole really intense shooter episode. There's a plane crash episode.
Speaker 2:
[05:28] Wait, a plane crashes into the hospital?
Speaker 4:
[05:30] Not into the hospital. All the doctors are on a plane, and the plane crashes.
Speaker 2:
[05:33] What are the odds of that?
Speaker 4:
[05:35] I know. There's a fairy episode where they all start to drown.
Speaker 2:
[05:40] What? All of them are on a fairy? So the doctors from the hospital all said, let's take a fairy, and then it's the first fairy that's gone under.
Speaker 4:
[05:48] And that's an early one.
Speaker 2:
[05:49] Okay.
Speaker 4:
[05:49] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[05:50] All right, so. Well, the important thing is it seems to bring people a lot of joy. I'm trying to make this a positive thing.
Speaker 4:
[05:55] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[05:55] And I know I came across a little bit when I started out as like, how could Grey's Anatomy still be going?
Speaker 5:
[06:00] I said the same thing.
Speaker 2:
[06:00] But that's a terrible attitude for anyone to have.
Speaker 5:
[06:02] No, I said the same thing. I also watched it when it first came out and they lost me when they blew up Kyle Chandler. That's when I was like, I'm out.
Speaker 2:
[06:10] How'd they blow him up?
Speaker 5:
[06:11] With a bomb. What? They blew him up with a bomb.
Speaker 2:
[06:14] Okay, but give me the context. When you said blow up, I assumed it was some kind of explosive. Don't just say there was a bomb. How'd they blow him up?
Speaker 6:
[06:22] They blew him up with a bomb.
Speaker 1:
[06:24] How did Kyle Chandler blow up?
Speaker 5:
[06:26] There was an explosive in a person that they found during surgery.
Speaker 2:
[06:33] Why would a person have a bomb in their body and then check themselves into the hospital? Answer that.
Speaker 5:
[06:38] David, do you remember? I don't remember. No, the person needed surgery. You just have to go with it.
Speaker 2:
[06:43] The person needed surgery.
Speaker 5:
[06:44] The person needed surgery.
Speaker 2:
[06:45] And the person didn't know that three years earlier he had swallowed a caramel covered bomb that was stuck in his rectum? I'm just, explain this to me.
Speaker 5:
[06:54] So they're doing the surgery and then the girl feels something and then they're like, oh my god, it's a bomb. You have to stay still. So she just had to stay there with her finger on the bomb so it wouldn't go off. And then they called the bomb squad and then the bomb squad got everybody safe. And then while he's walking away with the bomb in his hand, all like quietly. Who's he? Kyle Chandler.
Speaker 2:
[07:15] But he's on the bomb squad?
Speaker 5:
[07:17] Yes.
Speaker 2:
[07:17] Oh, I thought he was a doctor and they handed him.
Speaker 5:
[07:21] No, he's on the bomb squad. Okay. And we're like, oh my god, everyone's clear. He's walking away. And then as he's walking away, it just explodes.
Speaker 2:
[07:28] Do they cut to shoes that are empty but they're smoking?
Speaker 5:
[07:32] It's not a cartoon.
Speaker 2:
[07:33] I wish it was a cartoon. And guess what? It sounds like a cartoon. So someone checked in for surgery, had a bomb in them that they didn't know they had.
Speaker 5:
[07:41] Yes.
Speaker 2:
[07:41] They call in the bomb squad. And who's in the bomb squad? Kyle Chandler. Coach from Friday Night Lights. And he says, I'm an expert on bombs. Well, I think I'll take this with me home. I'll just go jogging home now. Who walks away with a bomb? You know, I'm sorry. I don't mean to neg on this wonderful show that people really like.
Speaker 4:
[08:02] Oh, there's a great musical episode too.
Speaker 2:
[08:04] No, there isn't. There's no way there's a musical episode.
Speaker 4:
[08:06] They're around a table doing surgery while singing How to Save a Life by the Fray.
Speaker 2:
[08:11] Okay. And they find a bomb. I feel something hard. Oh my god, it's a bomb. We better get Colt Chandler.
Speaker 1:
[08:20] Oh no, he blew up.
Speaker 2:
[08:23] I just sneezed because I'm allergic to bad plots. How do they break a story on that show? How does the writer's room say, I've got it. There's a bomb in this patient.
Speaker 1:
[08:30] Why?
Speaker 5:
[08:31] Don't worry about it.
Speaker 2:
[08:34] Okay. Listen, to all you fans of, what's it called again?
Speaker 5:
[08:38] Grey's Anatomy.
Speaker 2:
[08:39] Grey's Anatomy, season 77. Remember the first season? That was a good one, when President Hoover stopped by. And he said, I think there's a depression coming. And by the way, I think I have a bomb in my colon. All right. Well, guess what? My guest today, and there's no transition here. My guest today is an Emmy award-winning actor, director and writer, a real writer who starred as David Rose in the hilarious series Schitt's Creek. Now you can see him in the new Netflix show, Big Mistakes. Very, very happy. This gentleman is with us today. Dan Levy, welcome. I'm gonna say one thing upfront. It's not what we're gonna talk about initially, but I, David, my assistant here. Hi. He downloaded, we were sent a few of your episodes of your new show, Big Mistakes. And we watched a couple of them yesterday. And I was immediately, every time we finished one, I go like, another one.
Speaker 4:
[09:44] Yeah, I'd be like, next.
Speaker 2:
[09:46] I mean, my job is like, maybe watch the first one. Right. And then, yeah, I was like, next, next. And I was like, the hamster with the cocaine pellet.
Speaker 4:
[09:55] I love that, office, when we were done.
Speaker 2:
[09:57] No, I just wanted more.
Speaker 3:
[09:58] That's what we're hoping for. So that's a good sign.
Speaker 2:
[10:00] No, you are, yes, you want me to be a rat and addicted to cocaine.
Speaker 3:
[10:03] That's it, all of the above.
Speaker 2:
[10:05] It's really funny and we will talk about that in a bit, but I'm so happy because I'm a massive Schitt's Creek fan, as we all are. And then when I heard that you were up to something, another series, I was very excited.
Speaker 3:
[10:19] Oh.
Speaker 2:
[10:21] Prepared to be disappointed. Yeah. I love how your mind works, cause that's how my mind works. So I was disappointed.
Speaker 3:
[10:26] That's right.
Speaker 2:
[10:28] Certain that you would die. Wait, what?
Speaker 5:
[10:29] No. Oh my God.
Speaker 3:
[10:33] Expecting the worst?
Speaker 7:
[10:34] Expecting the worst, sure.
Speaker 3:
[10:36] And it delivered across the board.
Speaker 2:
[10:38] Oh my God. What a tragedy and what a travesty. No, I'm so glad that you are back making more ridiculous fun and you're so good at it.
Speaker 7:
[10:50] Thanks.
Speaker 2:
[10:50] And just thrilled to have you here. I saw you recently, not to bring the room down, but I saw you very recently at a very sad event that was also uplifting, which was Catherine O'Hara's gathering for Catherine.
Speaker 3:
[11:04] That's right.
Speaker 2:
[11:04] And I want to offer my condolences to you because we all lost this amazing person in Catherine but you had this relationship that's probably gone on your whole life with Catherine. I mean, you made this incredible role for her at Schitt's Creek, but all of us, that's one of those losses that I still can't quite fit into my head.
Speaker 3:
[11:25] And the crazy thing about it is that I go on Instagram and her face is there and Moira's clips from the show are all over the place. And every time I see her, even though I wrote the thing, I stop and I watch and I'm watching not for anything that I did, but I'm watching because she is impossible not to watch. And she's impossible not to love and it's impossible not to laugh. With her, in anything she does and it's, it is like an unimaginable loss.
Speaker 2:
[12:01] Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:
[12:02] No, she was just irreplaceable talent. Yeah, yeah. And an irreplaceable person.
Speaker 2:
[12:07] Really, I may have mentioned this, but at the SNL 50th, it felt totally arbitrary to me unless they were just had an Irish section. But I showed up and they gave me my seat and I sit down and then there's an empty seat next to me and then who's assigned there, but it's Catherine O'Hara and I had the time of my life with her.
Speaker 3:
[12:31] She's the greatest company.
Speaker 2:
[12:32] Yes, she was so-
Speaker 3:
[12:33] She's the greatest seatmate.
Speaker 2:
[12:34] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[12:35] She's the greatest dinner companion.
Speaker 2:
[12:37] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[12:37] She was the greatest conversationalist. She was endlessly curious and humble and deeply, deeply funny.
Speaker 2:
[12:46] Also, she had this way of instantly, again, I don't know if this is because I'm part of that sick Irish tribe, but she had this way of immediately becoming like an older sister to me. So I'm sitting next to her and we're going back and forth and bullshitting in between sketches. Then finally at the end of the show, Paul McCartney comes out. It's like a surprise, but he comes out to sing like the end of Abbey Road. And I just next to Catherine went, oh, and she said, what? And I said, this guy's never good. And Catherine like punched me. She's like, oh, shut up, you know. I'm like, I don't, I know her, but I know her well enough to get punched by her. But yes, I did.
Speaker 3:
[13:36] That's also a stunning Catherine O'Hara impersonation.
Speaker 2:
[13:38] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:
[13:39] She had a very sort of, oh, there's a throatiness to her that was so gruff at times.
Speaker 2:
[13:45] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[13:46] And yet she played like Lola Heatherton and Moira Rose and had this like unbelievable elegance and yet sometimes could just be like, oh, suddenly lose her words. She also knew when something was not funny.
Speaker 2:
[13:59] Yes.
Speaker 3:
[14:00] Hence your Paul McCartney joke.
Speaker 2:
[14:01] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:
[14:06] She knew when to bring it back to reality.
Speaker 2:
[14:08] I wanted to be the one person who ever said that when Paul McCartney came out. I just want to, I thought there's no one's ever done it. I'm going to do it.
Speaker 3:
[14:16] I'm sure that was the reaction you were looking for.
Speaker 2:
[14:18] Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:
[14:19] Let's go out on a limb with this Paul McCartney joke and see how it reacts.
Speaker 2:
[14:23] I wanted to get punched by Catherine O'Hara and my dream came true. But this segues nicely into something that has always puzzled me and at the event for Catherine, the former Prime Minister Trudeau was there.
Speaker 3:
[14:36] That's right.
Speaker 2:
[14:36] At one point, I find myself talking to him after the ceremony and I just said, why? Why are Canadians? What is it? Is it in the water? What is it about? I know it's a question that's been around.
Speaker 3:
[14:45] For a second, I thought you asked him why he was there.
Speaker 2:
[14:47] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[14:48] Again, I don't know if that would fly with, I don't know, maybe.
Speaker 2:
[14:53] I did, so when I saw him go and someone next to me said, what's the problem? I said, he's never good. No, I asked him, what is it about so many of my comedy heroes? I grew up watching your dad, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara, I mean, Marty Short, the whole crew, I watched them on SCTV, and I was a religious devotee of how smart and funny and great.
Speaker 3:
[15:20] What a brilliant show that was.
Speaker 2:
[15:22] Well, I also try to get younger people to understand there's so much smart cutting-edge stuff that can come from any angle at you now. It just didn't exist then. SNL was great and monolithic, but SCTV shows up shortly afterwards, and it is more like the internet comedy of today.
Speaker 3:
[15:44] Right.
Speaker 2:
[15:44] It was maybe 50 years, it felt like it was 50 years ahead of its time, and I just fell in love with it. Then working in comedy, every time I work with Canadians, and they're so fast and funny, and I'm wondering, you're growing up, was it in Toronto? Where did you grow up?
Speaker 3:
[16:02] Toronto.
Speaker 2:
[16:02] Toronto, and can you explain what this whole thing is?
Speaker 3:
[16:05] Well, I mean, my dad and Catherine have this philosophy that it's actually not an instinct, it's not a categorically Canadian thing, it's just Canadians who have succeeded, have just like, there's a lot of Canadian enthusiasm around them.
Speaker 2:
[16:22] Okay.
Speaker 3:
[16:23] But statistically speaking, I mean, I think there are a lot of very successful, specifically Canadian comedians.
Speaker 2:
[16:29] I believe that statistically it's off the charts, meaning I'm not satisfied with the explanation that, no, there are funny people in every country and somehow Canadians just support. No, I've worked with way too many, all the kids in the hall guys, Mike Myers, it's an endless list.
Speaker 3:
[16:46] It's also pockets of very funny Canadians that have found each other at these points in their lives. One of my big genie wishes would be to go back and watch some of those early Second City nights. John Candy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, my dad, Marty, and then Gilda, and then you get into the godspell of it all, which I would have killed to have seen.
Speaker 2:
[17:12] Oh, that's the show we all want to go back and hang out at because it's like every great painter in the renaissance somehow got together and worked on one painting.
Speaker 3:
[17:24] It was insane.
Speaker 2:
[17:24] That's how it felt, this one production of godspell, everybody was in it, I mean, everybody, and if-
Speaker 3:
[17:31] It has like legendary status. The very first movie I ever made was with Tina Fey, and I was so nervous, and at a break she came over and she was like, I want to talk about godspell in Toronto. And instantly I was set at ease. Yeah, so it's, yes, there are funny Canadians, but there's also like these pockets of unbelievably brilliant Canadian funny minds that have somehow found their way into the international sort of zeitgeist. I think it's because we live above America, which is inherently sort of a very prideful freedom and, you know, you'll have freedom if it kills you.
Speaker 2:
[18:14] We're firing a freedom bomb at you.
Speaker 3:
[18:16] It's like, what? We can't relate, you know, we don't have that kind of hubris. So as a place that is sort of wanting to be very different than America, but knowing that it is not quite as powerful, there is an inherent sort of self-awareness that is in the water. And I believe self-awareness is what makes the people funny. It's the lack of self-awareness is the most boring people you meet are completely unaware of how boring they are. Canadians are very aware of how boring they are. And that's what makes it funny. Do you know what I mean?
Speaker 2:
[18:54] Yes, no, that's it. I don't believe that.
Speaker 3:
[18:56] We know what's going on and we can talk about it. God, I love being Canadian.
Speaker 2:
[19:03] It's sounding pretty good right now. I wanna be Canadian.
Speaker 3:
[19:06] I'm clutching that passport, please.
Speaker 2:
[19:09] My wife and I got invited to that lake area where everyone has their little cottages. The Muskokas. Yeah, the Muskokas and sitting on a dock and watching a boat pull up and, you know, Catherine jumped out of the boat with her husband, Bo, and your dad's there and people like the cast of SCTV is jumping out of a boat to sit with me on a dock while Marty pours us drinks and I left my body. I left my body.
Speaker 3:
[19:34] You're drinking probably a rum and ting.
Speaker 2:
[19:36] Yes, rum and ting. And of course, I remember it was like two o'clock in the afternoon and Marty's like, time for rum and tea. And I noticed he shouts about everything. Conan, my boy, rum and ting. And then a boat pulls up. All my heroes are on one boat. They all get out. We're sitting on the dock. I leave my body and I'm looking at myself thinking, that guy is hot. No.
Speaker 3:
[20:03] God, the sun has done wonders.
Speaker 2:
[20:08] That's what happens every time I leave my body. I'm like, check out that ass. Wait, are you looking at your own ass? Your ass isn't good. Well, still. No, but I just couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe the whole thing. And then what's lovely about this whole story is that I know that you growing up were very conscious of not wanting to be part of your dad's light and make your own thing and do it your way, which is in some ways harder, I think.
Speaker 3:
[20:43] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[20:44] Because you talk about when you were a kid. Yeah. I don't know where I read this, but you were a kid and if people were paying attention to your dad, you didn't want to be part of that.
Speaker 3:
[20:53] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[20:53] Is that true?
Speaker 3:
[20:54] I would like walk 10 steps ahead or 10 steps behind. I really didn't like, well, I was like really insecure as a kid too. And I think having a parent who is like well known and particularly in Canada, that SCTV alumni are just like a kind of royalty.
Speaker 2:
[21:10] Yeah, they're like 10 Wayne Gretzky walking around.
Speaker 3:
[21:12] Yeah, that's exactly it. And people would come up and the attention was just so kind of awkward and so yeah, I never really paid attention to it. And then I got into the theater program in high school and would never ask my dad for any help and really wanted to do it on my own. I just think when you grow up under somebody who is so good at what they do, a lot of the trial and error of being a child of somebody who is good at what they do, is trying to discover whether you are also good at the thing that you're excited about. And if you happen to be excited about the thing that your parent does, it makes it even harder because you're constantly in comparison. I remember taking a second city class, improv class in Toronto in front of a five foot by six foot photo of my dad in costume. It was like-
Speaker 2:
[22:08] Bobby Bittman.
Speaker 3:
[22:09] Who's Bobby Bittman? Bobby Bittman. Okay.
Speaker 2:
[22:11] A giant Bobby Bittman looking at me.
Speaker 3:
[22:12] He was a giant like, how are you? In a thing with the red suit and the thing. And I was, and people were like, gosh, you look a lot like Eugene Levy. And I thought, I can't take these classes anymore. I can't do this because also failing at improv in front of a photo of your father who didn't fail at improv is worse than never having done it. It's worse than failing at a thousand things. So I just, I never really, when I got a job at MTV, I didn't tell them who my dad, I just didn't want anything to do with him because I revered him so much, but also because I wanted to trial and error my own skills without the constant comparison of, Is it as good as Bobby? And slowly but surely, I built a name for myself in Canada, very unbeknownst to the audience that I was my father's son. And then when Schitt's happened, I felt confident enough in my own point of view in what I was bringing to the table to ask him to collaborate. And I just had to get to that place by myself.
Speaker 2:
[23:21] Yeah, I think it's almost like you had to do a walkabout or a desert sojourn where you figure these things out. And it's interesting because-
Speaker 3:
[23:31] But also being Canadian, you don't want the leg up.
Speaker 2:
[23:34] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[23:35] You want the torture.
Speaker 2:
[23:36] Yes.
Speaker 3:
[23:36] Of doing it completely on your own. But also when you do it on your own, there is a greater satisfaction in the success.
Speaker 2:
[23:44] Yes.
Speaker 1:
[23:53] I want to talk about Mother's Day.
Speaker 2:
[23:54] You came to mind. You're a mom.
Speaker 5:
[23:56] I'm a mom.
Speaker 2:
[23:56] I'm the godfather to your two boys. Maybe the most important adult figure in their lives.
Speaker 5:
[24:02] Oh, okay. I don't remember there being a godfather's day.
Speaker 1:
[24:05] Well, it's a good point.
Speaker 2:
[24:08] There should be, but that's not what I want to talk about. David and I wanted to get you something. And so I thought, hey, we're big fans of Macy's. And Macy's online gift guide has some great ideas. And so I asked David to check that out and come up with some notions for you.
Speaker 5:
[24:24] Well, that's really nice. Thank you, David.
Speaker 4:
[24:25] Of course. And I think you're gonna be really happy.
Speaker 5:
[24:27] Well, thank you, David. I mean, he did the legwork.
Speaker 2:
[24:29] My money.
Speaker 4:
[24:30] And you're gonna be happy because we didn't get you just one thing or two. We got you three things for Mother's Day.
Speaker 5:
[24:34] Hey, all right.
Speaker 2:
[24:36] Yeah, I was afraid this-
Speaker 5:
[24:37] That's really nice. Thank you, David.
Speaker 2:
[24:38] I was afraid this would spoil you getting three things because next year you'll be like, no, I want four. But anyway, David.
Speaker 4:
[24:44] All right, if I can have your attention to the screen, the first thing for Mother's Day, we got you a Michael Kors and a large Hobo shoulder bag.
Speaker 2:
[24:50] Michael Kors, you know that's good stuff.
Speaker 5:
[24:52] Yeah, I like Hobo stuff too.
Speaker 4:
[24:54] I feel like you need a big bag.
Speaker 5:
[24:55] I do.
Speaker 4:
[24:56] You have a lot of things to carry.
Speaker 2:
[24:57] Also, Sona likes to go to a restaurant and maybe take a few rolls or a dessert, and sometimes a salt and pepper shaker. That'll fit nicely into this Michael Kors bag.
Speaker 4:
[25:07] Next up, we have the Oracle Jet Automatic Espresso Machine by Breville.
Speaker 5:
[25:10] That is nice.
Speaker 2:
[25:11] Breville, great machine. Look at that thing, it's gorgeous.
Speaker 4:
[25:15] You can make it any coffee you want.
Speaker 5:
[25:17] You're cool with this? Because this is $2,000. He's cool with it. I have the card.
Speaker 4:
[25:20] He's cool with it.
Speaker 5:
[25:21] Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:
[25:22] I didn't know it was that much, but I don't think I'm going to say that much because that's Breville. That's quality stuff.
Speaker 5:
[25:27] That is good stuff. I don't even drink coffee, but I just want it.
Speaker 2:
[25:30] Well, also, wouldn't that look cool on your counter?
Speaker 5:
[25:32] It would. I love it.
Speaker 2:
[25:32] And also, doesn't your husband, doesn't Tak drink coffee?
Speaker 5:
[25:35] He does, but he doesn't drink fancy coffee.
Speaker 4:
[25:37] Until now.
Speaker 2:
[25:38] Until now.
Speaker 4:
[25:39] And the third thing, we got you a Mezod's 10.1 inch digital calendar and photo frame.
Speaker 2:
[25:44] Yeah, he asked me how big should it be? And I said, do they have 10.1 inches? And he said, actually they do. That's so specific.
Speaker 4:
[25:51] And now you can sync Conan's calendar if you want to know what he's up to.
Speaker 2:
[25:55] If you want to know what I'm up to, which you don't seem that interested in these days.
Speaker 5:
[25:57] Not at all.
Speaker 2:
[25:58] And I still employ you.
Speaker 5:
[25:59] It's weird. And I still have access to all that information. I just choose not to look at it.
Speaker 2:
[26:03] These are great gifts. These are all for you for Mother's Day.
Speaker 5:
[26:06] Well, thank you very much.
Speaker 2:
[26:07] Or does she choose one?
Speaker 4:
[26:08] No, we said all three.
Speaker 5:
[26:10] Thank you, David.
Speaker 2:
[26:12] I didn't say yes to all three.
Speaker 4:
[26:14] You didn't give a lot of parameters.
Speaker 2:
[26:15] I really didn't, but you could use common sense. That's always the best parameter.
Speaker 4:
[26:18] Sona means so much to you. And it's Mother's Day.
Speaker 2:
[26:21] Sona, I want you to have these. Oh, thank you, Conan. And a big thanks to Macy's. They've got this great online gift guide. And David, thanks to you for doing what I probably should have done on my own. Yeah. But I'm too entitled. Keeps me employed.
Speaker 1:
[26:34] All right.
Speaker 2:
[26:34] There you go. Let Macy's be your guide to gifting for Mother's Day. Shop now online or in store.
Speaker 1:
[26:44] I'm told it's important to treat your employees well.
Speaker 2:
[26:47] I'm not sure I'm ready to do that yet, but word has it, it's a good thing to do.
Speaker 5:
[26:52] It is.
Speaker 2:
[26:52] JustWorks helps small businesses support their teams with everything from HR to offering better benefits, whether you're hiring, automating payroll, expanding globally or tackling compliance. These are things I do every day.
Speaker 5:
[27:05] You're really, you're in charge of all that stuff.
Speaker 2:
[27:08] Wow, that was not helpful.
Speaker 5:
[27:09] It really wasn't.
Speaker 2:
[27:11] But whatever, whatever you're doing, JustWorks offers 24-7 support from an actual human. Hello, actual human. No, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep. That means you can hire and manage talent without juggling multiple platforms or hidden fees and get your team access to premium benefits like health insurance, 401k and commuter perks. That's what I'm talking about. Yeah, baby. You are really adding nothing. And with transparent pricing, you always know what you're paying for. Go to justworks.com to learn more. They do your human resources right, so you can do right by your people.
Speaker 1:
[27:43] JustWorks.
Speaker 2:
[27:44] For. Your.
Speaker 1:
[27:45] People.
Speaker 2:
[27:48] Sometimes big things come in small packages. I hear that all the time and I think, yeah, but what are you talking about? Be specific. I can never think of an example. And then today I thought of one. Check it out. You may already know this, but Coca-Cola mini-cans are now available. They deliver big satisfaction in a small package. Finally, something that fits that phrase. You know, they're available as single serves at a convenience store near you. Go out and get these. Okay. And guess what? It's not just Coca-Cola. Okay. Are you a Fanta fan? Do you like Sprite? Do you like Cherry Coke? Are you a loyalist for Cherry Coke? I do love Cherry Coke. I think they're the same way. And mini-singles are available in all these options. It's terrific. So take a mini break with Coca-Cola. No planning or overthinking required. Keep a mini-can sink on your backpack. Stash one on the fridge. You can sneak one under your partner's pillow as a way of saying, I'm thinking of you.
Speaker 8:
[28:45] Oh, that's nice.
Speaker 2:
[28:46] It's so nice. Yeah, if I did that, my wife would be like, hey, this is nice.
Speaker 5:
[28:50] You love me.
Speaker 2:
[28:51] You do love me after all.
Speaker 5:
[28:53] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[28:54] It's a mini that can bring some big can vibes. It really can.
Speaker 5:
[28:57] Sure.
Speaker 2:
[28:58] Coca-Cola mini-can, big deal, now available on the go. Schitt's Creek, initially, the reviews were mixed, and you were taking some heat for like, oh, is this, you know.
Speaker 3:
[29:18] I believe the New York Times called me untalented.
Speaker 5:
[29:21] Oh, what the?
Speaker 3:
[29:23] Yeah, yeah. And yeah, in the review of season one. And the problem with doing press around something when these articles are coming out, is you then have to swallow the facts that the new, everybody is reading the New York Times.
Speaker 2:
[29:39] Yes.
Speaker 3:
[29:40] Reading, like, I don't know if it was the word was untalented, but that was the takeaway that I took from it. It was not kind.
Speaker 2:
[29:46] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[29:46] And then you kind of had to go and be like, I'm really excited about the show that I'm making. Anyway, cut to six years later, they wrote a glowing review of our final episode, and you sometimes just have to keep working.
Speaker 2:
[30:03] Yes.
Speaker 3:
[30:03] To prove yourself, and I'm fine with that.
Speaker 2:
[30:05] Yeah, I mean, this is funny, because you mentioned this in Canada, you don't want to leg up, you almost want the punishment. I realized that I had kind of a self-hating thing that was very comfortable with the punishment early on. Sure. And then when things turned around, by the time they turned around, I felt much more confident, because I felt like I hadn't been floating along on a lot of hot air, certainly. And it can feel beneficial to walk through that in the beginning.
Speaker 3:
[30:37] Absolutely.
Speaker 2:
[30:38] And find your way.
Speaker 3:
[30:38] I also feel very lucky about the fact that nobody really watched Schitt's Creek until it was done. So we were able to just make the show we wanted, how rare is that? To make six seasons of a TV show with absolutely no expectations from an audience. Nobody cared. We were hustling till the end. And then it wasn't until I had finished writing the last episode of our sixth season, the series finale, that people started to pay attention. So we had this wonderful kind of window where due to luck and circumstance, we were able to stay on the air for six amazing seasons, but nobody cared.
Speaker 2:
[31:16] But also so great.
Speaker 5:
[31:19] I cared.
Speaker 2:
[31:19] Yeah.
Speaker 5:
[31:20] I don't know how you cared.
Speaker 2:
[31:21] No, so what's nice is now they're done and we are a culture now. I think there's upsides and downsides to the modern streaming world we live in. A big upside is shows that I love like An Arrested Development or Schitt's Creek. They're there for me at all times. You can go through and you can page through them like having a classic novel around the house. Sure. It's really lovely. I remembered thinking this before she passed. I remember thinking it was such a nice thing for Catherine to have that role. During that last decade of her life where she was playing someone who was beloved. People love the character and they're really getting to see yet another way that she's really funny. She was very proud of it. I think people were always coming up to her saying, we love you on Schitt's Creek. It was such a nice thing for her that you made happen.
Speaker 3:
[32:19] She made it happen. I just made sure that I was prepared. That's really what it came down to. So much of Moira Rose was Catherine, as is every character. Seth Rogan was talking about this recently about how the amazing thing about Catherine is she would e-mail them the night before being like gentlemen, some thoughts about the scenes we're shooting tomorrow, and it would be a full top-to-tail rewrite. As soon as he said it, it was like, I got those e-mails. The gentleman, it always started with gentlemen, some thoughts, and then it was an unbelievable rewrite of the scene. And that is what the amazing, all the great Catherine roles were when she found collaborators that wanted to give her that platform. You know, because she had so much to offer, and she was so, the way that she thinks is so on another level that as a writer, you can't get into her head. So all you can really do is set the table, wait for the e-mail, gentlemen, some thoughts, read the scene and say, fuck yeah. You know, and like, just be prepared. You know, she told me how she wanted to look on the show. My job was to make sure that in a wardrobe fitting, we had everything that would excite her.
Speaker 2:
[33:43] Well, this, this I have to break in because you've just brought up a topic that came to my mind, which is the wardrobe for the show, was, you know, a star of the show as well.
Speaker 3:
[33:54] Sure.
Speaker 2:
[33:54] And it always reminded me a little bit of Gilligan's Island where the premise was these, these people get together for a three hour tour, a storm hits, they're washed up on an island. And every time you see the howls, they're wearing these absurd different outfits. And they just said, yes, they brought a trunk of their clothes with them on a three hour tour. And it was in a trunk that was like out of Hogwarts. It was infinite.
Speaker 3:
[34:20] That could last for years.
Speaker 2:
[34:21] There's Belgian armor in there. There's Shakespearean garb. Every single thing you would ever need. And I remembered having that thought about Schitt's Creek, which is they had money and then.
Speaker 3:
[34:32] Lost it, but got to keep every piece of clothing and somehow store it in a motel.
Speaker 2:
[34:39] Very small motel.
Speaker 3:
[34:40] That was often booked up. So in our mind, all of their clothes were stored in the upstairs above the lobby of the motel.
Speaker 2:
[34:49] But also, I love.
Speaker 3:
[34:50] That's how we rationalized it.
Speaker 2:
[34:52] But I love that, I love that you do seem to me like someone who does his homework. I'm sure you were doing all of the character work and figuring out down to the smallest detail.
Speaker 3:
[35:03] But to that point, those clothes did so much of the character work for us.
Speaker 2:
[35:07] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[35:07] All I had to do was make sure the racks looked good and they were nuts. And that we had huge sky high heels and knee high boots and knee skirts made out of latex. And at some point, there were some, I would source these designer pieces that sometimes required us to contact the designer to find out how to put them on. There's a dress that Catherine wears.
Speaker 2:
[35:35] You enter through the arm.
Speaker 3:
[35:37] No joke. There's a very classic scene where Moira Rose is being photographed in the field by a character we called Sebastian Reign, who was played by Francois Arnaud, who is now of heated rivalry fame. And she is in a latex dress that had to be tied with a shirt underneath. And we couldn't figure out how to tie the latex because putting a tie around latex is like rubber rubbing against rubber. So at one point, there were like four people around Catherine, like one with a foot on her back, one trying to tie the latex. I'm like swirling around her being like, can you breathe? Are you feeling good? Is everything okay?
Speaker 2:
[36:21] Misting her.
Speaker 3:
[36:21] And that was when Catherine was like at her most excited. When the costumes were so insane that it took five people to put them on and then boots that were laced up that took 10 minutes and then she'd walk onto set, you would hear kind of gasps from the crew because they never knew what she was going to show up wearing and looking like, depending on the wigs as well. And it was the joy of seeing Catherine excited. There is no greater joy for me.
Speaker 2:
[36:51] But also, I mean, you got to wear great stuff.
Speaker 3:
[36:53] I wore a lot of drop crotch pants and they were all really comfortable actually. So that's all you can ask for. I mean, wearing double-faced cashmere in the dead of summer in Toronto outside was tough, but I won't complain about it.
Speaker 2:
[37:09] We all pay our dues. That's exactly it. I always heard that Sarah Jessica Parker owned like her deal when she was making Sex and the City was she gets to own all the dresses and that they're in a massive warehouse somewhere and she owns them all. And I was thinking, I hope you had that deal with Schitt's Creek.
Speaker 3:
[37:26] Are you fucking crazy? Do you understand how little that show costs? We had to sell every piece of clothing. To pay off the debts that the show had even in our sixth season. We got no cash, it was like slim pickings from the very beginning and then incremental sort of, I think it's like a standard 15% whatever it is that your budget can increase. But 15% on like a pile of shells and a feather is not giving you much.
Speaker 4:
[38:01] So we had to sell it all.
Speaker 3:
[38:03] I kept four looks. I kept four of Catherine's looks, four of Annie's looks and four of my looks. Unfortunately, my dad's suits, we can just buy in a store. But so I have some. The retrospective will be small, but I do have some of the looks.
Speaker 2:
[38:20] So the museum is going to be like a little nook in a mall. Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 3:
[38:23] It will be a corner. Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[38:25] Here they are, the four outfits. That's right.
Speaker 3:
[38:28] Moths got to them, but it's fine. They were kept in my parents' basement in Toronto, where they still are, in a plastic bin. So we'll see.
Speaker 2:
[38:38] How the show ends. And I know that people are probably all saying to you, as they do in this business or really any business, once you have a success, hey, what's the next thing?
Speaker 3:
[38:49] That's right.
Speaker 2:
[38:49] And I have never known what the next thing is and go into like a weird slovenly bunk.
Speaker 3:
[38:57] I did say to my wonderful team of people, I will, I cannot hear the word momentum ever again. Right, right. It means nothing to me. Momentum, I feel like is a word that forces people to make bad decisions.
Speaker 2:
[39:14] Wow, that's good.
Speaker 3:
[39:15] I just, and yet this is an industry that's like, you're hot, you're hot, you're hot, what about this? And someone says yes and you do it and suddenly you're spread too thin. We see it all the time. I don't know, I feel like I've been lucky enough to really care about the quality of the work because to me, if what I'm putting out there isn't good, then why am I doing it?
Speaker 2:
[39:40] Right.
Speaker 3:
[39:41] You know what I mean? I worked at a bakery and a video store. I can go back if I have to. Oh, the video store, wow. You can trim that, right? No, we can't. I worked on a TikTok.
Speaker 2:
[39:52] We're going to put that on a loop. Yeah.
Speaker 7:
[39:53] We're talking about TikTok.
Speaker 3:
[39:56] It's not fun. And there's no, I mean, to work on things you don't care about, it's just not fun. So I would rather take the time and risk the lack of momentum and put something out that continues to excite people than take every opportunity and not be maybe even the best fit for the opportunity that crosses my path.
Speaker 2:
[40:18] Yeah, it's a really interesting point you make about momentum because that is a thing. You got to strike while the iron is hot. You just had a hit movie. You've got to write a book instantly.
Speaker 3:
[40:28] Yeah, did I sell Tostitos chips? Absolutely.
Speaker 2:
[40:32] Do you regret it? No, you do not.
Speaker 3:
[40:33] Absolutely not. I was making a Canadian TV show, okay? Even at the end, we weren't making like, it's different. So when Tostitos, I love a Tostitos chip.
Speaker 2:
[40:44] You know what? Anyway. Can I just say one other thing? It's a good chip.
Speaker 1:
[40:48] It is, yeah.
Speaker 2:
[40:49] It's a good chip.
Speaker 9:
[40:50] Are you good chip?
Speaker 5:
[40:51] Preparing yourself for eventually becoming a Tostitos guy?
Speaker 2:
[40:54] I'm thinking, I'm just putting it out there. But if Dan wants to do something with me and the Tostitos.
Speaker 3:
[40:59] Again, the humble side of myself was like, don't make it seem like you didn't take the ads. I took the ads. I enjoyed them. I was able to make them my own.
Speaker 2:
[41:09] Yes. Well, to me, the great revenge is if you can make one of those things funny and in your voice, then it becomes something you would have made anyway.
Speaker 3:
[41:17] Exactly.
Speaker 2:
[41:18] Which is always the dream. That is it. But I'm just curious, you're in this period then where you need to think, you need some time and time goes by and you've worked on other things, but then this idea comes along. Did you have this show idea?
Speaker 3:
[41:35] In between that show, I made a very small movie called Good Grief for Netflix, which was exactly what they wanted me to make after the success of Schitt's Creek. A small film on the rumination of grief, just examining the small ins and outs of how a group of friends deal with grief.
Speaker 6:
[41:56] You want laughs?
Speaker 8:
[41:58] We got laughs.
Speaker 3:
[41:59] I was so aware of it at the time when I pitched it too. You're looking at very kind executives being like, and that's it. Okay, great. They made the movie, and I was so happy because it got me through such a hard time in my life and I'm so proud of the film. But yes, now we are back to comedy. Again, but I do think if you have curiosity, I think that's why the second album from an artist is always the experimental one. Because when they have success in one area, like a record, you'll listen to an unbelievable record, like Jagged Little Pill, for example. And then you have supposed former infatuation junkie, which is like similar, but very different. But I think you need the freedom to play in another area to show yourself that you have the ability to do other things because the industry can make you feel like, oh, you're that guy. Yeah. So that's what you do and you'll do that. And I did, I got like really a lot of scripts where I was asked to play essentially a worse written David Rose. And I was like, I did that better than this. So I don't want to do that again. I want to tell a small story about friends who are dealing with grief. And then I'll get back to the comedy. But I have to know what else is out there in order to feel confident enough to come back into the space that gave me everything I have now and be excited to come back to it. Right.
Speaker 2:
[43:34] Well, I mean, as I said earlier, David and I were watching a couple of the episodes and really enjoying it. It's really funny. And the first thing I noticed before the show even began is that this is something that you worked on with Rachel Sennett.
Speaker 3:
[43:48] Yes.
Speaker 2:
[43:50] And I thought immediately like, well, love Dan, love Rachel. Very much looking forward to this. And then didn't disappoint. You know, it was really funny.
Speaker 3:
[43:58] I'm really happy with it.
Speaker 2:
[44:00] And you know, what's interesting is right away, it's revealed that your character is a pastor, like in the first frame. And it's almost so felt like you throwing down a gauntlet, like, no, this is not David.
Speaker 3:
[44:13] It's not David.
Speaker 2:
[44:14] It couldn't be farther from David Rose. And it was so smart because in this one fell swoop, you're like, oh, this is no, by making him a pastor, you're a completely different person.
Speaker 3:
[44:26] That's right. It was, you know, it wasn't even a conscious thing. I think it was just curiosity. I wanted to do something different. I never get the opportunity to be part of a crime thing. I've, you know, it's just not, I guess what people see me as. So part of what was exciting to write the show. And when I thought about like, well, you know, when you commit to TV, it's a long, it can potentially be a long, exciting journey, but a long journey, you better like what you're writing, otherwise you're in trouble. And the idea of finding a way through both comedy and crime felt really exciting to me because it's so far from my comfort zone. The idea of being blackmailed into organized crime is a horrible phobia that I have.
Speaker 2:
[45:09] I don't know what- That is the most specific phobia I've ever heard of in my life.
Speaker 3:
[45:13] Generally speaking, I hate being trapped in things. So the concept of being blackmailed into organized crime, you are stuck. The chances of you getting out of that situation, it's not good. If you're me in that situation, you're done.
Speaker 2:
[45:29] Bye-bye.
Speaker 3:
[45:30] So that felt exciting and I brought the idea to Rachel. She loved it. We worked on it for eight months and wrote the pilot in a night. It's great. It was so fun to act. It was so fun to write.
Speaker 2:
[45:48] I have to talk about your sister is played by Taylor Ortega.
Speaker 3:
[45:52] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[45:53] And she's really funny and I was not as familiar with her. I didn't know Taylor and I'm watching her with you in this show and it feels like a real brother sister thing. Yeah. It feels very real. And one of the things I think works so well is you are, so good when your character is in peril and desperate. You're so funny doing, not even quiet desperation, but you play that so well and what you've put yourself into, consciously or not, is a situation where you are always in terrible peril.
Speaker 3:
[46:35] That's right.
Speaker 2:
[46:36] From maybe five minutes into the show, you're in peril and then the show just keeps turning the crank. So you keep getting funnier and funnier and funnier as you're in more and more peril. And of course, you have this sister, Taylor, who's very different from you and more assertive. But also she's really funny in these situations. And the fact that you two still bicker when your lives are at risk, may be really happy.
Speaker 3:
[47:08] That to me was what is the show. It's like playing with the audience in terms of saying, okay, what if this were you and your sibling? You wouldn't change the dynamic just because of the circumstance. You would be bickering in the back of a truck.
Speaker 2:
[47:26] Yeah. Well, you're pointing out one of the situations, I don't think I'm giving away too much. It's just a little thing that gives you a sense of the show is you guys are in the back of a truck, you're in great peril, and then you see an opportunity to flee, so you start to run, she starts yelling at you that it's not a good idea. You start stop, start yelling back at her that it is a good idea, and you two are fighting about whether or not you should flee while the bad guy comes back. And I thought the fact that sibling bitterness and bickering overrides the instinct to live, that may be really happy.
Speaker 3:
[48:10] That's the joy of the show.
Speaker 2:
[48:12] These are two people that will, if they're forced to get into a common grave, will be arguing with each other about who should get shot second as opposed to first. Yeah. And I feel like, okay, you've got a lot of runway with that idea.
Speaker 3:
[48:25] Oh, it's, that's always like the greatest realization when you're like deep into a season and you're like, oh, we're just getting started, you know? Like that's the fun. And in finding Taylor, again, it's like, I had this with Annie in Schitt's.
Speaker 2:
[48:41] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[48:42] Finding somebody who has done the work, found the job and is ready to go and showing them to the world, that's a thrill. Yeah. One of the many thrills of the show, you know, working with Laurie Metcalf, one of the-
Speaker 2:
[48:55] Oh, who is it? By the way-
Speaker 3:
[48:57] Unbelievable.
Speaker 2:
[48:57] She's your mom and she is, even when she's doing the subtlest thing, she's absolutely hilarious and, you know, the insufferable mom is a character that's been played a million times and then Laurie Metcalf does it. And you're, it's a whole new thing. It is.
Speaker 3:
[49:16] And she's so good. And it was, I mean, I've been a fan of hers for, you know, like it goes back and back and back. But yeah, you know, Taylor is, I'm so excited for people to see her. I'm so excited for her to get what she's worked so hard for. You know, I think that's it's, there's something thrilling about introducing somebody to an audience because so often now it's like, you can't green light a show unless it's a stacked cast.
Speaker 2:
[49:46] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[49:46] So to continue to tell stories with relatively up and coming actors is for me is thrilling. I include Laurie Metcalf as a relatively up and coming actor.
Speaker 2:
[49:57] You know, this was the project where I finally thought.
Speaker 3:
[49:59] This is her breakout.
Speaker 2:
[50:00] She's so, she's arrived.
Speaker 3:
[50:02] I'm so excited for her.
Speaker 2:
[50:04] You've talked a bunch in the, in the password in interviews about anxiety being feeling insecure. When you're growing up, and this is a topic that fascinates me because like it or not, I think we probably have to accept that that's an essential ingredient sometimes to the mixture.
Speaker 3:
[50:23] Sure.
Speaker 2:
[50:24] And I can't explain why that would be the case. And I feel like I'm legitimizing that kind of anxiety or those kinds of mental issues. But at the same time, I also think that was a big part of my situation coming along. And I, if I had to do it again and didn't have that, I'm not sure that I would be here.
Speaker 3:
[50:47] There are certain ingredients, albeit painful ingredients that are necessary to, in my case, to the storytelling. So much of what I write about is how families interact with each other under difficult circumstances. And if you come from a Yelly family, I think this show in particular celebrates Yelly families. I think people who don't come from Yelly families will probably watch this in shock and horror. But if you come from a Yelly family, it is a celebration of the fact that anxiety and nerves manifest in very loud aggression between people. And if I didn't experience that and inherit it, I wouldn't be here today. So as hard as it is, there does come a point, I think age is a big part of it too. Like I'm now 42. I don't care as much as I did when I was 20. When I was 20, everything was consequential. And so when everything is consequential and you are an anxious person, you will worry about everything because you're so unaware of how little it matters in the end. So now I think I get to look back on my own experiences and kind of the experiences I've had with my family and all of that kind of stuff and celebrate it instead of continue to wear it. I'm a less anxious person than I am now. And I do actually think at the core of the show, it's an it's an examination of what we inherit, what that kind of ancestral trauma that kind of trickles down from in this case, like matriarch to Laurie to the kids, you know, the very first scene of the show, Nona is dying and she's a yeller. And then you instantly see that this yelling streak has just found its way through three generations of this family. And all we try to do as a generation below is push back against what we're inheriting.
Speaker 2:
[52:56] Yeah.
Speaker 3:
[52:57] And sometimes you can do it and sometimes you can't, you just have to let it happen. But it's fun to be able to like write about the minutia of anxiety and how it affects people. I think it's endlessly entertaining.
Speaker 2:
[53:09] Now, where do you, so when you're making the show, is the show made in Canada? No, in New Jersey. In New Jersey, okay. So where do you live? And I need an address.
Speaker 3:
[53:21] Well, I have been in LA and relocated to New York City to make the show. And we shot in New Jersey and it was very exciting to be back on the East Coast.
Speaker 2:
[53:32] So what to you is home, when you think of going home, is that Toronto, is it LA now?
Speaker 3:
[53:37] It's LA.
Speaker 2:
[53:38] LA, yeah. Okay. Because I think that I'm always fascinated by that because home used to be Boston for me, but it's not anymore because I've been gone too long.
Speaker 3:
[53:50] And I think the more that the hometown changes, the less you can relate to it. Like I was just in, I just came from Toronto yesterday night, and I look around and it's just not the place that I grew up in. So when you look around and the place doesn't reflect the memories that you have, all you have are the memories, it becomes less and less about the actual place. So my life now is in Los Angeles. Most of my friends are in Los Angeles and that is home. The hometown is a memory at this point.
Speaker 2:
[54:26] Yeah, but also I think-
Speaker 3:
[54:28] Even though my parents are still in my family house.
Speaker 2:
[54:31] Oh, is that true?
Speaker 3:
[54:31] In Toronto right now.
Speaker 2:
[54:33] Same house all these years?
Speaker 3:
[54:34] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[54:35] By the way, your mom's really funny.
Speaker 3:
[54:37] She is very funny. She's arguably funnier than my dad.
Speaker 2:
[54:40] Yes, yeah. Who by the way-
Speaker 3:
[54:41] And he'll admit that.
Speaker 2:
[54:42] Yeah, yeah. And I've tell your dad all the time, I've never found him amusing.
Speaker 3:
[54:47] That's right.
Speaker 2:
[54:47] In the least. And his eyebrows go up. No, he is such a lovely man and I met all these people for the first time when I did a Aspen, they asked me, would you come out to do the Aspen Comedy Festival? And this is just when my show had kind of clicked in and it was starting to gel.
Speaker 3:
[55:07] I remember being younger and thinking that was the coolest thing.
Speaker 2:
[55:12] The Aspen-
Speaker 3:
[55:12] That he got to meet you.
Speaker 2:
[55:13] Oh, wow, okay. You got that wrong, but it was, I remember they said, Conan, we want someone to interview all the SCTV greats and I thought, this is a make-a-wish, like I must be dying and no one told me. But I went and talked to everybody and interviewed them and did my preparation and we did the thing and when it was over, your dad said, hey everybody. Everyone was starting to disperse and your dad like a camp counselor said, hey everybody, I think Conan put a lot of work into this and did a really nice job and I think we should give him a round of applause. I thought, what an incredibly nice man to do that.
Speaker 3:
[55:52] That's so nice.
Speaker 2:
[55:54] He was taking care of me. Right. He saw like, wait a minute, this guy, before we all go, let's make sure we do this. That touched me a lot at the moment.
Speaker 3:
[56:04] He's a very sweet man. Yeah. He's a very well, like soft, well-intentioned, sweet person. I did not inherit his goodness.
Speaker 2:
[56:17] It says that here in your information, yes.
Speaker 3:
[56:18] He is a genuinely kind, like, he just, it is, I can't just, I can't explain it. And the number of people that come up and are just like, your dad is so nice. And I'm like, I know.
Speaker 2:
[56:31] But I can't help you.
Speaker 3:
[56:33] You are also something.
Speaker 2:
[56:39] Well, the show is Big Mistakes. It's really funny and I'm very happy for you.
Speaker 3:
[56:45] Thank you.
Speaker 2:
[56:46] And please come back anytime. And also you're part of this. I get, I say this a lot, but I get very excited when I meet and get to hang out with, even briefly, younger talent that's part of this whole ecosystem. And the fact that is, you know, because we've had Rachel here and having you here. And I'm just always very pleased when I get to be around this whole, what I consider to be a childlike generation that's doing really good work. It makes me happy.
Speaker 3:
[57:13] Listen, I'll take that compliment simply the youth factor, because I don't think I'm young at all.
Speaker 2:
[57:18] Guess what? I am now.
Speaker 3:
[57:19] I love that.
Speaker 2:
[57:20] I am at a vintage now where I'll meet what I think is a kid and say, I think this kid's really coming along and I want to help this kid. And someone will tell me they're 55. That's their third hip. That's right.
Speaker 3:
[57:37] I'm so glad I invest in facials. You know what I mean?
Speaker 9:
[57:40] It's good to keep the skin looking young.
Speaker 2:
[57:41] Whatever you're doing, keep doing.
Speaker 3:
[57:42] That's right. Anyway, I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:
[57:45] This was great. Thank you so much for doing it.
Speaker 3:
[57:46] Thank you for having me, everybody. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Speaker 2:
[57:55] You know, there are days that the travel perks that you get with T-Mobile really come in handy, but then there are days that you just want to embrace couch life, and you love you some couch life.
Speaker 5:
[58:04] Loves me some couch life.
Speaker 2:
[58:05] Without ever leaving the house, T-Mobile still has you covered. Find plans, including Netflix, plus deals on DoorDash. The more benefits you use, the more value you get. I mean, why go anywhere when you can get your favorite takeout, binge a show, and brag to all your friends, you won't believe what I'm not doing tonight. That's a brag when you get to hang out on your couch and live life at its most supreme.
Speaker 5:
[58:27] It's so comfortable.
Speaker 9:
[58:28] I have T-Mobile, it's great. And I always like to watch those survival shows and I like to get meat. It's like a steak and then like a survival show.
Speaker 2:
[58:35] Yeah, and then when the monster's eating the person, you like, ah, ah, ah, ah, with the meat.
Speaker 9:
[58:40] Pretend I'm the monster, exactly.
Speaker 2:
[58:40] You're a sick guy. Check it out at tmobile.com/magentastatus. Wow. Receive Netflix standard with ads while you maintain a qualifying line and good standing. See DashPass details in the T-Life app. Spring is the season for closet clean outs. Perfect time to narrow down your wardrobe to pieces that are well made and easy to wear all the time. That's where Quince comes in. With Quince, you get fabrics that feel elevated, fits that are well thought out and pricing that actually makes sense. I'm tired of pricing not making sense. Me too. I'm like, this makes no sense. Quince works directly with ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're paying for quality, not brand markup. Everything's designed to last and make getting dressed easy. Now, David, tell us about your Quince experience because you've had a terrific one.
Speaker 4:
[59:28] I got the men's cotton peak knit blazer and navy. And I got a pair of the men's Italian leather cap toe Oxford shoes.
Speaker 2:
[59:34] Okay. And what is it about these Quince clothes that really popped for you?
Speaker 4:
[59:38] It's honestly just like probably the best quality that I can actually afford.
Speaker 2:
[59:43] You have been better dressed lately. I will say that. And I'm not putting down the way you used to dress before Quince, but I'm glad Quince came along. That's all I'm going to say. So refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to quince.com/conan for free shipping and 365 day returns. That's almost a full year. Now available in Canada too. I'm glad. I like Canada. I'm glad they're getting some Quince clothes. Go to quince.com/conan for free shipping and 365 day returns. quince.com/conan. All right, we gotta get to the bottom of something. Recently, on a podcast episode, it came to my attention, because I, Blay was babbling and blurting. And Blay, you mentioned that your mom does your taxes. It was then revealed to us that, well, she doesn't do your taxes. She takes, she calls another tax service.
Speaker 9:
[60:44] She uses TurboTax.
Speaker 2:
[60:45] She uses TurboTax to take care of your taxes.
Speaker 9:
[60:48] Yeah, it's fantastic.
Speaker 2:
[60:48] For you.
Speaker 9:
[60:49] That's right. She demands to do it, by the way. I just wanna make that clear. I'm not asking her to do it. She gets upset when I even toss the idea out of me.
Speaker 2:
[60:58] Sure, understood. And that's not what we're gonna go after here. What I want to investigate is you brought up at a certain point that you write off your various, I'm gonna call them trinkets, doodads. What do you call them? Memorabilia?
Speaker 9:
[61:14] I would say...
Speaker 2:
[61:15] Arcana?
Speaker 9:
[61:16] That still feels reductive. They're objects of power that I love to buy.
Speaker 3:
[61:22] What are we talking about?
Speaker 9:
[61:24] So listen, listen.
Speaker 3:
[61:25] You like...
Speaker 9:
[61:25] I'm a collector. I like stuff. I'm a collector of great items. Okay, and things like, I'm gonna give you a great example.
Speaker 2:
[61:32] You're like Channing Jordan, a collector of great items. No, no, no.
Speaker 9:
[61:34] I just, I want to...
Speaker 2:
[61:35] Swords, like battle swords.
Speaker 9:
[61:37] Okay, yes, like I bought a really cool Batman statue.
Speaker 2:
[61:42] Statue of Batman.
Speaker 9:
[61:43] That's right, a Batman statue done by, in the style like Sergio, you know, the Mad Magazine guy.
Speaker 2:
[61:49] Yeah, I think it's Aragonis, I believe.
Speaker 9:
[61:51] Aragonis, that's right. I have a number of swords, you know, flamethrower. I just got an ax, but not just weapons.
Speaker 2:
[62:00] But also, not just weapons, you also have like stuff relating to various things you're into, whether it's-
Speaker 9:
[62:05] I have a dinosaur egg, a brontosaurus egg.
Speaker 2:
[62:07] A real one?
Speaker 9:
[62:08] That's right.
Speaker 2:
[62:08] Okay, so-
Speaker 9:
[62:09] And you know, meteorites. I have several, like three or four meteorites. I have a cool, it's actually 70 million years old. It's a whale vertebrae.
Speaker 2:
[62:16] Sure.
Speaker 9:
[62:16] It's a giant, it's kind of like the size of two-
Speaker 2:
[62:20] I shouldn't have said memorabilia. You collect shit and you have a lot of shit. And you write it off because you said you managed to mention it on the podcast.
Speaker 9:
[62:33] Well, we use it for the podcast.
Speaker 2:
[62:34] How do we use it?
Speaker 9:
[62:35] Because it's the basis of comedy bits like this today.
Speaker 4:
[62:38] It's a piece of the comedy bit. You just had him list off.
Speaker 3:
[62:41] He just listed 20 things, which I'm sure was-
Speaker 9:
[62:44] And also like, so for instance, Summer S'mores, I bought a big broadsword at the Ren Fair.
Speaker 2:
[62:51] Which was your idea. Here's my point. I don't say, wouldn't it be cool if someone here had a broadsword and you said, I happened to have one and you brought it in and then you were able to write it off. You go out and buy stuff and then you insert it into the podcast so that you can then write it off. That's why I brought in Mr. David Melmed, who is our attorney, who's helped us many times in the past. I sense fraud.
Speaker 7:
[63:15] I don't know about fraud.
Speaker 9:
[63:17] See, there we go.
Speaker 7:
[63:21] But, in terms of what the IRS may be looking at, we're talking about section 162 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Speaker 2:
[63:31] What is section 162 say?
Speaker 7:
[63:33] Ordinary and necessary expenses can be deductible. Now, I guess the question is, are those ordinary and necessary?
Speaker 2:
[63:41] Sure, brontosaurus egg.
Speaker 9:
[63:44] It says and necessary. Is comedy necessary to this podcast?
Speaker 2:
[63:48] Wait a minute, wait a minute. It's not comedy. A brontosaurus egg is not comedy until you foisted upon the podcast. You barrel your way into the podcast and say, look at what I got. I got a brontosaurus egg. You're all like, what the are you talking about, Blake?
Speaker 9:
[64:04] Let's let Melmed finish. Melmed, what's the rest of the law?
Speaker 2:
[64:07] Let Melmed finish when you don't like the way I'm going. Go ahead.
Speaker 7:
[64:09] I like the way you're going. In connection with the podcast. So, let's take your brontosaurus egg, for example. Let's get past the ordinary and necessary. If you didn't bring it into the podcast, would someone bring it up? Or is this something that you're doing to get a ride off? And I'm not going to put you on the-
Speaker 9:
[64:31] Well, how do they know I have a brontosaurus egg if I don't bring it in?
Speaker 5:
[64:33] Well, okay. But you've mentioned it.
Speaker 2:
[64:35] We all know he has a dinosaur egg. This is becoming an insane who's on first routine.
Speaker 5:
[64:39] Yeah.
Speaker 2:
[64:40] No, I wouldn't have said, you know what this podcast needs is a broad sword or what it needs is a brontosaurus egg. I would never bring up any of those things. And they're not comedy in and of themselves. You are buying this stuff because you love it. And then you're saying, I got to get this stuff onto Conan's podcast and then you're claiming that it was a necessary part of your job.
Speaker 7:
[65:05] Sure.
Speaker 2:
[65:06] That to me feels all backwards.
Speaker 7:
[65:08] It could, well, so I'm gonna go a little deeper on this.
Speaker 9:
[65:11] Let's let the law decide.
Speaker 7:
[65:12] I'm gonna go a little deeper. So there's really two sides to this, right? There's talent, right? And company expenses. So if he's bringing this on as on air talent, using the mic, that's one thing. If you are, for example, using this as a company expense or an expense that the company would deduct, that could eat into the net revenue of the podcast.
Speaker 9:
[65:35] So can I ask a question?
Speaker 7:
[65:36] Yes.
Speaker 9:
[65:37] In terms of company expenses, so you're saying if I were to use the sword to defend Conan off mic, that's a company expense?
Speaker 7:
[65:44] No, it would have to be in connection with the podcast itself.
Speaker 2:
[65:47] That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 9:
[65:47] Like he comes into the podcast and I'm using, I'm defending him physically from attackers.
Speaker 2:
[65:53] I'm seeing why you're not a lawyer. Oh, Jesus. It's now apparent to me.
Speaker 9:
[65:56] I'm just asking a question, Socratic Method. All right, do you know what I'm saying?
Speaker 7:
[65:59] Yeah, I do. So the act itself is not deductible, right? But the, right? So you coming in with your sword, but us sort of cleaning up that mess could be deductible.
Speaker 9:
[66:11] So I'm just saying like, That mess. But I'm saying like, okay, there's two things. There's talent, right?
Speaker 7:
[66:15] Yes.
Speaker 9:
[66:16] There's talent. Okay. Conan fell asleep. To make Conan safe.
Speaker 2:
[66:19] I didn't fall asleep, I just got super sad.
Speaker 9:
[66:22] When we were in Altadena, when we recorded Summer S'mores I Brought in My Sword, we did a bit where we could hear wild animals that were crazy screaming in the distance, right? Yeah. So could I argue to the IRS, I'm there to defend Conan. No, boy. You're being crazy. You think that people don't write stuff off in crazy ways? I'm Bobbin and Weavin. Yeah, no.
Speaker 2:
[66:44] Hold on a second. I don't treat the IRS that way. But I guess you'd like to Bobbin and Weavin and try and trick Uncle Sam out of his rightful due.
Speaker 9:
[66:52] Johnny Law's got his scratch. He doesn't need my couple bucks.
Speaker 2:
[66:54] Okay, you gotta settle down. I'm gonna take you off Mike for a little bit.
Speaker 9:
[66:56] Okay.
Speaker 2:
[66:57] I wish I had a button that silenced Blay.
Speaker 9:
[66:58] Okay.
Speaker 2:
[66:59] And I would use it so routinely. I might have to just put a bunch of books on top of it. I'll stop talking.
Speaker 6:
[67:05] I want a silenced Blay button right here and then I'm going to build permanent structures on top of it.
Speaker 2:
[67:12] I'm not comfortable with this interpretation. I do think we all need to pay our fair share. I think that those things you're buying, they bring you pleasure, they bring you joy. I haven't unreleased the button yet. This is the button and when I touch it-
Speaker 5:
[67:26] I have a question too when you're done.
Speaker 2:
[67:28] Okay. You'll have the floor after me and then anyone else who wants to. But anyway, yeah, I guess my issue is these are his hobbies. And then through the grace of some god we don't understand who works in mysterious ways, he has access to this podcast and he's bullied his way up to a mic. And now he's inserting himself into the show and saying, hey, you know what I was thinking about this morning? I was thinking about the Scarlet Witch's cape. That's what I was thinking about. I'm like, the Scarlet Witch? Yeah, she's a Marvel heroine. I was thinking about her cape and I bought one. Let's have fun talking about that. It all feels manipulative. It feels sinister and it feels like it is, I don't know. It doesn't feel like it's in the spirit of the law.
Speaker 7:
[68:21] It's a bit overreaching.
Speaker 2:
[68:23] Yes, overreaching. And then let me, hold on, we'll get to you, Blay. And eventually, I don't know what month, but we'll get there. Sona, what do you want to say?
Speaker 5:
[68:30] I wanted to say all of these things are what make Blay Blay.
Speaker 2:
[68:35] I know, yeah.
Speaker 5:
[68:36] And you've mined a lot of that from him, who he is. You've talked about his watches a lot. You've talked about the fact that he has a giant wall-size printout of his face in his apartment.
Speaker 9:
[68:46] Yeah, we don't need to say, we don't need to give him more ammunition.
Speaker 5:
[68:49] What is Blay without the dinosaur eggs?
Speaker 2:
[68:51] These all make who he is. But listen, I can see his watches. I can see these things. And I, Blay doesn't need to work at making himself seem more ridiculous or man-childy. He doesn't need to work at it. It's all, this is my problem sometimes with Blay, is that he should just trust in his natural nerdiness and his natural Peter Pan syndrome. No, and this is all the stuff that you have. It's natural. And I can see that you wear a different ironic watch every day that never costs more than $3 and often doesn't have hands on it, so you can't tell time because you've got nowhere to be. I can see all this shit myself. I don't need help. But when you come in and your plan is today, I'm going to dominate the podcast with my Rontosaurus egg that I just bought, then I smell a rat.
Speaker 4:
[69:42] I smell a rat.
Speaker 9:
[69:44] Can I speak?
Speaker 4:
[69:45] Yeah.
Speaker 9:
[69:45] Okay. Here's what I want to say. I think it is, to Sona's point, we come up with a lot of bits on the spot on this podcast. And yes, I have a lot of cool stuff. All right? No, you don't.
Speaker 2:
[70:02] I have a lot of cool stuff.
Speaker 9:
[70:03] Fine, fine, fine, fine. But my point being, I have this stuff anyway. I think what I want to say is, I don't go into-
Speaker 2:
[70:12] You have it anyway. Well, I think you may want to revise that.
Speaker 9:
[70:16] Listen, you should, you may want to revise that.
Speaker 2:
[70:18] Yeah, hold on, freeze, freeze.
Speaker 7:
[70:20] You may want to revise that. Go ahead. If you had it anyway, you probably couldn't deduct it. So I'm giving you a chance to revise it.
Speaker 9:
[70:29] What I'm saying is like this.
Speaker 2:
[70:30] Do you want to fix what you just said?
Speaker 9:
[70:32] I'll say this. I'm not going to fix it because it's honest. I have a sword, okay? Right? I have a sword. Many swords. And I'm going to the Ren Fair, all right? And I'm at the Ren Fair and I'm like, oh man, I should get a sword and bring it in because it could be a good comedy bit. So I buy another sword and that's what I'm writing off because it's for a comedy bit. I'm not writing off the one I already have. I'm like, I'm taking things from my life and heightening them to use a comedy term.
Speaker 2:
[71:01] But why? Why do you think this show needs so much help with comedy?
Speaker 9:
[71:04] I don't think it needs help.
Speaker 2:
[71:05] Why do you think this show is just, is bereft of all entertainment unless you go out and buy a feathered helmet and bring it in to save us? To save, no. Poor Conan O'Brien can't think of a thing. Guess what I bought. I just bought some underwear made of caramel at a Ren Fair.
Speaker 9:
[71:23] I would buy that. That's projection. I do not do that. As a producer, I like to give my host a buffet of choices from which he can pick and choose. Maybe he's going to, maybe I'm offering mac and cheese. Maybe when we're saying, what should we do for a segment? And Sona says, oh, this happened to me. Hopping is like, this happened to me. I say, hey, I just bought a sword at the Ren Fair. What do you think about this? Sometimes you choose from my bucket. Sometimes you choose from others. And if you choose from my bucket, then it's all worked out.
Speaker 5:
[71:56] From my bucket.
Speaker 9:
[71:58] What I do is, I live for this podcast.
Speaker 3:
[72:00] Can I write off stuff too?
Speaker 9:
[72:02] I live my life in service of this podcast. Can I write off my edibles?
Speaker 2:
[72:06] He can't stop. You can't stop.
Speaker 5:
[72:07] I want to write off all my edibles.
Speaker 4:
[72:09] You talked about going to Disneyland with your kids.
Speaker 5:
[72:11] Yeah, can I write that off?
Speaker 4:
[72:12] Can she write those tickets off?
Speaker 2:
[72:13] Okay. All right, I'm gonna use my wife's favorite phrase, which is there's a lot to unpack here. That's for you, Liza, stop saying it. And we're going to continue this in another episode because this is vital, vital to the American interest.
Speaker 10:
[72:31] Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend with Conan O'Brien, Sona Movsesian and Matt Gourley. Produced by me, Matt Gourley. Executive produced by Adam Sachs, Jeff Ross and Nick Lea. 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 and Brendan Burns. Additional production support by Mars Melnick. 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. It too could be featured on a future episode. You can also get three free months of SiriusXM when you sign up at siriusxm.com/conan. And if you haven't already, please subscribe to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend wherever fine podcasts are downloaded.
Speaker 6:
[73:39] Pandora makes it easy for you to find your favorite music. Discover new artists and genres by selecting any song or album, and we'll make you a personalized station for free. Download on the Apple App Store or Google Play, and enjoy the soundtrack to your life.
Speaker 8:
[73:51] Hi, I'm Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie. From roof repair to emergency plumbing and more, when you use Angie for your home projects, you know all your jobs will be done well. Angie, the one you trust, defined the ones you trust. Find a pro for your project at angi.com.