TConan O’Brien Must Go officially premieres on Max today, April 18, 2024, which also happens to be Conan O’Brien’s 61st birthday, and it feels like a perfect way to celebrate his return to on-screen adventures.
The new travel-comedy series is inspired by Conan’s popular podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan and follows him as he travels the world to meet fans he previously only knew through phone calls and conversations. The result is a format that blends travel, culture, and Conan’s signature humor in a way that feels both familiar and refreshingly new.
The first episode takes Conan to Norway, where he meets a fan in person and throws himself into local customs with his usual mix of curiosity, self-deprecation, and comedic chaos. Watching Conan interact with people outside of a studio setting highlights one of his greatest strengths: his ability to be genuinely funny while also sincerely interested in the people he meets.
Adding to the show’s unique tone is the opening narration, delivered in an exaggerated Werner Herzog style. It immediately sets the mood and signals that this series is not a standard travel show, but something much stranger and funnier.
The premiere does an excellent job of establishing what Conan O’Brien Must Go is all about. It combines beautiful international locations with heartfelt moments and absurd humor, offering fans a chance to see Conan outside the structure of late-night television. It feels loose, personal, and very much in line with why audiences have followed him for decades.
For longtime fans, this series feels less like a reinvention and more like a natural evolution of Conan’s comedic voice, one that proves he is still just as entertaining when dropped into the world and left to figure things out on his own.
