American Television Host Conan O’Brien has an idea for a new travel show, with Lisa Kudrow in mind as the star. While speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper at The Paley Center For Media in New York City, during the event titled Globetrotting and Podcasting: Conan O’Brien’s Life After Late-Night TV, O’ Brien shared what it had been like after the end of TBS late-night show Conan in 2021. He also spoke about his upcoming Max series Conan O’Brien Must Go.
A Travel Show Featuring Lisa Kudrow
During the talk, the former show host told Tapper that he had once pitched the idea of a travel show to his former partner turned friend Lisa Kudrow. Kudrow, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the American sitcom Friends briefly dated O’Brien from 1988 to 1993.
“I did pitch my good friend, Lisa Kudrow, who I love, an idea for a travel show because it’s very her. She travels the world but never leaves her hotel room. And she’s always wearing a big robe and sipping on, like, a smoothie,” revealed the comedian.
“People come in and show her pictures of that amazing part of the world and she’s like, ‘I’m good. I’m gonna watch Sixteen Candles now,'” he added, further sharing, “And every now and then, she does go out, but in like a giant SUV . . . and she doesn’t come out of it. And she was laughing. She was like, ‘I’d do that.'”
The comedian reflected on what he wants his travel show to be like, and it should not bear similarities with Stanley Tucci’s CNN program Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. “I have a lot of respect and love for Stanely Tucci, but what I wanna do is the exact opposite,” he noted.
“I want people to really have a good time and laugh, but I want there to be a deficit in their knowledge when they’re done watching my show,” he said while also talking about one of the episodes for 2018 Conan Without Borders, where he went to Italy with his staffer. O’Brien was back on the Tonight Show as part of the press run for his travel docuseries. “It’s weird to come back,” he told show host Jimmy Fallon.
Conan O’Brien and Lisa Kudrow’s Relationship:
The late-night show host and Friends star met in an improv class initially, and the two hit it off romantically. “He was really smart, really funny, and he thought I was funny,” Kudrow told the now defunct More Magazine for an interview. But the couple soon realized that they were “better off as friends.”
Nonetheless, the two comedians have always supported each other in their endeavors. Lisa Kudrow revealed that O’Brien remained her foremost inspiration, who helped her develop the pursuit of an acting career. “Mostly everything I do is stolen from Conan,” she hilariously told. Kudrow returns the favors and has been a constant motivator for O’Brien as well, as the latter thanked the actress for her encouragement as he was partaking in a career in hosting talk shows.
