Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend — Greg Daniels

Release Date: August 25, 2025
Host: Conan O’Brien
Guests: Greg Daniels, Sona Movsesian, Matt Gourley

Episode Overview

In this highly-anticipated and fan-requested episode, Conan O’Brien catches up with his longtime friend, legendary showrunner and comedy writer Greg Daniels. The episode blends nostalgia, playful ribbing, and deep gratitude as Conan and Greg revisit their formative years as young, broke comedy writers, reflect on their creative partnership, and discuss Greg’s astonishing career, including the return of "King of the Hill," the final season of "Upload," and the upcoming Office successor series. Their storytelling highlights their unique (and nerdy) friendship, the trials of making it in Hollywood, and the balancing act of ambition, risk, and frugality.

Key Discussions & Insights

Early Friendships and Harvard Lampoon Days

[12:26–15:04]

• Conan and Greg first met in college at Harvard, bonding over comedic ambitions and their work with the Harvard Lampoon.
• Conan describes being impressed by Greg’s cartoon submission—a literary joke about a sea captain named “Ishmael.”
• “A good cartoon is like a little silver bullet. It goes right to your brain.”
  — Conan O’Brien [13:29]

The Leap to LA: Broke, Anxious, and Determined

[15:33–24:45]

• After college, a terrified Conan convinced Greg to move to Los Angeles with him to pursue TV writing.
• Stories about sharing a tiny, unfurnished apartment, scavenging for mattresses, and fashioning furniture from stacks of LA Times newspapers.
• Legendary frugality: Greg’s “Flaky Jake’s” scam—buying only buns and loading up on unlimited fixings for a 35-cent meal.
• “You found a place called Flaky Jake’s… and you could pile it mile high with free throw.”
  — Conan O’Brien [22:18]
• “I wanted to have a little flexibility there.”
  — Greg Daniels [22:53]

Frugality & Misadventures in Hollywood

[24:53–31:35]

• Hilarious recounting of their first cars: Greg’s air conditioning-less Toyota Corolla and Conan’s diesel-ing Plymouth Valiant
• Their struggles (and failures) with dating, with Greg dating a Mrs. Fields’ employee and needing permission to use their only car.
• “There was only two settings! … Don’t you need air conditioning?”
  — Conan O’Brien [30:47]
• Greg admits driving across the country at night to avoid the heat and melting cassette tapes in his car.

Hollywood Lessons: SNL, Bad Instincts, and the Bob Hope Clause

[32:20–36:02]

• Early career challenges: accidentally angering SNL costume designers and bungling initial Hollywood meetings out of naïve honesty.
• Conan’s running joke about wanting a contract clause releasing them from work if Bob Hope died.
• “We spent the whole time going, can you get the money back?”
  — Greg Daniels [34:18]
• “Harry Klein, we want a clause in there that if Bob Hope should die, comedy as we know it would be forever changed and this contract is null and void.”
  — Conan O’Brien [35:16]

Comic Pilgrimages & Pure Nerdiness

[36:31–42:56]

• Recapping their comically earnest trip to Vancouver to chase the remnants of Expo ’87, only to spend their time hunting for cast members of “The Beachcombers.”
• “We made a promise to ourselves. We're going to shake his hand before we leave Vancouver.”
  — Conan O’Brien [41:15]
• The entire caper is pitched as “not a movie” but “an anecdote,” despite Ari Emanuel’s insistence otherwise.

Greg’s TV Legacy: King of the Hill, Upload, The Office’s Next Chapter

[43:47–46:54]

• Greg walks through the launches and returns: “King of the Hill” is back Aug 4, “Upload” wraps with its season four release, and a new Office-adjacent docu-comedy debuts soon.
• Details on the new Office spinoff: Shifts from Dunder Mifflin to a “ghost newspaper” in Toledo, deftly satirizing modern journalism and clickbait culture.
• “People have sort of counted out newspapers… this new show’s got a little more ‘Bad News Bears’ energy.”
  — Greg Daniels [46:54]

Creativity, Collaboration, and Comedy Philosophy

[31:48–36:31, 58:22–62:55]

• Both reflect on their writing process: Conan’s anxious, hair-twisting, “demonic” focus, and Greg’s zen-like head-shaking for inspiration.
• They discuss their lifelong mutual influence and comedic growth, crediting their nerdy partnership with shaping each other’s careers.
• “My dad always said, people don’t change, they become more so. And I think that's the case.”
  — Conan O’Brien [58:24]
• Greg connects his love for “character comedy” to the comfort of seeing familiar, reliable personalities on TV and in life.

Notable Guest Collaborators

[47:30–47:57]

• Shoutouts to Michael Komen (Conan’s former writer, pivotal in the new Office series) and the creators of “Nathan For You.”
• Praise for “Common Side Effects,” a show Greg produced with Mike Judge, and a testament to his continual creative expansion.
• “Nathan For You is like the pinnacle.”
  — Greg Daniels [47:59]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On their DEEP nerd roots:
  “Greg and I each made the other's nerd genes vibrate. And we both would get nerdier.”
  — Conan O’Brien [24:19]

• On their living situation as young writers:
  “We did not have a couch. We did not have furniture. We knew we had to have a television.”
  — Conan O’Brien [18:48]

• Classic Greg move:
  “I did everything right…I walked out, they had sold me a car with no air conditioning because I didn’t know what to do.”
  — Greg Daniels [28:59]

• Critique of their social instincts:
  “We had a lot of bad instincts for Hollywood.”
  — Greg Daniels [33:47]

• The Beachcombers pilgrimage: “He’s just accepting that he’s got fans from LA that, you know, have made the pilgrimage. He’s happy.”
  — Greg Daniels [41:28]

• Conan on Greg’s career explosion:
  “You are in this period right now, a real purple patch…”
  — Conan O’Brien [44:02]

• Conan’s competitive joke:
  [On being two months older] “Greg’s favorite time of year every year is when I’m 50 and he’s 49… this goes on for eight weeks.”
  — Conan O’Brien [59:32]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [12:26–17:03] — Harvard Lampoon memories and meeting in college
• [17:03–24:45] — Moving to LA, apartment mishaps, and Flaky Jake’s scheme
• [28:59–31:35] — Car-buying, LA apartment life, and their frugal misadventures
• [32:20–36:02] — SNL, early Hollywood clashes, and “Bob Hope clause”
• [36:31–42:56] — Vancouver trip, Beachcombers, and Ari Emanuel’s “movie”
• [43:47–46:54] — Overview of Greg’s current and upcoming shows, Office spinoff details
• [58:22–62:55] — Reflections on getting older, comedy, and working rhythms

Episode Tone and Energy

The tone is fast-paced, affectionate, and irreverently self-deprecating. Conan and Greg trade gentle insults, reminisce without whitewashing hardships, and maintain the nerdy, "outsider energy" that drew them together. Running gags about nerd culture, air conditioning, and their utter lack of coolness as young men set the scene for newer listeners.

For New or Casual Listeners

Don’t expect a nuts-and-bolts Hollywood success story; this episode’s heart is in the shared awkwardness, creative partnership, and all the ways two “nerds” found unlikely paths to the top. It’s a testament to old friendship, mutual encouragement, and the power of being deeply yourself — even if yourself is pretty weird.

Recommended for:
Fans of behind-the-scenes comedy, anyone curious about TV writing, lovers of underdog stories, and those craving warming, old-school friend banter.

Final Words:
“Love you, Greg.”
“Love you, Greg.”
“All right. Love you back.”
— [69:33–69:36]

Endnote:
“We’ve scratched the surface. There could be 15 episodes where we talk about us in 85, 86 alone.”
— Greg Daniels [68:23]