Meet the Conan Staff is more absurd than imagined…in a good way

Conan O’Brien’s scripted web series Meet the Conan Staff has debuted its first episode and it gets weird.

When it comes to Conan O’Brien, there is the expected and there is the unexpected. Meet the CONAN Staff, the new scripted web series from the late night host’s Team Coco is a little bit of both.

Conan O’Brien fans know what to expect when it comes to the comedian’s brand of comedy. It’s been demonstrated on Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons, and over 25 years of late night material. No one else on television, and certainly not in late night, sees things the same way as O’Brien.

Then there is the unexpected. Like how O’Brien and Team Coco have become a major force in the podcast world. Or how reformatting Conan would be a wise decision. Or how O’Brien has become the world’s most popular travel guide. Or how Team Coco staffers like Sona Movsesian have become stars in their own right. And on and on and on it goes.

Team Coco and O’Brien added to that list of surprises when they announced Meet the CONAN Staff. The behind-the-scenes look at Conan had some fans happy to finally get a reality show version of The Office set at their favorite late night television program. But perhaps that would be too expected of Team Coco.

Instead, fans get a scripted series that allows the comedy minds at Team Coco to flex their writing talents and get back to some of the long-form sketch writing lost in Conan‘s reformatting. And eve with that twist made public, the first episode proved that Meet the CONAN Staff will be far more absurd, bizarre, and out-there than anyone could have guessed.

The trailer gave fans some indication of what to expect. Things would be over-the-top and heightened. But presenting that within “realistic” scenarios at the late night show was probably what most fans anticipated seeing.

Instead, the first episode of Meet the CONAN Staff is more Black Mirror than The Office. Clones of Andy Richter appear daily at the Team Coco offices that have be nurtured and parented before taping an episode of Conan. It is ridiculous, it is hilarious and therefore it is exactly what fans should expect from Conan O’Brien and company.

And for as broad as the comedy in episode one can be, there are also some subtle jokes to remind everyone of how talented are the writers at Team Coco. Most notably is when Kellan Rameka mentions that he used to work at a slaughter house. That should give fans some indication of what happens to Andy Richter once Conan is done filming.

Things are off to a good start with Meet the CONAN Staff and now fans have an even better idea of what to expect. The bar for ridiculousness has been set pretty high but Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, and Team Coco aren’t likely to stop there.

What did you think of the show? Was it more or less what you expected? Let us know in the comment section. Keep checking Last Night On for more highlights, news, and updates from late night television.