Topic Guide

What Is Comedy writing?

Comedy writing is a subject covered in depth across 5 podcast episodes in our database. Below you'll find key concepts, expert insights, and the top episodes to listen to — all distilled from hours of conversation by leading experts.

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Key Concepts in Comedy writing

The "assassin decoy" strategy

This is Conan O'Brien's humorous, long-standing claim that he intentionally hired producer Sean Doherty because of their physical resemblance. The alleged purpose was for Doherty to serve as a decoy in the event of an assassination attempt on Conan, a strategy Conan attributes to Saddam Hussein, highlighting Conan's self-deprecating and absurd humor regarding his perceived celebrity threats.

Comedy life coach

This describes Laurie Kilmartin's role in helping Conan O'Brien prepare for the Oscars. She accompanies him to small comedy clubs, observes his performance of potential Oscar jokes, and provides critical, real-time feedback to refine material and ensure it lands effectively (01:00).

The true inspirations of comedy

Kilmartin shares a counterintuitive insight that seeing 'not good' stand-up comedians can be a powerful catalyst for aspiring comics. This observation, rather than solely witnessing comedic brilliance, often sparks the thought, 'Wait a minute, I could do that,' igniting one's own journey into comedy (04:08).

Wasting time in the writer's room

Conan and Kilmartin discuss their writer's room habit of watching random internet videos or TV shows like 'And Just Like That...' for up to half an hour. Conan argues this 'wasted time' is useful if everyone is laughing, believing it fosters creativity and camaraderie, despite appearing unproductive (20:28).

The conan language

This concept refers to the specific comedic style and tone of Conan O'Brien's shows, which a writer must learn to 'speak' to successfully contribute. Skyler Higley explains that adapting his individual comedic voice to fit Conan's world, despite their differences, allowed him to produce 'the best stuff' and integrate his unique perspective into the show's established humor (19:22).

Ninja/assassin writer

Conan O'Brien's description of Todd Levin's writing style, characterized by quiet observation and then delivering sharply hilarious, well-written material without constant "babbling." This contrasts with Conan's own more demonstrative performance style (02:01).

What Experts Say About Comedy writing

1.Sean Doherty, a senior producer, began his career as an intern in 2018/2019 during the final year of Conan O'Brien's TBS show.
2.Doherty has risen to a significant role, now producing podcasts for Conan's colleagues, including Andy Richter and Rob Lowe.
3.Sean Doherty recently sold a high school comedy screenplay, an homage to the Billy Wilder movie *The Apartment*, which is set in Massachusetts.
4.Conan O'Brien comically claims he hired Sean Doherty as an "assassin decoy" due to their physical resemblance, a strategy he jokingly attributes to Saddam Hussein.
5.Conan expresses mock irritation over Sean's universal popularity among the staff, stating he identifies it as a "threat from within" that he tries to "break."
6.Conan humorously demands a part in Sean's screenplay, threatening a lawsuit if he is not included, despite the script being a high school comedy.