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Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend

Dan Levy

20 Apr 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What does Dan Levy feel about being Conan O'Brien's friend?

3.119 - 18.445 Dan Levy

Hi, my name is Dan Levy, and I'm feeling thrilled, titillated, excited, stimulated. Jesus. To be Conan O'Brien's friend. I think you're thinking of a different Conan O'Brien. I'm just feeling really good right now.

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21.614 - 40.602 Unknown

Fall is here, hear the yell Back to school, ring the bell Brand new shoes, walkin' loose Climb the fence, books and pens I can tell that we are gonna be friends Yes, I can tell that we are gonna be friends

0

41.307 - 48.253 Conan O'Brien

Hey, everybody. Welcome to Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. And I sit here quite proudly with my good friend, Sona Movsesian. Hey, Sona.

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48.433 - 48.874 Blay

Hey, hi.

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49.274 - 66.39 Conan O'Brien

And, of course, David Hopping. Hello. We were chatting just before the podcast started about different things that we were excited about. And then, David, you were electrified because you said, and you had a huge smile on your face, you said they just renewed Grey's Anatomy. I know. For what season?

Chapter 2: How did Dan Levy collaborate with Catherine O'Hara in Schitt's Creek?

66.45 - 71.314 Conan O'Brien

23. Okay, this show started, I think, shortly after the end of the Civil War.

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71.294 - 99.377 Conan O'Brien

whole cast have aged out and died there's only three originals left I know but what how could this show still be going and I don't mean to be ignorant or and I'm so happy that people love Grey's Anatomy but I was unaware that it was still it's still kicking and I'm still watching okay I started it at Warner Brothers when Sona gave me permission to watch TV I watched the first 14 seasons wait a minute hold on a second wait a minute hold on a second

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99.357 - 105.325 Conan O'Brien

Sona was my assistant. Yeah. And then you were supposed to help her. And she gave you permission to watch.

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105.345 - 109.951 Sona Movsesian

I'll never forget it, Sona. Because I was... So at Warner Brothers, Sona was on the second floor with you.

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109.991 - 111.072 Conan O'Brien

This is for the TBS show.

111.092 - 127.126 Sona Movsesian

Yeah. I was up on the third floor. So anytime you needed something, Sona would call me. And one day she called and she was like, hey, you know, if you're up there waiting for me to tell you to do something, like, feel free to watch Netflix. And I said, great. And I watched 14 seasons of Grey's Anatomy. You are... You are a cancer.

127.447 - 129.269 Blay

What the fuck?

129.589 - 142.766 Conan O'Brien

You are a cancer that turns everyone into an indolent clown. You instructed him, and he didn't just watch one show or half a show. He watched 14 seasons.

142.806 - 145.109 Blay

This is your work environment.

Chapter 3: What unique aspects of Canadian comedy does Dan Levy discuss?

145.13 - 149.395 Blay

You are the boss. You set the tone. It comes from the top. Yes, it does.

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149.375 - 158.208 Conan O'Brien

I don't think so. I think that there is a the tone I set. I'm a very hard worker. I'm very intense. And then you come along and everyone around me.

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158.228 - 162.434 Blay

Are you being serious? You say I understand you work hard.

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162.494 - 162.735 Conan O'Brien

Yes.

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162.755 - 166.66 Blay

But you're not you're not a serious person. Like I walk.

166.801 - 168.583 Conan O'Brien

I'm very serious.

168.683 - 183.878 Blay

I walked into the Oscar rehearsal and you asked everybody there if they all smell garlic. You said that to a room full of people I've never met before. Hey, he's like, hey, what's that smell? Is that garlic? And you looked over at me. You know what?

183.938 - 193.41 Conan O'Brien

It killed with all the seat fillers. They love my riffs about you. Anyway, let's get back to you and how you failed me.

193.871 - 194.872 Sona Movsesian

So you got him to watch.

Chapter 4: How did Dan Levy navigate audience expectations while producing Schitt's Creek?

203.263 - 208.37 Conan O'Brien

There's a theory that when Grey's Anatomy does end, humanity will end.

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208.991 - 211.234 Sona Movsesian

I thought maybe you were going to have a real theory there.

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211.335 - 223.452 Conan O'Brien

No, there's a theory that it's been around as long as Earth has been orbiting the sun. Sure. I know you think the sun orbits the Earth, but that's not the case. It's insane how long it's been going.

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223.532 - 230.783 Sona Movsesian

I know. Isn't it incredible? I mean, as long as Meredith Grey's on our TV, what else could we want? Which one is Meredith Grey? Ellen Pompeo. Okay.

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230.999 - 240.452 Conan O'Brien

And they're still doctors. Has the show morphed into now they live in a treehouse or something? A lot of shows that have been on that long morph and now they live on a dude ranch and they're not doctors. Is that happening?

240.512 - 257.935 Sona Movsesian

No, but the amount of like just natural disasters and awful things that happen in the hospital. What kind of stuff happens? Like there's a whole really intense shooter episode. There's a plane crash episode. Wait, a plane crashes into the hospital? Not into the hospital. All the doctors are on a plane and the plane crashes. Well, what are the odds of that? I know. Mm hmm.

258.235 - 262.041 Sona Movsesian

There's a fairy episode where they like all start to drown. What?

262.462 - 269.353 Conan O'Brien

All of them are on a ferry. So the doctors from the hospital all said, let's take a ferry. And then it's the first ferry that's gone under.

269.373 - 272.699 Sona Movsesian

That's an early one. OK. Yeah. All right. So, yeah.

Chapter 5: What is the premise of Dan Levy's new show, Big Mistakes?

284.113 - 293.544 Blay

No, I said the same thing. I also watched it when it first came out and they lost me when they blew up Kyle Chandler. That's when I was like, I'm out. I can't do this. How'd they blow him up? With a bomb.

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294.244 - 294.705 Conan O'Brien

What?

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294.725 - 295.806 Blay

They blew him up with a bomb.

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296.046 - 307.479 Conan O'Brien

Okay, but give me the context. When you said blow up, I assumed it was some kind of explosive. Don't just say there was a bomb. How'd they blow him up? They blew him up with a bomb! How did Kyle Chandler blow up?

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308.06 - 312.065 Blay

There was an explosive in a person that they found during surgery.

312.986 - 318.973 Conan O'Brien

Why would a person have a bomb in their body and then check themselves into the hospital? Answer that.

319.874 - 320.956 Blay

David, do you remember?

320.976 - 321.817 Conan O'Brien

I don't remember.

321.837 - 324.52 Blay

No, the person needed surgery. You just have to go with it.

Chapter 6: What personal anecdotes does Dan Levy share about his childhood?

364.057 - 364.377 Conan O'Brien

Okay.

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364.558 - 369.549 Blay

And we're like, oh my God, everyone's clear. He's walking away. And then as he's walking away, it just explodes.

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369.57 - 371.674 Conan O'Brien

Do they cut to shoes that are empty, but they're smoking?

0
0

373.238 - 374.66 Blay

It's not a cartoon.

374.96 - 395.145 Conan O'Brien

I wish it was a cartoon. And guess what? It sounds like a cartoon. So someone checked in for surgery, had a bomb in them that they didn't know they had. Yes. They call in the bomb squad. And who's in the bomb squad? Kyle Chandler, coach from Friday Night Lights. And he says, I'm an expert on bombs. Well, I think I'll take this with me home. I'll just go jogging home now.

396.053 - 406.303 Conan O'Brien

Who walks away with a bomb? You know, I'm sorry. I don't mean to neg on this wonderful show that people really like. Oh, there's a great musical episode too. No, there isn't.

406.343 - 413.33 Sona Movsesian

There's no way there's a musical episode. They're around a table doing surgery while singing How to Save a Life by The Fray. Okay.

413.431 - 433.532 Conan O'Brien

And they find a bomb. I feel something hard. Oh my God, it's a bomb. We better get Carl Chandler. Oh no, he blew up. I just sneezed because I'm allergic to bad plots. How do they break a story on that show? How does the writer's room say, I've got it. There's a bomb in this patient. Why? Don't worry about it.

Chapter 7: How does Dan Levy's upbringing influence his comedic style?

461.105 - 486.78 Conan O'Brien

My guest today is an Emmy Award-winning actor, director, and writer, a real writer, who starred as David Rose in the hilarious series Schitt's Creek. Now you can see him in the new Netflix show, Big Mistakes. Very, very happy this gentleman is with us today. Dan Levy, welcome. I'm going to say one thing up front.

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486.8 - 511.582 Conan O'Brien

It's not what we're going to talk about initially, but David, my assistant here, he downloaded, we were sent a few of your episodes of your new show, Big Mistakes. And we watched a couple of them yesterday and I was immediately, every time we finished one, I'd go like, another one. Yeah. I'd be like, next. I mean, my my job is I maybe watch the first one. Right.

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511.682 - 517.691 Conan O'Brien

And then, yeah, I was like, next, next. And I was like the hamster with the cocaine pellet.

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518.613 - 519.414 Dan Levy

I just wanted more.

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519.434 - 524.903 Conan O'Brien

That's what we're hoping for. So that's a good sign. No, you are. Yes. You want me to be a rat and addicted to cocaine.

524.943 - 526.365 Dan Levy

All of the above.

526.345 - 552.501 Conan O'Brien

It's really funny. And we will talk about that in a bit. But I'm so happy because I'm a massive Schitt's Creek fan, as we all are. And then when I heard that you were up to something, another series, I was very excited. Prepared to be disappointed. Yeah. I love how your mind works because that's how my mind works. So I was disappointed. That's right. Certain that you would die. Wait, what? No.

552.521 - 552.741

Oh, my God.

553.75 - 559.497 Dan Levy

Expecting the worst. Sure. And it delivered across the board.

Chapter 8: What insights does Dan Levy offer about the pressures of success in the entertainment industry?

618.444 - 627.379 Dan Levy

And I every time I see her, even though I wrote the thing, I stop and I watch and I'm watching not for anything that I did.

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627.419 - 627.859 Unknown

Right.

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627.879 - 642.944 Dan Levy

But because. I'm watching because she is impossible not to watch. And she's impossible not to love. And she's it's impossible not to laugh with her in anything she does. And it's it is like an unimaginable loss.

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643.184 - 643.545 Conan O'Brien

Yeah.

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643.525 - 648.918 Dan Levy

She was just irreplaceable talent and an irreplaceable person.

649.038 - 672.458 Conan O'Brien

Really, I may have mentioned this, but at the SNL 50th, it felt totally arbitrary to me unless they just had an Irish section. But I showed up and they gave me my seat and I sit down and then there's an empty seat next to me. And then who's assigned there? But it's Catherine O'Hara. And I had the time of my life with her.

672.739 - 687.272 Dan Levy

She's the greatest company. Yes. She's the greatest seatmate. Yeah. She's the greatest dinner companion. Yeah. She was the greatest conversationalist. Yeah. She was endlessly curious and humble and deeply, deeply funny.

687.533 - 713.228 Conan O'Brien

Also, she has this... had this way of instantly, again, I don't know if this is because I'm part of that sick Irish tribe, but she had this way of immediately becoming like an older sister to me. So I'm sitting next to her and we're going back and forth and bullshitting in between sketches. And then finally at the end of the show, Paul McCartney comes out.

713.668 - 737.083 Conan O'Brien

It's like a surprise, but he comes out to sing like the end of Abbey Road song. And I just next to Catherine went, oh, and she said, what? And I said, this guy's never good. And Catherine, like, punched me. She's like, oh, shut up, you know. I'm like, I don't, I don't, I know her, but I didn't know her well enough to get punched by her. But yes, I did.

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