Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend

Staff Review With Laurie Kilmartin

March 19, 2026

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  • Staff writer Laurie Kilmartin serves as Conan O'Brien's life coach for testing Oscar jokes in stand-up settings, leveraging her own stand-up experience. 
  • Laurie Kilmartin's journey to comedy began after dropping out of UCLA swimming due to a personal breakdown, inspired by seeing mediocre comedians succeed. 
  • The process of writing jokes for the Oscars is compared to computer coding, requiring organization and contingency planning for unexpected wins or current events. 

Segments

Oscar Joke Testing Role
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(00:01:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Laurie Kilmartin acts as Conan O’Brien’s life coach, testing Oscar jokes in stand-up venues and providing feedback on joke efficacy.
  • Summary: Conan O’Brien is preparing for the Oscars and utilizes staff writer Laurie Kilmartin to test material. Kilmartin’s role involves taking Conan to various stand-up spots to try out jokes. She provides crucial feedback on which jokes work, which need tweaking, and which should be discarded.
Kilmartin’s Stand-Up Origin
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(00:03:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Laurie Kilmartin transitioned to stand-up comedy after dropping out of college following a breakdown, inspired by seeing less talented comics perform.
  • Summary: Kilmartin first came to Conan’s attention after submitting packets for his shows, with her third attempt landing her a spot on the TBS show. She started stand-up in San Francisco after quitting swimming for UCLA, realizing she could perform after seeing unimpressive comics on stage. A bartender at the Holy City Zoo, who knew Robin Williams, encouraged her early on.
Writing for Others’ Voices
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(00:07:23)
  • Key Takeaway: Jokes written for Conan or other comics are distinctly separate from material Kilmartin would perform herself, such as jokes about motherhood.
  • Summary: Writing for another comedian’s voice is a significant skill, requiring the separation of one’s own comedic perspective. Kilmartin confirms she never writes a joke for Conan that she would use in her own act. Conan humorously notes that jokes about motherhood, which kill for Kilmartin, would not work for him.
Oscar Prep Progress and Fatigue
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(00:09:18)
  • Key Takeaway: The Oscar writing team is ahead of schedule compared to the previous year, but Conan struggles with joke fatigue from repeating material during testing.
  • Summary: As the Oscars approach, the team has accumulated many jokes, though they must remain flexible as the cultural landscape changes rapidly. Conan admits that having to say the same jokes repeatedly during testing makes him bored and less enthusiastic about delivering them. Kilmartin notes that Conan’s style of constant riffing on stage differs from the structured joke delivery required for the Oscars.
Tax Season and TurboTax Upgrade
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(00:12:49)
  • Key Takeaway: Intuit TurboTax has introduced tech-enabled in-person locations nationwide, allowing face-to-face expert assistance with real-time document uploading.
  • Summary: Tax season is stressful, contrasting sharply with the old method of handing over a shoebox of receipts. TurboTax now offers in-person locations where experts can upload documents directly to the user’s TurboTax app. Experts then work on the taxes while the client receives real-time notifications via the iOS app.
Wardrobe Essentials and Quince
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(00:15:17)
  • Key Takeaway: Quince offers premium, dependable everyday essentials made from quality fabrics with a 365-day return policy.
  • Summary: A thoughtfully built wardrobe relies on pieces that mix well and last through changing seasons. Quince provides premium fabrics and considered designs for dependable essentials. Customers receive free shipping and a 365-day return window to ensure satisfaction with their purchases.
Therapy for Emotional Weight
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(00:16:29)
  • Key Takeaway: BetterHelp, the world’s largest online therapy platform, offers qualified therapists and a high match fulfillment rate to help individuals navigate emotional burdens.
  • Summary: Many women carry significant emotional weight from career, relationship, and caregiving roles. Therapy via BetterHelp assists in unpacking heavy feelings and building healthier pathways forward. Listeners can receive 10% off by signing up at their dedicated URL.
Stand-Up Ecosystem and Oscar Logistics
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(00:17:39)
  • Key Takeaway: The LA stand-up scene involves traveling to various distinct clubs, and Oscar prep requires meticulous organization, likened to coding, to handle unpredictable outcomes.
  • Summary: Conan enjoys testing jokes in the communal, energetic ecosystem of LA comedy clubs, such as Chatterbox in Covina and TGIF’s in Atwater Village. For the Oscars, the team plans to use large corkboards to organize jokes based on potential winners, similar to coding logic. Last year’s preparation was chaotic, involving last-second scrambling for jokes and navigating current celebrity scandals.
Bad Joke Premises and Irish History
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(00:27:34)
  • Key Takeaway: Oscar writers must avoid overly obscure or irrelevant premises, exemplified by Conan’s failed joke about Isabella Rossellini owning a bed and breakfast in Ryan, New York.
  • Summary: Writers must avoid premises that lose the audience before the punchline, such as Conan’s anecdote about Isabella Rossellini’s supposed bed and breakfast. Kilmartin notes that Conan often wastes time riffing, which is different from the required structure for the Oscars. A new, potentially better premise involves Jesse Buckley’s great-grandmother fighting in the Irish Civil War.