Kumail Nanjiani Roasts Conan O’Brien’s Contribution to ‘The Simpsons’
Though Conan O’Brien has often reminisced about his good ‘ol days in The Simpsons’ cigarette-scented, certifiably unsexy writers’ room, his contribution to the iconic cartoon might come with a catch, per pal Kumail Nanjiani: If O’Brien is a Simpsons writer, then serial killer Charles Manson is a Beach Boy.
In the new Netflix special, Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Nanjiani crunched the numbers surrounding the comedian’s Simpsons tenure, calculating what, exactly, the star did — and most definitely did not — contribute to the beloved cartoon.
“Conan was part of the writing staff of one of the most legendary and successful TV shows of all time: The Simpsons,” the Silicon Valley star began his segment — a TED Talk spoof entitled “TwainTalk.” He alleged that O’Brien’s name came up “93 percent of the time when people on the internet talk about Simpsons writers,” although he obviously took issue with this number. Despite the hype — and the certifiable S-Tier status of “Marge vs. The Monorail” — the comic whipped out his calculator, finding that O’Brien penned just 0.38 percent of the nearly 40-year-old show.
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“There are 781 episodes of The Simpsons. Conan wrote three,” Nanjiani explained into his period-appropriate headset.
To put this minuscule amount in perspective — a total that’s slightly changed since the special’s filming back in March — Nanjiani looked to the infamous Manson. “By comparison, Charles Manson wrote 0.41 percent of the songs released by The Beach Boys,” he explained, citing the SoCal group’s 1968 single, “Never Learn Not to Love.” “Charles Manson is a bigger part of The Beach Boys than Conan is of The Simpsons.”
Even so, Nanjiani forgot one major detail: The only thing O’Brien has ever killed is the prospect of a Springfield monorail.
