Conan O'Brien wears a purple sweater and black headband while holding a pipe in his mouth with a glacier behind him in "Conan O'Brien Must Go"

HBO Max

Before Conan O’Brien said farewell to late-night TV with the end of his stint on TBS and joined the podcasting world with “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” he created a production company aptly titled Conaco. The very first series Conaco ever produced was a short-lived reality show called “Lost.”

No, not the time-traveling ABC drama. Conan O’Brien’s “Lost” was a reality show that took “Survivor” on the road, dropping three two-person teams in the middle of nowhere and tasking them with traveling back to the Statue of Liberty in New York City with only a backpack of supplies. If that wasn’t hard enough, these duos were total strangers and required to jump through a series of hoops before they could cross the finish line and win the $200,000 grand prize.

Conan O’Brien is known for his sharp comedic timing, but the timing of “Lost” could not have been worse. It debuted the night before another reality show with a strikingly similar premise: “The Amazing Race,” which tasked ordinary people with the challenge of traveling around the world. “The Amazing Race” would go on to become a runaway success, spawning a franchise that continues to this day, while “Lost” was overshadowed by both its competition and the September 11 terrorist attacks. The show delivered some of the lowest ratings NBC had ever seen and was canceled without airing all of its episodes.

Lost helped Conan find Conan O’Brien Must Go




Conan O'Brien holds his hands in the pockets of his grey tweed suit while standing in front of a lighthouse in "Conan O'Brien Must Go"

HBO Max

“Lost” may have been the first series Conaco produced, but it would not be the last to be canceled prematurely. “Andy Barker, P.I.” was a detective sitcom starring Andy Richter as a public accountant mistaken for a private investigator who begins solving oddball cases for his clients. “Andy Barker” was even more short-lived than “Lost,” canceled after just four episodes, though it was beloved by comedy nerds at the time. Conaco also produced the Jimmy Smits–starring drama “Outlaw,” which suffered the same fate and was canceled after four episodes. When Conan made the jump to TBS, Conaco shifted to producing shows for Warner Bros. Television, including the Adult Swim series “Eagleheart” starring Chris Elliott. 

Conaco’s biggest hit, however, is the show that feels closest in spirit to “Lost.” “Conan O’Brien Must Go” drops the talk show host into unfamiliar cultures and tasks him with learning the ways of the locals, not unlike contestants on a reality series. The biggest difference here is that Conan himself gets to lead the charge, allowing the comedian to humiliate himself and everyone around him for maximum comedic effect. “Conan O’Brien Must Go” was a quick success on HBO Max and has already been renewed for a third season. With Conan O’Brien recently co-starring in the acclaimed indie drama “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” Conaco has also begun venturing back into scripted drama by producing “The Beast in Me” for Netflix.