Conan O’Brien’s new set for his late night show was burglarized, the comedian revealed during Monday’s broadcast. After setting up shop at Los Angeles’ famous Largo at the Coronet nightclub in order to help keep the venue open amid the coronavirus pandemic, O’Brien revealed “someone broke into our little theater and took some of our equipment.”
Turning to co-star Andy Richter, the host emphasized, “We got robbed, Andy! Robbed!” Referencing the fake cardboard cut-out audience set up in the seats amid, O’Brien continued, “Whoever broke in here had to stare at 350 cardboard cutouts of exuberant fans in the eyes and say, ‘Hey, don’t mind me. I’m going to steal some s—.’”
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The show’s field producer revealed the alleged burglar stole several laptops from the set, as well as the set’s slate, used in part to mark the beginning of scenes while filming. “That’s the lowest. I can’t think of anything lower,” O’Brien commented, having learned of the items taken from set. “Okay, the laptops — fine. You took the slate? That’s crazy.”
It was certainly a bit of a bizarre setback, but the Conan team is keeping their sense of humor. O’Brien joked to Richter that the show must have really gone downhill, because “no one breaks into The Tonight Show and steals all the equipment.” He asked, “What happened to us? We’ve become this garage band that drives around. We’ve got our van and we parked it in an alley, and someone broke in and took our amps. What is that? This doesn’t happen to the other talk show hosts.” Cracking up as he processed just how bizarre the whole crime is, the host quipped, “What kind of new low is this for us. Man, just for the laugh alone, maybe it’s worth it.”
O’Brien announced in July that he would return to set at Largo, but would not be returning to having an in-person audience or interviews as part of ensuring safety amid the pandemic that has killed more than 225,000 Americans so far. Instead, fans were encouraged to submit photos of themselves to be used as cardboard cutouts in the audience while guests call in via Zoom. “I got started doing improv at the Coronet in 1986 and I’m glad we’ve figured out a way to safely keep that theater going during this lockdown,” O’Brien said in a statement at the time.
