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In late 2024, Conan O’Brien experienced a tremendous loss. Within the span of just three days, the beloved comedian lost both of his parents. Most can only imagine the pain and heartache that one must go through when experiencing something like that – but fortunately for O’Brien, he has some really wonderful friends in his life who knew how to help him deal with his grief: by keeping a bit going suggesting that Jason Bateman was a serial killer hunting down members of his family.
This dark but absolutely hilarious story has been shared by Will Arnett, who was a guest this week on the podcast Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend. Arnett, who now co-hosts the SmartLess podcast with Bateman, began by explaining that he texted O’Brien a day or so after learning that his father had passed, and he expressed his condolences. Never able to totally turn off his comedic instincts, the legendary former late night host had a special response, which Arnett read verbatim:
‘Thank you, Will. To be honest, I blame Bateman.’
Recognizing the start of a bit when he saw one, Arnett offered a “yes, and…” by replying, “It’s not a terrible theory.” And then Conan O’Brien got a little bit more blunt with his accusation. The Arrested Development star recalls his next response: “He killed my dad.”
It was at this point that Jason Bateman actually got looped into the conversation. After learning about what Arnett said, he texted O’Brien the next day, writing, “Arnett tells me that you’re on to me”… and it didn’t slow O’Brien down in the slightest. He responded (per Arnett),
‘Bateman, do yourself a favor: turn yourself in.’
At this point, Conan O’Brien had only lost his father, and it’s rather amazing how his sense of humor helped him get through what was surely a dark time. And as you’ve surely guessed, that didn’t stop when things got even darker with the death of his mother – and Will Arnett gave him some great help in that department.
When he learned that his friend’s mother had died, Arnett sent O’Brien another message, and along with the response, it’s certainly among the best text message exchanges in history:
I said, ‘Bateman is asking for your sister’s street address. OK to give?’ And you were busy that weekend. A day-and-a-half later, you texted back, ‘Just seeing this now. Fantastic. 625 Boylston St., Apartment 12C. Tell Bateman to make it look like a robbery.’
What can be said? Leave it to some of the funniest people on the planet to generate guffaw-worthy jokes at a time of incredible sadness. We should all be so lucky as to have friendships like these in our lives at our darkest moments.
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