She has a name plate that reads “I’m a fu***** professional,” she can get a crowd to chant “BUY HER A HOUSE,” and she is a big fan ofFriends. She’s the one and onlySona Movsesian, famous for beingConan O’Brien’s assistant. Conan hosted one ofthe funniest talk shows of all time, and Sona has published a book in which she claims the title of worst assistant in the world. Together, they were one of the best epic comedy duos in late-night history.
Though Conan has several employees whom the audience has grown to love over the years, Sona is arguably the most adored. Hence her place as one of the main voices on the enormously successful podcast,Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. Most fans got to know her as the assistant who approached her job very nonchalantly, displayed no hesitation to contradict her annoying (and needy) boss, and had a fondness for edibles. Her best remotes onConandisplay the unique and highly entertaining work dynamic that she had with the talk show host, which continues to this day.
Conan O’Brien Must Go
10"Conan Hits An Armenian Flea Market"
Original Air Date: August 01, 2025
“Who buys gynecological instruments at a flea market?” is a very good question that goes unanswered at the beginning of this remote. Conan and Sona walk around an Armenian flea market and find various random items, including an old Russian telephone that Conan proceeds to do some old-timey improv with. The viewer believes him when he says he can spend hours doing this.
Conan finds a painting of a beautiful woman and decides to buy it for Sona’s father. She points out that her mother wouldn’t like it, but her boss tells her that it isn’t for her mom. The painting is just a hundred bucks, but Conan offers $250 (against Sona’s reminder that the artist was only offering $100). Her reaction to Conan doing the opposite of haggling is made even funnier because she has to translate for him.It just goes to show that they can walk around commenting on random stuff and still be a joy to watch.
9"Conan Visits A Pawn Shop"
Original Air Date: August 19, 2025
In this remote, Conan goes to the Hollywood Pawn Shop in Glendale, California. Two of the workers are Armenian, so, naturally, Conan brings in Sona to speak to them. At her boss’s request, she tells them what her boss is like: “He is an awful, awful man whose buffoonery tortures me on a daily basis.” She also plans to blackmail him. Conan goes on to sell some memorabilia, including a signed confession of murder, a Conan G.I. Joe, and a Masturbating Bear doll.
The string dance robot is sold for a surprising amount of money, as is the hilarious painting of Conan as a god. Then there’s the massive bobblehead, which is by far the most valuable. The talk show host is disappointed that the pawn brokers aren’t offering $6 million for it, so he brings Sona back to negotiate. She says what you would expect her to say, making this one of the funniest appearances in which she highlights her trademark antagonism towards her boss’s absurdity.
8"Conan Hangs Out With His Interns"
Original Air Date: August 17, 2025
This remote mostly doesn’t even include Sona, but her brief appearance is so legendary that it merits recognition here. An intern was told to get Conan’s lunch, and he was under the impression that he did. There is only one problem: Conan didn’t order lunch today. After some investigating, the trail of lies leads to none other than the talk show host’s assistant. In front of everybody, Sona tells her boss that she got the lunch for herself and that she sometimes asks for stuff as if it’s for him to quicken the process.
Which leads to perhaps the greatest revelation in the Sona-Conan relationship: she once had too much to drink at a bar and sent interns the next day to pick up her car, giving them the impression that it was Conan’s. This is peak Sona, really, and Conan’s reaction is priceless. He goes on to ask the interns what rumors they’ve heard about him, which leads to more comedy gold,but it’s really his beloved assistant who brought us to this point. Sona’s influence is felt even when she’s no longer present.
7"Conan Crashes A ‘Magic Mike XXL’ Girls' Night Out"
Original Air Date: June 21, 2025
Movie night!Magic Mike XXLis playing this evening, and some women from the office have gathered at Sona’s place to go together. Conan joins them, bringing along a limo, a colorful beverage, and more hugs than Sona is willing to accept. There are so many funny moments here, but a few highlights include Sona saying that she would marryJoe Manganiello"so hard" and Conan strip-teasing to overwhelmingly negative reviews. Understandably, Sona looks away.
After a limo party, they have dinner at Big Wangs and pick up one of the servers to join them. Conan proceeds to dance for all the women waiting in line for the film, this time to tremendous applause. With the camera still rolling as the talk show host makes his assistant crack up just minutes away from showtime in the auditorium, this is definitely one of the more unusual and adventurous remotes with Sona.
6"Conan & Sona Visit An Armenian Matchmaker"
Sona is not happy to see a licensed matchmaker, but Conan promised her grandmother that he would find her a husband. A few of the men they check out online include a man who looks like he was onThe Sopranosand a guy with terrible taste in shorts. It’s funny how the matchmaker doesn’t understand English, as Sona simply decides not to translate for her boss while he is, for instance, talking about auto-erotic asphyxiation.
Sona’s thoughts regarding men who wear sleeveless shirts are great: “He’s like, ‘Hey, welcome to the gun show.’ I’m like, ‘I’ll have a couple tickets, please.'” When Conan makes himself laugh and acknowledges that he’s the only one who’s laughing, Sona pats his shoulder in a way that betrays just how often she has to put up with his bits. This remote isn’t very long, but it packs a lot of comedy and nuance into one ofthe funniest episodes ofConan Without Borders.
5"Conan Furloughs Non-Essential Staffers"
Original Air Date: June 11, 2025
In what is also one ofJordan Schlansky’s best remotes, Conan decides to display his nationalism by letting go of some non-essential workers on his staff. First up: his assistant, who is in the middle of buying herself a pie online (amazing start to the interview). She soon admits that she doesn’t think that she’s essential (even better), but Conan’s not done yet. He notices she has a crossword puzzle, but Sona initially denies that it’s hers. Conan then uses deductive reasoning to show that it must be hers, much to the viewer’s enjoyment.
Amusingly, Sona only admits that it’s hers once Conan tells her she can’t lie on camera. He asks what word she’s stuck on, but she doesn’t want to say—fearing that she’ll look stupid if this segment makes it to air. Good call on her part, and Conan’s reply is classic. This dynamic duo can make us laugh so much in under two minutes that, despite Sona’s opinion, it’s clear to the audience that she is most essential.
4"Conan Finds Sona’s Family A Rug"
Conan wants to buy Sona’s family an Armenian rug. In the process, he almost takes a bite out of a big one, gets creepy during a rug-making lesson, discovers that size doesn’t determine price, and learns a valuable lesson:Steven Spielberg, one ofthe greatest directors of all time,would never call him. He also goes on a funny riff that compares rugs to kids when they’re all grown up, but Sona one-ups him with a perfect new Armenian word for being creepy.
The main event of this remote is when Conan walks back and forth between two ends of a lengthy rug. It looks different depending on which side you’re standing on, and Mr. O’Brien notes that one end is light while the other is dark. So he claims that the lighter side fills him with optimism and joy, while the other is a downer. The silliest part is definitely when he puts a small rug over Sona’s head and has her play the role of some evil Armenian witch. Overall, this remote is as short and precious as an expensive Armenian rug.
3"Conan Helps His Assistant Buy A New Car"
Original Air Date: July 25, 2025
Sona needs a new car. Her 2007 Volkswagen Jetta has 160,000 miles on it, and she only got her first tune-up a week before the remote was filmed. Sona calls this vehicle White Lightning, but Conan gives it an even funnier name. He proceeds to throw some stuff out and even “fixes” a few things, prompting Sona to name-call him in a tone that is hilariously much more surprised than angry. The audience learns that she also loves coupons, much to Conan’s bemusement.
Searching for a car online, they stumble upon one that apparently runs on “liquid arrogance.” It then becomes clear that Sona would make a terrible improv partner, as she refuses to accept any hypothetical situation her boss introduces. The email that Conan has her type up for an overpriced car is hysterical, and the cars under $1000 are terrifying. The whole thing ends with Conan comparing himself toOprah Winfrey, along with Sona sitting in one of the grossest vehicles on the planet.
2"Conan & Sona Meet With Human Resources"
Original Air Date: June 13, 2025
Speaking with an HR professional, the duo discuss their abnormal working relationship. Sona has some valid complaints, including how Conan fabricated an offensive origin story for her, slaps food out of her hand, and tells store owners that she steals. On the other hand, Sona calls him a monster and forgets to do stuff for him (when it’s her job to manage his life). To the audience’s delight, she even admits to having a mental block towards helping him.
It turns out that Conan doesn’t give enough positive reinforcement. He can also apparently be passive-aggressive and goes into shtick way too often. His reaction to this critique (turning into another character) only proves his assistant’s point. “It never stops,” Sona complains, and the audience cannot help but agree.The highlight, however, is when Sona reveals that she actually used to shoplift. It’s such a shocker, even to Conan, that this goes down as a fundamental piece of the ConanVerse mythology.
1"Conan Hunts Down His Assistant’s Stolen ‘Gigolos’ Mug"
Original Air Date: August 25, 2025
Sona lost a mug, so she sent out an email to everyone on staff. Luckily for her, her boss is on the case. Upon seeing the camera crew, she starts laughing, “What’s wrong with you?” He could arguably ask the same thing, as this was her message: “I know this is a complete abuse of ‘Hey everybody,’ but if you stole my Gigolos Mug, I’m going to find you and destroy you.” The way she over-explains the joke on the mug is one of many funny moments in this opening conversation.
All of the interactions he has with his employees are top-notch, but the best part is when Conan makes fun of Sona for taking so long to thank him. This is not appreciated. She genuinely tells him off in classic Sona fashion, pointing out that his reaction is why she never thanks him for anything.Better than any other remote (and this is only after about four and a half years of working together), this one shows just how easily and amusingly these two can get on each other’s nerves.
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