The first guest on Conan O’Brien’s podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” was Will Ferrell.

Quick Scoop

  • Podcast: Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
  • Host: Conan O’Brien, with Sona Movsesian and later Matt Gourley as regular presences
  • First official guest: Will Ferrell, appearing on the premiere episode when the show launched in 2018.

A Bit of Context

When “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” debuted in late 2018, it was positioned as a more relaxed, long-form way for Conan to build actual friendships with celebrities after decades of short late-night interviews.

Choosing Will Ferrell as the first guest made sense: he is one of Conan’s most reliably chaotic and beloved repeat guests from his late-night TV days, setting a very loose, absurd, and conversational tone for the series right from episode one.

Why This Episode Still Gets Mentioned

  • It established the running joke of Conan “desperately” trying to make friends with his guests.
  • Fans often point to the Ferrell episode as a template for the show’s blend of sincere conversation and silly, improvisational bits that has kept it popular through 2025 and into 2026.

“Who was the first guest on Conan’s podcast, ‘Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend?’”
Answer: Will Ferrell — the perfect chaos agent to kick off Conan’s quest for a real friend.

TL;DR: The very first guest on “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” was Will Ferrell , helping launch the podcast’s now-familiar mix of heartfelt talk and absurd comedy.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.