Conan O'Brien's revamped talk show is addition by subtraction -- he just needs more actual additions

The Ringer

The first episode of TBS' Conan with the new format was packed with C-minus material. "But what makes the new Conan worth keeping an eye on," says Rob Harvilla, "is the classic and visceral tension between how seriously he takes the late-night format and how seriously he takes the idea of violently disrupting it." He adds that Conan's "brand is still strong, and the platonic ideal of that brand is still total chaos, and with less time to fill and less fealty than ever to pay to the way (Johnny) Carson used to do it, the new-look Conan will get better if and when it gets weirder." ALSO: Conan takes his horrified associate producer Jordan Schlansky to a meal at Olive Garden.