Conan O'Brien assistant Sona Movsesian has 5 clutch tips to fix your quarantine binge

Omar Sanchez
·5 min read

In the midst of nationwide isolation and quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic, many of us are left staring at our cellphones wondering how many Netflix shows we can blow through. Despite contrary belief, binging is a skill. Do it wrong and your back will ache, your eyes will sore, your social life will crumble. Sona Movsesian, comedian and late-night host Conan O’Brien’s assistant for more than 10 years, is a binge professional, so we decided to ask her how to best chew through the latest season of The Great British Baking Show or slip your way through Better Call Saul.

“You have to ask yourself before you get into it how much you want this. What is your goal? Are you trying to binge a show like Fleabag? It takes two and a half hours to get through the whole thing,” Movsesian tells EW. “But then, I just finished Cheers. That was probably my biggest binge. That was my Everest.”

Team Coco

If we’re about to embark on our Everest, we have to get to know our Sherpa. So, who is Movsesian? She's a USC grad who started working for Conan in 2009 after being in the NBC page program. She’s always loved TV, but never wanted to be a lifetime assistant. Maybe she'll be a producer one day, she thought.

“I came into television with an open mind and just thought to myself, this is the industry I want to work in. It's what I do all the time. All I do is watch TV, and I love it,” she says.

Being on camera or making jokes was never on her list of daily duties, but if you ask the Conan staff throughout the years, it becomes a product of the job (sorry, Schlansky). Movsesian remembers shooting Conan’s Can't Stop documentary in 2011 after he left NBC following the Jay Leno debacle. She appeared on screen a little more than she thought, and from there it began to be the new normal. “I think that's the first glimpse that people got into my dynamic with Conan. I think that they really latched on to the dysfunction of it,” she says.

On TV or on their podcast Conan O' Brien Needs A Friend, Conan will often call out Movsesian for being too busy doing her sudoku. They’ve been to HR together. They’ve also been to Armenia together to find Movsesian a husband to bring to her Armenian parents. (She's since married. And no, Conan, you can't take credit for it.)

"A few years ago, I just stopped thinking about leaving. I don't know why that happened, but I just suddenly got to a point where I was content. I was making a good living. I like my boss. I like where I work. It's fun, it never stays the same," she says.

Last year, Movsesian’s challenge was to binge 58 episodes of Friends in just four days after Robert De Niro’s former assistant was sued over claims of doing exactly that. How did she do it? Movsesian gave us the five biggest tips to get your binge done the right way.

NBC

Throw pillows and blankets required

"Comfort is a big deal. I think that it’s important to have a throw near you. Temperatures fluctuate. If you’re a true binger, you’re going from the daytime to nighttime without moving off the couch. You don’t want to go to the thermostat or fiddle with, like, heating or cooling systems while you’re binging."

Dress for the grind

"We're talking, like, yoga pants, sweat pants, and sweater layering is good. It’s good for temperature control. You know what I mean? Like, do you want to just wear a T-shirt? Are you going to be cold or are you going to be warm? I tend to layer and have whatever I need around me. Socks, no socks? I don't know. I think that everybody just needs to find their comfort level."

When in doubt, rally!

"I most recently binged the second season of Sex Education. At night, when I would get really tired, I just rallied. It’s important to get caffeine in you or sugar of some kind."

Netflix

Binge solo

"My husband will watch one episode of a show and say, 'We’ll watch the second one tomorrow!' What are you talking about? It’s taking us so long to binge Deadwood. Binging is a solo activity. You’re never going to find someone who has the same stamina as you do."

Be ready to get wrecked

When I finished Friday Night Lights, I remember I watched the shows and I was like, these are shows that everyone cares about deeply, which means you're going to meet characters who're going to disappear — you're going to care about things, you're going to care about people, and they might die. You're almost emotionally prepping yourself for what's coming up."

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