Conan O' Brien had to interview his assistant after Kumail Nanjiani ditched last minute

Conan O' Brien had to scramble to find a new guest when Kumail Nanjiani couldn't make it to the show for his appearance.

The late night talk show host shared that he received a call 30 minutes before the taping, informing him that Nanjiani has to cancel due to a scheduling conflict and that he was stuck on the set of HBO's Silicon Valley: "We found that out half an hour ago while I was having my pre-show nap. Andy was having his bath in heavy cream, and they came in and they said, 'Kumail can't get here.'"

While the show originally planned to play a clip from Nanjiani's new film Stuber, they decided to instead show a clip from a competing upcoming release: The Lion King, which O'Brien called, "a struggling little movie that I think needs our help."

O'Brien continued the episode by interviewing his assistant of 10 years, Sona Movsesian.

Nanjiani reacted to Coco's comments on Twitter by sharing a clip from the show. "@ConanOBrien is my comedy hero. Him and @AndyRichter are the reason I started comedy," he tweeted. "So this clip is something I would love if it was about anybody other than me. But it’s about me, so I’m truly mortified."

The Big Sick actor also apologised via video; the clip opened with his Silicon Valley co-star Thomas Middleditch explaining that it was his fault that Nanjiani couldn't make it to the show. "It's my fault. I don't know my lines," he said.

Nanjiani added: "He doesn't know his lines."

Conan wasn't buying it though. "Kumail didn't seem too unhappy," he noted. "There's not a lot of remorse there."