Session 133: Paul W. Downs

Hi, Pussies. Welcome back to Therapus. I am in Paris right now. And so that's why this is on my iPhone. This week on Therapus, we have Paul down to create it and start in one of my favorite shows on television, which just ended hacks on HBO Max. It's, if you haven't seen it, please watch it. It is genuinely one of the best shows that I've ever seen in my life. It's so funny, heartfelt. It's incredible. And he is just the most incredible, wonderful human of all time. And so I'm really sick for you guys to watch it. In terms of life updates for me, I am finally on a European sleep schedule about that. Anyone fucking ass or cared, but I finally woke up at like 10 am today and I wasn't tired. So that was, that was really good. I survived the Paris Fee wave, like it was like this sun, was like passing me on the sidewalk. Like I legitimately could not leave my room. I've never, like the streets where I'm dead, I've never experienced heat like that in my entire life. And you guys know I fucking hate heat. Because as I always say, you can always add layers. You can't rip your own skin off. I struggled with the heat a lot. Also what my shaken train with Jake Shane series on the Aloe Wellness app is out now. I had so much fun filming it. We filmed it in Santa Fe on the Aloe Odd. It was like genuinely one of the most insane experiences of my entire life. It's four classes. They're 10 minutes each, two strength training, two plaudies. So you could like, if you only have 10 minutes, you could do one of them. If you only have 20 minutes, you could do two of them. And if you have the whole time, you could do all four of them and make it like a full workout. Like it's really, really amazing. Like I've been doing it while I've been away. I try to make it funny. I try to make it like you're listening to a podcast, but like also working out. If you know what I mean, but it's great. I'm really proud of it. And I love Louis Bianca. And you guys know I love Aloe. So check it out now on the Aloe Wellness Club app. But yeah, Paul, I love you. Puzzies, enjoy the episode. I love you so much. Well, we are filming this on a very special day. It is a special day. A very sad day. It is a sad day. Is the finale of Fox, the series finale. Final episode. So weird that you're a part of my cast mate. I know. Thank you. Oh, you're welcome. You know what? The first time I was ever on television. Oh, I love that. I love it when we break talent, you know, you do break talent. No, I never acted before. Meg had never acted before. Carl had had done theater and had done, he had done one film, but it was their first acting job on television. Yeah. Robby. Robby. Yeah. A lot of people. A lot of people. Honestly, it is one of the great joys of the show is being like, here's people that we find so funny. Hey, world, watch them shine. Like it is really one of the best parts of the show. I know it sounds chuggy or whatever, but it's truly, I don't think that's chuggy. Well, it's earnest. I think that's why hacks became hacks. Totally. Like there's no hacks without mag. There's no hacks without Hannah. Like, you know, no hacks without you. There's no hacks without. Thank you. Without you, social media girly. Social media girly. I remember we were on set and Paul was like, do you want a name? And I said, which is so funny. I think that's like the, that is the comedy instinct. That's right. Yeah. I was like, I know it's funny. Because we wrote it before we were like, Jake would be amazing. You know, so we had written the part and then we were like, do we change the name? But I'm glad we stuck with social media girly. I'm glad we stuck with it too. That was some of the best days ever. Oh, it was, you were so good. And you know what? Start like thrown into the deep end with Gene Smart. And for us to be like improvised, it is, that is so intimidating. But you didn't seem scared at all. You're so natural. You were so good. I didn't know any of the phrases that you guys were doing. You were like, in all. I didn't know what in all it was. Oh my god. So you guys were like, can you give us an all? And I was like, depends on what you mean. Yeah, I was like, I don't know. Is that something with full frontal? I can't do that. Yeah, I was like, what is that? Now I know all the terms. Yeah, all the terms. That's good. That's good. Was Gene? Well, I have a few questions. Okay. Hey, I got that's why I'm here. Is it true that you guys knew? The final, what you wanted the final episode to be when you pitch it? Yes. Yeah, we pitched that. I mean, I guess it's earring after. So yeah, we pitched the whole, um, she gets a diagnosis. And she is someone who really curates her life. Right. She really wants to control her image and her material and all of that. So we were like, this is someone who wants to call her own light. She wants to go out on top. So the idea of like right to life and ending your life with dignity when you want to was a thing that we wanted to explore. And we, you know, the show was at its heart about these two people that have different opinions. And they grapple with things and the grist is like what makes them both better. And we were like, well, what the ultimate one is life and death. So we pitched that, yeah, in 2019. Wow. Yeah. Where did the idea for Hawks originate? Jen Luchia, Jen Statsky, Luchia and Yellow and I were on a road trip. I was filming a Netflix special actually, Netflix. The characters. You can click over after this. And, you know, they are the funniest people I know. They're like my inspiration, my muses, and I wanted them to come with me to punch it up. Because it was a, I was, we were going to Monster Jam in Maine. And I, Monster Jam. Yeah. You know, like Big Drugs. Big Drugs. Yeah. Why were you going to Monster Jam? Um, because I had a character, Jasper Kooch, who, who's catchphrases. Big Drugs. And I was going to like, it was actually crazy that they did this. I contacted them. I was like, I'm filming a Netflix special as Jasper Kooch. I contacted them with a fake email. I was like, can I come and warm up the crowd? And they were like, sure. They gave me the mic. I got an stadium. I made them do a call and response when I say, big, you say drugs. And I made them, we've been back and forth like, just buying into it entirely. Yes, but I could have been like, I got a bomb, you know, I could have, yeah, yeah, yeah. But they were absolutely like, here you go. And so anyway, they came with me to help me, you know, just to punch it up and like, pitch the things to say as we film this. And on that road trip, we were talking about female comedians who like, didn't have the same opportunities that a lot of their male counterparts had. And we were like, a show that's like a dark mentorship between one of these comedians and like a young, cool comedy kid, because we also came from UCB. And, you know, we were also in the alt comedy scene. And there was a thing about cool comedy versus like, uncool comedy, which interested us. And so we were like, that's a cool thing to explore. And we wrote an email to each other being like, assistant show. Vegas stand up, gets an assistant and like tortures her. And it just like was born there. But on that day, we were like, that's, that would be a really good show. That would be show I want to watch, you know, was it always jean? At that point, and Jean will say this, Jean's like, I was too young at that point. Because that was 2015. Right. She's like, I was way too young. But it was like an amalgamation of Lucille Ball and Joan Rivers and Phyllis Diller and Elaine May. And there's like a lot of Debbie Reynolds. There's like a lot of showbiz legends that we kind of like borrowed from. To make the character. And so it wasn't anybody specifically, we didn't think about an actress. But when we finally got it, you know, picked up. And we were thinking about who would be perfect. There was a really short list. And Jean was, Jean was the only meeting we took. Oh, no way. Yeah, because she was like, I mean, she'll she'll say this. But she was like, I wanted to be a stand up. When I was 12, I dressed as Phyllis Diller. She's like, it's crazy. The script is for me. Yeah. And we were like, great. We think you're perfect for it. So yeah, it was really wild. So I was the first person attached because we wrote Jimmy for me. Right. And Jean was the second. Wow. And then the only meeting we had. That's incredible. It's like Kismet. Yeah. So was Broad City still on TV when you guys were? Yes. When we pitched it, we had written the final season. And we may have been shooting the final season when we pitched it. But it was basically when we knew that that series was coming to an end that we pitched. So what feels different about this series coming to an end? Then Broad City coming to an end? Well, Broad City's and was really Abby and Alana decided that they were like, we want to go out on top and they wanted to end it. And we then, in this situation, did the same thing. But it's different because we, it's like our baby. You know, all these characters we birthed in a way. And so it's really weird to send it off and say goodbye. Especially because people have responded so well. People love the show and it's so nice to hear that. And it feels crazy in a time when it's hard to make comedy. And I just mean, I don't mean it's like hard to say things because I don't believe in that. I think you can, you know, I think that's not the right. I'm not doing that thing. But I do think like, you know, if you were in fewer being made, so it does feel crazy to be like, oh, we're going to, we're going to go out and end it now. Because people want us to keep going. So it does feel crazy, but I think it's much harder. This one's much harder. Right. Because this one was, yeah, this was like your decision. It was like your Deborah decision. Not literally. It's so, yeah, we are, we are the Deborah's in this scenario. Yes. Yeah. Do you have a fit? Well, you just spoke about like all comedy versus like cool comedy. What, like, I've never heard it describe. Like, I know like all comedy is like what Meg does where it's like, what's going on. Yeah. But like, I'm laughing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. Yes, that is, yes. But I think like, even the UCB to me is alt, you know, it was basically like there are some really traditional standup places like, and again, this is just my assessment. But there's the laugh factory. There's the comedy store. There's places where veteran comedians do their stuff. And then there's, there were places at least at the time in New York. There was like the cricket and the cave. There were like, it wasn't the comedy seller. You know, it was like smaller, weird venues. Sometimes it was like UCB was in the basement of a grocery store. - What? - It was both Neitha gristidis. - Yeah. - They have like a. - Neitha gristidis. - It was Benitha gristidis. - I once had bought so high in a gristidis, and my knees buckled, and I fell, and I fainted almost. - Ooh, yeah. - Okay. - And I ain't smoked for two years after that. - Wow. - Wow, but you're back. - Yeah, I'm back. I need to stop though, because I had like a moment out of my body yesterday, where I ran into someone on my way to CVS, and I was talking to them, and I was like, I feel like I'm talking to like Emma Stone in Bagonia. Like I feel like I'm like talking to like a literal alien. Like I need to like, yeah, stop smoking. - Okay, I got it. - Yeah. - I got it. At a body experience, it can be good or bad? - It was bad. - Yeah, it was bad. - It was bad. - Yeah. - Okay, well, yeah, so it was in the basement of gristidis, and it was like really, you know, it was like, it was not traditional stuff. You would see people like Meg. You would see like weird performance art. You would see stand-up, but it wasn't like the traditional set-up punchline stand-up. - How did you find Meg? Did you find her via Twitter? - Instagram, yeah. - Instagram. - Well, she again was in the scene, and so I actually, the first time I ever met her in person, we were both on a stand-up show together, and to call what she does stand-up is like not fair, because its performance art, you know what I mean? She's like more than a stand-up, but yeah, she actually was so weird, it was like a bunch of people from New York were on an LA show that I was doing. So I met a bunch of people that night for the first time, but she, her video's on Instagram is how we first found her. She used to do like, she used to like go on Instagram live and pretend to be like a lunge lady. - Her characters are so unhinged, and they're so funny. And she had this thing that was like, it's like both really self-assured, but also a little bit bumbling. You know that, like, stuttery thing she'd do, you gotta be vacuuming the rug, you know what I mean? - Yeah, yeah. - The way that she did that. - And we were like, oh, that is right for this character who we were already writing to be super neppo, like super self-assured, super rich, super neppo, but also kind of bumbling. So the characters she was doing, they were like, so kind of what we were envisioning, that we were like, she's, I think, perfect for this. Then I met her on the standup show, and I was like, she's next level. She did audition because it was her first thing, and it was HBO, but in that first audition, we were like, holy shit, this is gonna be funny. - Is she, I don't think anyone in the world has ever made me laugh as hard as she's made me laugh? - I know. - Like really? - We trust so much. - Yeah, do you, and I remember being on set and somebody saying, oh, well, you'll improvise, but when Paul and Megan provides, they could go on forever. Did you guys just have scenes where you would just go on forever and ever and ever until somebody had to be like, okay, enough? - The cheer would be like, okay, enough, but we also, she's really good at improvising within the confines of the scene. Sometimes you see DVD extras, and you're like, that was no wonder it's on the extras, 'cause it's so nuts, and it feels like a whole new scene, but she is really good at improvising within the lane of the character, and, but we do improvise a lot. She and I. - Do you have a favorite moment? - This season, Meg improvised, basically, there was a thing about how I rushed a fraternity, but I didn't ultimately get in, because I wouldn't fuck a goat, and she improvised, he would never fuck any animals. And I was like, no, I wouldn't, but then I could not get the line out, and it was the kind of thing where I really, we were like limited on time. We had like five minutes, we had to finish, and I could not get through the line without laughing. And we were, her line was done, but I just couldn't, you know what I mean? So, yeah, it was the kind of thing where I would get, I would get through almost all of it. - The last minute, which sounds so crazy, and, you know, it was hard. - My favorite is the bar, her botnitzva. She's not Jewish. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. - And she has like, what'd she say again? - She's like, what am I gonna do? Everyone in my school was having one. What am I gonna not have one? Or whatever, and I was like, yeah, you're not Jewish. You're not gonna have one. Yeah, I don't remember. - I mean, the finale. - I think it's antisemitic, you know? - The finale has one of my favorite mag moments of all time when you guys come across the latitude stage, and she whips. - Oh my God. - Was that improvised? - Yes, that was all her. - I feel like I could always feel it when it's, when it's all her. - Yes, yes, yes. I mean, the line, what's up loud? Do you know, era loading was in there, but she gave it, she gave the loading something, you know? She always brings something to it. It's like, so, that's the best. And you did this too, when we like, right? 'Cause we write a million alt, we write a lot of jokes. We want like a lot of jokes per minute. But when someone comes and elevates them and does a little something, even if it's a physical thing, we're like, yes, thank you. Getting it out of the park, you know? 'Cause all we can do is set up. - Right. - It's up to you to hit it out of the park, you know? - What was the last day of set like? - It was really, well, it was crazy because we had a couple of wraps. We wrapped in Vegas for like America. And it was really sad. We like literally had a group hug with our 150 person crew. And then we wrapped in Paris, in the Louvre. - Crazy, yeah. - Crazy. - You guys got that filming permit. - I know. - We were what, me and my friend were watching us today. And we were like, are they inside the Louvre with no one else in there right now? - It was open. So here was what was crazy. We went and scouted. We scouted because we were like, what is possible? And they were like, you can come on a day, it's closed, and do whatever. And we were like, okay, we're gonna write a huge, you know, section of the finale in the Louvre. We're gonna talk about female artists and how like they're not judged the same way men are. It's like, this is great for the show. This is a perfect place to do this. And then the highs happened. Stop. - Yeah, not while we were there. We didn't do anything, we weren't doing anything. But no, the highs happened and they were like, sorry, no filming. We can't, you're filming. We were like, hey, this was way after we had written it, table read it, prepped it. You know, all of the concept of you fighting with the people at the Louvre over filming? - Oh, it gets worse. So we were like, okay, we can't shoot there. We went to Versailles. We were like, can we make this work at Versailles? It didn't have, it's not, it's more like a palace that you tore, it's not like a museum with lots of different paintings that we could then discuss. So we were like, okay, we'll try and make it work. And then the Louvre called. And they were like, you can't shoot when we're closed, but you can maybe shoot when we're open if we just bring 12 of you in, which is so hard. Even fathom, but we were like, we'll do it. So we called Versailles, we're like, we're not gonna come. They were pissed. They were like, where are you going? We were like the Louvre. They were like, they were like, really mad. - Wait for like, yeah. - Well, so then, great, we're back in the Louvre. Then the Louvre goes on strike. - What do you mean the Louvre goes on strike? - The employees, like the union of employees that work there are like, we're on strike. So they're like, you can't come now. - Europe is always on strike. - They're always on strike. And we believe in unions, union's strong, but. - For sure, but when I was in Barcelona, I could not get anywhere because the tax drivers were on strike. When we were there, whatever, scouting, there was like a air traffic control strike. We couldn't leave. - We said there's always on strike. - But it works, clearly it works. - Yeah, it works for them. - Yeah. - It's not broke, don't fix it. But we go back to Versailles. We're like, sorry, we can't go there now and they were like, fuck off. They were like, you may never step foot in here. They were like, you wanna go to the Louvre? You gotta go to the Louvre. So we were then stuck. We had no place to shoot. And then the president of the Louvre resigned. So the strike ended and we were able to do it. It was crazy. - What was your backup plan? - We didn't have one. We didn't have one. But somehow things worked out in making the show. We were just like, we had a lot of, like our A.D. said, this is the most snake bit show I've ever worked on in my career. Just meaning we had so many weird things come up. But somehow it worked out, not good. - I mean, it did. - Yeah, it did work out. - You've crossed the finish line most. - But the end was really weird. It was 10 of us in the Louvre. Because we were there while it was open, but by the time we finished and we said, and that's a series wrap on hacks, everyone was gone. So it was just us in this museum. It was really crazy. It was really surreal and beautiful and emotional. - Oh well. - Congratulations. - Thank you. - Thanks for being a part of it. - I'm so, so beyond honored. It's, I got to be part of my favorite show on TV. - Oh, that's so nice. - Cool thing in the entire world. - Well, you were perfect. - Thank you. - Yes. And now we're family. - And by the way, we are family. - We are family. We are family because for those that don't know, Paul's sister-in-law is the head writer on my show. - Yes, Genevieve, literally family. Yeah. - Yeah. - Crazy. - And Paul, it's so funny after knowing Genevieve. I was just telling you this. I can hear her in the hacks show. - Yeah, she's been, she's done punch up and written on the show since season one. - Yeah. - But I can hear her in it. - Hannah's delivery. I'm like, that's Genevieve. - Yeah. That's cool. - Yeah. - I'm like, and I'm usually right. - Yeah. - I'm sure I'll always talk after. - Yeah. - Was I right? - Yeah. - I can't wait to hear it in your show. - I'm so excited. - Yeah. - It's gonna be so fun. I feel like I have the best team in the entire world. - I'm so seated, you know? - Yeah. - That's so good. - I'm so happy. - Yeah, literally. - Literally. - She wants me, she goes, "L-O-L, I'm laughing. "I'm talking to my friends." - Yeah. Yeah. (upbeat music) - I have been working on something for the past few months that I'm really excited to finally tell you guys about. As you know, my workout journey has not been easy, but it has been extremely fruitful. I have been basically living out of the Allo Wellness Club in both Beverly Hills and New York City. And somebody who's really helped transform my body is Louie, so I'm super grateful to announce that I now have my own series, both with Louie and Bianca on the Allo Wellness Club app, called the Shake and Train with Jake Shane series. There are two strength training workouts, they're 10 minutes each and then there are two 10 minute Pilates classes, so you could conceivably do all four of them in a row for a 40 minute workout. So we filmed it on the Allo Yacht in the South of France. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my entire life. I remember it being really, really fun and really funny as well 'cause I remember I wanted, I wanted people to be able to laugh during the day. workouts because I feel like that's what made people gravitate towards my workout content in general. And I wanted to make sure that resonated in the series that I did with ALO as well as show off my progress and how far I've come. And also I travel a lot like a lot a lot. And when I travel and I need to work out, I use the ALO wellness club app to work out because it is the same exact workout that I'll do at the gym. So it really kind of brings the ALO gym everywhere for you. Also the great thing is like if you're in a time crunch, you can still do only one of the four workouts and get a great 10 minute workout in because each of the workouts is super fulfilling and like I do them all the time. I do those workouts all the time. And even if my series isn't your jam, which is so fine, there are over 4,000 different classes on the ALO wellness club app, from strength training to pilates, to yoga, to bar, to mat, you can find anything you need for a good workout on the ALO wellness club app. I know I have, especially given that I've been all over the place lately. It's really helped me stay grounded, which I think is one thing that has been really important to my workouts, that it's helped me stay grounded. You know, I think at the end of the day, that's what's most important for me. And the best part about this all is that it's free. You can go to ALO wellness club.com/jaked to download the app and start working out with me for free. No credit card, no subscription, no catch. That's ALO wellness club.com/jaked. Thank you again, ALO, for doing this with me. It has been such a dream, and I'm so proud of it, and I hope you guys enjoy it. What's your favorite moment from hats? Okay, well, that's an impossible question. What's a moment that comes to mind when I say favorite moments? There are a couple of moments, and they're really my favorite, partly because of the technical difficulty of doing them. One of them is the very last shot. The very last shot was really hard to do. And it was something we had the song for, I think, two or three seasons now. We've known that's the song. And in fact, because it's from a TV show, we were like, we need to clear it early, because it might be really hard to clear. And also, it's got two artists who, you know, could deny it, well, I mean, the estate of one, and another one who might deny the use of it. So we were like, let's get that. But to make that work, and then the final shot happened, and also coordinating with two different casinos to have a fountain go off all of that to work, and that fountain on those notes. Because the timing, we played the music as we did it, because we had to get the timing right. And for the fountain to go off like that, because you kind of can't be like, now, you know what I mean? You have to be like, three minutes before turning on, warm it up, you know what I mean? Yeah. Just was a magical moment. It was like a pinch of me moment that it worked. And the other one is in season one, our third day of shooting, we were in the desert. Deborah gets a flat tire, and she calls the local news station. She has her buddy pick her up in a helicopter to bring her back, because she's got a residency, she's got to show every night. And she has this great monologue about how it doesn't get better, it gets harder. This career, and she is so good in that monologue. She's so good. It's like one of my favorite performances. And as she says it, Hannah, or Hannah, Ava says, you're leaving me here in the desert and she goes, yep. And the helicopter, because we had a real one, landed behind her in the exact right moment. And I was like, oh my god, this is, so it was those two things that were, that were pulled off A, because that she directed them beautifully and because Jean and Hannah acted them beautifully, but also because I don't know, there was something in the air that helped, you know, just make it work. Yeah, and you guys are, like you guys are perfectionists. We are very exacting. Our catchphrase is we live for tiny, we're really, really, really obsessed with tiny. It means we're control freaks, but you know. I remember when I, I think it was, it was the shot that I was in, it was the first episode I was in, and it was the shot. It was the winner from Jean's dressing room to when she goes on the stage and turns around. And for every single person had to be exact in precise, you saw that like 20 times. And that's intense that that's like your first episode, not your first day, right? No, that was not my first act. But still, to do a winner like that is so intimidating. But can I tell you though, like you guys, like the, and I said this to Louise right after I got off, I was like, wow, the, their set is like really, like, friendly, like everyone's friend. So like in between takes, when you guys were talking about it, we would just all hang out. It wasn't like, it wasn't like, and here we go again. It was like, so fine, it was like, and mag, and it was mag would do a different thing, like, I was able to talk. Yeah, yeah. I mean, we, you know, I think you can feel it in the work when it feels good. I think some people think you, it has to be pain, you know, in order for it to be good. But we, we do want it to be fun because that's like the making is the thing, you know? And so it is important for us to like keep it fun and enjoy it. And of course, there's like, there's so much stress. And I think it seems like we're having more fun sometimes than we are because at least Jen, Lutri and I are holding a lot of stress, you know, and I mean, I'm always like, I'm making a dime with my butt here. I'm like, clench in my ass the whole day, but we have to laugh enough. And in fact, I've been going through all the photos, like the BTS photos. We laughed so much. There was so much laughing on the set. It was really, you know, I know everyone says that on a press tour, like, it was magical. It was so magical. It was really, from the three days that I was there, it was pure magic. Yeah, more thanks. Yeah. Well, congratulations. Thank you so much. Thank you. Paul, what are you therapist about today? I'm angry about AI. Right. Isn't everybody? No, not everybody. Most people are using chat GPT and having a blast, but I'm angry about it. I, it fucks my shit up. It does? You're brain. And I use it like, yeah. Like, well, because I've really got OCD. Me too. Do you? Really? Yeah. Diagnosed brother. What type of OCD do you have? I'm touching things. Me too. Really? Yeah. That was my first ritual when I was seven. Oh, yeah. I have a lot of rituals. I did not know that about you. Oh, you can't, it's, it's really good that it's invisible to people because to someone like Buccia, it's so apparent, you know, it used to be really bad. It used to be like, I would be like, I have to touch that manhole in the middle of the street and it would be like, traffic's going in and it's like, no, you don't, you don't need to touch that, you know, or it also got bad when I'd be like, I have to touch that, the corner of that table at a restaurant and it's not my table. Or you have to touch that, like, person, like, I don't usually have a person. What is yours? What did you have to do? Touch things easily evenly and I'll never forget it. I watched this episode of Girls and Hannah brushes past this person and has to go back and tap them again and I was like, oh my god, I got it. I got it. Yeah, totally. I would have to like crack, it started probably like cracking my knuckles on one hand and have to do the other one. Yep. Yeah, if I snapped, I had to snap it. You know, it was about like a balanced thing. Are you on meds for it? No. Are you? Yeah. Okay. Three hundred milligrams. Wow. Yeah, and it works. Does it work? It works when I don't smoke weed. Oh, interesting. So that's why I'm like, I think I need to. Yeah. Yeah. I think I need to be off it. I can sometimes I have the compulsion not to have a compulsion, which I know sounds crazy. Wait. I know what you mean. Sometimes I'd be like, oh, it's almost like a good luck thing. Is that why you do that? Yeah, it's magical. It's magical thinking. Yeah. I used to do it like before a race when I was swimming, I would have to like stretch a certain way. I was a swimmer. I was. Yeah. I was a captain of my high school team. No way. Yeah. I walked on in college for like two days and was like, no. This is D1. I cannot, you know. Would you go to college again? I want to Duke. Okay. Right. So it was real deal. Right. So even though I was, I was a good swimmer and I swam on club teams and in high school, I was not, I was not, I couldn't devote my life to it. You know. And in a very dorky way, I couldn't do, I couldn't do sketch or improv comedy if I did the team really. You can't bounce. You have to do it. You're doing practice in the morning, practice at night, it's like, you know, you, you don't, do you not do stand up anymore? I haven't in a long time because of, you know, because of the show. I do it occasionally. Like, Megan asked me to do her show or, you know, like, I'll, I'll do it occasionally if there's, if someone's doing a XYZ person and friends, but I don't do it regularly. No. I haven't had time really to write material. So I'd be doing old material. Got it. You know. But I do miss it. I love doing it. I did it when I was in like seventh grade, and I've never had the courage to do it again. What? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know how to do stand up. What? That seventh grade is young. Yeah. They put me at the, my parents put me at the Gotham kids. No. Yes. And I, well, you'd be great at it. I think you'd be perfect for it. I think, I think that's why I like Meg so much because I like what she does. Yeah. I like her version of stand up. Like shoot of consciousness. Yeah. So random core. That's what I would do. Like what I was on stage. You should do it. I just don't know how to write a joke. Hmm. I know that all the time, but to tell them all the time. I know. But also you could do the things you do, you know? Right. Like, you seeing Michelangelo's statue of David, you could just do that in the show. You know what I mean? Right. Because it's so funny. It's so hard to. I felt so burnt out by those skits toward the end of it. I think I must have done like 200. Well, that's how I first came to know your work. Right. You know, they were, they were so funny and passed around and that you'd be like, have you seen this one? You know, so. I gotta get back into it. It's worth it. And I think that is like a perfect little micro impression for stand up. I know. I know. I know. I need to see Meg at the Largo. Yes. Let's go together. Family trip. I would family trip. Okay, family trip. And then Italian food. You guys are the most Italian people I know. We are very Italian. Yeah. I'm only half. But Luci and Genevieve are 100%. Uh-huh. Luci was born there. I was born in Italy. She came to this country without a dollar to her name without a word of English. She was one. Okay. I was about to say. I'm always like lean into that. You gotta say that. - He did not know that. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She was one. Actually, and you know what? It's so funny, one of the reasons she came, this is a call back, one of the reasons she came to this country is her mom and dad, her mom was born in America, her dad was born in Italy. They went back to Italy. They won a bunch of money in Monte Carlo or something when they were gambling. They decided to say they had her. And then her mother couldn't send photos back to her family in the States because the post office went on strike so much. And she's like, "We gotta go back." - Strike. - I can't do this. I can't do the strikes. - Yeah. - And she also missed chocolate chips. - Did they not have chocolate chips in Italy? - I guess they don't. I guess you had to break up chocolate to make chocolate chip cookies. I don't know, it was like a baking thing. So she needed her desserts, you know. - Got it. - I get that. Do you guys ever miss the East Coast? 'Cause Lucia and Genevieve are from Massachusetts and you're from New Jersey. - You know, we go back enough that I don't miss it. I miss my family, but I'm not, I'm not going back to the humidity or the cold. I know it's like the weather is the reason, but it's, I don't miss it. - I know. - I love the people. Went on there, I love it. And when I go to New York, I'm like, this is great. It's a great place because I've lived there. I lived there for so long that it was a great place to be when I was young, doing comedy. 'Cause you really have to be tough. And now I'm too soft. Now I'm like, I can't. - You feel like you're a softer now? - After being in the public eye. - In some ways, yeah. In some ways I am. - Tell me. - But I'm also a softer in terms of like, creature comforts. You know what I mean, like having a yard. You know, and having like room to move around. Sorry, that's a brag. I do have a yard. - Very nice yard. - Well, thanks. But you know, it's like, when you're in New York, it's great to be interacting with people. But you're like, never not. It's like, so loud, you're always touching people. You're in the subway. It's just like, and it's like the energy. Everyone's like, I love the energy of New York. I'm like, it's possessed. The energy's possessed. People in these villages, like walking around like zombies. I'm like, it's, you know, I love New York. But I wouldn't want to live there. It's a great place to visit. And then after three days, I'm like, I'm hungover. I also eat and drink so much more there. I don't know what it is. But I'm like, you walk more. That's true. You do walk more. I'm like in a New York kick right now. Well, you can walk. You can walk. What is it? 40 minutes. I do. I do do that. Yeah, I do. Well, when I can't, well, I have an injury right now. So I like, can't work out. And I like need to move my body around and go and say, and so I'll like walk to all the way down there. And it's good for your brain. It is. It's really good for your brain and your body. It is. New York energy is possessed. I've had, so well, growing up, I had, I was unmedicated and had mental breakdowns every day, but like, I don't have mental breakdowns here the way I had them in New York. Yes. Well, do you, do you don't think it's the place? Well, it's weird though, because I feel so much more isolated here. And I will never forget my mom saying that to me, like, because my parents are both from New York. But I was born in LA, raised in New York, like back and forth. Yeah, I didn't know that. Okay. I lived in Los Felos when I was one. Like, oh, wow. Yeah. And I, my mom was like, I hate LA. I'll never go back. That's the most isolating place in the world. And the example she uses is one time I threw up on the street after eating Abbott's pizza. And no one, I was projectile of Omni and everyone in LA was just walking past on like advocating what. And she was like, if we were in New York, somebody would have asked if you were okay. Okay. I think that's right. I got that. And I was like, oh, I guess you're right. And I'll never unsee it now. Now I feel like when I feel lonely here, it's tenfold. That's okay. Well, I'm going to counter it. Do you mind? Please. I don't want to give you rebuttal to your life. No, please. You lived experience. I'm paying attention to rebuttal. Okay. Okay. When we first moved here, I would say the very first week we went to La Pueblo. We had a drink and a married couple tried to take us home. And I was like, okay. They're friendly here. Wow. And then we were online at the grocery store and this woman turned around and overheard what we were saying and engaged in like a 20 minute conversation with us as we walked to our car. So I was like, people here were too friendly to me. In my experience, I was like, people are very in a way that in New York, no one's a, restities turning around and being like, you know, I don't know. It just, it felt like a really different place. God, restities is the most insane callback I've ever heard of my entire, I don't, like, literally- They're still there, right? I don't even know. There's 1806. Okay. And between Broadway and Westand. This one was on 26th. 26th. They had a great candy aisle. Hmm. Oh, you know what? Yes. That's right. There's one in the village still, I think. And there's a, I wonder, is key food still around? Must be. Oh. I just went to, I always say the name wrong. What is it? Ferraula? Cicarella. Cicarella. I was never a Cicarella guy. Really? I was Zaybars. Oh. Okay, sure. Zaybars was a crossroad for my high school. Oh, okay. So we, I would go there every day. Yeah. I used the mug very often. I got the mug. The very famous mug. Yeah. We shot Broad City in there. Oh, yeah, you did. Yeah, you did. Yeah. God. That was iconic. That was fucking iconic. Yeah, that was fun. Talk about one of the best TV pilots of all time. Wow, you think so. What? I mean, John and Eve and Paul talk about it all the time. Wow. That's cool. Yeah. That's great. The simple act of just searching for money for a little Wayne concert. That's right. They just need to get ticket money. That's right. Yeah. And it sets up the most, it sets up everything. Yeah. You set up everything. You set up, you set up. You say tiny missions. Yeah. Every episode was a tiny mission. And New York made every mission impossible. And that was a great guide. I like laughing. Thank you about it. It's like the best show ever. Do you have a favorite broadcast any moment, Louise? Oh, my God. It's like her favorite show of all time. I've seen it. Oh, I didn't know that. Okay. Trace Holstie's bow. That's so nice. Oh, my gosh. Is that the same episode where you go to the Ikea? No. No. That's working girls. That's episode. Yeah. That's like the fourth episode or something. They go. Oh, wait a minute. No. Episode is no. I was thinking of the one where they go to Costco. The one where they go to Ikea. Abby gets a yellow hat and dates a girl for the first time. Yeah. Yeah. And the yellow hat is a. You know, my favorite. Yeah. My favorite is when. Who loses their fucking phone. Abby. Abby lost phone. Abby. Abby lost phone. Abby. And the entire episode. She's searching for this fucking phone. Yeah. And she finally finds it with this girl in like a fro you shop. She was so funny. That girl. I remember that girl. Yeah. She's hysterical. Where is that girl? I don't know. She was really good. She was like. Oh, my God. See? Now I want to get high and watch Broad City. Okay. Well, you can do that. That's safe. I know. Watching Broad City is safe. It's the safest thing. You're not going to have an out-of-body experience like that. Did you take anything you learned from filming Broad City with you into hacks? Oh, yeah. And you know, Abby Alana, Jen Lynch and I all came from that like UCB improv sketch comedy scene. Yeah. It's a small scene. You guys all know each other. It is a really small scene. It's a very small world. Abby Alana started Broad City as a web series around the same time. Luci and I were making YouTube videos because that's how we all started. We like taught ourselves how to edit. We like did all it. We held the boom mic. Like we did. We just like fake it till you make it. And the reason we did that is because it was hard at the time. It was like, there was a lot of, even though it was a small scene, a lot of people wanted to be on the main stage. And it was hard to get stage time. And so we all kind of did stuff outside of the system a little bit. And I ended up being in the web series and Luci directed some of the web series. And so it led to us, you know, doing the show. And I think a lot of what we learned doing improv like the idea of yes and the idea of like agreement, the idea of a mistake being something that can be woven in and actually making the thing better. A lot of that we still use now. Another thing we learned and we tried to do in Broad City and we tried to do in hacks is that while every scene should like serve the story and tell the story, it should also have a comedic game. So there should be something else happening that's funny and repeatable, a pattern you can repeat. And that's like a improv 101 thing. And so I don't think everybody who writes necessarily has that exact way in. But it's something that we have always done. And only recently where we, they're doing a, Matt Walsh is doing a book about UCP. Can I say that? I don't know. It's like a oral history of it. And so we were talking to him about it and we were like, oh yeah, we actually do use a lot of like those tenants of improv in our everyday life and in the making of the show now. And in, in, in Broad City was really scrappy, you know, it was like low budget comedy central show. They like let people who had never, talk about people who have never been on TV, we'd never written TV. None of us. Chris Kelly was in the room and he had done some SNL. But none of us had written narrative TV. They let us figure it out and we kind of had to just push through insecurity and, and doubt and just do it. And we still do that, you know, that we're like, can we, can we get in the loop? You know, and you just have to push through and be like, we're going to do it. We'll figure it out. Like are you susceptible to like critical reception of your work? Like do you feel like impacted when someone doesn't like your stuff? Are you confident enough in it that you're like, I don't care. Okay. And this, I feedback about the work, like reviews, make their way to me when, honestly, when they're really good, because I don't read them. But other people do. And if someone's like, hey, they saw something in the show that I didn't even see, or this was a really insightful piece of writing about the show, I will read it because I'm so appreciative of people's take on it and it does make you feel very seen if they get it or if they get something out of it that you didn't even realize was a part of the work. So I do appreciate like good writing about work. But for me, it's more about output than input because, you know, the one bad thing, it's same as like a comment or a tweet, like the one bad thing will kill you. Yeah. And it will stay in your brain. And I just try to let it be putting the workout and then not because that's the thing. If you like, if you get like a big ego, Because you're hearing all the good things, you have to also take into account the bad things, you know? And that's unpleasant. It's so unpleasant. Criticism of work is really important because people find it that way. It's like a really important part of the process. Right. And yet everybody's a critic now, you know? Well that's the issue. Everyone's a critic. Yeah. Of everything. Of everything. Of like, you know, if you're on social media, of how you look, you know what I mean? People are critics of everything. There's so much rather, someone be so nasty about what I look like than how, if I'm unfunny. Oh yeah. And it's like, the only thing that I think one can be more vain about than their looks is like if their comedian is how funny they are. Well, yeah. A piece of work, the Joan Rivers dog, she says. She's like comedians are the most insecure people on the planet. Because you just want someone to laugh. You're like laugh with me, laugh at me, just laugh. Yes. Yes. You know, I see so much of that documentary in hacks. Do you guys watch that? 100%. We did watch it. And Rachel Hamilton, who was a great improviser and a coach of ours, was a producer of it. And what was really fascinating and one of the reasons we wanted to make the show was at the time there were people who were not that much younger than us, pretty much our generation. Some of whom who had known Joan Rivers to just be like an e-news correspondent. What? They were like, she's a fashion correspondent. They didn't know that she almost hosted the tonight show. Right. They didn't know that. She's a black bald. Yeah. So that did definitely impact us because we were like, can you imagine being somebody who doesn't know like the path she paved for comedians, especially women in comedy? Right. So that was like a big, a big factor in just us being like, oh no, this is telling the story of someone whose story has not been told because nobody cared to listen is the reason we have to make this show. Yeah. I would say that it's one of the more moving pieces of comedy I've ever seen. Yeah. It's so good. Yeah. It's so good. And there's a lot of Joan and Deborah. I see so much of Joan and Deborah because Joan was like my idol growing up. Really? Yeah. I loved her. I loved her. She was just relentless. Mm-hmm. Have you read her books? No, I don't. You should. Well, you can get the, you know, holy shit. That was so painful. No, no, it's okay. It's okay. This is a safe space. Holy shit. It's actually, you know what? It's funny to say that this is a safe space. It's not. But it's okay. Not everybody reads. This episode of Therapus is brought to you by Bucky.com. Bucky.com. Yeah. I was looking at photos from Vegas the other day with all my friends, which we booked on Bucky.com because it is the easiest place to book any type of group travel or any travel in general. And I was like, I really want to go on a group trip soon. So then I started thinking about Labor Day, which led me down at Bucky.com Rabbit Hole, which I find myself on very frequently, to search for places to plan a Labor Day vacation because the only way a trip in my friend group is happening is if we use Bucky.com because it accommodates every single person's needs and finds us a place that is perfect for that. Because as we like to say, as long as we have a roof over our head, we can basically do anything. Bucky.com gets that sorted for us so we can plan the rest of the trip. Like it takes the hardest part of the trip planning away. So we can then plan the rest of the trip. Also, my friend group, as you can imagine, is like, everyone has a different opinion on where they want to stay. Everyone has a different opinion on what they need. And so Bucky.com is able to consolidate all of that and find us the best place possible to stay for a vacation. And it also has incredible rates, like it has places we might not have found before. Like Bucky.com just is our go-to. I mean, as you guys know, I used to don't tour all the time. We would pull up to a city, no hotel in sight, and Matt would book on Bucky.com. And he would find the perfect hotel every time. You know, there's so many hotel options in Vegas, and it's sometimes just hard to pick one. And Bucky.com really helps like narrow down the facts of what each hotel has. So it makes it easier for us to end up deciding on what. We're a very indecisive group, and Bucky.com helps us become more decisive. Go on, book that trip. It's easy. Bucky.com, Bucky.com. Yeah! Should we do the Tommy Le Trunks? You don't know what the Tommy Le Trunks are. Let me tell you what the Tommy Le Trunks are. Plus, he's right in, and they tell us what's wrong. Okay. And. We. Yes, I've seen. Yes, I know. Okay. I forgot my husband and I's fifth year anniversary. There's like seven eyes. I feel horrible, and he's been so sweet telling me how truly okay it is. But I don't believe him for a second, especially since we've helped each other be more intentional, thoughtful people. Okay, there are couples. There are couples, okay? Right. Wait, what'd you say? There are couples. Therapy, maybe? Oh, it seems intentional. I know. She's using words, I. Yeah, yeah, yeah. How, how, how do I make this up to him? Please, I'm too guilty to think of anything cute. I forget my dad's birthday every year. You do? Every year. You know, it's hard. You know, it's hard. Keeping track of dates is really hard, especially if you have ADD. I don't know if you do. I do. I do too. What does she do? We're very similar. I know. We're Scorpios from the Tri-State area with OCD and ADD. Okay. Right? Twin flames. Right, a little bit. A little bit. Yeah. What does she do? I think it's forgivable to miss an anniversary. I guess he must not have missed it. He must have done something really nice for her. Right. I would just say you got a pampering him. You got to treat him well. What does he really like? What does he really like that he doesn't get a lot? Right. You know? I'm picking up. Okay. I'm putting down. I'm putting down. I don't know. Just do something. Do something nice. I mean, he clearly doesn't give that much of a fuck. I don't think he's going to divorce you because of that. Right. It's okay to miss a fifth anniversary. Well, I'd be so mad. I guess fifth is like a nice round number. I'd be so mad. Would you mind? Would my husband miss my anniversary? Oh, I would never let him forget it. It's so funny, I wouldn't care. Really? Well, that's because you're a real love. Is that why? Because the love is real. The love is real. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Your husband is so in love with you. He could give less of a shit. Yeah, don't worry about it. It's okay. I think don't just move forward. Just move forward. Yeah. I have a severe spending problem. Hmm. Shit. I feel less. I might not be able to help. Okay. No, I have the worst. Do you? It's really out of control. Oh, I'm very frugal. Hmm. I don't like to spend. I don't like to spend it yet. You leave the house. It's $100. Don't you find this? I have, like, lately. Like, I've been, like, clothes. I have been my thing. Oh, yeah. Anything. Yes. Well, Hashanista. Yeah. I know. I'm seeing you at the door. We hung out all night at the door. I know. That was fun. Very fun. Very Hollywood. Very Hollywood. We made it. I'm in college and have to pay for school. I want to save all the important things in my life. Like a wedding and buying a home. Okay. Interesting. Very heteronormative. Okay. But we don't know what kind of wedding, maybe it's same sex wedding. We don't know. But that is a good point. It's interesting. Okay. Sorry. Sorry to editorialize. No. Editorialize away. Okay. But I just can't stop spending money or on materialistic items like clothes, shoes, and so much more. I just don't know how to stop and actually save my money. Please help. Okay. Well, you can't take it with you. And I think it brings you joy. Do it. You got to be responsible. But I think just go for it. I don't know. She wants help, though, to save. My idea is like if you're saving all this money for a wedding and then you're not buying the things you actually want to buy in real time. Then the wedding is going to be far less enjoyable because the pressure on it will be so much higher. That's so true. That's so true. And the wedding is one night. I give Loki good advice. That's really good advice. Honestly, it's not Loki. That's high key. That's good. Thank you. I think if you put it all on the wedding, not only is there a lot of pressure, but it's one night. Right. It's one night. Yeah, you're going to photos. You're going to look at the photos. But you want to buy that pair of shoes. Think about cost per wear. Well, that's my day. You're going to cost per wear. I would so much rather spend money on something I wear every day or can sell in the future. Okay. Like, you know, I got to get your grilled link, your private grilled link. Yeah, right. Oh my God. Grilled. Yeah. Oh no. I know what I'm doing this afternoon. I forgot that website existed. Oh, you're kidding. No, I do a lot of. Actually, no, it's a good hack. Yeah. It searches, like, if you want to search something, it searches grilled deep up eBay. It searches like all these, like, resale sites. Uh-huh. So you can find the thing you want. Oh, I would prescribe confessions of a shopaholic. The best movie of all time. For this person. Yeah. Have you seen that movie? Oh my God. Where she puts the credit card in the freezer and the eyes and she. Oh, that's good. Yeah, she's in the kitchen like slamming on the. It's the best movie. It's what is it? The green scarf. Yeah. I am cultured. You are. You don't need to read a freaking book. Yeah. Who needs books? No. Just rewatch hacks. Don't read anything. What was your season you're most proud of? This one. This one. I think the final season is the best season. I mean, season one was great because it was. New. And we got to make it. You know, there was so many things about it that were great. I don't know. I think the season, but it's also hard to choose. Yeah. It is. I mean, I think my favorite moment. And I'm sure others would agree with me in the entire show is. I would. Would you? So not a Jimmy Kale moment. Okay. That's fine. Well, my favorite Jimmy Kale moment. Oh, okay. Is. I told you the bot meds. Oh, yes. That was fun. When she wears lingerie in the hotel room. Classic. Or when. Yeah. Bitch. I love you, bitch. Oh my god. You got this bitch. Yeah. Oh my god. She's funny. Yes. No. I would wouldn't you. That was really fun. Did. Was that scripted? That whole. Yes. That was scripted. but we were getting to her, getting the show and then not getting the late night thing, but then, or not getting the head writer job. But I think it was, did it day one of the writer's room that we were like, she takes it. - So baller. - So it was really fun. - So it was like Ava too. - I know, but, so like Debra. - So like Debra. - Yeah. - And Debra's gave her these lessons. Yeah, that was a fun. And that was actually the first day back from the strike. - Oh. - We went on strike, and the industry went on strike, and then our first day back was that, which was such a big scene. And I think even Hannah was like, "Geez, I have to do this huge scene right now." And it's interesting, like in the moment, sometimes you're like, "I don't think we knew even in the moment how great that would feel until we watched the edit." And we were like, "I feel so good." - I'll never forget, I was literally sitting on my couch over there with all my friends, and we were like, "We just witnessed great television." - Wow, that's cool. - Yeah, we just witnessed great television. Then you went and had me for it. - Yeah, that was cool. - Yeah. - Well, thanks for, thanks for group watching it. That's nice. I think I always group watch hacks. - Really? - I want my friends watch it. Everyone watches hacks. - So did you watch the finale with people? - I watched it with my best friend, Charlie Lasse. - Oh, that's great. Oh, I know Charlie. - Yeah, that's cool. - Oh, my big god, you better too. - Yeah, yeah. - Yes, I totally forgot about this. We watched it last night. - Oh, good. - And we were like, damn. I mean, that scene. Yeah, I cried when they were dancing in the club. - That's when LeCcia is most impacted. - I don't know why. - Me, it's the church right after that, that I'm like a mess. - Oh, yeah, I want you to light the candle. - Yeah, and also when the song. There's that lyric, True Love, that comes in that song, and I'm like, oh, it just really gets me. It's when Ava's accepting what happens. - Yeah. - And it's like. - Also when Debra goes to write a joke, realizing she wants to live. Oh my god, like. - Yeah. - And then Charlie looks at me and goes, oh, she doesn't want to die. - Yeah. - She goes to write the joke. - Yeah. - And in that moment, I saw Joan Rivers. - That's so good. - In that moment, I saw Joan with her book, with Joan talks about her book, and she, in her documentary, a piece of work, she points to an empty page and she goes, this, this is. - This is the scariest thing. - The scariest thing on planet earth. - Yeah. - And in that moment when Jean goes to write the joke and she realizes that she's not, she's dying, Charlie's like, oh, she's gonna live. I mean, there's also so much comedy to like, I'm gonna kill myself. And she's like, you say you want to kill yourself all the time? And he's like, I don't mean it. - Yeah, yeah, she doesn't want to kill herself. She just wants to die. - Yeah, yeah. - Yeah. - Oh. You know, my first ever research paper in eighth grade was on youth in Asia. - You're kidding, swear. - Really? - Yeah, love it. - Wow. - Charlie and I were like. (laughing) - Love it, love it. - I do, it's great. Charlie and I were like, yeah. - That's the shit right there. - Well, this is like, I talk about a tone shift, but I am like, it does feel like the thing in hacks you would, we would investigate is like, this right to life thing and like dying with dignity. And it feels like Ava would so be on the side of, yeah, you should be able to end your life. Except when it comes to someone you love, it's so hard to walk the walk. When it comes to someone you love, you know? - Yeah, 'cause that would be something that Ava would be like, this is great and Deborah would be like, no. - Yeah. - So interesting. - But Deborah loves control. - She does love control. - Yes, yeah. - You know who made me crack the fuck up during my episode was what's her name? She was the HR person that was required. - Oh my gosh. Michaela Watkins. The funniest person I have to add to her. - So funny. Did you not know her before that? - No, I knew her. - Yeah, she's so funny. - But she kept every single time she could do something different. - Yep. - And it was just like same with Meg. - Yeah. - She really like, in the one or Meg would go, fuck 'em raw. (laughing) - Yeah. Oh my god. - I'm so excited. - I'm gonna miss it. - I know. But I'm so excited to see what you come up with next. - Me too. Me too. - Very excited. - Well, and I can't wait to see you. I need your show to come out like tomorrow. - Tomorrow. - Today's the last day of hacks I need tomorrow. I need you to hurry up. - I'm so excited to just take what I've learned from like a set like Hacks and bring that to the set. - Great. - Great. - Genevieve, Paul, Alec, Amy and I are gonna create. - It's gonna be exciting. - Because I was like, oh my god, everyone's friends on this set. Everyone. Hannah was friends with everything. I was watching Hannah like a hawk my first day. She knew every single person, everyone was best friends. - Yeah. - You should use that crew. That crew is the best set. - As I said, yeah. They're so. - Is that how that works? - Well, yeah. I mean, like if you hire a department head, usually they hire a lot of the same people. And our, all the departments were so not only talented but so devoted and good and cared so much. And also, we're good people. We were, it was like lightning in the bottle that we got like decent good people. - Yeah. - And you, well, so you pitched it in 2019 and you shot it in 2021. - Are you shot in 2020? - We started in 2020. - Yeah, it was, oh, it was pre-pandemic, it was pre-vaccine pandemic. So we wore two masks and a shield. Jean used to be like, what? (laughing) - Yeah. - She was like, "Honey, I can't hear you." Because we're talking through a shield and two masks. It was crazy. And if somebody had tested positive for COVID, anyone they interacted with for like two weeks before that also had to then take like two weeks off. It was a crazy way to. - Talk about misery in New York. I was in New York for the period of time. - Oh, that's really rough. That's really. - The rough doesn't even cover it. I was sharing a room with my brother. - Wow. - I would be on Facebook until 3 a.m. every single night. My brother would say, "Shut the fuck up!" And I was like, "Oh my God, I'm 20 years old. I'm in a room with my brother." And I leave the house every day with gloves and two masks. - Yeah. How many health? - How many health? - Yeah. And this must be health. - Well, especially in New York, it feels like, I don't know. At least here, there was like a little bit more space in nature. - I flew back. I ended up coming back here. - You did, yeah. - Yeah. And I started working and I was like, okay, whatever. And is that when you started doing more videos? - I started doing videos when the place I was working for was like, you need to finish college before you start with us full-time. And then I started making videos. And I was literally just reviewing octopus with my best friend. - Right, yes. - And then the skit started and everything just kind of like after that. - Wow. - And now we're in New York. - On Therapos. - Love it. - I fear I've been labeled the pretentious one of the friend group. This gives me the ik for myself. Like it's not my fault I like good TV shows and music. I don't even go around flaunting this. I almost feel like my group might be projecting insecurities. They are. - Absolutely. - Now my question is, was that pretentious? I really need to reality check. No. - Absolutely not. - I don't think your pretentious at all. - No. In fact, I think we, one should own the term pretentious and the term snob. What does snob mean? It means you care about things and you care about things that are good. It doesn't mean there's a difference between though like being pretentious for the sake of being pretentious. - Right. - But if you love it-- - I fall into that sometimes. - Oh, it's hard to avoid. - It's weird. - That's okay. - Yeah. - That's okay. Like mama let's label. - Okay. Right, right, right. Yes. That's the thing. You can't just love the label. You've got to also love the thing. - That's what Louise tells me every day. - Okay. But that's right. But guess what? If you like, there is, some people argue, there's no difference between a $3 bottle of wine and a $300 bottle and it's like no, there is. - There is. - The way that it's made, the way that it's processed, the way that it tastes. It is different. So I think if you are someone who likes something like that, that's okay. Don't be ashamed of that. - Yes. - As long as you're not doing it for like, oh, I like this because this is the cool thing to like. Don't curate in that way. You've got to be authentic to what you like. If you're authentically you and you're authentically a snob, it's okay. Just live with that. - The only place that I am authentically a snob is television. I know good TV. I've seen enough TV where I know good television. I can put in your 10,000 hours, you know. - Yes. - You're an expert. - It's so funny. You say 10,000 hours, the place I used to work at was called 10K projects because of the 10,000 hour. - Yes. - Yeah. - Well, I'm the same way. I care about good TV and good movies, but it doesn't mean it has to be one that's like critically acclaimed. - Right. - You know what I mean? I can just be like, this is really good. There were certain things that have been canceled after a season that I'm like, that was so good. - What do you think you have? - I thought English teacher was really good. - English teacher was great. - And they had two seasons. But I thought that was really good. I thought one of the funniest moments in television history when I don't know her name, but do you remember when they're talking about Stonehead on the school bus? - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. - Have you seen this? - No, but I've heard-- - It's really good. - She goes, they go, they go, and who's the, who was she, and she says, everyone, do you know what I'm talking about? - Yeah. - It is one of the funniest line deliveries of all time. - Yeah. It is good. There are so many great shows that just, you know, either don't, I don't know why, but they don't continue. - Oh my God. You want to know what I'm thinking of is the OA. - Oh, yeah. I didn't see the OA. - I didn't see the OA. - Holy fuck. - I can't make a judgment on the OA. - It is fantastic. - Okay. - It's the same person who did murder at the end of the world or murder at whatever it's called. - She is fantastic. I really like her. - And she stars in the OA. - Yes. - Yeah. - At first you're watching and you're like, what the fuck is going on? And then by the end of it, you're so invested. And you're so moved by it, it's just excellent. - Okay. - I love television and I like Ben's time. - Oh really? - It's my favorite show. - Have you seen Time Traveling Bong? - No. - Oh, you're kidding me. - What's Time Traveling Bong? - It's a prestige mini-series about me and Alana Glazer smoking a Bong that brings us back in time. You have to watch it. We also go to the future. And I think that we sadly predicted that Trump would be president. - Yeah. - Really? - Yeah. Like an ideology kind of? - Basically, yeah. - Yeah. - I mean, we weren't the first, but yes. But anyway. Like, what happens that you predict that Trump? - We go to the future and essentially I think because of Citizens United, what happens in the future is that we have been, because of our debt to China, we're basically like subsumed. And so it's like America has become China kind of and, you know, the environment, there's a lot of environmental. - So were you a stoner? - Was I a stoner? I did smoke weed in college. and after. I don't know that I would say that I was a stoner though. I wasn't like like I think Ilana would would proudly claim that she's a stoner. I don't know if I would say I was a stoner. I would say that I was a you know a weed smoker but not a stoner. I think I I think I have been a stoner. Yeah. And I think and my hot take is in 20 years that people will talk about it the same as alcohol as alcoholism. Oh, you think? I think so. I think it's way less dangerous than alcoholism. Very very much less dangerous, but it's really a dictate. You think. I know so. Oh wow. Okay. Like I know so because I feel it. Like when I like had to stop when I stopped smoking for nine months that first week I was irritable. I was miserable. I was like sweating. Wow. I was going through like real withdrawal. Is that because you smoke a lot? I smoke I I right now I smoke every single day. Okay. So that's that's frequent. And every day I say I'm gonna stop but like literally talking to you right now. I'm like I'm definitely gonna smoke after this. I think that's okay. I don't know. I think it's different than it's certainly different than drinking. It's way different than drinking. Yeah. Because I'm present and in my body sometimes. Yeah. And you can yeah, you can function if you even if you've had a lot, right? Or no. Can you? Okay. Can I say something I just realized? Please. This might be one of my favorite therapists I've ever recorded. Don't cut that. I'm not. I really? I feel so locked in with you right now. Ditto. Yeah. I do feel very connected to you and I mean that. I'm like it's so it's so heartwarming to me that like literally I know it's weird to be like you're part of the family because you're working with my sister-in-law because you're on hacks but you are. I feel so honored every time you say that. I feel so cool. It's literally true. Anyway. Yeah. I gave up coffee you know and it was I couldn't drive. I gave up coffee last summer for a couple weeks. I was doing blood work and this is TMI. I was doing blood work and my doctor was like don't have this before and he's like actually if you can have if you not have coffee and a couple other things before for a while that's good two weeks would be great. The first day and the second day I could not drive. Yeah. The headache was so bad. I was like this is crazy so I stayed off coffee for like the whole summer because I was like I can never this this is fucking me up so much. I don't think I can ever go back and then my friend was like oh my dad gave up coffee for like 30 years but he went back on and I was like oh what was his experience? And she was like he said he was tired for 30 years and I was like what? I was like alright I'm not doing that. I can't be tired. I'm already tired like all the time. I'm tired every moment. Every single day. I'm tired. I'm tired. I can fall asleep right here. I can fall asleep on the ground right here. Always. I walk into the gym. They go are you tired? Yes. Me too. Yes. I know. I know. What is that? It's just like life. It's just life. Yeah. It's like probably gluten. You think gluten. Yeah when I don't know. I think it's I don't know. I am like I don't know. I don't need a lot of gluten that's why I'm saying I don't know. Hi Jake you're looking so ripped and fabulous these days. Thank you. Just wanted to note that. I need advice. Oh so is that so? I live in North Carolina right now but I've always wanted to live in New York and my lease ends in three months. Oh my god so I'm so obsessed with the fact that like the rip thing was so separate from the other questions. So thank you so much. I know that's sweet. But I've always wanted to live in New York. I'm glad we didn't. I'm glad we kept it. Yeah we're we're gonna keep that one. That's good producing. Uh-huh. Well that's it. Nolan. But I've always wanted to live in New York and my lease ends in three months. I hate my job. I want to quit so bad. My issue is that my boyfriend lives here and some of his my best friends from college. I am so sad already if the thought of leaving them but don't want to put off my dream of living there. What should I do? You gotta go. I think you gotta go too. You gotta go. You gotta go. Listen to break away by Kelly Clarkson. Perfect. Listen to break away. Get in the car. Go. I mean of course it's sad and things are sad. And it's all sad. Saying goodbye is sad but you gotta push through that. You know and especially I think if it's a dream of yours you should absolutely do it. And it's better to do it now than to do it later. I mean imagine being like what if. Yeah you can't you don't want that we're 50. Also you might imagine trying to do it when you're 50 again. I'm sorry it's too hard. And New York isn't a hard place to make friends I would say. I think it's actually it is way easier to be connected to people because you don't want to honestly you don't want to be in your apartment. Right unless you like have unless you're super rich and have an amazing apartment. I'm like you want to be out because everything's a tissue box. Everything's so tiny. And everyone wants to make friends in New York. I've made so many random friends on a night out. Totally. I do think I around like meeting people is so much easier. It is. In LA it's almost impossible. If you were telling me you were moving now I'd be like okay I get your anxiety. Right it is it can be hard. I'm thinking about starting a podcast. Well me and my co-worker. I'm here doing research. Me and my co-worker who want to do what are stuck between two topics. One is just us hanging out but we don't want to do that without an audience already. Two is a TV show review slash walkthrough watch through pod but that also seems a little broad. Any advice from me and amazing guest of course. Okay. My advice would be to go into it with zero expectations. That's good. Like my manager told me like you don't expect to see any growth for two years. So I didn't. And then I was happily surprised when I did. Okay that's good. And you kind of just have to like I don't know I would clip it this is like actual advice I would clip it. And I would not expect to see any type of growth for like at least 20 30 episodes like really build a community. Now do you think in terms of the question about should it be a rewatch? Like do you think this person needs an in like a hook or is it just like you can just talk to you a little. Okay. I think there's too many of just talking. Yeah. I think you need like something to anchor you down. Right. So for this podcast it was this. Right. The tell me what's wrong. We're always the anchor of this. That was always but then we always got somewhere else. Right. But you need that anchor of just a topic. Yeah. Like a niche to fall into. Right. I think. Yeah. And there are the rewatch ones are successful. I love girls rewatch podcasts. Let me do. They did. Yes. I know. Yeah. Were you on that? I was. Yeah. They're lovely. Yes. They're great. They're great. I want them to hacks. Should do is over now that it's over. They can. They will do hacks. I hope they do. They will do hacks. I hope. But yeah. I think you should just do whatever you're like you're into enough that you're like you're an expert. That's the thing. Like they can speak about girls so well or or broad city so well because they've seen it. And I am like whatever her hook is or his hook is. It's just like you have to really love the thing. Yeah. I don't want to talk about it a lot. You know. For me that's TV. So that's why I always. I thought about doing they did it because they did broad city. But Darcy Cardin and I used to joke about doing something called locker room talk because we both worked at the gym on the show. Yeah. And it was just us talking about broad city essentially but then other things. Never did it. We never did it. Did you like ever go to school cycle for research purposes for that show? Well Abby and I both went to Equinox in New York. And so it was kind of based on her lived experience which was I think to get a membership she would hand out flyers for Equinox. So I think she like quote unquote like worked for them to get a free membership. Right. And then we both took a class that was like a class called Intensati which was like a like a cardio mixed martial art aerobic thing. And I don't know. That's how she in the pilot she worked actually initially in a coffee shop. And the feedback was that feels kind of unspecific which was correct. And then she was like well I did work at Equinox and it was kind of a crazy scene. And so then for the series, Solstice was born. Solstice. Solstice based on Equinox. I need to watch broad city. This is like making me want to rewatch broad city. Tell me how it if it holds up. I haven't seen it in a minute. I promise you. I didn't watch it. Well I didn't watch it at the time. It was on television. You're too young. Is that why? No, it was when did what was the year it came out? I think I think the pilot was shot in 2012. Yeah. 2013. You were too young. That's cool. But I watched girls. I just say I couldn't like. Well girls was the same era, you know. But but broad city was kind of like if you know, you know, you know, you know, broad city. Girls was much more broad cities like developed this cool. I feel like yeah, totally slow burned its way into like the collective consciousness. Yeah. That's true. That's true. Did you feel a resurgence of broad city during COVID on TikTok? I did. And still recently things will come up. Like in the club, we're all fam or whatever that was recent. In the club. We all famed with cheer with that. She did. Yeah. She did. I know. I hope she got a good check out a TikTok for that one. Which I don't think there is that right? Yeah. I don't know. There is. No. There isn't. No. I don't even know when it when it you know when it pops back up. Yeah. And I'm almost like how and why? How you know and that was everywhere. By the way, Sabrina Carpenter used that sound. I think Kamala did it. Yeah, everyone did it. Everyone did it. My boyfriend of two years and I haven't said I love you yet. Okay. I know I feel that way, but I've been so hurt before. Well now I feel bad for being the first to show emotion that I held it in. I've also had the mentality that I don't want to jinx it. I get that. He is amazing and my literal dream man and treat me like a princess. I fear that he's picking up the vibes from me to not say it, but I totally know he feels the same way. What should I do? The vibes. Yeah. Absolutely. Say it. If he's picking up the vibes from you, you say it first. Oh my gosh. You should watch Gossip Girl. You guys watch Gossip Girl. What is it? The original or any words, a letters and I'm yours. Okay. That's what I missed. You didn't watch Gossip Girl. Paul. I'm sorry. Well, Paul, what did we learn today? We learned that we're family. We are family. We learned that it's okay to be pretentious. Yes. We learned to be authentically yourself and to say I love you and to be unafraid of that. And I love you and I love you too. And congratulations on five incredible seasons of hacks. Thank you for being a part of it. Thank you for having me. It's my honor. The series finale of Hacks is out now. Hold down. Check it out. Solstice Bell. Hi, Pussies. (upbeat music)