Ear Biscuits with Rhett & Link - Will We Fit In At Food Network? - Inside Eats Premiere | Ear Biscuits Ep. 332

Episode Date: April 25, 2022

This week, it's all about Inside Eats, Rhett & Link's upcoming television show on Food Network and Discovery+! They discuss the process behind developing the TV show, the things they learned while sho...oting and editing the show, and how it's brought about all kinds of anxiety ahead of its release. Plus, Link AKA DJ Rhett hypes himself up for the upcoming Mythical party and Rhett tempers his back pain to finish the episode. Be sure to check out Inside Eats With Rhett & Link on Food Network/Discovery+ premiering Sunday, April 24 at 10:30 / 9:30 CT! To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 This, this, this, this is Mythical. Make your nights unforgettable with American Express. Unmissable show coming up? Good news. We've got access to pre-sale tickets so you don't miss it. Meeting with friends before the show? We can book your reservation. And when you get to the main event, skip to the good bit using the card member entrance.
Starting point is 00:00:24 Let's go seize the night. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Visit amex.ca slash yamx. Benefits vary by card, other conditions apply. Welcome to Ear Biscuits, a podcast where two lifelong friends talk about life for a long time. I'm Link. And I'm Rhett.
Starting point is 00:00:45 This week at the Round Table of Dem Lighting, we are going to be talking all about our new television show, Inside Eats with Rhett and Link on Food Network. And this isn't- And Discovery Plus. This isn't like a, I mean, we're obviously gonna be talking about the show
Starting point is 00:01:03 on all the other things that we do and trying to get you to watch it. This is not a promotion. This is not a promotional thing. This is a, we're two guys, you know us, Rhett and Link. We're friends, we own a company together and we try to make things happen in the media landscape and one of the exciting things that's happening
Starting point is 00:01:18 for us personally is this television show. Yeah, if you care enough about us to care about the stuff that we care about, well, it turns out we're pretty excited about this. You know, I mean, we've had a few milestones in our career that were television shows. We had one, Online Nation in 2000 and what, nine, eight, seven.
Starting point is 00:01:43 Wow. I just kind of guess. You're my safety net of numbers and time. 2007. And then Commercial Kings on IFC. You can get this one. 2010. Nope, 2011. Oh.
Starting point is 00:01:57 Are you serious? 2011 is like the year we moved to California because of that television show. Yeah, so many memories. Been here almost 11 years. So many memories. But we're gonna be talking about like, how does this happen?
Starting point is 00:02:09 2021, we got another one. How does one find themselves on a television show? And then what happens when you begin to produce said television show? Like what are the steps in this process? And what did we learn? And how did we feel? I will say, promotionally speaking,
Starting point is 00:02:25 that the first episode is out. I mean, depending on when you're listening to this, more may be out. But 10.30 on Sunday nights on Food Network. Oh, okay, because if you're listening to this super fresh, like the day this episode drops, it was last night was the premiere, right? Is that right? Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:02:42 Yeah, because this comes out on a Monday typically. Yeah, so 10.30 Sunday nights. And I was wearing this shirt in the premiere episode.? Oh, it was last night. Is that right? Yeah, because this comes out on a Monday typically, yeah. Yeah, so 10.30 Sunday nights. And I was wearing this shirt in the premiere episode. I just thought I'd do that. Oh, there you go. I thought I'd make it interesting. The Discovery Plus versions are extended versions, slightly extended versions of the same episode.
Starting point is 00:03:01 So it's not bonus footage. It's some of the scenes are extended. You don't have to fit into the- There's some extra stuff in there if you're watching on Discovery+. The half hour time slot for TV. So yeah, I'm also ready to party. Just as a side note.
Starting point is 00:03:15 I see you got your party suit on. You see that? I got my new party suit. You kinda look like a guy that was just cleaning a floor. Right, I could be working. He's like, is he cleaning up after us? Or does he own the company? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:03:35 People can't see the, can't see. The fact that it matches. It matches, the bottoms match. It is a suit, it is a janitorial suit. Good Lord, what happened? Why is this here? Good God. Well, where did you pick that up?
Starting point is 00:03:57 Instagram. I do all my shopping on Instagram, man. Shout out to Imperfects, that's what this is called. Are you gonna button it up later? Because if you button it up, you look like you're ready to start mopping. I'm gonna button it up when I get to work tonight on the turntables.
Starting point is 00:04:16 Yeah, we have a party tonight. Christmas party. So we have not been able to come together as a company, as the greater umbrella of Mythical. So everybody at Mythical, everybody at Smosh, we wanted to obviously have a holiday party in 2020, that didn't happen. We obviously wanted to happen in 2021.
Starting point is 00:04:34 In 2021, we planned a Christmas party. And then the week before it, Omicron just like went buck wild. Yeah. Just butt wild. So we- I thought for the longest time, I thought it was butt wild. I think you can say that. I mean, it's a different thing.
Starting point is 00:04:48 We were gonna go Halloween, Christmas, holiday, butt wild. And everybody- Might've been throwing some Halloween. We were gonna do a horror themed sweater competition. So it wasn't just your typical- Horror, you just said horror themed. It was horror themed. Cause So it wasn't just your typical- Horror, you just said horror themed. It was horror themed.
Starting point is 00:05:06 Cause I pay attention to the prompts. I knew we were judging it. I know we had a TV show in 2007, 2011, and now 2022. So do I now. And we also, for the 2021 holiday party, the prompt was to do a horror themed crazy sweater. Cause we didn't want to do an ugly sweater because that's like five years ago, right?
Starting point is 00:05:28 That's pre-pandemic shit, y'all. Is he right about this? Yes, he is. So a Christmas horror though, not Halloween horror. Yeah, yeah. Okay. That's what makes it cool. Well, we're not doing that tonight. We told him to save it for next Christmas party.
Starting point is 00:05:43 In our meeting the other day when we were talking about this Christmas party or the spring party, Emily was like, she apparently worked very hard on her sweater. Cause we said there was like cash prize. She was like, can I bring my sweater? And I was like, I know a lot of you worked very hard on your horror theme sweaters.
Starting point is 00:06:03 I'm very excited to see them, but please hold them until the 2022 holiday party. So at the end of the year, we get to, hopefully they won't be too dusty. Things are gonna break on their horror sweaters, I'm sure. Cause people build them, you know, they didn't build them for a year. They built them to like use that night.
Starting point is 00:06:20 And now they're like hanging up somewhere. You forget where it is by the time the next Christmas party rolls around. But yeah, we're gonna- And we're gonna change the theme. It'll be not scary. It'll be like happy sweaters. No, but we'll still have to give away-
Starting point is 00:06:36 Encouraging sweaters. Cash prize. People really stepped up for that, I think. And then we had to can it. So how do you, I do wanna check in and see how you feel about, because I have anxiety about this. And if I have anxiety about this,
Starting point is 00:06:52 then you have even more reason to have anxiety about this. We have not been with all these people. Oh. And there's like 125 plus of them that are gonna be at this party who work at Mythical. We've hired a bunch of people over the course of the past two years. I don't know what percentage of them I have actually met.
Starting point is 00:07:14 Yeah. Out of the percentage that I have actually met, I don't know how many I would be able to recognize with seeing the bottom half of their face and then remember their name. Jen, are we doing name tags? We're doing name tags? Yes, I requested that yesterday because of this.
Starting point is 00:07:33 Right, how big are the name tags gonna be? Are they gonna be so big that people can't tell that you're looking at them? We need to do like- Like cleavage size? No, we need to do like second life type things. Oh, it's a- Where it's a name tag that hovers
Starting point is 00:07:47 above your head very, very large. So people can't really tell if you're looking in their eye or looking at their name tag. I love it. Do we have time to do that in the next eight hours? I still feel tired. Yeah, I think maybe my suggestion would be some sort of like an old hanger, like old hangers,
Starting point is 00:08:08 secured with duct tape to the shoulders and come up above the top. If everybody would do that before the party, we'll be great. You know I'm with you, man, because I have that name fright. Oh yeah, I saw it begin to emerge in the company-wide meeting the other day.
Starting point is 00:08:25 Yeah. When you pointed at one person and said a different name. Yeah, I was like, I was recognizing Ammo for his promotion and I pointed at Zach. Yeah, I mean, listen, brother, it's hard. And then I said, if you squint, you guys look alike. And I don't know if that made it better. Yeah, I mean, yeah, you should probably kept that to yourself. I don't listen, brother, it's hard. And then I said, if you squint, you guys look alike. And I don't know if that made it better. Yeah, I mean, yeah,
Starting point is 00:08:46 you should probably kept that to yourself. I don't know, man. So yeah, I was a little nervous about that, but I know we're doing a name tag, so I'm cool with that. And I am DJing this party. Oh, I heard that. Oh, that's why you're wearing the outfit. Yeah, that's my DJ outfit.
Starting point is 00:09:03 But I don't, and my name is DJ Rhett, by the way. Well, okay, hold on, no, your name is DJ Straw Beat. No, my name is DJ Rhett. I'm MC Sky and I may rap at any point that I want to. I did not name myself that, but I think it was a friend, Jayden. Like I was talking about like liking to make playlists. And I think he, I think it was an accident.
Starting point is 00:09:24 Like he's a close friend, so it rarely happens. But so when he called, he said, DJ Rhett. I think he was thinking my name was Rhett for a second. He had a brain fart. Even though he knows us really well. We didn't have our name tags on at the time. So we like busted out laughing. This was like three years ago, pre-pandemic.
Starting point is 00:09:42 And we just busted out laughing. And he said from then on, he stored my name in his phone as DJ Rhett. That's kind of funny, man. To kind of own the fact that he really, royally screwed up. All right, DJ Rhett is, but by DJing, you mean-
Starting point is 00:09:59 I'm still working on my DJ name, but I'm- You're creating a playlist and then walking around in the party. I am not- You're not staying behind a booth. I'm not really DJing. And I don't want anybody to know but I'm- You're creating a playlist and then walking around in the party. I am not- You're not staying behind a booth. I'm not really DJing. And I don't want anybody to know that- You're curating the playlist.
Starting point is 00:10:10 I'm curating the playlist. And I don't want anybody to know that I have aspirations to be a DJ because I don't want that to get out. Will you have on your phone- Because I don't have any DJ equipment. In the moment. Yet.
Starting point is 00:10:23 The ability to take requests or to skip songs. Hell no. But hold on, I'm not saying, did you have the willingness? I said, do you have the ability? Is your phone going to be controlling the playlist as you walk around on your person? No.
Starting point is 00:10:38 Are you lying? Yes, it's a, yeah, no. I'm not, it's a laptop, dude. Are you lying? Yes. It's a laptop. Well, at least we're being honest. It's a, yeah, no, I'm not, it's a laptop, dude. Are you lying? Yes. It's a laptop. Well, at least we're being honest. It's a laptop. You really can't, without the proper equipment,
Starting point is 00:10:54 you can't really DJ. I mean, like making a playlist is just like a hack way to do it, because that's not really, that's not DJing. That's the only level of DJing that I am actually comfortable endorsing though, really. What do you mean? For this party. Endorsing? Yeah, I don't wanna seem like I'm trying to.
Starting point is 00:11:16 We did a party one time, because we're doing it in the parking lot, and we did it before in the parking lot, and we had a real DJ who was like at the thing, was at the booth, was at the turntables. Yeah. And I just felt like- It was unmemorable.
Starting point is 00:11:33 It may have been too high key for us. Well, I'm taking some risks. Oh really? Playing some controversial artists? No, I'm going for a vibe that I don't know that people are gonna be expecting. Too low key? You think maybe it's too low key?
Starting point is 00:11:53 I think there's a risk of that. I'm not risking going too hard. Do you have some like just Jim Brickman, just piano music? No, it's not gonna be. Does everything have a beat? No one's gonna go to sleep. Everything has a beat, but yeah. Do you have an Audible playlist?
Starting point is 00:12:09 You're like, I can call an Audible? Yeah. Like change it? Not like start playing a book on tape. I got up. Can you just start playing Sapiens? Six o'clock this morning- Everyone watch that book. I got up and I was working on it. I worked for an hour on a backup.
Starting point is 00:12:24 Yeah, in case- Like a vibe change. In case I was wrong, yeah. I worked for an hour on a backup. Yeah, in case- Like a vibe change. In case I was wrong. Yeah. That thing that was really smart. And then when I was driving in, I came up with another backup. So I'm trying to come up with-
Starting point is 00:12:35 Wow, you got a backup to the backup? Yeah, I just don't, you know, this is a learning process for me. Don't let people know that. That's why I don't want anyone to know that I'm actually doing the music at all. Like I'm not even gonna, I'm gonna be part of the party. And then I want someone to say,
Starting point is 00:12:49 I like this music. Who made this playlist? Yeah, it's just who made the playlist? Like I've said before. And then you're gonna claim it. There is no DJ and I'm not the DJ. You're gonna say, well, DJ Rhett did. Yeah, I am. And then I'll just acknowledge it and be like, yeah.
Starting point is 00:13:01 You can't take, if people like it, you can't take credit. Well, if you say that DJ Rhett- DJ Rhett is not Rhett. Well, are you going to explain that to everyone? No, unless it's going really, really well. Is there going to be- It's not about the music, and that's the vibe I've chosen.
Starting point is 00:13:16 It's not about the music, it's about reconnecting with everyone for the first time. Is there a microphone and a PA system? I don't, there's a, yeah, there's a, it's not just gonna be computer, laptop speakers. Well, I know that, I just wanna make sure that. I do know very little though. But this could be the end of something.
Starting point is 00:13:32 Are we gonna be making a speech is what I'm getting at. Or the beginning of something. Well, that's your problem. You worry about the speech. Well, no, that's the problem. I want you to worry about the speech because I don't want you to be doing the speech in the moment. I'm also gonna be-
Starting point is 00:13:46 That's when the party could go real sideways. Yeah, because I'm gonna be partying too. Yeah. I'm not in full work mode. I'm just in work attire. I'm not cleaning up messes either, but I could shave down a surfboard. That's what, I like to think this is like a worker who works on shaving down surfboards. That's what I like to think this is like a worker
Starting point is 00:14:05 who works on shaving down surfboards. That's what the model- I've watched a few of those videos. Who was wearing this. I've watched a few of those videos. And I bought it. And I've never seen that. That's the guy was wearing it doing that.
Starting point is 00:14:16 And I was like, that's who I wanna be. Let's talk about the television show. But first let's talk about something else. Just wanna remind you, there's other podcasts. Trevor Talks Too Much is one of them. His guests are surprising and delighting and they connect with him. You should give it a shot if you've never listened
Starting point is 00:14:35 to Trevor Talks Too Much and while you're at it, Best Friends Back All Right, the Stevie hosted podcast. Check that one out too if you haven't already. Totally different vibe than Trevor Talks Too Much. Kind of a similar vibe to what we do here. Two friends connecting over their past, getting nostalgic about the 2000s in their case. So- The friendship is blossoming.
Starting point is 00:14:59 If you're into that, a blossoming friendship, check that out. And if you wanna watch our old television show, Commercial Kings, commercial kings, can't say it right. Yeah, I'm gonna promote that too. That's interesting. You can watch it on Amazon. I believe it's on Amazon Prime for free, could be wrong,
Starting point is 00:15:19 but I think that's right. Just search commercial kings with Rhett and Link and catch up on our 2011 television show. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, how does one get a television show? This was not our idea. So let's start there. You know, we are developing lots of ideas
Starting point is 00:15:42 for all types of what we call traditional entertainment. That means movies, television shows of the scripted variety and also of the non-scripted variety. Could be a game show, could be a reality show. It could be a mixture of both. We're developing all types of stuff because we're fans of ideas, especially our own. But we're also open to other people's ideas
Starting point is 00:16:08 if they work for us, like Ronstadt is a great scripted podcast idea that did not originate with us, but it was really exciting to get on board. Right, so every once in a while, people come along and say, "'Hey, here's an opportunity for you guys "'to be involved in this project.
Starting point is 00:16:26 And that's how this happened. So there was a show that was already in development and not just in development, like it had been green lit by Food Network to be a show. As far as I remember, yeah. But when you say in development, I kind of feel like it was pitched. They were like, yes.
Starting point is 00:16:44 The concept at the time, the working title was Inside Our Favorite or Inside Your Favorite. I think it was Inside Our Favorite. Inside Our Favorite with dot, dot, dot. And our name was thrown out in like the pitch meetings. Would Food Network, Discovery Plus, what do you guys think about Rhett and Link?
Starting point is 00:17:07 They could be perfect hosts for this thing. Inside our favorite, you go behind the scenes into, the first way it was talked about to us was- The people. Factories where all these people were working behind the scenes on like factory lines to create your favorite snacks and candies, things like that. So it was kind of like How It's Made,
Starting point is 00:17:32 but more host on the ground, kind of exploring and experiencing what's going on at these snack factories. And then we were approached. And when we were approached, I think it's important to kind of establish the way that we see opportunities like this, right? An opportunity to host a television show,
Starting point is 00:18:04 I would say 10 years ago, it was like, that's why we were in this game. We were doing what we were doing on YouTube to try to- Let's say 12 years ago. Kinda launch into, yeah, because once GMM started, kinda launch into something in the traditional space. But over the years, what we built here at Mythical
Starting point is 00:18:23 and the stuff that we're producing has become the priority for us. And so opportunities like this don't, they no longer have this, oh, this is the thing that we've always been waiting for, we've always been wanting, and now we're gonna throw all our time into this and throw everything else away.
Starting point is 00:18:39 It's more like, okay, we're not going to stop doing Good Mythical Morning, we're not gonna stop doing this podcast, we're not gonna stop doing all the things that we're doing in Mythical. So the question is, can we make this work? Because it's not just a done deal that it's automatically a good idea, right?
Starting point is 00:18:56 We have been approached for other things that we have said no to. But the condition for saying yes to something like this was, we will do this if we can be executive producers of the show and Mythical can be a production entity on the show. So in other words, if we can make it our show, instead of just being plugged in as hosts.
Starting point is 00:19:21 Now we were approached not by Food Network directly, but by the production company that hatched the original idea and got Food Network on board and excited about it. That production company is called B17. They've produced a number of other shows. You should check them out. You should look them up. So B17 approached us.
Starting point is 00:19:43 Yeah. And their executive over there, his name is Rhett. His name is Rhett. Okay, we have a connection. He might be a DJ. But maybe some confusion. He may be a DJ. No, he never brought that up. I don't know, you don't know that.
Starting point is 00:19:56 People don't wear it on their sleeve. Well, if he did, he'd be called DJ Link. True, okay, that clears it up. I thought about, I don't, I'm not even gonna tell you that I've thought about other DJ names because I just don't wanna put it, I just don't wanna put too much energy out there in the universe about my aspirations.
Starting point is 00:20:12 I want it to be something that just kinda never happens or it just happens on my own terms. So I'm gonna stop talking about it. Good. That. But yes, and they had experience, B-17 had experience with making shows with internet talent, and we liked what they had done, we liked them, and the thing is is that,
Starting point is 00:20:34 I kinda set it up like, we're only gonna say yes if we get to be the creative force behind the show or whatever. Made us sound like assholes. Well, but the thing is is that- But I don't think we were. That's what B17 and Food Network wanted. In other words, it's like, you don't want a host
Starting point is 00:20:50 who's just like, I'm gonna come in here, I'm gonna do my thing and I'm gonna leave. You actually want somebody who's like, no, no, we wanna be involved, we wanna make the show our own, we wanna be engaged, we wanna be passionate about this thing. Yeah. And also, we're really, really, really busy
Starting point is 00:21:07 and we can devote about a day to shooting an episode. Just FYI, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And it wasn't like, oh no, we can't do that. It was like, well, okay, actually that's what we were thinking too, because with all the stuff that's being made in the world right now,
Starting point is 00:21:29 they're not just throwing out massive amounts of money for the budgets on these shows, right? It's like people are trying to make shows much more efficiently than they used to. So being able to produce something in a day or shoot something in a day is actually the page that everybody was already on. So then we started asking the question like,
Starting point is 00:21:46 all right, this loose concept, it totally makes sense why they would approach us. We've tried all this food, we've eaten all these snacks. We've kind of positioned ourselves as your buddies behind the desk who eat all the stuff for you to tell you if you should eat it. Yeah, people who taste things and talk about it. Right, not chefs.
Starting point is 00:22:09 If I didn't have to clarify that, I didn't think I had to clarify that, yes. But not chefs, but food adjacent, or well, actually directly related to food, but not guys who make it, just guys who eat it, just like you. Food friends. And then the process started, it was like, well-
Starting point is 00:22:28 Could have called it that, food friends. Well, we got close to calling it something. It was called something else at one point. We can get into that a little bit. There was a couple of things happening sort of behind the scenes. And so there was a desire to differentiate this from just kind of going into a factory
Starting point is 00:22:45 and just dealing with snacks. It was like, can we expand that into just America's favorite food brands? So that might be a restaurant. It might be somebody who makes a snack, but just a food or a place that makes food that everyone kind of knows and relates to and has some sort of point of reference to.
Starting point is 00:23:06 Yeah, which is kind of our mentality on Good Mythical Morning. The more we can pull from an experience, well-known brands, whether that's fast food brands, you know, sit down restaurant brands or different types of potato chips or cereals or whatever stuff you can find in the grocery store or on the snack aisle.
Starting point is 00:23:28 Like there's that connection that there's people that are passionate about certain things and we're very passionate about certain things. So tapping into that passion and then saying, okay, well let's peel back the curtain and show you behind the scenes there. But there's so much more than just that whole factory thing anyway,
Starting point is 00:23:46 that like this show can be more expansive. And then it got more exciting. Shop Best Buy's ultimate smartphone sale today. Get a Best Buy gift card of up to $200 on select phone activations with major carriers. Visit your nearest Best Buy store today. Terms and conditions apply. And then we had the idea to like, how did we sort of retinlinkize this thing in terms of, we knew that we wanted it to be very comedy forward, right? And we also knew that we wanted it to be very curiosity forward, right? And we also knew that we wanted it
Starting point is 00:24:25 to be very curiosity forward, because those are kind of the two pillars of our brand, curiosity and comedy. And so that was when we established this idea of what if there was sort of an off the wall, sort of out of left field question that we want to ask about this particular brand. Like when we think about Chipotle, this is what we think.
Starting point is 00:24:48 When we think about Cheesecake Factory, this is the question that comes to mind for us. And then can we craft an episode around that question and kind of getting, going behind the scenes to answer that question. Before Chipotle or Cheesecake Factory became actual episodes, do you remember the first example we talked about?
Starting point is 00:25:06 I do remember. Cause I came up with it in a phone call. Yeah, it's like, you know, we were having these working meetings with B17, me, you, Stevie, and our development executive at the time, Mallory, we were, you know, we were kind of like shaping it. It was fun. And so we were coming of like shaping it. It was fun. And so we were coming up with,
Starting point is 00:25:27 I remember it was a very preliminary conversation. We were talking about this like line of questioning, being inquisitive. And could one question become like a starting point for an episode or maybe a through line for an episode. But when you're brainstorming, when you speak in abstract terms, you can only get so excited.
Starting point is 00:25:51 And so if in those moments on those like nascent calls, we can throw something out there that you can rally around, it makes all the difference in the world. And so that's when you threw out the example. I don't remember how I phrased the question. I thought you said you remembered it. No, I know the question. The question was about the foldy chip.
Starting point is 00:26:17 Yeah, like say we were going to a potato chip factory to look at like, we're a big fan of Lay's. Let's see if we could go to a Lay's potato chip factory to look at, like we're a big fan of Lay's. Let's see if we could go to a Lay's potato chip factory. And I think the question was essentially, how do the Foldy chips happen? And how does this brand feel about the Foldy chips? And that came from the fact that you have talked about how you like the Foldy chips.
Starting point is 00:26:39 You prefer the Foldy chips. You'd go after the Foldy chips. I've even said, I want a bag of nothing but Foldy chips. And so I think- And I ain't talking about kettle cups, kettle chips. What I had in mind was, is the Foldy chip a mistake or is the Foldy chip a beautiful mistake or is the Foldy chip, like-
Starting point is 00:26:59 Is it an accepted error or is it part of the design? So- Right. And how do the executives, how do the like executive chefs at the potato chip factory or like the quality control people, you know, we started salivating over these answers. Right. And everybody on the call got excited about it.
Starting point is 00:27:22 So that became the clarion call of the curiosity associated with Inside Eats, even though we weren't calling it that. And then of course, as this was developing, now, first of all, everybody was like, yes, this is great. Now the process of, and you gotta be making phone calls to, you know, B17 is reaching out to all these brands because you'd be like, hey, these two guys here,
Starting point is 00:27:50 you can go to their YouTube, you can see who they are. They're going to come to your place and they're gonna sort of like go behind the scenes for this Food Network show. And I mean, not everybody is comfortable with us coming into their, you know, finding out about what they're doing. But in some ways, I would say most brands
Starting point is 00:28:11 were excited about it because I mean, let's just face it, you're gonna be, after you watch an episode, you're gonna be hungry for whatever this thing is. But I mean, you have to sell that because the show doesn't exist. And you know, there is a level of trust that a brand has to put on the line. And it's so easy for,
Starting point is 00:28:28 especially when you get to like corporatized brands, like someone as big as Chipotle could easily have, somebody's job's on the line and they could just wanna cover their own ass and say, "'Well, there's just as much to lose as there is to gain. What if these guys embarrass us? I don't know exactly what this show is, but it is Food Network and I can see other things
Starting point is 00:28:52 these guys have done and B17 did a good job. We're good boys. We're good boys. We're good boys. We're not gonna embarrass you too much. I mean, we've shit talked some food on our show just because, hey, you gotta be honest about what you like. But yeah, luckily some very high profile brands like Chipotle is huge, you know,
Starting point is 00:29:14 to see, to get the vision for it and say, hey, this could be great for us. And everybody could win. And we had to find four brands. So just to give you a little background on this. So, you know, season one of Inside Eats is four episodes. I mean, but four episodes, that's a short, that's just, that's how Discovery
Starting point is 00:29:34 or Food Network is doing things right now. It's like, you know, the first episode, first season, let's do four episodes, see what people think. At least they didn't order a pilot and then maybe we work on that and then no one sees it. If they don't like it, it's like, we're gonna make an order. I feel like it's kind of an extended pilot
Starting point is 00:29:52 because four is a short season. But I think you really learn a lot as we'll talk about that then you can really take all that into account when they order more. And I certainly hope they do. you can really take all that into account when they order more. And I certainly hope they do. Yeah, well, cause we've learned, we'll get into like how much we've learned in just doing the first four.
Starting point is 00:30:12 But so the brands that responded, actually more than a handful of brands responded and said they were into the idea and the four that ended up working out based on like timing, because this all had to happen, this moved very quickly and it had to happen at the end of 2021. We shot all four episodes over the course of about two weeks and literally, like I said, four actual days
Starting point is 00:30:36 of shooting like two days in a row and then like two weeks later, two more days, right before Christmas. And the companies that we ended up going with were Chipotle, Cheesecake Factory, Cool House Ice Cream, which is a very cool ice cream shop that actually is available nationwide. You probably have seen them at the grocery store,
Starting point is 00:30:55 but they're based in LA. They're pints next to Ben and Jerry's. And then Beyond Meat, who we've talked about on the show, basically making plant-based meat products. And they had never had anybody enter sort of behind the scenes. But anyway, those are the four that are featured in season one.
Starting point is 00:31:11 And for the first episode, since that's the one that you can watch right now, the thing that we talked about, because this is something that we've sort of talked about tangentially before, is this like, when you go to Chipotle, are you a burrito guy? You a bowl girl? You a quesadilla kid?
Starting point is 00:31:33 Whatever, I'm not saying that that's who gets those things. I'm just- Are you a salad robot? Yeah. And we wanted to ask the question, does what you order at Chipotle say something about your personality? And maybe more specifically, does your personality, can we know things about your personality
Starting point is 00:31:54 and then predict what you're going to get at Chipotle? Yeah, and at least, in the least, we thought, well, it'll be fun to try. Yes. And it was. So very much in the same way that we well, it'll be fun to try. Yes. And it was. So very much in the same way that we approach things on GMM where we delve into boopity boop boop boop research and science,
Starting point is 00:32:14 but we do it from a comedic standpoint. That's really how we approach the show, especially that first episode because it was kind of a social science question. For Cheesecake Factory, we knew we had to make the episode ultimately about the bigness of their menu. How could their menu be so large?
Starting point is 00:32:35 Like why, but also how, if you think about it. It's a crazy amount of dishes to come out of one kitchen that then is replicated in all their different locations. It's pretty wild. And then for Cool House, because they had, I mean, arguably pushed the flavors of ice cream just as far, if not farther than any other ice cream maker.
Starting point is 00:33:04 I mean, that inspired us to say, well, how far is too far? And would they let us develop our own ice creams? To answer the question, how far can you push ice cream flavor? Like what is the limit that you can push it to? When have you crossed a threshold? Cause you know, we're willing to cross, just dance all over that line. And each other's graves, threshold? Cause you know, we're willing to cross, just dance all over that line and each other's graves.
Starting point is 00:33:28 If they, you know, whoever loses the competition. And then in Beyond Meat, the question was essentially what is like, what is this process that leads to them being able to make something that is so meat-like and something we were very specifically interested in is, don't you have to still have a familiarity with meat and like understand meat and sort of like meat?
Starting point is 00:33:55 Because what Beyond Meat is trying to do, they're actually making a product for people who like to eat meat, but would like to have a meat alternative either sometimes or eventually all the time. Yeah. But they're not trying to create- If not for health reasons or dietary reasons,
Starting point is 00:34:11 for environmental reasons. Right, so they actually, they're banking on the fact that humans generally like the taste and texture and color of meat, but not everybody wants to eat that much actual meat. So how do you do that in a plant-based way? And for me personally, I mean, I enjoyed, like legitimately enjoyed the process at every single place.
Starting point is 00:34:35 The Beyond Meat episode for me was the one, it just gets very scientific. It gets very specific and like, oh, this is how it happens? Now- There was a lot of surprise and awe. But there was also for that episode, because this is all proprietary stuff,
Starting point is 00:34:53 like they had never let anybody in, they never let cameras in their headquarters before. And so there's like a woman who's like looking at whatever's in the frame and making sure there's not some like secret formula in the back, you know, because there's competition out there with plant-based meats. And so we got a lot of information,
Starting point is 00:35:13 but we didn't get enough where you could be like, I'm gonna start my own Beyond Meat now. No, we got all the information, but then at the very end, there was that Men in Black moment, you remember? Oh, yeah. On the way out? Yeah, I think that was just like a Tussie deodorant that somebody held up in front of us.
Starting point is 00:35:31 A Tussie deodorant. You know Tussie? Tussie. Tussie deodorant. That's my favorite brand of anything. And it kinda is like circular. T-U-S-S-Y. Tussie. Well, the great thing about Tussie is that-
Starting point is 00:35:41 Can we do an Inside Eats on Tussie? Well, I hope so. Can we talk about how we used to take a Sharpie and change the T to a P? No, you do not eat Tussie. It's a deodorant. Can you eat Tussie? Okay. On season two of-
Starting point is 00:36:01 Inside Eats. I won't even say it. I won't even say it. I'm not even even say it. I won't even say it. I'm not even going to say it. What was the last thing that filled you with wonder that took you away from your desk or your car in traffic?
Starting point is 00:36:13 Well, for us, and I'm going to guess for some of you, that thing is... Anime! Hi, I'm Nick Friedman. I'm Lee Alec Murray. And I'm Leah President.
Starting point is 00:36:22 And welcome to Crunchyroll Presents The Anime Effect. It's a weekly news show. With the best celebrity guests. And hot takes galore. So join us every Friday wherever you get your podcasts and watch full video episodes on Crunchyroll or on the Crunchyroll YouTube channel. We're deciding that this is going to be our approach.
Starting point is 00:36:43 Let's move to actually filming these things. Cause it was, you know, it's, first of all, coming out of the pandemic, there's still a lot of safety protocols, a lot of masks being worn up until the second of us actually being on camera, lots of testing happening, super safety-ness. Well, I wanna talk about the team
Starting point is 00:37:02 that was kind of working behind the scenes as well to kind of make it where when we showed up, everything was going to go as seamless as possible. So our showrunner, TJ Chambers, who is, you know, I would say more so than us, the hardest working person in this whole endeavor, right? I mean, that dude worked his ass off to help make this show happen.
Starting point is 00:37:26 Cause he's basically worrying about everything from the very beginning to the very end of like delivering the trailer. Oh yeah, shaping and protecting the tone of the show and really shepherding our wishes and the network's wishes and creating something that is not a compromise, but is the best of both worlds. Yeah, and he's kind of a jack of all trades in a lot of ways because he is a writer.
Starting point is 00:37:53 You know, he's a writer, he's a producer, he's a director. There's a lot of things that are happening behind the scenes and then when we're producing it. And he's more of a, yeah, like lots of comedy experience. Well, and because what we knew we wanted, right? Because our experience with Commercial Kings, and if you go back and watch Commercial Kings as Link asked you to do earlier,
Starting point is 00:38:16 which I guess is on Amazon. Yeah. You'll see there was a very specific convention that we used back then called OTF, on the fly interviews. So the way that we would shoot that show is we would go, we would work with the business, we would make the commercial, and then we would kind of-
Starting point is 00:38:34 All along the way. Take stock of like what just happened and can we just stand you guys in front of this building right here and ask you some questions so you can, let's like a reality show, just like they do on The Bachelor or Survivor or whatever. Yeah, every HGTV show.
Starting point is 00:38:49 You just talk about what is happening. In the present tense. We'll use that to sort of piece the story together. We knew that we did not wanna do that for like seven different reasons. Number one, I don't like that convention. I don't, I feel like it- It's done a lot.
Starting point is 00:39:05 It's kind of overdone, but also it traps you into whatever you said in that moment. It ends up seeming kind of canned. We like voiceover. We like being able to look at what we have done, look at what has been created, look at the footage that we actually have, and then make decisions about how we want
Starting point is 00:39:23 to piece it together. And it's also an opportunity to really nail the comedy and change jokes because you're not gonna go back out to that building and stand in front of it again, but you can just simply voice over something different. Well, on Commercial Kings, we were really burned because we got into the edit process and we were like, we really need to cut to an interview guys
Starting point is 00:39:43 introducing the next thing or bridging from idea A to idea B. And it was a lot of heavy lifting from a story standpoint that then we just had to go out into like some nondescript North Hollywood location from our edit bays and spend a few hours just standing out there acting like we were back-
Starting point is 00:40:07 In Nevada. In Nevada or Reno or I guess we went to other places besides Nevada. Man. Reno is in Nevada, Tonopah. And it just, it was a lot of work and it wasn't, and it's not our best work. No, no, no, no.
Starting point is 00:40:25 It's really hard to do. Especially as two people, because in that- We ended up scripting them and that's when it got, just so that we could get it done. And then it was like- And with a voiceover, knowing that it's scripted is just, everyone knows. Of course, yeah, you guys are now reading this thing
Starting point is 00:40:40 that you've written. It's narration, of course. And people, it's more of an acceptable convention and more flexible, all those things. But we actually- Best decision we ever made for the show. We brought Nick Lopez. If you're like a hardcore GMM trivia enthusiast,
Starting point is 00:40:58 you might know that Nick was, well, first of all, we got to know Nick because Nick was a writer's assistant on Buddy System season two. Yep. And we loved him, hired him onto the GMM writing team. He quickly, I think he was a writer's assistant at some point on GMM, quickly moved
Starting point is 00:41:17 into a head writer position. But he's- Went to work on other projects. So talented, he's had the opportunity to kind of just move on to other things and work on other projects. So talented, he's had the opportunity to kind of just move on to other things and work on other things. But we were like, he'll come back and work on GMM from time to time when we need an extra hand. But we were like, and I think it was Stevie,
Starting point is 00:41:34 Stevie's idea was like, oh, we should talk to Nick because- He understands our voice. The show is not written per se, but if you're gonna go into like, oh, we're going into this situation where there's this guy who is the head chef at Chipotle and we're gonna be asking a bunch of questions,
Starting point is 00:41:53 Nick is able to be like, here's some paths that you can go down. Here's some conversational paths you can go down. Here's something that you might wanna ask. Here's a little fun fact that you might wanna bring up. Here's something that I know that he knows because we got it from a pre-interview that you might find a way Here's a little fun fact that you might wanna bring up. Here's something that I know that he knows because we got it from a pre-interview that you might find a way to reveal in the conversation.
Starting point is 00:42:09 Like you can get at this in a funny way. So Nick did a lot of work there along with TJ to kind of, like when we got to set on that first day, which Chipotle was the first episode that we shot as a matter of fact. Yeah. Chipotle was the first episode that we shot as a matter of fact. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:42:29 I had a, my back, you know this is what happens a lot of times with me when we're moving into a new project. That's right. My lower back goes out and it's just something that I haven't quite got a hold on and I don't know why it always happens, but my back- Stress. Yeah, well I know that's why it happens, but I don't know why it always happens, but my back- Stress. Yeah, well, I know that's why it happens,
Starting point is 00:42:46 but I don't know specifically, I don't know how mechanically all this stuff happens. But my back has seized up and it was like a nine on a scale of one to 10 in terms of- I thought for you, man. Like how bad my back can hurt. So whenever you see Rhett walking- That whole episode, my back is-
Starting point is 00:43:03 He's walking fine. I am in extreme pain That whole episode, my back is- He's walking fine. I am in extreme pain that whole episode, but I will hand it to myself. I did a good job of setting, like compartmentalizing the pain in terms of like when we were in a conversation and just being in the moment and trying to be in a comedic head space.
Starting point is 00:43:19 That sucks, man. But you definitely can tell- I mean, it's akin to like a migraine almost, you know? Migraines are worse. Migraines are worse, but- When the pain is localized in your face, in your head, which feels like the center of your person, I think that's a lot more disrupting than like,
Starting point is 00:43:40 I am hurt, my lower back is killing me right now, but I'm still up here. Your face can be happy. I can go completely into my head and just exist in my head like that brain on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yeah, Krang. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:43:53 That's basically, I was embodying or channeling, Crane is his name? Krang. Krang. Krang, yeah. You did good, Rhett. And I was using the Krang voice the whole time. If that helps explain. I was not in any pain.
Starting point is 00:44:06 I had some jitters, you know? It's like, okay, we're dusting off the, well, the dust. Not only of the pandemic, but like experiencing an entire new crew and in a place where it's like, we're just starting this thing. Everybody's watching closely from a protocol COVID standpoint to like a performance
Starting point is 00:44:26 to like what is this show gonna be to the network standpoint. But I think one of the main things that I feel great about with this show and I felt it very early on, the first time we shot something was that first scene. First thing we shot was around back, this guy pulls up and he's unloading
Starting point is 00:44:47 all of the raw materials, the vegetables and the chicken and stuff for Chipotle. Just so you know, when you watch this on the show, this is probably halfway or maybe even a little longer than halfway through the episode when we approached this guy unloading the stuff in the truck behind the Chipotle. First thing we shot.
Starting point is 00:45:04 That was literally like we were doing our hair and makeup and inside the Chipotle that we were shooting at. Right. And then they were like, okay, this is your first scene. Cause again, everything has to be shot according to when things are happening. And then later it's pieced together to make a consistent narrative.
Starting point is 00:45:22 But so yeah, us walking around that corner and making that law and order joke was the very first thing we shot with Inside Ease. Yeah, and we're like, we got a couple of questions for you. And he's like, how are you doing? I was like, oh, you're gonna start with the questions. And he's like, all right, we're in the mix. This is happening.
Starting point is 00:45:41 And we were off to the races. It felt great to say at the end of that first day, or even halfway through the first day, that my main concern had been alleviated, which was, are we gonna be in our zone? Are we going to be this- Ourselves. Ourselves. Are we gonna be comfortable, confident,
Starting point is 00:46:08 and having a good time? Are we gonna take everything that we've learned from Good Mythical Morning? And even when things would change over the years with Good Mythical Morning, the bigger the change, the more chance that all of a sudden our vibe would be off. And when everything is new, your brain, my brain, tends to focus, it doesn't yet know what to tune out
Starting point is 00:46:34 and what to focus on. Oh, there's new people in the crew. There's new cameras. It's cold today. I'm wearing something different. I'm this, that, and the other. Your back hurts. All of these type of variables,
Starting point is 00:46:45 you have to know what to tune out and what to focus on to just to be the most, to be true to ourselves and just trust our instincts and be in that moment. And I was very, very happy that this show is, you know, we were never put in a position and we never stepped into a position I'm very, very happy that this show is, we were never put in a position and we never stepped into a position that stretched us in a way that wasn't a good idea.
Starting point is 00:47:18 I mean, for me, just because the people that we were working with had very clearly communicated that they understood what makes us who we are and they wanted us to be who we are. Yeah. So I don't think I ever felt any, there was never a question in my mind of like, are we gonna be put into the right circumstance
Starting point is 00:47:39 to pull this off? It was more like, you know, we are always doing this little dance, you know, we had watched, the most analogous thing to this in the recent past is the Backup Plan series that we did on GMM. Right. That was sponsored by GEICO.
Starting point is 00:47:56 Yeah, when we went to the cereal factory. Right. And got in the huge cereal bowl is a great example. We sent that episode of the cereal bowl and there was another one where we went to- Oh, the flavor. The flavor factory. We sent those over to B17 and TJ and everybody
Starting point is 00:48:17 and we're like, we've done this type of thing before and this is sort of the vibe, right? We're asking a real question, but we're doing it in a ridiculous way. There's gonna be these ridiculous asides and we're obviously entering this situation as a comedy duo. I hadn't watched those in years
Starting point is 00:48:33 and I remember watching them. And I remember that night I watched them and immediately sent those two episodes to you and Stevie because I was like, hey, I didn't know how I was gonna feel. You never know how you're gonna feel about something when you go back to it years later because you always feel like you've developed beyond it or whatever. Yeah how I was gonna feel. You never know how you're gonna feel about something when you go back to it years later, because you always feel like you've developed
Starting point is 00:48:46 beyond it or whatever. I was like, hey, this is the true North. The way that we interacted here, this is the vibe that we should attain, right? This is the vibe we should go for. Yeah. And yeah, I think we really got there. I mean, there's always a little bit,
Starting point is 00:49:05 it depends on what we're doing at the time. There are moments in this type of format where we get to a place where me and you are standing there talking to one person and asking them questions and not doing something. And it gets to be like two guys interviewing one person. And since nothing is scripted, again, like, yes, we have this notebook that's like,
Starting point is 00:49:27 here's some questions you could ask. Here's what this person knows. Here's the goal of this scene. We had all kind of developed that and then Nick and TJ had put it in this big binder that we were given when we got on set so we could reorient ourselves. But when the camera starts rolling,
Starting point is 00:49:43 you don't remember what the binder said. You remember bits and pieces of it, but you're really going on instinct. And so you've got what you're thinking, I've got what I'm thinking. Oh, Link just said that, I'm gonna go with that. Or that makes me think this. I'm gonna get out of his way for a second.
Starting point is 00:50:00 There's this, there's a balance in trying to figure out that dance again. Yeah, the brain gets hot. But it pretty much came back immediately. It wasn't like a struggle. Very glad about that. So I think, you know, so when we were bringing our comedic sensibility
Starting point is 00:50:20 and our curiosity to the table and to every scene, having structured the episodes and gotten approval on that. The thing that Food Network was bringing to us was an education on their expectations from their audience. Because this is a melding of two audiences, between Food Network Discovery Plus and Mythical Beasts. And I would like to talk about that. I would say specifically Food Network Discovery Plus and Mythical Beasts. And I would like to talk about that. I would say specifically Food Network,
Starting point is 00:50:48 which yes, Food Network is a part of Discovery, but when we got approached, we actually didn't know, I don't know if I missed it or if it developed later, but we didn't know that it was a Food Network show. The conversation was Discovery Plus. So I knew it was gonna be food centric because that's the whole point of the show. But the moment that it either became or I finally realized-
Starting point is 00:51:16 We didn't know if it would be comedy centric with food, but it became clear that it needed to be food centric. Right, and when we be food centric. Right, and when we say food centric, what we mean is that, so a person who has decided to turn on Food Network, and maybe you're one of those people, if you're like me, you're just the kind of person
Starting point is 00:51:37 that just likes to look at food, right? You like to look at food and see people make food and see people eat food because you have a love affair with food. It's probably the best thing on earth besides what rhymes with tussy that we talked about earlier. And so people who watch Food Network,
Starting point is 00:52:02 they need to see food, right? They don't just want to see two guys being stupid, being funny. Yeah. Because if you're a Food Network first, if you're tuning in for Food Network first and not Rhett and Link first, you're like, I'm here for the food part of the network.
Starting point is 00:52:18 I don't want these two guys to get in the way of the food. And so there was one guy who had a sort of a specialized camera. It was a different camera that could do a really high frame rate for slow motion. And he was the food camera guy. Yeah. And so if the guacamole is being made
Starting point is 00:52:42 or dipped out of something or steak is being chopped, it's like that's when those sort of hero shots or whatever you wanna call them, slow-mo sort of dramatic food shots. He was getting all, and as he was getting all this footage, me not really understanding the show that we were making yet, I was like, wow, he's filming a lot, he's filming all this food,
Starting point is 00:53:04 but like, I mean, it's gonna be us on camera, right? You know, it's like, wow, he's filming a lot. He's filming all this food, but like, I mean, it's gonna be us on camera, right? You know, it's like, I mean, it's gonna be the funny guys on camera, right? So there was a realignment that happened in terms of like understanding where everything should settle, what the balance should be for this show
Starting point is 00:53:24 and really begin to understand and getting that Food Network education that, hey, the audience wants to indulge with their eyes. You know, and then you can, yeah, we can have fun all along the way, but you want to indulge and you want to learn. So as we were in the, you know, post phase of editing everything together and we were in the post phase
Starting point is 00:53:45 of editing everything together and we were giving a bunch of notes about like, all right, I remember saying this and we had, it was funny. Or I remember Rhett said this, they're like, there's three things from Rhett, there's nothing from me. Let's have a little bit more balance or vice versa. Like we would give these type of notes. Or this is a runner, I think we can have a throwback.
Starting point is 00:54:05 You know, comedy notes. Yeah, the thing that we're interested in. And then the Food Network notes would be like, we need to understand more of the process that you started making the guacamole, but we don't know what the final, you didn't reveal what the final ingredient was. It didn't come together.
Starting point is 00:54:23 It's like, you gotta have, if you're gonna go into this guacamole moment, well, it needs to have a beginning, middle and end. You gotta have a satisfying conclusion so that people feel like they've got the full guac experience. And it totally makes sense. And you wanna see the guac.
Starting point is 00:54:39 And hey, if there's a fact about how many avocados Chipotle goes through in a year or a week or whatever that fact was. That's an interesting thing. So we didn't ask that in scene, but we can pull a voiceover. We can change that. And whenever you start to learn these things, like, well, now let's add another layer
Starting point is 00:55:00 where we're doing some animations that illustrate the things that you're learning from a culinary standpoint. And I think the point- And so that was added to the show. I think the point of this, like what I'm hoping that you listening will take from this discussion is,
Starting point is 00:55:21 you know, if we made this show and we were making it for the Good Mythical Morning audience, we were going into Chipotle and asking this question and then putting it onto an episode of GMM or as an episode of GMM like we did with the backup plan. Because you're tuning in to Good Mythical Morning, we think primarily to hang out with us, then it's gonna be almost like 90 to 95% just us being us
Starting point is 00:55:52 and using this canvas of Chipotle as an opportunity to be funny, right? Yeah. But because the intended audience is first and foremost, someone who's interested in food television, Food Network. It is a food show first that we are then bringing all that Rhett and Link ridiculousness and curiosity into to kind of create more of a balance.
Starting point is 00:56:16 So while I do think it is the most, I don't want to say it's the funniest show on Food Network. I mean, I think Guy Fieri is very funny, but I think it is the most like intentionally comedic show on Food Network. You know, and shout out to Alton Brown, who we still wanna have on GMM. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:56:35 You know, he did more of like this sketch thing at the top of his show or one of his shows. And you know, that's another thing that we did succeed at starting with comedy. Like there's basically a sketch. Well, let me clarify real quick. I just made it sound like I was saying that Guy Fieri is unintentionally funny.
Starting point is 00:56:56 No, I'm just saying that like, he's coming in there first and foremost as a chef who happens to be very funny. We're coming in as comedians who just happen to have some knowledge about experience with food. Oh, I got you. You know what I'm saying? I got you.
Starting point is 00:57:11 But yeah, I am curious at this, you know, we're talking to you and kind of telling you what our perspective is and all of this, I think, has come together in a show that makes the most sense, that is satisfying on all of these levels. You know, are there as many jokes as we made? Of course not. There's lots of stuff that got cut.
Starting point is 00:57:31 But there are more, just so you know, again, when you're doing linear television, that's actually gonna show up on Food Network and have commercial breaks. That episode is about 22 minutes of content, right? That's how much content ends up being in a half hour block of traditional television. So you gotta about 22 minutes of content, right? That's how much content ends up being in a half hour block of traditional television. So you gotta hit 22 minutes,
Starting point is 00:57:49 obviously on Discovery Plus streaming service, you don't have to hit that. So we had these additional, sometimes a completely new scene and sometimes just a new thing that happened in a scene. And all those have been added in when you watched on Discovery Plus. And so you might get like a 25, 26 minute episode
Starting point is 00:58:08 on Discovery+. And most of that's gonna be stuff that wasn't essential or integral to a Food Network audience. But, and so it tends to be some of the funny sort of tangential stuff that happened in the moment. The thing that I'm most interested in at this point, because it hasn't premiered yet as of this recording, is yeah, what is the reception gonna be?
Starting point is 00:58:33 What are Mythical Beasts going to think of it? What is the Food Network audience gonna think? How are we gonna find out what non-Mythical Beasts think? Like where are we gonna get that feedback?-Mythical Beasts think? Where are we gonna get that feedback? I'm sure we'll find that out. It's like, we'll have to go to other places and other ways that the show is posted online
Starting point is 00:58:54 or promos of it are posted online just to tap into that buzz. But I'm interested because again, it's like every time you put something out for a new type of again, it's like, every time you put something out for a new type of audience, it's like, well, are they gonna hate one or both of us? Well, there's- And I just know, and you know, I know that with the way that I do things,
Starting point is 00:59:18 it's like, I'm not for everybody. I'm not for everybody. So I'm kind of prepared for that. It's like, and I, but I don't, and if that's the reason that show doesn't work, so be it. Well, I guess I- The show ain't gonna work without me. I just have to do season two alone.
Starting point is 00:59:34 No, this is your oppor- Or maybe I'll do it with DJ Rhett. No, this is your opportunity to say, people don't like me either. That's true, people, a lot of people don't like me. Maybe more people than don't like you. Right. But so there's a question of like,
Starting point is 00:59:46 is the traditional sort of Food Network audience going to be like, I wanna see somebody who's making great food. I don't wanna see a couple of idiots who are just having fun with food. And then on the opposite end of the spectrum, are there people who are like, I'm just coming here for the ridiculousness of Rhett and Link
Starting point is 01:00:03 and I don't care about all the food shots. Because we have made a show that is a compromise between what both parties want. I believe that, I mean, for me, because I do like food a lot and I like food facts and I like to see the process, it was fascinating to get to know the people who are making the decisions about what ends up
Starting point is 01:00:24 on the Chipotle menu or the Cheesecake Factory menu, the people behind these incredible flavors at Cool House, the scientists, the flavor scientists behind Beyond Meat. Yeah. That's all super fascinating stuff to me that's personally more fascinating than me making a joke. So I feel like it landed in a great place.
Starting point is 01:00:45 I do too. I'm very proud of this show. I was very proud of Commercial Kings. And if we had the opportunity, if they had ordered more, we would have turned a corner and it would have gotten that much better. But the core of that show was something I'm very proud of. And I wish they would have ordered more.
Starting point is 01:01:05 I'm glad that they didn't because Good Mythical Morning may have never existed and we wouldn't be here today. But we learned so much in these four episodes of figuring out what the show is and how to ask those questions and what we should actually be shooting and the things that we should actually be doing
Starting point is 01:01:27 that I feel like, I'm not saying there's anything- We have so much more focus. I'm not saying there's anything, I think where we ended up with season one after a lot of edits and a lot of back and forth and figuring that out, we kind of know exactly what the mode is and what the final product is gonna be going
Starting point is 01:01:43 if we can go into a second season, where I would just be that much more confident to make a great television show. But we've experienced enough to know that like, you know, it could go either way. We're very hopeful. We believe that this show has legs and we wanna keep making it.
Starting point is 01:01:59 But you know, there's so many factors, not the least of which is, again, at this point, who knows how it will be interpreted, how we will be interpreted within the Food Network programming. It's just very, because it is a different type of show that pushes the comedy more and it's unique. So that's a good thing if enough people are ready for it, if they have, pun intended, an appetite for it.
Starting point is 01:02:32 Now, I haven't really come, I haven't made a definitive decision about this, but I am considering and strongly leaning toward not reading anything about the show. Not looking at anyone's thoughts about the show. We've never done that with anything we've made. Well, why would you start now? I'm getting much more, actually,
Starting point is 01:02:57 I'm moving in that direction much, much more. I find it to be a much healthier place because while the vast majority of feedback that we get on the things that we do is positive because we've got such a supportive fan base, you first of all, you know that the minority comments who are gonna say something hurtful, those are the ones that you remember,
Starting point is 01:03:19 but also I find myself not being in a healthy place when I'm trying to find the positive comments to outweigh the negative comments. And then I realized that I am finding my identity and my value in other people's interpretation of my work, where what I'm trying to do is get to a place where I am happy with what this ended up being. And so that's the only thing that I need to know
Starting point is 01:03:44 is that I am proud of it. I know what I like about it, what I don't like about it, my thoughts about it, what I would do differently. Now we have people who are here at Mythical who are going to tell us the aggregate opinions of people which are very helpful. I'm not saying I don't want to take the audience's reception into account
Starting point is 01:04:07 because you're not a good producer if you don't do that, if you don't know what the audience thinks. But there is something that happens emotionally and mentally when you interact directly with either a compliment or a criticism that I don't think is necessarily good for my psyche. Well, I applaud that. I actually think, talking out of both sides of my mouth,
Starting point is 01:04:31 because I said that we've never done that before, but the more I think about it, I read stuff less and less. Like I'm kind of a, what's the, I'm a hermit. In a lot of, I'm like a social media hermit. Like, I mean, you tell me lots of things that I don't read that they never crossed my path. Yeah. So I actually, you're a lot more prone to it than I am.
Starting point is 01:04:57 I think I'll probably end up just being like, you know, I didn't end up reading anything. Well, it's things like- But a new project is- I can be a new project is different than the ongoing stuff. I can be having a good day, and then I make the horrible decision to go and look at, and I haven't done this recently, I'm just saying, back when it was a relevant thing to do,
Starting point is 01:05:23 look at the Goodreads reviews for The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek. Now, first of all, again, the aggregate of that book, the rating is very high, right? I'm proud of that book, obviously, we're not novelists, and I didn't think it was gonna be like win the Pulitzer Prize and we learned a lot in doing it, but I'm proud of what it ended up being for what it is.
Starting point is 01:05:45 But there are people who come to Goodreads who see themselves as literary critics and then just write these scathing reviews. And some of them you're like, well, yeah, that's true. Or yeah, you're right about that. That puts me in, but I already know what I think about that process. I already know how I feel about that book. I already know how I feel about that book.
Starting point is 01:06:05 I already know how I feel about what we would do differently if we were to do a second one in the series or whatever. Yeah. So you're not learning anything. I'm only suffering emotionally. So as I try to release myself from things that I can't control, which is people's opinions about our work,
Starting point is 01:06:23 what I can't control is our work, right? I have an opinion about it and that opinion can be incorporated into the next iteration. And it just feels like a much healthier place. So because of all the things that you were just saying about, yes, there's gonna be people who are like actively, like, I don't want this on my network. I don't want these YouTube idiots on my network
Starting point is 01:06:47 for whatever reason for hangups that they have. Or they just, like you said, they don't like us. They don't like our sense of humor. It's stupid, whatever. They don't like the fact that you're picky. They don't like the fact that we're not chefs. Feeling that they don't like my hair, whatever. Do, I already know that there's people who think that.
Starting point is 01:07:02 I already know that there are people who think we're insufferable. Do I need to hear him say it? We also don't need him to change their mind. Right. We're doing just fine. Yeah, and so I guess what I'm saying ultimately is I don't think, I'm definitely not gonna seek out
Starting point is 01:07:20 any sort of, you know, I heard somebody say one time, like never read your book review, never read your movie review. Like if we ever have the privilege of making a feature length movie, I don't think I'm gonna read any critic reviews. I don't think I'm gonna go to Rotten Tomatoes. Now I'm gonna know what the aggregate score is
Starting point is 01:07:38 because somebody, you can't avoid it and somebody is gonna tell us. It's gonna be in some report that comes in an email. Everyone, your movie is currently at a 61. So it's certified fresh, but just barely. And most of the comments are about the choice you guys made to include the scene where the dog dies and you really shouldn't have done that, whatever.
Starting point is 01:08:01 And so it was like, yeah, well, we shouldn't have put that in there. Yeah, I don't wanna overstate it either. I don't wanna be like, I'm just saying that like, what I've noticed a number of times is I'll be like, things are good right now, and then all of a sudden I'm reading something. I just know what the weaknesses are.
Starting point is 01:08:15 I'm not saying it ruins my day. Those things that you mentioned are things that we already know. People are gonna be opinionated about the way that we look, the way that I act, our non chef. Like there's, yeah, there's some targets on our back if you wanna be critical, but those are things that I don't wanna change about myself.
Starting point is 01:08:38 The things that really hurt are the things where we know it's a weakness and we wish we could have changed it. Like that's when it really gets me is that like- Yeah, but I think there's, but I guess what I'm saying ultimately- There are some of those things, but those are small. When it comes to these four episodes,
Starting point is 01:08:51 there's not any gaping shortcoming. Yeah, yeah, I agree. That I feel is like a big weakness. It is what it is. I agree with that. I mean, it's not, it's not, you know, again, it's not, I mean, we're not, it's, I was gonna, honestly, it's like, is it, are we trying to win an Emmy? Not, no.
Starting point is 01:09:08 No, of course not. I mean, yeah, I mean, maybe eventually, but we don't think that this show is gonna do that. No, it's like, I mean, some of my favorite shows ever, I don't know if they ever won an Emmy. Right. Did Dirty Jobs ever win an Emmy? Yeah, so.
Starting point is 01:09:20 Maybe, I don't know. So what, what, I can- I think it deserves one. I completely agree with you that the stuff that I't know. So what, what, I can- I think it deserves one. I completely agree with you that the stuff that I already know to be true, or it's like this person thinks this thing and they perceive us in this way. Like that's not the stuff that bothers me.
Starting point is 01:09:36 The stuff that bothers me is the stuff that I already know to be the case. That's like, yes, we made this mistake or we did this thing wrong. And now people are basically recognizing that in my worst fear of people finding out that we made this mistake and did this in the wrong way is coming true.
Starting point is 01:09:55 Right. What I'm saying is from an emotional standpoint, I already know the mistakes that I've made. I'm not talking about with this, like I agree with you, I don't feel that way about this show. I'm just saying in general, with the things that we put into the world,
Starting point is 01:10:09 I have just found that I'm in a healthier place when I'm like, you know what was lacking about that thing that you did. Do you need somebody to tell you when you already know? And do you gain anything emotionally from it? So if I can have somebody else read all that feedback and then come to us and be like, hey, this is actually how things were received
Starting point is 01:10:30 from a whole group, that's much less emotionally sort of unsettling than reading individual people say very personal things. And so I'm not saying I can't deal with it. I'm just saying after it happens, I think to myself, I could have not experienced that and I would be having a better time right now. I would be in a healthier place.
Starting point is 01:10:54 Yeah, I get it. This is not a GMM 22 scenario. Oh. And you know that. Of course. I think that's my point. Yeah. You know, it's like we did that first, we feast snacked video.
Starting point is 01:11:09 And I read those comments and you get the people who don't, they're not fans of ours and maybe don't have a point of reference for us. And yeah, I do remember the comment about me that was like, this guy just, he like, he acts and eats like a four year old. It's like, okay, well, he acts and eats like a four year old. It's like, okay, well, this commenter is describing something that could have hurt my feelings.
Starting point is 01:11:35 But the way I'm trying to grow is to interact with the, not interact with the comment, but to acknowledge the comment within myself as, you know what? He's describing something that people are attracted to about my sense of humor and my persona that he doesn't get or doesn't prefer. And it's not for everybody.
Starting point is 01:11:58 And you know what? So, I mean, but I was fully myself and I'm very proud of it. And I don't expect everybody to like me. And I'm cool with that. And I actually remember thinking- Just trying to be cool with that. That's a good example because I remember thinking that when we left that first we feast shoot.
Starting point is 01:12:15 That I was like a four year old? Yeah. I remember thinking we were really ourselves and we were having a genuinely good time just being ourselves and interacting with these snacks. And I am proud of what we did. The only thing I was pissed about was they didn't buy the right cereal.
Starting point is 01:12:35 So that's why there was no cereal in the episode. And they also cut your beans. I did have baked beans and that was edited out. Just for the record, Rhett ate beans and I ordered cereal, but Raisin Bran is not Raisin Bran Crunch. And that's not, and by the way, Raisin Bran is not Raisin Nut Bran. Okay.
Starting point is 01:12:57 And that's the one I actually ordered because I'm on that kick now. Raisin Nut Bran Crunch or just Raisin Nut Bran? Raisin Nut Bran, not raisin brand crunch. But so, I mean- And I was pissed about that, but you know, mistakes are made and- And I knew when we came as a duo-
Starting point is 01:13:11 It really isn't a big deal. When we came as a duo and we had all those snacks, I knew that something was gonna be cut out. But what I'm getting at is, even though I did, when it came out, I did start scrolling through the comments, I stopped because I was like, hold on, you remember walking out of there and thinking to yourself,
Starting point is 01:13:30 you did that the way that you wanted to do it. Now, anytime you venture outside of your protective bubble of your- Mythical beast. Your mythical beasts, you know that you're ready, you're gonna get some criticism. And so again, I was like, yes, people aren't gonna like it. Some people just look at us and are immediately annoyed.
Starting point is 01:13:50 I understand, I get it. I know people like that too. Right. But if I'm happy with what I did and how I came across, then I should just let that be what I found the satisfaction in. Not that somebody liked it or didn't like it. Again, because I don't want to just hear things
Starting point is 01:14:08 that people like either. I'm saying that finding any sort of value or currency in people liking me or feeling undervalued because people don't like me, I'm just trying to move to a new level of existence. And it's really difficult for a performer who has built a career on trying to please an audience. It's just part of the ongoing struggle.
Starting point is 01:14:30 So when we've got something like this, that's, again, I don't know how many people are going to watch the show compared to how many people watch Good Mythical Morning. I think less, given how many people watch Good Mythical Morning. But it's still going to be perceived as some leveling up. It's like the people back home in North Carolina, oh, they're all excited about the TV show
Starting point is 01:14:51 because it means more to them because they think that being on television and instead of having a YouTube show is like a fundamentally different, more awesome thing. It's just how people think about things. And so you feel like you're stepping up onto some sort of pseudo pedestal. And now people are gonna be like,
Starting point is 01:15:12 well, now that they've done this, now I've gotta have my opinion. And I'm just like, well, I already know what I think about what we did. I already know about the show. So I should not even hear your opinion. Does that make sense? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:15:24 I got a little rec for you. If you wanna do some easy listening, I played this for you the other night, Jose Gonzalez. Yeah, I like him. He is Swedish. Well, he's from Sweden, but he's- That's what I thought from the name. His parents are Argentinian.
Starting point is 01:15:41 I was like, that sounds like a Swedish name. He's of Argentinian descent, but he was born and raised in Sweden and he's got this, just totally soothing, just go into nature and listen to some Jose Gonzalez. His last, his most recent album, where's my phone?
Starting point is 01:16:03 Got so many pockets in this suit. It's in your pocket, DJ Red. It's my top pocket. Listen to his album, Local Valley, just to get some good bucolic vibes going on. Man, an introspective and autumnal folk and indie pop blend that's pastoral in experience. Jose Gonzalez, he's got a lot of albums.
Starting point is 01:16:28 You're welcome. Hashtag Ear Biscuits. We will talk with you. Let's keep the conversation going. Next week.

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