Sibling Revelry with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson - Clarissa, a Crush and Christmas with Melissa Joan Hart

Episode Date: November 17, 2025

Melissa Joan Hart joins Oliver for a hilarious and heartwarming chat that swings from childhood crush confessions to behind-the-scenes shenanigans. She spills stories from her Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina days and dishes on working with Oliver and his son Wilder in A Merry Little Ex-Mas.  It’s nostalgia, mischief, and major holiday spirit all wrapped up in one cozy little package - just like Melissa herself!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein, and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History, about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business. First episode, how Southwest Airlines use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline is. The most Texas story ever. Listen to Business History on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time?

You get Desi Arness. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life, how he redefined American television, and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines, waiting for a face like hours on screen. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valdarama on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. On this week's episode of the next chapter, I, D.D. Jakes, get to sit down with Oprah Winfrey, a media mogul, philanthropist, and global trailblazer. I could feel inside myself at four or five years old, looking through the screen on the back porch, that this is not going to be my life. Listen to the next chapter on the iHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast episodes drop weekly.

What up y'all? It's your boy, Kevin on stage. I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Moment, where I talk to artists, athletes, entertainers, creators, friends, people I admire who have had massive success about their massive failures. What did they mess up on? What is their heartbreak? And what did they learn from it?

I got judged horribly. The judges were like, you're trash. I don't know how you got on the show. Check out Not My Best Moment with me kept on stage on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcast. The Big Take podcast from Bloomberg News keeps you on top of the biggest stories of the day. My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day. Stories that move markets.

Chair Powell opened the door to this first interest rate cut. Impact politics, change businesses. This is a really stunning development for the AI world and how you think about your bottom line. Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Kate Hudson. And my name is Oliver Hudson. We wanted to do something that highlighted our relationship. And what it's like to be siblings.

We are a sibling reverie. No, no. Sibling reverie. Don't do that with your mouth. Sibling reverie. That's good. I just got off my peloton. I'm a major health kick.

I'm just trying for seven days a week of cardio, 45 minutes a day, five days of weights. My man David Allen, nutrition's hooking me up with supplements. I did blood work. I did stool samples. I did spit. I did piss. I did it all. Peptides are coming my way.

I'm just trying to get after it. 49, moving into 50. I think it's time to see what I'm capable of, you know, instead of this back and forth, trying to be fit and just going on benders and eating shitty and drinking too much. I'll never give up some of my vices because that's who I am, but it's time. So the Peloton, my boy Steve Zim, is pumping me. Just iron pumps all over the place. I'm going to go get this body scan, this full body scan, MRI thing.

It's a place called Corvita. I'm just, I just got to get it. I got to get it going. Anyway, I'm all sweaty. and I've been leaving my lady in the waiting room. Very excited to talk to her. Not that I haven't talked to her a ton in the last year. We've known each other for a long-ass time.

I'm pretty sure she had a crush on me. We're going to get into that first off. And we did a little bit of a, and we did a little movie together that she produced. And she stars in Merry Little Ex-Miss. It's already on Netflix. Check it out. And it's a very sweet Christmas movie, myself, and Elisa Silverstone.

And my son, Wilder Hudson, is in it as well. But let's bring her in. Let's bring in Melissa Joan Hart. Hi. How are you? I just got off my Peloton. I was like, did you just wake up? What are you crazy?

You have kids. You know, you wake up at fucking 6 a.m. Even when they're older now, you just wake up. Oh, and you wake up earlier for some reason. Yeah, I'm in L.A. I just flew in last night. So we woke up at like 4 a.m. and like my husband came with me for the screen tonight.

So, I'm not fun. Were you in Nashville? We were in Nashville. We came here. Then I got to go to New York, Philly, and New Jersey in the next few days. So we're going to work or play. A little bit of all of it. We're going to an Eagles game.

I got to go to New York to do some press next week for not only our movie, but also for some brand stuff and some charity stuff. Cool. I'm heading to New York tomorrow to do stuff. Oh, okay. I'll probably just miss each other. I know. I know.

Well, thanks for coming on. We've known each other for a minute now. Yeah. And let's first talk about the crush that you had on me. Oh, just right in. Just right in. No segue, no easy, you know. No, of course not.

Of course not. No. Well, I was going to say it's all because of your charm, but I feel like that intro was lacking a little. We just jump right in. So it was right around here where I am on Sunset Boulevard, I believe, where we ran into each other at a few clubs. And I don't know how we first met,

but I remember there was like at least one time where you were there and I had already met you, so I felt comfortable enough going up and saying hi. It was so weird because I'm not, I talk a lot. I don't get shy. I don't not have the words to say. And there was something you just like, I don't know.

You like looked at me and I said something ridiculous. And then I like backed it up with something more. I wish I remember what I said. But it's one of those moments where you're like, I put my foot in my mouth and made an absolutely ridiculous comment that didn't even make sense. And then backed it up with something more ridiculous. And I was so embarrassed and I felt like I couldn't recover and I just like walked away, horrified.

And ever since then I've been like, oh my God, what is it about you that made me like? like get tongue tied and like weird like my brain just rotted for a second and uh i missed those days it was so funny and i was so nervous working with you on this because i was like i think i even told my hairdresser i was like i don't know what i'm going to say to him like the last thing i said to him was absolutely ridiculous maybe he remembers what it was but i made an absolute fool of myself i hope he doesn't remember but he might and then if he does and i like what if it happens again and i can't talk to him on set and then you realize what an idiot i am and then i was like you're Perfect.

You're right. You're easy. Well, this is fun. I'm so excited for this movie that we got to do together. Yeah. It was such a blast, working with my son especially, and seeing everyone just recently again, you know, for press. Truly, what a fun-ass time.

I mean, really, really, really, really fun. Well, it was so exciting to see you on set. I've told some reporters this so far, and I'll continue to praise you as far as, like, your son and like watching you be a stage dad was so like I mean that if if women like you know fall down at your knees and get silly around you already like just watching you be a good dad is even sexier and then like watching you like be a stage dad and like be nervous for your son but then want to help him and like I remember you in your big puffy coat on set being like I just have to be like I don't even work today I just have to be here because of wilder and you know

in that moment of like, because I know I would be the same way if my kids were on set without me. Oh, yeah, our first day of work, I wasn't working, but I was his chaperone and father, you know, which was so trippy. It was so crazy. A new role that you've never played. Yeah. And we've been doing this for so long, you especially, you know, even were acting long before me, but to watch your kid sort of, you know, immerse himself or herself, whoever it is, into your world. Yeah. whatever occupation that you're in and if you take pride in what you do and then your child your kid is now there with you on set and doing it you have these moments where you get introspective and you're looking at your boy in my situation like I can't believe this is happening and you

completely get filled with emotion you know that happens so much so that alone I mean was just so special for me because who knows if that'll ever happen again you know and I was I remember asking you, because I was thinking, put myself in your shoes, like, my kids have been on set with me for, like, little tiny parts on my TV show or something when we needed a baby or a little kid to run through or someone to say one line, but I'd never been on a set where my kid was working really without me, in a sense, like, on their own. And I remember asking you, like, you know, is this something you want for it? Because I feel like, in my case, I would be, like, frustrated between, like, should my kid be doing

this or should they not? I know that in your case, it's like you guys are like legacy. Like, there's a lot of legacy there, but I feel like, I don't know. Like, I would feel like I'd be like torn between like, yeah, they're really good at it, but I don't want them to go down this road. And I remember asking them, you were like, no, this is what he wants. So do you still feel that way? It is a great question, you know, because it's a relevant question. My mom with my sister was was not going to let her do anything in film or TV until she finished high school and was 18 she could do plays and she could you know work on her craft and do do do all that and believe me she was offered a lot of opportunities in that time but I think instinctively mom kind of knew that

you know what the risk reward there let's just let's just hold off and I always thought the same thing. But I do think it's child to child. Yeah. Wilder had this opportunity. He's 17. He was mature. Yeah. I felt like, first of all, there was no chance he was going to get the gig because he had never audition. I'm saying, just just do this audition for experience. He ended up having this opportunity to do it and he did it. And it was okay because I didn't think I knew as the kind of person that he is, he's not going to go off the rails. Yeah. He's not all of a sudden going to get green dollar sign contacts and bleach his hair blonde and

start flipping off the world. You know what I mean? Wait, did I not see that on Instagram last night? Yeah, well, yeah, it's coming. But even Bodie, my middle one, when he was 10, he did a pilot with me, you know, as a series regular. And it was kind of the same thing. And I was going away against how I thought I would parent my kids as far as this industry

goes. Now, that being said. my little baby girl Rio, there's a little bit of a different thing with her. At least that's what I'm feeling. You know, I mean, she did this red carpet for Happy Gilmore, too, with me. And it was, she like blew up, not blew up, but in a sense, you know, I was getting calls because she's on things. She looked beautiful and she was so full of personality. And we get calls from, you know, various big, big companies to like being commercials and model and one.

one was a movie to like potentially you know play lolita or some shit and i'm like okay no this is not happening we're slowing this way down didn't even tell her about it you know but she is 12 yeah yeah and that's the age when they start to want it right and i i feel like i'm with you and how old were you by the way well i was four when i started but we didn't know we didn't know what the industry like we didn't know what it was my mom so my story started It's with Romp A Room. Do you remember the show Romp A Room when we were kids? Hell, yes.

Oh, my God. And Miss Marianne, I think her name was, had the magic mirror. And at the end of the show, she would say the names. And she never said Melissa. It wasn't a popular name. So I did the math. I was about four years old. And I did the math.

And I went, oh, she's saying the names of the kids that are sitting in front of her. I need to get on that show. So she'll say Melissa in the mirror. Like, for all Melissas. Like, I need to do this for all Melissas. Right, right. And I told my mom, I said, I need to be on TV. and someone in our community

had just booked their daughter on a commercial or modeling or something had an agent so my mom called them they told them the agent's number I went and I went on an audition and my mom will tell you my mom who also produced our movie

Paula will tell you that I that we went on the audition we drove from Long Island in New York City and could barely afford the tunnel fee and like the gas to get to the city and parking and like went to the audition and they called and said okay

we need her to come back for a callback which we didn't know what that was, but a callback, come in the city again. My mom's like, okay, then they called and said, okay, she booked the commercial. And my mom said, I'm sorry, I can't afford to get her back to the city. Like, I can't keep doing this. And they were like, no, no, no, you're going to get paid now. She got the job. And she was like, oh, okay.

So someone will pay for my gas when I get there. So we went and I booked the audition. I booked my first, third, and fifth audition. And the next thing I know I was doing national commercials. And, you know, my dad made me a bet at one point. I said, I wanted a clubhouse. He was in construction at the time. time and I was like I want a clubhouse and he goes I'll build you a clubhouse when you get two

national commercials he thought it would take me a year or two to do it I did it within a month yeah he was like he had to build me a clubhouse it still stands today no that clubhouse still stands it stood through numerous hurricanes my dad did a good job on the that's awesome so it was so it was sort of an accident that we got into it and didn't really know what it was it's just that I took to it I liked it it liked me so this whole career wanted this whole career of are stemmed from you wanting Melissa's to be more recognized across the United States. Just the name. Just the name Melissa to be more popular. Right. That's it. What do you think, what do you think it was and is about you that sort of, you know, made it not so difficult to get these

commercials? I mean, were you just big and bubbly? Oh, yeah. You have, you know, you obviously have a big personality normally. I mean, is this who you were? I was fearless. I was fearless. I was shameless. I would do anything. I loved entertaining. You know, people came over. I would do shows. I couldn't sing, although I'd pretend I could. Love to dance. I actually really wanted to be a dancer. That was sort of like where what I really wanted to do was dance. So everything I did, even like down to the fact that I couldn't afford all the ballet classes I wanted to take at our little studio, I ended up student teaching on Saturdays. I would student teach four classes at the age of 11, I think. I was student teaching four classes for little tiny, tiny kids

teaching them ballet and tap so that I could then get a free Monday point class. So that was like, I was like bartering at like 10 and 11 years old to try to have a job to try to pay for my classes so I could take up if I could keep dancing. But then Clarissa came along when I was 13. I was doing Broadway. I did a lot of off-broad. Oh, you did? Yeah, I was the youngest member of the Circle Repetory Company.

And I did plays with, I mean, Joe Mantello's first play written by Peter Hedges. It was a monologue I did on stage. And that job, the producer of Clarissa heard about from his veterinarian who suggested me for the role of Clarissa. He would not see a blonde for the role of Clarissa. And so the veterinarian recommended me to the producer. And then that guy let me audition. The producer let me audition. I audition three times.

He really didn't want a blonde. But he let me audition three times. And on the third time, I got the job. And now I was off in Orlando doing a series. Wow. How old were you then? I was 13 when we started the series. I think it was 12 when we did the pilot.

So one of the trips I'm most grateful for was this summer in Greece, and it was amazing. And the whole family was together. That doesn't happen very often. Some sun, a few laughs. And my kids love anything adventurous. So it was right up our alley. And what makes those trips even more special is staying in a place on Airbnb. Because you're not just visiting.

You're living a local life for a while. which makes the experience so much more memorable. So if you're planning to travel this November, it's also a great time to think about hosting your own home on Airbnb. And the best part, you don't have to handle everything on your own. With Airbnb's co-host network, you can partner with someone local to help manage your listing, your guests, and everything in between.

Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time? You get Desi Arnaz, a trailblazer, a businessman, a husband, and maybe most importantly, the first Latino to break primetime wide open. I'm Wilmer Valderrama, and yes, I grew up watching him, probably just like you and millions of others.

But for me, I saw myself in his story. From plening canary cages to this night here in New York, it's a long ways. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life, the moments it has overlapped with mine, how he redefined American television, and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines, waiting for a face like hours on screen.

This is the story of how one man's spotlight lit the path for so many others and how we carry his legacy today. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama as part of the MyCultura podcast network available on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein,

and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called business history about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas and destructive companies in the history of business. Having a genius idea without a need for it is nothing. It's like not having it at all. It's a very simple, elegant lesson. Make something people want.

First episode, how Southwest Airlines use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline business. The most Texas story ever. There's a lot of mavericks in that story. We're going to have mavericks on the show. We're going to have plenty of robber barons. So many robber barons. And you know what? They're not all bad.

And we'll talk about some of the classic great moments of famous business geniuses, along with some of the darker moments that often get overlooked. Like Thomas Edison and the electric chair. Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What up, y'all? it's your boy, Kev on stage. I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Moment, where I talk to artists, athletes, entertainers, creators, friends,

people I admire who had massive success about their massive failures. What did they mess up on? What is their heartbreak? And what did they learn from it? I got judged horribly. The judges were like, you're trash. I don't know how you got on the show. Boo, somebody had tomatoes.

I'm kidding. But if they had tomatoes, they would have thrown the tomatoes. Let's be honest, we've all had those moments we'd rather forget. We bumped our head, we made a mistake, the deal fell through, we're embarrassed, we failed, but this podcast is about that and how we made it through. So when they sat me down, they were kind of like, we got into the small talk, and they were just like, so what do you got? What? What ideas? And I was like, oh, no, what? Check out Not My Best Moment with me, Kevin on stage on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcast.

On this week's episode of the next chapter, I, D.D. Jakes, get to sit down with Oprah Winfrey, a media mogul philanthropist and global trailblazer. My life, although it may look like an anomaly, it has only been possible because I was obedient to the calls. This episode dies deep into how Oprah turned pain into purpose and what it really means to evolve with everybody. watching. Every decision I have ever made has come from sitting with the spirit and asking God, what would you have me do first? Whether you're rebuilding, reimagining, or just trying to hold it together, this one will speak directly to you. Listen to the next chapter on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast, episodes drop, we call it. So was that your first sort of break in television?

No, I'd already been on Saturday Night Live three times. I'd already done The Equalizer. I was known as the Rice Krispies Girl. I was doing Arnold's Bread commercial. I had done 150 commercials at that point. What the? Fifty commercials that paid for my clubhouse. Wait a minute.

Wait a minute. I mean, especially back then, commercials. were a big deal. Like, you get national, we get paid. You just get those residuals kept rolling in. Yep. Yep. I think I got paid probably more for national commercials than I did for Clarissa, and it ended up paying for my college. Do you think your parents ever stole your money from you? No, not stole. No, but I think that we did need the supplemental income was helpful. They never skimmed a little bit like, yeah, shit. No, you know what I think we did? I'm only, I'm only asking because, you know, Wilder made some decent money for him. And I'm like, he'll never know. I can just

Take half of it. Nice. This is why we have Coogan accounts now. And just like, you know, we were a family of five kids at the time. There were three more that came later. But a family of five living in a house my dad built at the end of a cul-de-sac at a Long Island. And like my dad was a fisherman and my mom was a stay-at-home mom now taking kids to

the city for auditions and all the auditions didn't pay well. And going to New York City was expensive and five kids. whatnot. So I think that like a lot of the time it sort of balance itself out of like getting the job paid for sure. Yeah, no, for sure. Well, let's go back into your family a little bit. Like where did you grow up, talk about your siblings as well. How did you, you know, what was the vibe like? Oh, I understand sibling revelry. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm sure. I mean, because you have different sets of siblings. But did you, was it a very strict house? Was it freewheeling? You know, were you on your own. What was the vibe? My parents were hippies. Yep. Growing in their own

garden. My mom would go get goat's milk for my sister because she had allergies. I was the oldest. I remember, like, our old condo. We had, like, a little condo thing. And I would ride my hot wheels with a boy named Jeremy all around the complex. They were the kind of hippies that had the beads hanging in the kitchen. You know, so you put the bead curtain. And then when we, when we bought our house and my dad did renovation, he went from being a clamor. He was, he was working in clams. And my mom will not eat clams to this day because I think for like a year straight, all they ate was clams. Oh my God. And so, but I love clams. But my dad was a clam breeder. And then he became a construction. Then he started his own construction company. And then he went to a lobster wholesaler.

And now he's an oyster farmer with my sister. I know. That's cool, too, by the way. This, I all love this shit because you know how much I've talked about, I've told you how much I fish. I was fishing two days ago. I love the ocean. So, you know, that's like the coolest job. someone who breeds clams and is a lobster wholesaler and is actually now breeding oysters. I'll put you on my sister's Instagram. Hers is really interesting. For a woman who was uneducated as a marine biologist, she is a marine biologist. It's insane.

She can grow her own kelch. The way she grows algae and kelp and to feed the oysters and in the off season, it's wonderful and insane. But what's really cool is I just did this. I'm working with Ancestry.com right now. And what I found out was that the heart side of the family has gone back to the, like further than the 1700s and north the north shore of long island as shipbuilders and like marine people and that's what my family still do my uncle's a shipbuilder my cousin's a shipbuilder like it's like they're welders that you know they my dad and his brother have a marina and like

that's what we do and i didn't realize that it goes back to like moses brush heart from the 1700s you know and the ones that came over from ireland and that but but went from sicily to Ireland. Like, it's so wild. Like, I didn't really realize my grandfather was deployed during World War II till I saw his muster report on his ship. So it was, it's been really wild. Wow, that is cool. Yeah, it sounds like something you would like. So, but back to the siblings. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oldest of the original five, which are from mom and dad. And we were raised in a small house in Long Island on the wrong side of the tracks, right near the train. And, you know, I walked to school every day from kindergarten on. And then, um, I went,

I lived in that house and that town until ninth grade. And that's when I got Clarissa Explains it all and had to go to Orlando to shoot. And my parents got divorced. My mom moved to the city with the five of us. And I mean, we were spending our weekends in Long Island and weekdays in New York. And I started going to professional children's school by 10th grade, which was like where Sarah Michelle Geller, Jerry O'Connell, Perra Reid, like McCulley Culkin, we all went to the school. I wasn't there a lot because I was in Orlando most of the time.

So I was in and out of school. I got in some trouble with Tara Reid. Some of my friends like to smoke on the church steps, and I would just go with them. I didn't smoke at the time, but I would go with them. Yeah, I got busted a few times for doing things that I wasn't doing. Right, just guilty by association. Yeah, then 11th, the 12th grade, I ended up being tutored.

And then my mom remarried and had two girls in the city. And then my dad remarried and had another daughter out in Long Island. And when I was 19, my mom was handed the comic book of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch on a playground in New York City and was like, this would be a great project for Melissa. So she went to Archie Comics, bought it for a dollar, sold it to Showtime as a movie, cut a trailer together when she was editing the movie, and pitched it out as a series and got three in-the-room offers for the series.

Wow. And then we moved to L.A. That's amazing. She was pregnant with her seventh at that point. That is insane. So you have a real blended mixed family like that. So with the original five, what was it, did everyone get along? Was there rivalries?

Was there infighting? My sister, who's two years younger than me, she and I were super close. The third sister was a little quiet growing up and always kind of did her own thing in a way, especially when she got older. She's the one who's the oyster farmer. But Tricia and I were very close. And Tricia and I both were big hams and we were the actors. But a lot of the time in the auditions, I would book it and she wouldn't.

we did do one Tylenol commercial together and we did a few other things I did a like a jello pudding commercial with Bill Cosby and my sister was like my backup so so you know and she was working here and there but not as much as I was and so she kind of designated her own thing she ended up going to the Bronx High School of Science

and she became the smart one I was the talented one Lizzie I think she's like self-tidered herself the weird one. Emily my mom I think called her the pretty one and then my brother of course was the boy so it was like we all had like our lane wow but was there jealousy there because you were sort of booking and she wasn't or i don't know you'd have to ask her i i think she would say no um i think that she decided she

needed to find her own path and and academics were her thing that's what she wanted to excel it she wanted to be the smart one she wanted to learn and and absorb it all and um she was the first one our family to go to college all the way through. I went to NYU but never graduated. So she was the first one to go all the way through. And she's still like, no, my sister Emily, the fifth one, she also went all the way through college. And so, and then I have two that are still in college. They still, they're like on their third masters. But yeah, so Trisha was like the one who wanted to be the smart one. And she became a school teacher in New York City. And so she took academics very seriously and that became her path. So when did you move to L.A.?

When did that happen? That was only with Sabrina. So Sabrina, we didn't even do a pilot, right? We just went right to series. How old were you? I was 20. So you're 20 the oldest. That means...

I was never a teenager playing a teenager. Which... I know, exactly. So one of the trips I'm most grateful for was this summer in Greece. And it was amazing. And the whole family was together. that doesn't happen very often. Some sun, a few laughs.

And my kids love anything adventurous. So it was right up our alley. And what makes those trips even more special is staying in a place on Airbnb. Because you're not just visiting. You're living a local life for a while, which makes the experience so much more memorable. So if you're planning to travel this November,

it's also a great time to think about hosting your own home on Airbnb. And the best part, you don't have to handle everything your own. With Airbnb's co-host network, you can partner with someone local to help manage your listing, your guests and everything in between. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. What do you get when you

mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time? You get Desi Arness, a trailblazer, a businessman, a husband, and maybe, most importantly, the first Latino to break prime time wide open. I'm Wilmer Valderrama, and yes,

I grew up watching him, probably just like you and millions of others. But for me, I saw myself in his story. From planning canary cages to this night here in New York, it's a long ways. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderama,

I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life. The moments it has overlapped with mine, how he redefined American television and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines, waiting for a face like hours on screen. This is the story of how one man's spotlight lit the path for so many others

and how we carry his legacy today. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama. As part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Robert Smith. This is Jacob Goldstein. And we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas and destructive companies in the history of business. Having a genius idea without a need for it is nothing.

It's like not having it at all. It's a very simple, elegant lesson. Make something people want. First episode, How Southwest Airlines Use Cheap Seats and Free Whiskey to fight its way into the airline business. The Most Texas Story Ever. There's a lot of Mavericks in that story. We're going to have Mavericks on the show. We're going to have plenty of robber barons.

So many robber barons. And you know what? They're not all bad. And we'll talk about some of the classic great moments of famous business genius. along with some of the darker moments that often get overlooked. Like Thomas Edison and the electric chair. Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What up, y'all? It's your boy, Kevin on stage.

I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Moment, where I talk to artists, athletes, entertainers, creators, friends, people I admire who had massive success about their massive failures. they mess up on, what is their heartbreak? And what did they learn from him? I got judged horribly. The judges were like, you're trash. I don't know how you got on the show. Boo. Somebody had tomatoes. I'm kidding. But if they had tomatoes, they would have thrown the tomatoes. Let's be honest. We've all had those moments we'd rather forget. We bumped our head. We made a mistake. The deal fell through. We're embarrassed. We failed. But this podcast is about that and how we made it through. So when they sat me down, they were kind of like, we got into the small talk and they were just like, so what do you got? What? What ideas? And I was like, oh, no. What?

Check out not my best moment with me, Kevin on stage on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcast, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcast. On this week's episode of the next chapter, I, DD Jakes, get to sit down with Oprah Winfrey, a media mogul philanthropist, and global trailblazer. life, although it may look like an anomaly, it has only been possible because I was obedient to the calls. This episode dies deep into how Oprah turned pain into purpose and what it really means to evolve with everybody watching. Every decision I have ever made has come from sitting with the spirit and asking God, what would you have me do first? Whether you're rebuilding, reimagining or just trying to hold it together,

this one will speak directly to you. Listen to the next chapter on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast, episodes drop weekly. Did your whole family move out? Pretty much my mom took all, yeah, all five of her kids. So what was that like? I mean, that's uprooting, obviously, and it's because of you, and was there any kind of, well, I don't want to fucking leave, you know?

I mean, this is my home. This is Melissa's thing. We'd been moved around a little bit because we'd already moved to Manhattan when I was 12, so they were 10, 8, 4, and 2. So we moved to Manhattan. Then when my mom remarried, we moved to Jersey for like two years, and then we moved to L.A. So I feel like we had been kind of moved around. But we also kept our house in Jersey. So we sort of had that.

My dad still lived in my childhood home, so we still had that. So we still had like these roots. But all five of us moved to L.A. And at first I think we all really liked it. You know, for the first time, making real money. And I had my own apartment. I got a BMW. I had a cheap and a Toyota before that.

And now I had a red BMW convertible driving down Laurel Canyon, you know. And my boyfriend at the time was like, if you're going to have BMW, you have to have to have. a stick shift um you know so i'm learning stick on all these freaking canyons um and then uh they all were kind of happy out here in school for a little while and then kind of one by one they all moved back east so um whether it was yeah whether it was like you know they just kind of were we all liked it out here at first i think the weather i think the excitement of la i think the fact that we had my mom had bought this or rented a big house and i was in my own condo and you know we're kind of like live in this life and I'm an adult now so I don't have to go to school and I'm like you know

when I worked before it was always balancing school and work which was really really difficult so this is now a time when I can just work and I also am in scenes the difference between my show Clarissa and my show Sabrina which I'm going to assume people have not seen Clarissa is I'm giving like four page monologues four times an episode so I would have to start learning those on Sunday to deliver on Wednesday we would shoot our show We'd rehearse Monday, Tuesday, and we'd shoot our show Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. But that was Clarissa. And I mean, I was learning these lines.

These scenes were 10 pages long. We shot them like they were live television. We only had, we had four cameras and only one was isolated, which means only one was recording the whole time. So if the switcher or the director didn't switch at the right time, we had to redo the whole scene. And it would be 10 page scenes of like me and another person. So it was like back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

And sometimes I'd turn to the camera and give a full monologue. To the camera. Yeah. And I'm also in high school. and I'm doing the SATs and I'm applying to college and it was just overwhelming. Wait, hold on, let's go back.

Clarissa, what was Clarissa about? I don't even know. Clarissa was a show on Nickelode and was one of the first kind of sitcom shows on Nickelode that wasn't like a game show and it was about a girl and her sibling rivalry with her brother.

In fact, I had to say the word sibling rivalry so many times. There were so many bloopers. It was in the middle of a monologue and I would say sibling rivalry, every single freaking take. And I'd have to go back and start the whole four-page monologue again. So there's, like, me cursing and looking at the script supervisor going, sibling rivalry.

Siddling rivalry. I can say it. I just can't say it when I had to say it in the script. It was a lot and it was a lot of pressure, but it taught me a lot. And then I go to do Sabrina. Right. Yeah, yeah. And I'm 20 and I don't have high school.

And I'm in like two-page scenes with five people and I have to deliver three lines. And I was like, this is freaking awesome. And I can wait for some other people to say some stuff. stuff, I enter late, I come into the room and I say two lines and I leave and like, what is this magic? What is this wonderfulness? And I can go out at night, have two gin and tonics at Dublin and then head back to work at 5 a.m. Great. Dublin. I got Dublin. Dublin. I'm like right next door to it right now. That's so funny. It's still easy to get caught up in a whole L.A. scene. But you were in it, but you were moderate, right? You really like kept it together.

I mean, I'd like to think so. We didn't have social media to say differently. But I think being the oldest of so many siblings, I was so responsible. Like, I was, you know, changing diapers from the time I was four years old. You know, like I feel like I always wanted them to look at me. I didn't want to do anything that would embarrass them or hurt them. Or, you know, so even when I did Maxim Magazine once and my brother was pretty young, he was like in middle school or high school. And I did Maxim Magazine.

And he and my father were both being tortured by people at work. work going look at your daughter look at your look at your sister and then playboy magazine came and asked me to do something and I was like I can't do it I can't do it and they offered me a lot of money and I was like I can't do it because I don't want my brother to be hurt by that like the last thing he needs he's already getting tortured by me in underwear let alone completely and I would have been willing to do it because I was like I'm not ashamed of my body I'm proud of my body I'm fine with that. But then I'm really glad I didn't because now I have three boys and I don't need those images out there for them. I know. I know. So kind of happy I made that choice for my brother,

which then also translates to my children. And I always kind of knew that that would be a correlation that someday I would have children that would, you know, what do I want them to see? And I kind of played that through my siblings' eyes. So, you know, I feel like I also was raised by these hippie parents who were growing their own pot in the garden. And my mom once told me, she was like, you know, I did all the drugs, you don't have to. They're not worth it. And I was like, okay, great. That sounds like, I like that.

Like, I take your word for that. I don't need it. And I was sort of like, I trusted my mom. We had a really good, because we were only 19 years apart. And I feel like, you know, there's this, well, almost exactly 20 years apart. And I'm like, there was this, like, kind of raising each other in a way of like, she took me out to dance clubs all the time, but I wasn't allowed to drink. And, you know, she, we'd go to all these clubs in New York and L.A. And, you know, and we would party.

together and we would go on especially once we started doing Sabrina we would we would go out to like paris for a girl's weekend with all my sisters and do these fun things but it was never it was never surrounded by like drugs and alcohol it was like let's go dance let's go have fun you know it wasn't about spending money it wasn't about fame it wasn't about any of that like for me and that's why i think like going back to like our kids being in the industry for me i know that my kids only the only time they've ever expressed interest in the industry is when they think it's going to make them rich and And I'm reading Matthew Perry's book right now, and I'm like, that's all he wanted was to be famous, right? And it like caused so many of his problem. Like he was very insecure and he just wanted fame. And I'm like, if you're just reaching for fame, that's not the right reason to do this. Because it comes and it goes and it comes and it goes and it comes and it goes and you got to ride that ride and people love you and they hate you. And you have to figure out what you believe. Like I feel like I always felt like if I believe the good stuff that people say about me, then I have to believe the bad stuff too. So I just. choose not to listen to compliments or, you know, or any kind of like bad stuff.

I just try to, I just try to gauge. And the character, Clarissa, that show was really helpful in, she was like a nonconformist, tough girl who did the right thing, but also what she wanted to do was very strong and passionate. And it taught me at a young age that I could be that way, that I could hold to my beliefs in my values and not, and kind of be unapologetic about it, but also be kind and gracious to everybody like so yeah

that's what I wanted you know and that's that's what I want for my kids it was fun to watch you work because you had to wear two hats in this movie that we did you know where you the actor and doing your shit there and then the producer where sometimes

it was like hold on you guys no this is not happening we need to do this this this and this you know and you were showed your power and in a good way and you had to put that hat on It was tricky. Yeah, I was like, oh, well, that's a tricky one because you don't want to alienate yourself from anybody because you are part of the crew, part of the acting, part of the troop. At the same time, you're like, you guys, we've got to speed this shit up.

Like, come on, let's go. There was, I mean, I got into directing and producing a little bit, but especially directing for efficiency. And it makes me crazy when things aren't efficient. And because this industry can be so wasteful in time, in money, in, everything. And so I really try to look at that and make sure we're using our time the best of our ability and getting the best story. And it was really tricky. This is the first time I've really kind of just produced something and wasn't number one on the call sheet or wasn't direct. So I felt like I was like, how much am I allowed to say? How much am I allowed to influence?

How much am I allowed to, you know, like, or how much do I want it? How much, you know, when will people just shut me down and not listen? So I tried to pick my battles. But it was a tough one. It was hard to know that balance for sure. Yeah. How did you deal with fame? Did you give a shit about it or were you like whatever or I, you know, I mean, at such a young age, too. You know what I liked was getting into the clubs. Right. In my early 20s, like being able to walk in the club. Yeah. Like, that was the only place I really saw it or getting to go to premieres, like when Romeo and Juliet came out and we were just in our first season of Sabrina. I was like, can I go to that? One of my co-stars was like, she had lived

in L.A. And she was like, I want to go to that premiere. Can you ask your publicist? I was like, oh, is that something we can do? And I was like, hey, can we go to see Romeo and Juliet? And they were like, yeah, sure, you want tickets? I was like, oh, I can go see any movie I want, like with the stars of the movie. That's fun. So I would use it for that in Disney World. Like, that was where I used my fame. Right. And getting some cool clothes. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And then just the recognition, you know, street recognition, all of that. Yeah, you were cool. You're cool. You were cool with all that. It never bothered you. It was never kind like, God, like, I know I love being in this business, but this side of it, I'm not,

don't love, or you do love, or. You know, New York was, like, walk in the streets of New York when I was doing theater, nobody knew who I was. Walk in the streets in New York when I did Clarissa, a few people would recognize me, and I'd be like, oh, you watch Nickelodeon, I'm sorry. Like, I was actually, like, kind of, like, embarrassed by that. But then, because I'm like, oh, I'm on a kid's show. You know, I'm like, 16, 17, and I'm like, I'm on a kid's show.

That's weird. But then, um, moving to L.L. I feel like nobody here really, unless you went to Rubeo or the Ivy or something, you know, like, I feel like I was just with everybody else. Like, I was constantly with that 70s show cast or, you know, it's kind of like at events with other people that were, you know, famous also or more famous or, you know, so I feel like it was, I still had a little bit of imposter syndrome of like, will they let me in the club tonight? I don't know. You know, I never thought that the show was as big as it was. Even though I knew people liked it, I didn't know. I didn't know what I had there, really.

Yeah. How many seasons did it run? We did seven seasons on 80. Well, we did four seasons on ABC and three on WB. Right. And then so you were late 20s when it ended? Yeah, 27 and married. 27.

About to be married. Then I started having babies. In 2003, I'm married. 2006 I'm having a baby, and as soon as he turns one, I go to Canada and I do this movie called Holiday in Handcups with Mario Lopez, and it was a Christmas movie for ABC Family. And it was one of the first, I want to say the first Christmas TV movie. And it was such a huge success. I still get told all the time that it's like the number one.

It was for many, many years, the number one rated Christmas TV movie for like probably a decade. And it kind of started the genre of Christmas movies that then became. Hallmark and Lifetime and ABC Family, which still does free form. And now Netflix, now us, now our movie. You know, so it kind of launched this new genre of holiday movies. And, but the thing about holiday in handcuffs is it was really funny. It was like stupid funny. Like, it's one of the only things I will watch that I'm in because it was just so ridiculous.

I kidnap Mario Lopez, bring him out to a log cabin and try to convince my family that he's my boyfriend, but he's not, you know, but he doesn't know where he is. is. I've taken a cell phone. He doesn't know how to get out of the cabin. And I basically kidnapped this guy. And it's really cute, really sweet, really stupid, really funny. And I just got to be over the top and have so much fun with it. So then I wanted to do another one. And I did one called My Fake Fiance for ABC Family. And these were like big money making movies. Yeah, yeah. You know, now we do them for like pennies like compared to what we used to do. But then I did a show because of the movie I did my fake fiancé

with Joey Lawrence, we decided to kind of riff off that and we did a show called Melissa and Joey on ABC Family for five years. That's right. And in that time I'm having babies. I have three kids at this, you know,

in the middle of Melissa and Joey, I have my third baby. And yeah, and I had so much fun with that show. But meanwhile, I'm raising my kids in Connecticut, but shooting a show in L.A. And then when that ended, I took a nice break. came back to Netflix for a show

called No Good Nick with Sean Astin and some incredible young talent and got to play the mom for the first time ever. Wow. I know that. I was already like 42 when I'm playing a mom for the first time. So one of the trips I'm most grateful for was this summer in Greece and it was amazing and the whole family was together.

That doesn't happen very often. Some sun, a few laughs. And my kids love anything adventurous, so it was right up our alley. And what makes those trips even more special is staying in a place on Airbnb. Because you're not just visiting, you're living a local life for a while, which makes the experience so much more memorable. So if you're planning to travel this November, it's also a great time to think about hosting your own home on Airbnb. And the best part, you don't have to handle everything on your own. With Airbnb's co-host network, you can partner with someone local.

to help manage your listing, your guests, and everything in between. Find a co-host at Airbnb.com slash host. What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream, and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time? You get Desi Arness, a trailblazer, a businessman, a husband, and maybe, most importantly, the first Latino to break prime time wide open.

I'm Wilmer Valderrama, and yes, I grew up watching him, probably just like you and millions of others. But for me, I saw myself in his story. From plening canary cages to this night here in New York, it's a long ways. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life. The moments it has overlapped with mine, how he redefined American television,

and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines, waiting for a face like hours on screen. This is the story of how one man's spotlight lit the path for so many others and how we carry his legacy today. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valdez as part of the MyCultura podcast network available on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Robert Smith.

This is Jacob Goldstein. And we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas and destructive companies in the history of business. Having a genius idea without a need for. it is nothing. It's like not having it at all. It's a very simple, elegant lesson. Make something people want. First episode, how Southwest Airlines use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline business. The most Texas story ever. There's a lot of mavericks in that story. We're

going to have mavericks on the show. We're going to have plenty of robber barons. So many robber barons. And you know what? They're not all bad. And we'll talk about some of the classic great moments of famous business geniuses, along with some of the darker moments that often get overlooked. Like medicine and the electric chair. Listen to business history on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What up, y'all? It's your boy, Kevin on stage. I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Moment, where I talk to artists,

athletes, entertainers, creators, friends, people I admire who had massive success about their massive failures. What did they mess up on? What is their heartbreak? And what did they learn from it? I got judged horribly. The judges were like, you're trash. I don't know how you got on the show.

Boo, somebody had tomatoes. I'm kidding. But if they had tomatoes, they would have thrown the tomatoes. Let's be honest. We've all had those moments we'd rather forget. We bumped our head. We made a mistake. The deal fell through.

We're embarrassed. We failed. But this podcast is about that and how we made it through. So when they sat me down, they were kind of like, we got into the small talk. And they were just like, so what do you got? What ideas? and I was like, oh, no. What?

Check out Not My Best Moment with me, Kevin on stage, on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcast. On this week's episode of the next chapter, I, D.D.Jakes, get to sit down with Oprah Winfrey, a media mogul philanthropist, and global trailblazer. My life, although it may look like an anomaly, it has only been possible because I was,

obedient to the calls. This episode dies deep into how Oprah turned pain into purpose and what it really means to evolve with everybody watching. Every decision I have ever made has come from sitting with the spirit and asking God, what would you have me do first? Whether you're rebuilding, reimagining, or just trying to hold it together, this one will speak directly to you listen to next chapter on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast episodes drop weekly no but you always been that like a hustler just meaning like just

keep hustling it up but also having babies doing your thing at the same time i mean that's such a huge sacrifice I guess you we as actors do have to make but you know what point is it kind of not worth it where you are doing Alyssa and Joey your kids are in Connecticut yeah you're not seeing them as much as you know you should or being around as their mom and it's like you know what I'm okay with money I got it everything's fine I need to be a fucking mother it was really tough it was a really tough decision but I thought we had just moved to Connecticut when I did dance with stars and then we backed the pilot onto that for Melissa and Joey. And I was like, but we still moved because I was like, who knows? It's a pilot that's happening in December. It would go next August. I'm not going

to put all my eggs in that basket. So we moved the family to Connecticut. And I thought it was best for them to sleep in their bed and go to school and have like, this is where their roots are. I'll bounce in and out. I'll be sad, but they'll be okay. But now looking back, well, and then I had my third baby and we all moved back to L.A. for a little while. So we moved back to L.A. for a few years. And then when I was doing no good Nick for Netflix, we were living in our house in Lake Tahoe. And I was traveling back and forth. So there's been a lot of like push and pull. But what I like about this business for us is that, and for my family is that it's really like, I can be all in as a full-time mom. And then I'm all in as an actor when I leave and I go on a

project. Like we're in Toronto for six weeks. And it's like, I'm here. I'm in Toronto and I'm working. And then I go home. But there's an end in sight too. I don't know if I do like a job where it's like year after year going to the same office like the like end of it and then I'm like full time mom but I'm also looking for the next thing what's the next job what am I but I'm enjoying my time at home and going to every you know class party or you know getting them ready for homecoming or all that stuff yeah and I think setting an example for your kids as well you know I think you know even subconsciously it's like oh yeah mom's gone but she's working she's doing her fucking thing and she comes back and she's present and in love. And it's, you know, it's, you know, I think that's important as well.

I try. I hope they notice it later on. I don't know that teenage boys really get it yet. Oh, we, oh my God, I know. We don't know. Who knows? Hopefully they come around in their 20s and are like, I really have an epiphany. I realize how amazing you really are. I know. I know. I know. Trust, trust me. It's like, where is that kid that would not let me out of his room because he wanted to cuddle so much. I know. My kid won't even sit on the same couch with me. He's like, what are you doing? I'm like, dude, there's like three spaces between us. And I sit here and watch football. No, why didn't you sit so close? Like, I mean, I definitely have cooties. That's for sure. Well, and then it's like, you know what? Five years ago, you were all over me. You were in my bed

cuddling me. Like, don't leave and not snuggles. What happened? This is what Mark and I had to recently come to grips with, we were like, why am I, like, needing you so much more? Like, why weren't we like this before? Because now we're like holding hands all time. We lean on each other. We're constantly like all over each other. And we're like, what changed in 22 years of marriage? And we're like, oh, the kids were all over us. And we were like, ugh, like, I need a little space. And now we're like, the kids don't want us anymore. So we're like all over each other. Yeah. No, I know. It's so true. And all I can do is hope that that shifts. I think it will.

Everyone says it does. Because Wilder's your oldest, right? Yeah. And he's, I see him like, I mean, I don't know if it was only because on set he would like needed daddy, but like. Yeah, no, it's there. It's there. It's there.

Yeah. My 19 year old is like all about, he's willing to hug me, tells me he loves me, all those things again, right when the 13 year old is like, uh-uh. And I'm like, you were always the one that told me you'd always love me that you were going to marry me and all these things. And he's like, what are you talking about? And they're all taller than me. Like my Christmas card, we just did.

the pictures. I'm like, they're all five, eight and above. And I'm like, what happened? That's so funny. Oh, God. I know. It changes so quick, but like, I do, I do have to say the 19 year old has come back around. The 17 year old is pretty sweet. He recognizes, like, sometimes he'll be, like, grossed out by me. But then other times he'll call me and be like, sorry about that. I love you. Yeah. Yeah, of course. You just have to understand this is what they are, what they're going through. And they're individuating. It's what we all did, you know. So how did you get into producing? It was Sabrina.

We got the comic book and brought it to... Oh, so you were a producer from that. I was a producer from the time I was 20. Yeah, 1920. And then I was always just finding projects. What about these Christmas movies and stuff? Were you able to produce those as well? We produced almost all of them, just not Holiday and Handcuffs.

That one, I was a higher, actor for hire. But the rest of them, we produced them. That's the only way I really wanted to make those Christmas movies. was being in complete control, finding the project, casting it and having fun of it that way. And then directing, like, I directed a lot of Sabrina, but it was really hard for me to get into directing anything I wasn't in. Like, I could say, like, the very first Christmas movie I actually produced was because I directed it, but I promised them I'd take a small part in it, but I really wanted to be the director.

So I'll take a part in this, but I want to be the director. And so that's how I started directing Christmas movies. And then I directed Angelica Houston in a remake of The Watcher in the Woods, which was a Betty Davis scary movie from the 80s. That's cool. It was a movie I loved and it took us 17 years to get the rights from Disney. And so then when we did it, Angelica Houston played the part of Betty Davis and we shot it in Wales and that was wonderful.

That was like 2017. And then during COVID, I was directing three movies that summer. And then I started directing other people's television shows, which was really fun. I was shooting. I was going back and forth between multicam and single cam. I was doing young Sheldon. I was directing the Goldbergs. I was directing Schooled.

I directed I Carly, a few other Netflix of their family shows. So I had so much fun, like 2018 through 2023, directing a ton. So great. And so that was really fun. And then the last three years, honestly, I've been working on this movie on Merry Little X-Miss. Yeah? No, I know. I've spent the last like three years really hunkering down on this one and some other projects I've got going on.

I transitioned from Christmas movies myself, doing them myself, really being in them to doing true crime stuff. So that's been kind of, like I never trusted myself with drama since my Broadway days because I became a sitcom girl. And so I thought, you know, I don't like crying. I don't feel like I'm good at this. Didn't trust myself with it, especially when I did an episode of Law and Order SVU. And I was like, oh, I suck at this. So that's when I did Melissa and Joey. I was like, I need more comedy in my life.

I got to go back. Right. How did you get, but so the directing, did you direct Sabrina? Was that your first? Yeah. I got my DGA card on Sabrina. I did some of our bigger episodes, like our Halloween episodes and our 100th episode. Again, going back to our earlier conversation, it was all about efficiency for me.

I wanted to make sure that show was so difficult because we did shoot it like Clarissa. We rehearsed Monday, Tuesday. Unlike an usual sitcom, we rehearsed for four days and shoot on the, well, shoot on the fourth and fifth. We shot, we rehearsed on Monday and did a run through. We rehearsed on Tuesday and did a run through. And then we filmed Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. And those were long days because we had a lot of scenes. We had a talking cat.

So we had live cats, anatronic cats. We had a ton of special effects. Our special effects guy went off to do Game of Thrones. And our makeup artist now does like Stranger Things and Ryan Murphy. And she's like this award-winning, most award-winning makeup artist. So we had some incredible crew on this show. And we were able to pull the show together. But we were all learning on the job, like all these special effects and all this stuff.

was really complicated. And these season directors would come in and be like, what do I do? And I would oftentimes explain it to them. Yeah. So then I ended up being like, why don't I just direct it? So luckily my mom being my executive producer

was like, I got you a DGA card. You're directing the next episode. And I was like, uh, okay. But I was protected by my crew that I've been working with for a few years. And I knew the characters. And I was there from the start. And I like knew what to do.

And everybody rallied around me. And it was an amazing education and how to direct. It's so great. Love with it. Creatively, that feeds me more than acting. Like, Sean Aston will tell you, like, he calls actors meat puppets a little bit. Like, we do when the director tells us what the script says we have to do and all this stuff.

But when you're directing, you read that script, you get that vision, you make that come true. You know, you're the storyteller in a sense. And I really connect with that more. And I was directing so much for a few years that I would beg for, I was like, I got to make a Christmas movie in order to get my union insurance. Like, I got to keep my SAG insurance. So I need to, like, get an acting job real quick and kind of pop off a Christmas movie so I can keep directing. So, yeah. It was fun, though.

It was fun few years. After, what do you do? What's next? Developing a few more, developing a Christmas movie right now, developing a true crime movie right now, developing a sitcom right now. So a bunch of stuff in the works that hopefully will all sort of start to come to fruition next year. So I'm just, you know, we're all kind of hunkering down for these holidays. And you're happy on your path, meaning, 10 years from now, you want to just keep doing what you're doing.

Like, you have found your, you found your, you've hit your stride. I feel like in the, the New Yorker and me is more about being a working actor and, and working in this industry in any capacity. I'll do craft service. Like, I just love being a part of it and I love doing projects. But I'm also really enjoying, like, middle-aged life with my husband and my kids. And I don't want to miss, you know, all the, like next year my son's going to be, my second son's going to be a senior and I want to go through all that senior stuff with him.

You know, I want to be present. for all that. I want to do big vacations because I know times coming where they're going to have wives and children and they're not going to want their mom and dad around. So I'm trying to really soak all that in in the next few years. And I'm trying to just like really spend time with my husband and, and, you know, at the same time get some passion projects going. I found some great books that I've acquired and, you know, I have a lot going on. You know, we in this industry have so many things we throw at the wall and see what sticks. Yeah. Yeah. And you never really know what's going to work but I have some passion projects that I'm like deep into and I hope you know come to

fruition but did you there are books you've read an option yeah yeah there's there's a few older books or newer books no newer books that are like well newer books I'm obsessed with reading lately like this whole year I've been yeah I've been reading my face off I'm just obsessed well the ones I'm really into are sort of historical fiction yeah dig in some historical fiction I just A little bit. Yeah, they're like murder mysteries, but set in the past. Fun. Yeah, some fun stuff for sure. Fun.

Well, I'm going to see you tonight. Are we screening this movie? Yeah, we're screening the movie. How many times have you watched it already? Is this going to be? I haven't. I haven't really. No, I mean, I've, well, you know, like you said, you only watch that one movie that you like,

I hate fucking watching myself. It drives me crazy. So I'm like, I'm not going to watch it until I have to watch it. You know, Wilder has been watching it. And, you know, he's like, oh, God. You know, he said, is he like, I just said, buddy, you know, just get ready. Watching yourself is, is, no one really loves it. It's super awkward.

You're hearing your voice. You're looking at your hair. You're looking at your clothes. Like, ah, it's overwhelming. Why did I do it that way? I look so uncomfortable. Right. And so it's like, just know that you're going to hate.

You're going to hate yourself, you know, but you'll get used to it. And that's that, you know. So I watch some of the scenes are very cute, really sweet. really real you know what I mean you're going to love it you're going to love it we're going to watch it on a big screen tonight you're going to love it yeah it'll be great I think the audience is going to really love this one because you are so incredibly charming in it you and alicia have amazing chemistry you and jamila have amazing chemistry jamila is so funny piercing yeah she's funny like absolutely hilarious and we just have some hijinks that seriously

ensue so yeah I mean I think this is going to be a new classic Christmas movie for everybody Like that's what I really wanted to bring. Like, I was a little sick of the vanilla sweet Christmas movies that are pumped out every year. They're the same. And I know people like that. People want the predictability of like, I want a happy ending. You know, they're usually going through something tough at the holidays. They're missing somebody.

They're, you know, they didn't get a paycheck this month. They, whatever it is that they're going through, I think the Christmas movies are a safe place for them. But what I miss about Christmas movies is the comedy. I miss the Christmas vacations and elf and home alone and that that sort of fun nature. movie and I really wanted to bring more of that back to a movie and so that's where this one came from like when Holly Hester the writer brought us she was a writer on Sabrina and she brought us the script and I was like oh this is fun like this is fun and I also love that it's not like your exes but you're getting along and the new girl comes in and she's not hated she's not awful she's not

the devil right like we don't want her out immediately like it's not like parent trap where you're like get her out right want her you know Kate kind of falls in love with her too and goes oh I see it like she's really she's fantastic like you know and Pearson's fantastic and you know everybody in this movie is very nice and fun to be around but who actually belongs together is yes it's true and when we were doing press jamila was talking about that a lot which is I love that these aren't two women who are pitted against each other yeah you know which is nice it's not like a young sexy one and then the woman right you know mature who like you know it's it's really like they're both great, but who belongs together is really the ultimate question.

Yes. Yes. So I love it for that. And I think people will love it. And I'll see you tonight. I'll see you tonight. Bye. Bye. Oh, MJ. MJ, she's done some shit. Like, you know, I mean, you know, you get put in its hole a little bit of Melissa Joan Hart and the Sabrina Teenage Witch and blah, blah, blah, blah. And that's who she's thought of. But she's prolific. I mean, she picks her, lane and then fucking pushes the gas down pedal to the metal and just rips it. Directed a ton of things, producing a ton of things. Her mom as a boss, like, you know, pretty cool shit. Anyway, I'm going to leave. Bye.

What do you get when you mix 1950s Hollywood, a Cuban musician with a dream and one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time? You get Desi Arnest. On the podcast starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama, I'll take you in a journey to Desi's life, how he redefined American television and what that meant for all of us watching from the sidelines,

waiting for a face like ours on screen. Listen to starring Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Robert Smith, and this is Jacob Goldstein, and we used to host a show called Planet Money. And now we're back making this new podcast called Business History.

about the best ideas and people and businesses in history. And some of the worst people, horrible ideas, and destructive companies in the history of business. First episode, how Southwest Airlines use cheap seats and free whiskey to fight its way into the airline is. The most Texas story ever. Listen to business history on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What up, y'all? It's your boy, Kevin on stage. I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Moment, where I talk to, artists, athletes, entertainers, creators, friends, people I admire who have had massive success

about their massive failures. What did they mess up on? What is their heartbreak? And what did they learn from it? I got judged horribly. The judges were like, you're trash. I don't know how you got on the show. Check out Not My Best Moment with me kept on stage on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcast. On this week's episode of the next chapter, I, D.D. Jakes, get to sit down with Oprah Winfrey, a media mogul, philanthropist, and global trailblazer. I could feel inside myself at four or five years old, looking through the screen on the back porch, that this is not going to be my life. Listen to the next chapter on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast, episodes drop weekly. The Big Take podcast from Bloomberg News keeps you on top of the biggest stories of the day.

My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day. Stories that move markets. Chair Powell opened the door to this first interest rate cut. Impact politics, change businesses. This is a really stunning development for the AI world and how you think about your bottom line. Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.