Melanated in Melbourne (w/ Ri'chard Caldwell)

Ri’chard Caldwell from the Melanated in Melbourne podcast joins Sam on the couch for a lovely chinwag on all things pop culture, reality TV and life in Melbourne. Ri’chard also tells us about their upcoming event Melanin Vol 2: Soulful Soulstice. Then these gays talk Survivor, Drag Race, Revenge, The Boys, Wheel of Time and MORE. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:07

This podcast was produced on the land of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. Welcome to Australia! Television. The content is hideous.

SPEAKER_03 0:24

Sorry about this. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 0:27

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Oh my god. Rashad. Yes, um. Hello. How are we?

SPEAKER_02 0:32

I'm very well, thank you. How are you going?

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Uh I'm alive. I survived the weekend, and that's pretty much all you can ask for. Oh yeah? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:38

I feel like there's a story there.

SPEAKER_01 0:40

No, I I would say yes, but no. There's every weekend, I feel like I work mostly on the weekends, like socializing, personally, professionally, going out, drinking, doing way too much for my age, which is a number that's redacted. But yeah, I'm alive. And it's Monday, and I woke up smiling and I'm happy to be here. So good.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

I'm alive too. I went out on Friday night, which I've decided is the way to do it. Yeah. Because I had two whole days, which I do need to recover. At this age, uh, which is also redacted. Why is it um to recover? But yeah, even this morning, like, yeah, like fuck. Could do one one more of those.

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Another weekend or another Friday. No, no, both.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Okay. And then another two days to recover.

SPEAKER_01 1:23

Is your is your Friday activities also redacted?

SPEAKER_02 1:24

Is that what No, I went so I went to beefcake.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

I have heard about beefcake.

SPEAKER_02 1:29

Uh yeah, and as you can imagine, it was a lot of sweaty hairy men in a very small space.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Yeah. So I actually only heard about beefcake this weekend. Like it spun off when Thick and Juicy was overrun by uh muscle gaze. I think it's the same. I know, I guess, like the clientele. Sure, sure.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

They're like body positivity, but also buy tickets.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 1:54

There was a lot of like Sydney gay energy there.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Do they have a public holiday this weekend, or was it just they don't have anything going on?

SPEAKER_02 2:03

They can't they they're like, oh, party with the dark room. I'm like, that's so true, that's right. I do remember that. They come down here for everything. So they were there. You could tell who they were a mile away. Because yes, they didn't understand the um assignment. Uh but yeah, I don't know. I'm normally fine with like crowds and confined spaces and stuff, and even I was a bit like Is it too much? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

I I've also aged out of being in a sardine can because it's not my energy. I I want to be able to see you and maybe ideally talk to you. Like, yes, we should be dancing. Always keep dancing, stop texting on the dance floor. But I need to breathe. I with all these germs and moisture, it's a lot, it's a lot.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Speaking of dancing, so we recently met at your lovely partner Max's gig. Yeah, which was fantastic, incredible, and I loved the crowd. The crowd was people were dancing. I was like, these are my people. Um, great music, great vibes. Can't wait for the next one. Oh, yeah. But you're also running an event next month.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

I am indeed. Uh so with my podcast, we started as like a uh come to you, so it was love letter to Australia at first, and then Australians start listening. Like most our fan base is like 70% Australia. Okay. So we kind of had to like pivot our not discussion points. What's the rest of it? Americans. Uh actually it's like 20% American. It's like 10% people just bouncing around because when you I started as a backpacker, so we bounce around and you see everyone, and you kind of stay in touch with people, it's like, oh, I wonder what this is about, and then they start telling their friends. So like we have a really big like Hungarian population listening, and I'm like, and for Thailand also listens to us heavily, and I'm like, thanks, girls. Like, I appreciate you. Shout out to Thailand. Um, but when that because all our audience is Australian, we're like, well, may as well have a meet and greet, have people in person because everyone was like, I would love to see more people like me on stage or have these spaces for us. So then we're like, well, let's throw a party. Why the fuck not?

SPEAKER_02 3:58

Yeah, still aren't gonna throw 'em for you.

SPEAKER_01 4:01

They're not because no disrespect, a little bit of disrespect to Australia party culture. I think a lot of people will go to gigs that are live shows and just stand in the front and talk.

SPEAKER_02 4:10

Oh, yeah. Which is like you know what I've noticed lately, and I want to aren't alive. Yeah, is you go to gigs and there's like 20 somethings there, and they're taking photos, not of the performer, but of themselves. Yes, like look, I went outside while the show is happening. I'm like, what are you doing?

SPEAKER_01 4:30

It's like people, everyone's a content creator these days, and that's derogatory as someone who's creating content. I I'm I'm dogging myself as well. Like, I every experience has to be like recorded, otherwise it didn't happen. And I'm like, you could just dance, you could just be in the moment, you could have them, you could have this day and be like, I remember this. Take a picture with the performing artist, take a picture with your friends after the show. Like, let's stop being distracting.

SPEAKER_02 4:52

Well, the old sticker on the camera thing is coming back in now too, as well. I hear really like a lot of events a friend of mine went to an event this weekend where they had, yeah, at the door, they don't like take your phone off you, but they put a sticker over your camera. Love that.

SPEAKER_01 5:06

I love that as well. I thought that was mainly for like darkroom-esque parties. But if that's no, this was just uh, yeah. I think that's progress. Bring it back.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

Uh maybe this or look, don't get me wrong, I'm all for like, you know, you got all dressed up, take a pick of the fit, you know, yeah at the front of the venue or near the sign or something, just do or if it's your friends gig and you want to, yeah, capture them doing their thing and promote them, great. But that's like of the performance not like you. It's not about you.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

It is not have your own show. Have people taking pictures of you, and that's better angles, it looks more candid. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

When you're on the stage.

SPEAKER_01 5:40

When you're on the stage. Um but yeah, no, a tangent. That's crazy. Me having a tangent, that's what unlikely.

SPEAKER_02 5:47

Oh, yeah, by the way, expect tangent heavy.

SPEAKER_01 5:50

Yeah, I'm so sorry.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

I mean, I'm not sorry, but you've got two podcasters on a couch.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Ready to shoot. Whoops. Uh, but our next show is next month. It is called Melanin, and I have Volume two? Volume two. This is our second one of that. We've created a few mini-series of events. Like our podcast live is different from ours, like shows where it's like community-centered.

SPEAKER_02 6:08

So is your podcast always live, by the way?

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Uh no.

SPEAKER_02 6:11

Because the few episodes, there's like a crowd will pop up, and I'm like, oh, okay. Amazing. I'm like, I'm like, is this bitch just always out there with the crowd?

SPEAKER_01 6:21

I have high anxiety. Like, this is actually a really this is a big reveal, but I get anxious in front of crowds, I get anxious on stage, but I kind of like switch into my alter ego, and he is scared of nothing. Okay. Riri is like, okay, cool, I got this, babe. Don't worry, tag in, tag out. Richard has logistics. I will get everyone there, and then Riri is on stage. He's like, give me the attention, camera's on me. I'll put on a show if you look at me for too long. Richard's like, I didn't want to exist today. Like, I would be in an ethereal plane if I could. Um live put is good.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

I've done it once, and I thought it was gonna be like a tough sell, but like plenty of people came. I've got to do it again. But yeah, it's I did get like incredibly nervous beforehand. Yeah, even though I've you know performed in the past and stuff, but something about that format freaked me out. But it was fine.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Yeah, it's different. But you're also a performing artist, aren't you?

SPEAKER_02 7:07

Yeah. I haven't, I mean, it's well and truly on the back burner now I'm doing this. Yeah. And this is just way too addictive and fun.

SPEAKER_01 7:14

Obviously, you're here, but are you also on doing everything on the back end as well? Because that would be time consuming. This is all you're so brave. Yeah, you're so brave and powerful. Oh, weekly, week so we're fortnightly. Yeah, yeah. And I I curse at the gods every single time I have to do an episode. I have a problem.

SPEAKER_02 7:30

But um so tell me about the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Okay. Uh so my podcast is called Melinated in Melbourne. And as I mentioned previously, it started as a love letter to my family back home. If you have not noticed, I'm very American, even though I've been here for nine years. Which state? Uh so I was born in California. Okay. I lived there for about seven years, then I moved to Texas for off and on for 15 years, and that's I actually lead telling people I'm from California if I don't think I will ever see them again. If I if I think there's gonna be a friendship, I will tell them Texas, because then they're like, you got steers and queers and shooting pew pew pew. And like, I'm a gay black man, I can assure you none of those things would allow for me to have personally.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

Um but yeah, so I've been speaking of so just really quickly on Texas, did you ever watch the show The A-list Dallas? No, I did not. Oh my homework for you. Okay is a crazy fucking show. It was like back when they were trying to give like queer reality shows a go. So it would have been like, I don't know, like 2010s group of gay men in Dallas just going out and yeah, throwing drinks at each other, but whilst wearing cowboy hats. It was great. And of course, they were all like real estate agents.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Realistically, that's pretty standard. Like, I there's a thing called Delatude. I'm not sure if you're familiar with it. I I felt like we would have talked about it on any of these rally TV shows, but Dallatude, like the gays in Dallas are honestly more vicious than the LA gays and New York gays, any of the other gays that people stereotypically think about.

SPEAKER_02 8:54

I believe it.

SPEAKER_01 8:55

They'll because Dallas is so like everything's bigger in Texas, including the attitude. Including the guns. Including the guns, the guns, the guns. Never mind. This is not this is not a kid's show. Okay. Uh no, so the Dallas gays being mean to each other is not an unknown concept. And real estate is even the top tier of the top tier. They're like, oh, I'm better than you.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Oh my god, if every time I meet a gay in real estate, I'm like, oh I'm like looking for the exit.

SPEAKER_01 9:20

I assume they're terrible people. Like I I'm sure there's nice, queer real estate agents out there. I'm sure. I have not met one of them.

SPEAKER_02 9:26

I'm yet to meet one, but go off.

SPEAKER_01 9:29

Allegedly.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

Oh my god. Okay, so sorry, where are we? We're in Dallas, and then somehow you end up in this fine city.

SPEAKER_01 9:37

Yes, so uh I was in Dallas until uh like I did my half of college. I did all of college and half of Rewind. Yeah, I did half of col high school and all of undergrad in Texas, and I was like, you know what, that's enough. I gotta go back to California. I was there for two years doing my full-time job, absolutely loved it. But I finally had enough money to travel, and I don't know how familiar you are with the American culture of like living there, but with 50 states, you can vacation somewhere every single year and still never see everything. And it's yeah, so that where there's a brainwashed activity like everything's here, don't look behind the curtain, there's no war embossing, say. Um essentially, I was like, let me get a passport at 24, and I was like, I want to see a continent a year. And I'm like, I started with Europe, it was great, it was cool. My first stop was Ireland, and I shout out to the Irish.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Oh, the Irish uh so lovely.

SPEAKER_01 10:24

Like, I would everyone was always scared that somewhere's gonna be a racist, and obviously everyone's racist to some capacity. Absolutely, and I'm like, I'm not gonna let that stop me from living because I'm gonna be black and gay till the day I die. Yeah, the best thing I can do is just be like, oh, I am here, and this per this place is good, this place is acceptable, or this place is not really where I'm gonna be. Yeah. But my second stop was Australia, and I showed up during Mardi Gran accident.

SPEAKER_02 10:45

And And you thought it was just like that old.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

No, I did, I because no people know of Australia, but they're like, oh, Sydney is cool. I I thought it was this gay mecca that nobody told me about, and like gatekeeping gayness is so rude. Uh but then I found out that it was an event and everyone that I met was French or Dominican or Canadian. I'm like, how are you here? How are you here for so long? And they said working holiday visa. And again, Australia is so far away. Americans like, everything's here. What's a working holiday visa? Don't worry about outside. Close the blinds. So when I found out, I'm like, oh, I gotta go. I gotta go. It's for one year. It's for one year. Narrative. He lied. He lied several times. Um I got here and fell in love with the place before I even knew uh anything. Met my ex, almost got married, covet happened. And then by the time that we got out of COVID, skipped that hard skip. And please don't bring it back. Um yeah, I forgot a lot of people.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

And Nicole, your lovely co-host, who did a great job the other now. She did kept that fucking part of it. And I love when she got real school teacher when people were talking. She was like, Oh, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 11:50

Oh, you don't get it. I was like, oh, Nicole, do not fuck with it. When Nicole's on stage, it's just like she'll spin in the booth. Nicole's like, we, whatever. It's like we switched. In the booth, I'm leading. On stage, she's leading. Like, I'll tell her what was supposed to happen. But she's like, but I'll put some flair on it.

SPEAKER_02 12:04

Did you guys meet here?

SPEAKER_01 12:05

We met here.

SPEAKER_02 12:06

Oh, awesome.

SPEAKER_01 12:07

Yeah, so it was in between lockdowns. Yeah. Um, the first of February is coming up, and I'm like, Black History Month's coming. I'm gonna be here for a long time. Everybody knows a black American, whether a distant friend, close cousin, whatever. So I'm like, this is gonna be weird, but send them to me. Give me all their numbers, send them my way. I want to have a black people meetup. So we met up, got drinks on Black History Month, and she was my friend's waitress the week before. And my friend was like, Are you American? So yeah, are you American? And they had the whole like scream, they're like, ah! And then they got excited, and my friend invited her. And immediately the commission was like, brother and sister. Never met her from a can of beans, and I'm like, Oh, I fuck with you, heavy. Here we're we're doing this.

SPEAKER_02 12:46

Yeah. And the rest is history. And the rest is history. Amazing. And you've been potting since 23? 23. Same here. Yeah. What a year to start a podcast. What a year to start a podcast. And we're both still doing it, which is good. Most of them have. They've given up. It's not for the week. It is not for the week.

SPEAKER_01 13:03

I'm very self-taught. I did sociology and then I did higher education student development. So I don't know anything about editing and audio, and it was just like, you know what? I can tell a story, and that's good enough.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

Um so we're gonna have a few little chats today about some of the stuff you're watching. I'm really keen to get your takes on some reality Goss, etc. Um, but first, I know it's like been a week, but Metball, how do we feel about the Bezos of it all? How are we feeling?

SPEAKER_01 13:38

So I I I love fashion. Like I I love to dress up, I love to try new concepts, I love to see new concepts, and I've always enjoyed the Met Gala for a while. I think during COVID, when they kept having it, it just felt very hunger game style, like the rich capital's doing this stuff while we're all fighting for toilet paper. Uh I especially when Bezos was hosting this year, I was like, oh yeah. And I I think this year, especially the last few years, but like removing my relationship, my parasocial relationship with celebrities and being like, oh, they would never do this. They couldn't. I'm like, these people don't know you, they don't care about you. Yeah. And I'm like, I just stopped giving them my time a lot of it. Like, I will see the outfits because my friends still post the polls of like, who wore this? Flop uh bopper poot. Yeah, I don't know what the words are.

SPEAKER_02 14:23

Oh yeah, oh, the unsolicited gay expert opinions do come out this time of year. And I don't know. Which I kind of love like just seeing people be like as they sit in their rolls with three uh whole boat holes in it.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

I'm like, okay, yes, yeah, you are the icon, that's why you're at the Met Gala yourself, or using the AI Met Gala filter, which is embarrassing.

SPEAKER_02 14:45

That that that's cringe is l punishable by law in my view.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

You could never pull that outfit off, first of all.

SPEAKER_02 14:51

You don't have it I like I'm sorry, I've I've unfollowed a few people this year. I have also unfollowed a few people. You were not there. Like you will never be there.

SPEAKER_01 15:00

You darling. Never, especially because you thought this was a good look. Someone lied to her several times.

SPEAKER_02 15:07

Uh do you know who I I do believe got away with it? Was Nicholas Holt in this leather look because I'm all ready to scream appropriation. But I was like, looking like that, you can have it.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

Yeah, uh I think ever since he shaved his head for uh turned a boy to a man.

SPEAKER_02 15:32

Because I've never people froth over him, and I've never been a fan. Like of what like sure, he's like seems lovely, whatever, but that's not my normal look. Yeah, he just kind of seems like a bland English guy, no.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

That's just a generic twink of what he's doing.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

Exactly, but then something about him with the shaved on that letter or was like, he worked out he was looking big.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Yeah, his twink death came fast and hard. Yeah. Like he went like choops, full skin head, and I'm like, you know what? Sure.

SPEAKER_02 15:58

It's like well done.

SPEAKER_01 15:59

Good for you. Yeah, um, but no.

SPEAKER_02 16:00

Plus the timing of it all with the uh Devil Wears Prada 2 coming out, yeah. Not lost on me.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

No, and I think Anne Hathaway was on I don't is she always there, or was it like kind of a surprise that she was there? I don't know. I don't give a forethought.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

I don't fucking keep up with this shit. All I know is like if you were invited and you didn't go because of Bayes, I was like, fuck yeah, solidarity to you. I love that. Yes, yeah, it's so easy to you know never say no to an opportunity.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Like, you know, I gotta go. It's like you don't have to. Absolutely not. You don't have to do it.

SPEAKER_02 16:33

It's almost become actually I think it has become like not a particularly cool thing anymore, let's be honest. It it it's been ruined for a long time.

SPEAKER_01 16:43

And I think uh ethical consumption of all of that aside, a lot of the people don't know how to match a theme. Like if there's a theme, where and I also have that gripe about what even was the theme?

SPEAKER_02 16:56

I never know.

SPEAKER_01 16:57

I find out like weeks later, and I'm like because like fashion is art, so I It's like RuPaul's drag race.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Like I always miss what the theme is, and then I spend the whole runway trying to guess what it is.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

Yeah, and I'm like obscure reference.

SPEAKER_02 17:10

Was it huh? I'm like, I think maybe it was reveal, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

Reveal.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Oh yes, sorry. Mess. I am looking forward to stop that train though. I'm not gonna lie. It actually looks fucking good.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

No, I I'm not a train person. I and I Well, your partner is yes, I know, and that's why I am a trans person by association. Uh, but because it's drag race, and I I think with drag race I've been oversaturated with the content since lockdown. It was like, cool, this isn't finished, but now there's all stars, and there's this one and this other country, and this one. I'm like, let them like wear the crown. Like when it first came out, I'm showing my age. I watched it on logo, like season one, when there was no season one, and it was like no budget for anything.

SPEAKER_02 17:52

I went on the drag race cruise in 2012 with Michelle Vassage.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

That is iconic.

SPEAKER_02 18:00

We were like the only Australians, like us and our group of friends. And Michelle was like, What the fuck? You she was like, What? Like, people are watching this show in Australia, and I was like, Yeah, yeah, bitch.

SPEAKER_01 18:10

So I was in the trenches. Yeah, and it was like when that happened, I was like, Okay, this is cool, this is great. But when you won, you got to like it wasn't much prize, but like to say that you won, but you got to be the winner for the year. Now you get to be the winner for three weeks.

SPEAKER_02 18:21

You get to be the winner for the five minutes, and and no one even watched the season, and they're like, Who?

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Yeah, it was like 15.

SPEAKER_02 18:29

Yeah, do they get gigs now after it?

SPEAKER_01 18:31

Do they get I don't think I think local I that's one of my other gripes. Like, I know I'm wearing a drag race shirt from uh down under season one. Which was an iconic moment. Actually, an iconic moment. A real, a real moment. Truly.

SPEAKER_02 18:45

Like if if the rest of the show had been like that, if there were like little dramatic moments like that, it's like oh we do not have time to unaster. Maybe, maybe next time. Maybe next time we'll come back. That would actually be fun.

SPEAKER_01 18:57

As I was at uh Calum for Finance's watch party for the thing.

SPEAKER_02 19:01

Oh my god, you were at those? At the like curtain and stuff? Yes. Oh my god. Were you there? Yeah, I was always at the small world though.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

We probably passed each other a million times and didn't notice. Yeah. Uh but no, uh, oversaturation. I don't watch drag race so much because there's just so much. Like it's just too much. And I get overwhelmed.

SPEAKER_02 19:16

I'll try to watch All-Stars. This weekend, the the current one that just started. What numbers? Do you know?

SPEAKER_01 19:22

11. All-Star is 11.

SPEAKER_02 19:24

And I literally started that and I was like, I don't know if I can do this.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

No, that's brave. I no, no, yeah, I'm with you.

SPEAKER_02 19:34

And also now they're doing this like tournament format where there's like 500 cast members like split into brackets. Who asked for that? Who the fuck asked for that?

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Yeah, this this is literally the hunger gang.

SPEAKER_02 19:46

Give me less people that are like actually good players.

SPEAKER_01 19:49

Because then you have to get the screen time, because if you're an audience member, I want to know who they are. Like, don't give me too many characters to try to invest in. Wild. And you eliminate them weekly. And I'm like, I just learned that one's name. So yeah, I don't think they're getting gigs because it's just oversaturated. They're probably doing the same they were before the show, except they're in debt because they bought new costumes for all that.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

I feel like they get some cash now for the costumes, which like about time. I love that for the first time. Give them an allowance.

SPEAKER_01 20:12

Yeah. You're getting all this free content, and they're like, I get to be embarrassed on national television or people give me hate comments for not doing XYZ.

SPEAKER_02 20:19

For looking shit, and it's like, well, I got given nothing. Yeah. I just rocked up. Yeah, craziness. Who do you think the last like star to emerge from that show was?

SPEAKER_01 20:33

I think not Olivia Lux. Um she won season 12. Twinkie black woman. Twinkie. They were they were in are they in uh Stop That Train as well. Um God, it's gonna it's gonna kill me. They're their roommates with Wait, do you remember seeing the movie Bros? The movie Bros. Yes, do I remember? There's the drag queen who's out of drag. Oh yeah, we have the internet. Um sweet tooth. I just keep remembering her quote.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

And they were in bros. Jada Essence Hole.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Oh no, season 12? Oh 10. They're all blurring together.

SPEAKER_02 21:25

Aquaria.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Eleven? I love it. I know she I know she won. I know she won. I unless I'm being mandato. Maybe oddly. Okay, now now I'm look now I'm showing my age because I can't even.

SPEAKER_02 21:37

Maybe they didn't win. You don't think I'm talking about Simone? Simone, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:40

But what season did Simone win? Did she win? I swear Simone won.

SPEAKER_02 21:44

Didn't she win like the COVID season? If she didn't win, I love that we should be able to do it. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

Listen, that's how everyone's there's no Oh here you go.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Season 13. Some gay some gay listening just then was very frustrated by us not knowing that and was screaming. And to that person I say, calm the fuck down.

SPEAKER_01 22:03

Write some hate comments because it's still engagement. Yeah, please. Be mad at me. Be like these tags, don't even.

SPEAKER_02 22:07

No. So I love Simone. She was amazing.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

So like Simone, I think Simone was the last big star.

SPEAKER_02 22:12

And that was like a COVID season.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

And they had to like record it. Yes, they had to Skype in. That was crazy. But no, that I think that I think probably Simone. Yeah. I don't remember. Simone is out of Dragon Bros. They're in like a thruple with two of the other characters. It was a kind of a throwaway role. Like I was like, oh my god, yeah, girl, get it. You're gonna be a generic character, which again is no disrespect because she's still got her money. And as someone who does extra work, being in the film without being the star, you still get paid. You still you still get your money, get that check, cash it, do what you gotta do. Um but yeah, I think Simone, so crazy I can remember the song.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

You're right. I think she's probably the last big star that I'm like excited about and love.

SPEAKER_01 22:52

Or at least that wasn't already famous because obviously like Sasha came on in 15 or whatever and was like, I'm Sasha, yeah. I'm Sasha Colby. Yeah, so you were already famous. Like it wasn't you weren't made by Drag Race. So yeah, I think maybe so.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

Unfortunately now they all come on and it's like they were born in like 2000, and they're like, I grew up watching this show, and that's where I learn about dragon, it's like ah that hurts to hear. It hurts to hear, and also it it it has a negative effect on the show, unfortunately. I I I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Because they they have this idea of what's supposed to be happening, and it trickles down to local dragons where people are expecting you to backhand splits and do all these other things a little bit. It's like get on stage, these are still performers who are doing their best.

SPEAKER_02 23:40

I'm looking at the list of cameos in Stop That Train. It's it's extensive and extensive, and of course, this is what Rue does best. The fracking? Besides the fracking, she does uh gets the little Rolodex out and calls everyone.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

If RuPaul calls you up, that's probably one of the ones you can't say no to.

SPEAKER_02 24:00

Yeah, agreed. My god. Um, so I asked you what you're watching at the moment. Yes. I'd like to discuss some of these shows with you. The first two I've not really fucked with. Wheel of Time. Yes. So I I know some guys that are like full like wheelheads. Oh, absolutely. Are you in that category?

SPEAKER_01 24:19

I am not. So I I I famously like to be like a jack of all trade master of none. Like I will know approximate knowledge of everything. And when Wheel of Time came out a couple years ago, I was like, uh, it dropped the same time as uh Ring of Powers. I'm like, you have two high fantasy shows on the same platform. You made some wild choices here.

SPEAKER_02 24:35

Also, the titles, I'm sorry. Yeah, tame, but let's get a bit more creative.

SPEAKER_01 24:42

It's interesting. I will give it interesting. As a big Lord of the Rings person, like that was my first high fantasy, and you'll take that from my cold dead hands. Um I was hesitant on both of them, but when I found out that Wogle Time got cancelled, I it's a it's an it's a bad trait of mine, but when things are over, I'm like, okay, I can sit with it because I can tell myself I know it's gonna give me a horrible cliffhanger. Like it's rather than watching episode by episode and be like, oh my god, what's gonna happen? You'll never know. And I'm like, okay, I'll just jump out this window. So when I found out that it was cancelled, I was like, let me give it a try. I watched one episode and Max was in the other room. Max doesn't watch TV, but he'll watch it if I make him, or if he's nearby and hears it and like gets pulled into the room. After two episodes, Max's like, what's happening? And then he'll like be at his desk, and then he'll be in the kitchen, and then he'll be standing in the living room, and then he'll be sitting down, and then we're watching together. So it's like, as soon as you sit down with me, unfortunately it's our show, and now you've just ruined my life because I have to wait for you.

SPEAKER_02 25:32

How horny is it? Because I find fantasy genre stuff is usually fantasy genre everyone.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

True incestuous. That's how they get you. People love having sex with their cousins, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

I think that's how they make all fantasy shows. They get the data on the research. And they're like, a lot of motherfuckers are looking at Baron Baroness content, and they're like, well, here we are. We're definitely proceeding with the pilot.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

Yeah. But despite it not being very horny, it is very good world building, and I love good politics. Like when they're they're all obviously everyone has magic and dragons or what have you, but when they're strategically beating each other with their minds, you got me.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

That's cool.

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Because that's like you can take all my powers away, but I can still outmaneuver you. Yeah, it's still it still keeps it a little bit grounded because like that's what people do in real life, but there's also a dragon over there.

SPEAKER_02 26:31

Oh well, now that it's been cancelled, I'll definitely be late to the party.

SPEAKER_01 26:34

And there's only eight episodes a season, so like Max is trying to fly through. I was like, but babe, there's three episodes left and it's done. And then you're gonna be like, what do I do now? It's like he needs to be engineer. I'm not a bench drone. I wanna because I know it's cancelled, so why am I rushing it? I know you're done. Absolutely. I want to absorb it. I want to like let it sit. Yes, and that and that's who I am as a person.

SPEAKER_02 26:53

The next show has also been cancelled, or well, is finishing, and it's the boys. Yes. So I tapped out some time ago, but I remember the first couple seasons, and I remember loving it, so I don't actually know why I tapped out.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

It maybe it was too close to reality. I think maybe I say that as an American and I I I have legal space to say this because the uh writer Eric Kripke, I don't know if you know what to say his name. He also did Supernatural. Uh he loves like on the nose.

SPEAKER_02 27:23

It feels probably the whole show. Oh even if it's not.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_02 27:26

For some reason it just feels or is it just because it's on prime?

SPEAKER_01 27:29

I think it's on prime. It's it's gory and it's actively offensive. Like it's not as offensive as South Park was in its early days for like what's happening here, but it's gory and it's just like on the nose a lot. And to a certain point, I think that was to its detriment. This season this season.

SPEAKER_02 27:45

Yeah, and it's a hyper masculine world.

SPEAKER_01 27:48

And they're doing it on purpose, but a lot of the guys like they had to turn it up the last few seasons because there were people who were watching it, be like, Yeah, I relate to these guys. Uh-huh. And they had to basically introduce Proud Boys in the show to be and show, like, hey, these are bad.

SPEAKER_02 28:00

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And like they to make it to like just to make like we're not building uh inredeemable character world.

SPEAKER_01 28:06

Yeah, they're trying they they realized they were already did a little bit, and so they're like, Oh, so I think you tap that around time.

SPEAKER_02 28:11

Yeah, I've totally forgotten about all that controversy, but I feel like it did have a bit of a shroud over it. But then I did see that the fifth and final season is currently on, and I was like, oh, yeah, you yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:24

You've got two weeks, uh two or three weeks until you're done.

SPEAKER_02 28:27

Yeah, I feel like that feels more achievable as well.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

Well, it's five seasons that are eight episodes each, and there's also the two spin-off seasons of Gen V.

SPEAKER_02 28:36

That's right. Okay, I did I did try that.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

I liked it better. Yeah, it got cancelled before I had a third season, which was disrespectful because they're like, it's gonna carry on after the show.

SPEAKER_02 28:47

And I'm like, Is it a slightly more queer version of the boys?

SPEAKER_01 28:51

Because the name is it is significantly more queer. They're in college, everyone is at least bisexual because like they're all going back and forth. There's not a spoiler, there's a character who is literally trans, and both they they can transition between, and one side has a gender, and the other one has has a different power. One has one power, another so one's defensive, one's offensive. Awesome. So they'll be like, Oh yeah, Jordan is the strong one. They're both called Jordan, like the non-binary trans person, I think. And they can like shift between and their powers are different depending on what body they're in. And it's really it's a really cool concept. So I'm mad that that's not gonna get more time.

SPEAKER_02 29:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:28

Um, but it it's a good show.

SPEAKER_02 29:30

That sounds kind of like Heartbreak High, the reboot. Did you watch that?

SPEAKER_01 29:34

I watched a few episodes. So I didn't know it was there was a reboot, because again, America. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh but when it came on, like everyone's like dying. It's like, oh, what a great reboot. It's like what Degrassi did in like Degrassi Junior High and then the Degrassi next generation. I liked it, but it was good.

SPEAKER_02 29:49

But I can also see why they gave up after the third series because it did kind of run its course. I was like, okay.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

And it's like that and uh a heartstopper. I'm not a I'm not in high school anymore. Like I love it for them, and I love that they can get better queer representation than we did.

SPEAKER_02 30:02

It it makes you a little bit mad though, doesn't it? Because you're like, fuck these kids in their utopian world.

SPEAKER_01 30:08

You had a boyfriend who took him to the promo and they were you won the prom king. Stop. I I skipped mine because I was like, I'm not doing this to myself. So I love that they can have it, or ideally they're having it, because it could be fiction, but I hope that that's true and what's real for them.

SPEAKER_02 30:23

I did a good job, uh, maybe in the earlier seasons of being like, yes, we've built this utopian world, but there was a few There's a bit of social commentary in there, but yeah, you're right. I think this this last one, I'm just like, what the fuck was that? Sorry, tame. But it looked great, and every you know, super diverse cast, and everyone's fucking pansexual and like dressed in like Pam. And I was like, Do you know what I mean? Like they're all these like public school kids and they're just like head-to-toe, like designer. Yeah, somebody in that, you know, Namcore by the city.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

Northside to stand up. Yeah. It's all designer, but I ran it over just to make it look authentic.

SPEAKER_02 31:07

Now, the last show of the list you gave me that I want to discuss, and this is one that when you said this, I had a little gay, like because I got so excited, and it's revenge. Yes. This is a fucking whole classic show that I had a brief phase of being very obsessed with.

SPEAKER_01 31:31

Yes, I I didn't know like it's such an Australian staple. I was watching Yes, like in America, it didn't get that big in my life. Oh, it was big here. I think I don't know if it was just big here, but like my crew was like Scandal, How to Go with Murder, Grey's Anatomy. Like, that was our ABC show. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. And Revenge was on at the same time, but it was like Revenge was like on a Wednesday, and it's like Wednesday's in theater third time.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

Alias was also very big here, and I feel like they're kind of in the same universe where it's like you've got this like pretty basic white lady putting on wigs and running around, and it's actually a secret agent.

SPEAKER_01 32:04

Yeah. She's like, uh that that's the thing. I'm almost done with season one. Like, I'm very, I'm very late to the game, and I was like, boy, is my housemate one day, and it's like I put it on, and it was just the most unhinged characters. And the monologue, the quotes, it was like, and to the best revenge is best served cold with a Chianti. But also, my dad never drank those, so that's why he's dead.

SPEAKER_02 32:24

It's the campus show I would say ever made. Like the green screen backgrounds of the Hamptons. And just what's her name? Uh Emily? The Grayson Multiple. Oh, Victoria Victoria. Victoria Grayson. Her just staring off into like the distance, which you know is like a fucking sound stage, because they did not shoot they wouldn't they were never in the Hamptons at any point. I They were in Burbank or something.

SPEAKER_01 32:51

I'm obsessed with her. I'm obsessed with Victoria Grayson because like again, the main I never liked the main character. Like, mine never said the main character's supposed to be on.

SPEAKER_02 32:59

And hasn't her career just skyrocketed? Like, girl. Did she get paid well? Because I know it was like I know she married the guy, the Daniel Grayson guy. Did she they got together on? I don't know if they're still together. Well, hopefully. Emily Van Camp. Emily Van Camp, yes. She's kind of iconic for being so flop. She's like Melissa Joanhart.

SPEAKER_01 33:17

Where the fuck are they now? She started as like a child actor because she was in Evergreen, uh, Everwood. She was she was in a WB show where like that she was the main love interest girl. So for her to go from that in the 90s, 2000s to the tens being like, this is my show, it's a bad show, respectfully. I love I I love a little bit about TV.

SPEAKER_02 33:38

Yeah, I I would say revenge is the best bad show ever made. And the fact that you get it gets better, it rewards you the more time goes on. And now I'm glad you told me you're only at season one as well. Because I will withhold. But all you need to know is that wherever you think it's gonna go, nut.

SPEAKER_01 33:56

Oh no, it's it's been a great drinking. My housemate and I were like, we'll have a drink anytime something we're like, we have like different rules by the first five minutes of every episode. It's so rough, but I love it. I love it.

SPEAKER_02 34:09

It's great, incredible show. I rewatched like all of it during COVID. That was my escape. Yeah, because I was like, this is amazing. Yeah. Just on my own. My partner was like, Are you okay? And there, because I'd just be like wailing with laughter.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

I was a lost rewatcher during uh COVID. Teen Wolf and Lost are my rewatch shows. Nice. If I can Oh, and Avatar The Last Airbender, because I have to always and forever. Uh but oh so much lockdown time. Revenge. My brain just like reset itself. It was like, Where are we? Right, not lockdown. We're we're good. We're good. Present day. Present day.

SPEAKER_02 34:42

Present day. We're not there anymore. So reality TV. Reality TV. Do you what do you fuck with, if anything?

SPEAKER_01 34:49

Uh so I it's uh I have a strange relationship with reality TV. I used to watch like Flavor of Love. Did you were you ever in that genre? Like Flavor of Love gave us one of the best icons to ever walk the stage.

SPEAKER_02 35:01

That is the H B I Sa.

SPEAKER_01 35:03

New York Tiffany Apollo, you can do no wrong. Like you can do everything wrong and still do no wrong. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 35:08

She has just got like a standing reservation on House of Villains with no explanation is so correct to me.

SPEAKER_01 35:16

Oh, like protect her at all costs. Like the way in which the I can quote a billion New York words, and it's just like my brain rotten. She doesn't need protection. She is fine. She's like, oh no, I've got my army. I've got my army. So uh my heyday of reality show was like when it first started, like when they put them in the house, it's like us real life. Real world, all that shit. Yeah, it's real world, it's real life, road rules, all those things. And when it got to the TV.

SPEAKER_02 35:39

That kind of MTV stuff wasn't huge here. I think only because at that time to access that, you had to have like foxtel, or like you know, like cables. It wasn't very like you know, everyone knew someone in their school that like had it, but that they were like the rich kid, you know what I mean? It wasn't like fully accessible, so we weren't all watching the real world or whatever, but some people definitely did.

SPEAKER_01 36:04

Yeah, I would say I was watching because everyone else was watching it. And when I moved to Australia, I moved here in 2017, so like I've been here for almost a decade, and so like that water cooler talk has shifted away from reality TV show in a in an in I guess a bit. Because like there's still Survivor, there's uh Mary to First Sight, which I tried to hate watch one season only because I knew a person on it and I hated him. Um you know what? Fuck it. His name his name is Mike. He was the first gay couple on Mary to First Sight. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. And he was we were friends, and then he just his public etiquette was bad. He was not a good community friend, he's not a good individual.

SPEAKER_02 36:42

Well, I'm sorry to say, but if you go on that show, my opinion of you is in the basement anyway.

SPEAKER_01 36:48

And he wanted to be famous so badly that he was happy to blow up on national TV for his 40k,000 followers and a few free gifts.

SPEAKER_02 36:56

I'm like, my MAFS is a fucking choice.

SPEAKER_01 36:59

It is, it's the wrong one. Yeah, it's the wrong choice.

SPEAKER_02 37:02

I have a friend at the moment who's toying. He's in talks with production, and I'm like, Is he in crisis? Is he in crisis? Because that feels like a blonde dyeing their hair, like a dyeing their hair blonde.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

Yes, my next crisis movie is to go on MAFS. No, I'd rather I would rather unalive myself than be on MAFs. Like I've done reality TV before, and I've like auditioned before out of boredom, but yeah, yeah, yeah. I yeah, actually, I think that's what made me kind of off reality TV show. During lockdown, my ex here it's gonna be real personal, you're welcome. Uh my ex cheated on me, and I was like, just during lockdown, I'm like, I want to get out of the house because we're stuck here. So I auditioned for this reality TV show that ended up being the mole, the new, the rebooted season for Netflix. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_02 37:45

The one that they filmed here, but it was an American cast. I got like halfway through that, and I was like, I don't know, man. I couldn't watch it because someone told me who the mole was, and I was like, oh well, there you go.

SPEAKER_01 37:55

Well, that's that's the thing. Like, I was actually really excited. I was very excited. The process of that was silly because they can't tell you the name in advance. So, like, yeah, oh, you're gonna go for they called it the inside the insider or something. And I'm like, this sounds suspicious. And I figured out it was the mole very I was.

SPEAKER_02 38:09

I think it was an originally Australian format that show. Really? It was a reality show like when I was a kid that I loved. Yeah. Um, and then I think it's one of the very few formats that we've actually done well, done well with elsewhere. I think it's like that and the block.

SPEAKER_01 38:24

I I do enjoy the block as a concept, but a lot of the rally TV shows you guys have here would not fly in America. They they wouldn't care. What? And it's like this is a game show to spend all your money and not do your house. If we're not fighting, thinness. No.

SPEAKER_02 38:41

No, Australians do have a fascination for like very mundane things like I'm a celebrity, get me out of here is fun.

SPEAKER_01 38:48

I I do actually enjoy that. I don't watch it actively. I have a friend who was on Survivor, the American Survivor, and I watched that one. Uh Mary was on season. Oh no, wait, I love Mary. Yes. Well, that's I'm stealing the friend. This is Max's friend, but we've talked, so my friend Mary. Shut up. Yeah, shout out to Mary.

SPEAKER_02 39:04

But that's unfortunately taken a nosedive, that show. Yeah. Like 50 seasons. 50 seasons. Go to bed. That's enough.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

Wrap it up. He's trying to be a billionaire. He wants to be a billionaire.

SPEAKER_02 39:17

They're on the same.

SPEAKER_01 39:18

Yes. Yes, honestly. I would say he's worse. Like Roo is catching up season numbers, but to do this since 2000.

SPEAKER_02 39:27

Well at least Rue sort of like, you know, broke ground for like a whole community of people to thrive. What did the fucking Jeff do? I don't know. Oh, he stopped saying guys.

SPEAKER_00 39:36

Oh yeah. Thanks, mate. Wow. What an ally.

SPEAKER_02 39:41

He stopped saying guys. Allies.

SPEAKER_01 39:48

How old is he now? Because he I don't know, but he's getting he's been he's getting pulled, he's getting pulled back. See when I watched in full for season 48, I was like, huh. Because I hadn't watched in a while. My stepmom and I used to watch when I lived in the States, that's when I was Peak Survivor. Like I was Gen Z, Russia Gen X, like uh fire and blood, uh extra whatever they were.

SPEAKER_02 40:07

At least when it was themes like that. Australian Survivor's still doing those camp themes. Yes. Because they're like, you know, why not? Like it's why not? Just literally calling them like 47.

SPEAKER_01 40:16

No, do do something like fun. Like make up a fun make up a word.

SPEAKER_02 40:20

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 40:21

Goon island.

SPEAKER_02 40:22

I mean it's when they used to like take it around the world. Yes. And I can understand like but the budget department was like, no, no. It's like now we gotta set this up.

SPEAKER_01 40:30

Now they just go to Fiji. Now they just stay in Fiji and they're like, oh look, this island's not the island you've been watching for the last five years.

SPEAKER_02 40:36

They paint the set like slightly different.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

They they export some sand from another color. It's like, yep, this is new. They cut down some trees, like, this is great for the environment, by the way.

SPEAKER_02 40:47

Yeah. And they've had a j a representation journey, um, survivor. Didn't they they mandated like a kind of like diversity quota at some point?

SPEAKER_01 40:59

They did, yeah. That I it's nice, but at the same time, when it's performative and nothing's really done, or if you still get knocked out early because you're being bullied for X, Y, and Z, it's like, for why? What is what do you get from that? So Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:13

Also, it's like num just looking at numbers, like literally, like we've got 24 cast members all over, and like X number has to be like this or that. It's kind of like, okay, but are those people gonna feel safe on your set? Are those people gonna, you know, how are we portraying those people? Who are we casting? I don't know. I feel like there's like uh more to be done.

SPEAKER_01 41:33

Yeah, and I also if when that information is so public, you're like, oh, am I the diversity quota or am I actually here because you want to be on the show?

SPEAKER_02 41:40

Totally.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

So I yeah, I I think there's a long way to go with RealDB show. I'm not sure if I want to say that it's a dying art, but I do remember it being more front and center. I think reality's scary enough half the time. So it's like a lot of it's so staged, like I need you to say this, I need you to do this. Like back in the old days of the real world and road rules, they were like they would just put pheromones in events and they just make him fuck. They were like, and they get angry because so and so fucked so-and-so, but you've worked with them, and that was just organic fighting.

SPEAKER_02 42:11

Now people are just like, Oh, you can tell, and the audiences can tell, like half of my podcast is literally just like analyzing the the production fingerprints on shows. I'm like, I do love it because it is sometimes it's so overt they don't even fucking like try to pretend that they're in you know intervening or whatever. But some and sometimes I'm like, thank you, you've actually kept the story going or whatever, like well done, great.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

I think the audio if the audience is like this is all production, like as much as you want to think what you see is what's actually happening, like even and there's a show I was hoping to be able to tell you about, but there's still been no news about it, so I can't tell you about it. But uh last year I went to Amsterdam for a show that is on Free Day TV. I don't I think that I can still say that, but it's like we were there for a week, we recorded however many episodes of the show, and what we thought was going to be happening wasn't at all. And there was like it's actually for a game show rather than like a reality TV show, but even that was still kind of staged, and I was like, huh. And that's also why I'm like, I'm being very careful with what I say here. Yeah, yeah. Uh it was like there'd be quizzes and they'd be getting certain rights, but I think they were changing the questions because they're too many people were getting knocked out based on the format. Because it's like a Dave and Goliath format where they start with someone and then they eliminate people to ideally get to the prize, and whoever's left with the end gets it.

SPEAKER_02 43:22

So many new formats popping up. Yeah. And I blame Hulu mainly. They seem to be just like ripping off everything left, right, and center. I think that's a great blame Hulu. They're like, oh, let's do a murder show in a mansion. Oh my okay. Okay, clearly original. Good for her. Or like, let's do oh no, they're just like pull there's a lot of like rip-off survivor type things as well. It'll be like I'm just waiting for the Hunger Games to actually be Ha ha that's I feel like we're not far off that.

SPEAKER_01 43:52

The Cheeto announced that they were gonna be doing essentially the Hunger Games like, oh yeah, two rubs in for every state are gonna do this thing. And I'm like, Yeah. I've seen this movie. I know how this ends. I I know how this ends.

SPEAKER_02 44:04

So you haven't watched any Australian Survivor?

SPEAKER_01 44:06

Uh I've watched.

SPEAKER_02 44:10

It's pretty good and it's got like a good reputation overseas and everything. But I do apparently it's in trouble. So financially, or do they do something problematic? No, like financially. I think they're just like trying to figure out what happens to it next. They replaced the host and the ratings weren't great last season. I thought it was a really good season, but you know, okay. Whatever. Tana trying to bring back Big Brother as well, which you wouldn't have been here at the time, but it was a huge deal here. I would do that.

SPEAKER_01 44:39

I would do Big Brother. I you would be gross. I would do Big Brother because I I love I love the concept of like and you you're still you're still in the comfort of your own home because like that's where Survivor gets me. I can do the mind games, I can like play, I can play, I can negotiate, but you want me to build a fire and swim in the salt water where this is something that could kill me? I'm good. Eliminate me, friend. I'm I'm dead weight. Let's get us over with. But big brother, oh no, we're eating slop, but I'm in this bed. But I'm in this bed. Yeah. And I'm never eating slop. I can assure you that I will network my way into getting food every single time. Like we're gonna be we're gonna be good. We're gonna be eating good.

SPEAKER_02 45:12

The last series that you did, so they brought it back late last year, but it felt very rushed. Like you could tell, like they were like painting the set while the people were like going in. And I think they they're gonna try that again. But I don't know, like it didn't have the same fun as the old one did. Yeah. It also felt a bit too PG.

SPEAKER_01 45:33

And how how many years were there between the seasons?

SPEAKER_02 45:35

A long time. Well, I mean, there's been since 10 had it, yeah, a very long time. But since it's been on Australian television, I think they they threw it around like nine had it through it, and then seven had it, which you can imagine was just like whiplash. Um yeah, so they were marketing it as like it's back where it belongs in the heyday, but then they proceeded to sell us a product that was like not at all watered down.

SPEAKER_01 46:02

They like, come on. Well you said about it being PG earlier, and I I think that's what they're really trying to do to make it like, oh hey, have your families watch this because I think maybe the group that was watching it before has now matured out of it. Totally.

SPEAKER_02 46:13

And they want kids and families totally, but I'm like, we want to see it.

SPEAKER_01 46:17

Yeah, like leave leave it where it is because you got your market where it was, you don't have to follow people as they age. And even the show that I can't tell you about, yeah, they wouldn't let us swear. They were like, do this, you can't, and I there's so many things when you get a little one-liner, everyone gets their 15 seconds. I wanted to say something funny, but it was gonna be appropriate because like my show, we say fuck the kids, there's no kids allowed. This is for adults only, and it's always gonna be for adults only because we're adults. Like, I'm not a child, I'm not trying to cater to children. Yeah, I I want to cater to my peers.

SPEAKER_02 46:43

Yeah, and you can just see the boardroom meeting, can't you? Where they're like, hmm, but we've got to get this demographic, oh, and this one, oh, and this.

SPEAKER_01 46:50

It's just like stop trying to make it do everything because there is one company left that owns everything, yeah, and they're just looking at numbers, and it's all and that's that's why I'm like why I was hesitant to say that like it's a dying art, but at the same time, it was for fun, it was like a new concept. It was just now everything's so heavily monetized. Like, if you don't do this, we don't need you.

SPEAKER_02 47:13

True, and you're right, the quality of the shit that's coming out now. Like, there are some gems, which of course we discuss on this show. Um, Aussie Shaw last year, that was one of my favorite shows of the year. Like, total women.

SPEAKER_01 47:26

I love Monarchy, yes. I'm still on that.

SPEAKER_02 47:29

That show was so great. I thought that was a really beautiful, like weirdly like sex positive show. Yeah, because you just got all these slots in a house. I'm like, I could get around this, and then but they're not being like, ooh, like don't be like that. It's just like, yeah, fuck yeah, these these bogans are they they know what they're here for.

SPEAKER_01 47:47

Like, we they all audition for the same thing. Uh, shows like that I still love, like Joe, Ozzy Shore, Jersey Shore. Those shows are great. They were like, I don't even think they have the script very much. Like, they just hire people who are like, you're unhinged. People that need to be on television because they're insane.

SPEAKER_02 48:00

You're right, bring back that format.

SPEAKER_01 48:02

Yeah, like don't don't try to have these too cerebral, just like have some people having a good time, and there's be conflicts because you're getting drunk every day and doing all kinds of whatever.

SPEAKER_02 48:10

Yeah, I think the competition formats are kind of all struggling a bit at the moment because it's kind of yeah, how far can you push these games? Uh, we're getting very tired of them. Obviously, the traders is having a huge moment, but even that, I'm like, I think that's gonna be a good one. That's gonna trip and fall very soon. Um if you were to make a reality show, I imagine you would have thought it was a good one. I mean, it would be yeah, it would be sluts in the house.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

Yeah.

unknown 48:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:38

Would it be a location or just like describing sluts in the house, like I don't know, gays of Melbourne?

SPEAKER_02 48:43

Well, I think, okay, so if I could make a reality show. So you know, obviously I'm a huge fan of the Real Housewives franchise. I think Melbourne was great, Sydney was alright. I think it's time to give another Australian city a go. And I would love to see like a gold coast, like a real tacarama, okay, or even like a like a suburban Adelaide version of a Housewives. Like I want to see like a real people that people that really like live in their bubble. And I wanna yeah, I want to see a new place because I think the other two they keep talking about like, oh are Sydney and Melbourne gonna come back. And I'm like, yeah, sure, we'd love that. But let's also I don't know, I I reckon it's time to give another go. The real households of Calgooli. What would you do? What show would you make?

SPEAKER_01 49:37

Oh, so the thing is I really liked it. I think it would be sluts in the house as well, except for the fact that I wouldn't And that's the working title. Yeah, Sluts in the House. Um, I think I would give them a sub a project, like they have to like make their own money or somehow. Like the competition is cool, great, whatever, but I think they will like give them somewhere to live, but it's like you have to figure out how to do something, like yeah, put them all on CenterLink and tell them to survive. Like that's so just real life. Yeah, so exactly reality TV. Like that that was what the concept was. So it's like keep people on Center Link from 2026 and be like, hey, your rent is$2,600, but we're giving you$1,800. Figure it out.

SPEAKER_02 50:16

Yep. Well, we can only hope that it'll all be our lives soon under Pauline Hansen's reign.

SPEAKER_01 50:23

Oh, one nation.

SPEAKER_02 50:24

And on that note, we'd love these. Let's talk about Melanin Volume 2. Let us June 21st. June 21st. And I believe so it's a a combined Juneteenth celebration with the winter solstice. That's pretty slow.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

I so anytime I I pick whenever we started doing events, I wanted to do it around like milestones in black culture, essentially. So we do one in February for Black History Month, one in June for Juneteenth, usually, and then one in October because Halloween. Halloween's not a black holiday, but it is.

SPEAKER_02 50:54

But it's very gay. Yeah, it's a very gay holiday.

SPEAKER_01 50:56

So it's dressing up. We love dressing up. So that's that was one of my things. And Juneteenth, for people who may or may not know, is like the day the like the last slaves found out they were freed, because Emancipation Proclamation happened three years before that. But new, like, there's not emails in this time period. So nobody nobody texted Texas to be like, hey, you guys are free.

SPEAKER_02 51:15

Imagine those emails. Oh god.

SPEAKER_01 51:17

It's like per my last email, y'all are free. No, uh, and Juneteenth was a celebration that just kind of be like, cool, we're not free to uh if one none of us are free, we're none of us free. Yeah, so yeah, once everyone's free, it kind of became an unofficial celebration. It became a holiday three or four years ago, then Trump removed it, and now it's just kind of like a well, we're gonna celebrate ourselves regardless, because even before things were publicly celebrated, we had to do these ourselves. It was Juneteenth was 200 years ago, but we still were celebrating and talking about it even before it was acknowledged by the people. So it's kind of a moment to be like, hey, come together, we are still here. The entirely black cast of sorry, this bitch is trying to.

SPEAKER_02 51:57

I'm like Fried out. We're talking about slavery, and you're over here being a selfish.

SPEAKER_01 52:02

She said get over it, and I'm like, oh my god. Not my race, it's Joao. It's Joao. Ruining the podcast. But she's cute, so she's got away with it. That's usually how they were away with a lot. Uh no, it was just good. Awesome.

SPEAKER_02 52:18

Yeah. And venue?

SPEAKER_01 52:19

Venue is gonna be at Shark Kickers. Okay. So we were usually at Stay Gold, but they're actually closing down. I know. Their final day was our show day. Like they called us.

SPEAKER_02 52:27

I was so emotional about that because that was the first and only time I'm gonna go there was um the other week.

SPEAKER_01 52:32

And I was like, this venue's actually great. Yeah, it's so great. The staff is lovely, the people are wonderful. We have done three events there prior, and I suggested them to Max. I'm like, hey, they're super lovely, they're on their shit, it's really easy to work with. And we were gonna do another show there for the 21st, which is the last day of their closing. And they called us, is like, hey, so we have some news. Uh, we're closing down, and like we're gonna have to move you. Like, but we we like you're a loyal customer, really helpful, so let's get you another guy. And they gave us shotkickers, they started a group email for us, so I can't sing their praises enough. Stay gold, wherever you go, you'll have my business. Like, I guaranteed.

SPEAKER_02 53:06

And shortcuts is in Thornbury. Thornbury, yes. That'll be fun. So and you've got Kai, who is literally one of I'm not even just saying it's like one of my favorite artists ever.

SPEAKER_01 53:16

Really? I'm obsessed with her. Oh, she's incredible. Kai is incredible. Uh, doing the podcast is always very funny. Like, when we first started out, we I started out in 23, like you did. Yeah, anytime you approach people who are like, oh, so and so is this big star, there's they're all just people. They're all just they're all just anxious and nervous and doing their stuff, and then they're so excited to get calls. I'm like, You're excited to work with me, I'm excited to work with you. Oh, this is crazy. So uh the entire lineup is just people that I've seen live, and I just like I'm obsessed with them all. They're like, they're so talented, they're so wonderful, they're just so melanated. Who else is on the so we have Kai, we have Wan Wu, who I don't know if you watched Australian Idol uh this last season.

SPEAKER_02 53:53

No, no, I don't.

SPEAKER_01 53:54

But so she was top 12 this past season. Uh super.

SPEAKER_02 53:58

That's another one I like totally forgot that that show was back. I did as well.

SPEAKER_01 54:01

And it's just like, okay. And like incredible, 21 years old, but a powerhouse of a singer. She's also done live performances, stage shows. Like these these are people who are established and or upcoming and like people to watch. I'm like, cool. It's gonna be incredible.

SPEAKER_02 54:14

And it's an afternoon vibe, which I love. Yes, early start. I love starting LA.

SPEAKER_01 54:19

I mean too, I'm getting so tired.

SPEAKER_02 54:21

Like on the Sunday, like that's perfect.

SPEAKER_01 54:23

We because we've been doing Saturdays, and Saturdays are fine, but when doors are at seven, and then you have all the shows and you're just running. Because when you're on stage and also producing the event, you're just like, I am tired, and then you get off, like, what are you doing next? I'm like, I'm going home, leave me alone. But if it's a Sunday set, it starts at five, very chill vibes. The performers are on, I'm meeting and greeting, but I get to sit down. Yeah, I get to sit down. Amazing, wonderful. So we have yeah, Kai Wanwoo, uh Byron Moss, who is a black American RB singer, Ed Moon, who's also a uh Melanatus singer. We have two incredible DJs as well. So it's just I I'm just surrounded by my appearance. We're just ready, it's stacked. She is stacked.

SPEAKER_02 55:01

Make sure you get your tickets. Yes. And Rashad, thank you so much for joining me. Thanks so much for couch. This was fun. We we love a cringe couch. Oh, this is the cringiest couch that exists.

SPEAKER_01 55:13

Oh, yeah, absolutely. A very I mean, you live down the road, so yeah, I can just pop in whatever. Great.

SPEAKER_02 55:18

I'll see you soon.

SPEAKER_01 55:19

See you soon.

SPEAKER_02 55:19

Bye-bye.