Latest news with #Overcompensating
Vogue
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Owen Thiele Is Happy to Be at the Adults Table
Owen Thiele: It's insane. It's insane and scary and weird. I've popped into little things and had my friends very kindly put me in their projects, but other than that, I've never had something that's been on billboards, so it's just the craziest, scariest, and coolest feeling. How was it, going right from shooting Overcompensating to Adults? Overcompensating was first and then Adults, but it was within a week of each other that these shows were shooting. We were in Toronto a lot—that's my second home, shoutout Toronto, I love it there—and it was so fun. Benny [Benito Skinner] is a dear friend of mine and was before filming, and then the cast of Adults became my best friends during and after filming, so I feel like I've just been working with my friends. It's been amazing. How did you find time to balance shooting with your podcast? Emma, I don't sleep. I sleep two hours a night, famously. This isn't a bit at all; I wish I could sleep, but I'm so not well that I ultimately just can't fall asleep. I, like, fought through anesthesia when I was getting my wisdom teeth out. My body just does not want to sleep, so I have time for myself because we'll wrap filming and then I'll still have six hours. My body might be rotting from the inside out. No one knows. What stood out to you about Anton when you first read the Adults script? When I read the script, I thought it was one of the funniest things I've ever read. I literally laughed out loud, which I rarely do when I read something. I fought tooth and nail to get the role, because I do think that there was a period of time where the gay character was solely just the gay friend, or the bestie that would have a snarky line in a scene and then never show up again for episodes to come. I felt like Anton was actually a main character with main-character energy, you know? He takes up space in a really beautiful way that I feel like I haven't seen for a Black, gay character in that way. I was so attracted to the role because I felt like they were giving this diverse character a real platform.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disney+ 'Adults' star Jack Innanen talks 'barrier' for viral comedians 'melting' away
It's the season for comedies in TV, going from the success of Overcompensating to the upcoming series Adults (premiering on Disney+ in Canada May 28). Created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), with Nick Kroll as an executive producer, and an ensemble cast featuring Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao and Owen Thiele, the show leans into the awkwardness of starting your adult life. Adults is about a group of friends in their 20s in New York, who end up living together in Samir's (Malik Elassal) childhood home. Samir is trying to be more responsible in his life, but not doing so increidbly successfully. Billie (Lucy Freyer) is trying to navigate a career in journalism, Anton (Owen Thiele) was Samir's college roommate and is a person's who can just be friends with anyone. Issa (Amita Rao) has an infectious personality and hops between odd jobs, and she's dating Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), who is always referred to by both first and last name, and Issa wants Samir to let Paul Baker move in with them. With the core of this show resting in the dynamic between these characters, Innanen shared that it was quite a natural fit. "We did [chemistry] reads, which were great, but I think it wasn't until we actually started shooting the pilot, ... they had like little dates organized for us to go and do," Innanen told Yahoo Canada in Toronto. "But most of the time we kind of just hung out in the hotel room and drank margaritas ... and gossiped our hearts out." "And there was one point when ... we had had a few drinks and Amita was like, 'OK everyone, go around and say a secret that you haven't told anyone.' And we did. And I was like, OK now we're now locked in. Now we're best friends." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Disney+ Canada 🇨🇦 (@disneyplusca) For Innanen, the Canadian star who's originally from Ontario, but now lives in New York, he was initially catapulted to success posting comedy videos on social media, amassing an impressive following. It's not a dissimilar story to Benito Skinner, also known as Benny Drama, who transferred his social media comedy success to the show Overcompensating. What's interesting about the Adults cast is that they all come from different comedy backgrounds, which seems to help each character feel particularly unique. "We had everyone from all different [backgrounds], stand-up to improv, and just all over the spot," Innanen said. "I feel like, for me, it was almost like trying to figure out how to make sure it wasn't like my TikTok videos." "I think that was just so fun, just getting to play with everyone's different type of humour. That was what I loved most. ... And I remember thinking like, oh if I can't be funny in this, then I really suck." But speaking more about successfully moving comedy from one platform to another, it speaks to how, when done effectively, that social media excitement can translate to something that feels fresh and unique in a more traditional TV format. It seems that now is the time that entertainment is taking advantage of comedy talents on TikTok and Instagram that have been able to gather an audience. "I think that barrier is just melting," Innanen said. "There's English Teacher, Overcompensating, these comedians, I think because it's completely just democratized, so anyone who wants to be doing something is doing it online, and then those people then get these new opportunities." "You can do both as well. You can make a TV show, act in a TV show, but then also be doing social media, not on the side, but at the same time, and that they are almost equal in these ways. And I think it's really cool. I love seeing Benny Drama get to do that and kill it. And it's exciting."
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Disney+ 'Adults': Jack Innanen talks 'barrier' for vial comedians moving to other opportunities 'melting' away
It's the season for comedies in TV, going from the success of Overcompensating to the upcoming series Adults (premiering on Disney+ in Canada May 28). Created by Ben Kronengold and Rebecca Shaw (The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), with Nick Kroll as an executive producer, and an ensemble cast featuring Malik Elassal, Lucy Freyer, Jack Innanen, Amita Rao and Owen Thiele, the show leans into the awkwardness of starting your adult life. Adults is about a group of friends in their 20s in New York, who end up living together in Samir's (Malik Elassal) childhood home. Samir is trying to be more responsible in his life, but not doing so increidbly successfully. Billie (Lucy Freyer) is trying to navigate a career in journalism, Anton (Owen Thiele) was Samir's college roommate and be friends with anyone. Issa (Amita Rao) has an infectious personality and hops between odd jobs, and she's dating Paul Baker (Jack Innanen), who is always referred to by both first and last name, and the show begins with Issa trying to convince Samir to let Paul Baker move in. With the core of this show resting in the dynamic between these characters, Innanen shared that it was quite a natural fit. "We did [chemistry] reads, which were great, but I think it wasn't until we actually started shooting the pilot, ... they had like little dates organized for us to go and do," Innanen told Yahoo Canada in Toronto. "But most of the time we kind of just hung out in the hotel room and drank margaritas ... and gossiped our hearts out." "And there was one point when ... we had had a few drinks and Amita was like, 'OK everyone, go around and say a secret that you haven't told anyone.' And we did. And I was like, OK now we're now locked in. Now we're best friends." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Disney+ Canada 🇨🇦 (@disneyplusca) For Innanen, the Canadian star who's originally from Ontario, but now lives in New York, he was initially catapulted to success posting comedy videos on social media, amassing an impressive following. It's not a dissimilar story to Benito Skinner, also known as Benny Drama, who transferred his his social media comedy success to the show Overcompensating. What's interesting about the Adults cast is that they all come from different comedy backgrounds, which seems to help each character feel particularly unique. "We had everyone from all different [backgrounds], stand-up to improv, and just all over the spot," Innanen said. "I feel like, for me, it was almost like trying to figure out how to make sure it wasn't like my TikTok videos." "I think that was just so fun, just getting to play with everyone's different type of humour. That was what I loved most. ... And I remember thinking like, oh if I can't be funny in this, then I really suck." But speaking more about successfully moving comedy from one platform to another, it speaks to how, when done effectively, that social media excitement can translate to something that feels fresh and unique in a more traditional TV format. It seems that now is the time that entertainment is taking advantage of comedy talents on TikTok and Instagram that have been able to gather an audience. "I think that barrier is just melting," Innanen said. "There's English Teacher, Overcompensating, these comedians, I think because it's completely just democratized, so anyone who wants to be doing something is doing it online, and then those people then get these new opportunities." "You can do both as well. You can make a TV show, act in a TV show, but then also be doing social media, not on the side, but at the same time, and that they are almost equal in these ways. And I think it's really cool. I love seeing Benny Drama get to do that and kill it. And it's exciting."
CBC
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Benito Skinner's new show Overcompensating is like 'queer Never Have I Ever'
From Pitch Perfect to Community, so many movies and TV shows have mined the dramatic and hilarious potential of those first few days on campus where new students get to re-invent themselves. But despite everything that's come before it, Benito Skinner's new series Overcompensating manages to tread new ground. Today on Commotion, culture writers Chris Murphy and Jackson Weaver join guest host Rad Simonpillai to talk about why the Prime Video show is so refreshing. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: Rad: Chris, I'd never heard of Benito Skinner before this show, but I understand millions of people follow him on social media. So for those of us who haven't heard of him, tell me more about what made him pop. What made him stand out from all the other people on TikTok that are doing these kinds of celebrity impersonations? Chris: Well, I was going to say, you obviously haven't been on TikTok if you haven't heard of bennydrama, Benito Skinner. But yeah, he's really a classic character comedian. He loves impersonating people in pop culture: Kourtney Kardashian, Lana Del Rey, Jennifer Coolidge, Shawn Mendes. And he also has original characters … and just a wealth of different personalities that he embodies. I think the thing that sets him apart is that they're all very funny, but it never feels like he's really making fun of them in a mean way. A lot of these people who he does impersonate on TikTok have embraced him and have taken him in as one of their own. So he films all these videos with the Kardashians, and Jennifer Coolidge and all these people. So I think he's coming at TV not from a standup perspective, but really from a character comedy background. Rad: Well Jackson, after impersonating all these other people, now Benito's creating this show that's about a character whose story is much like his own. So in a nutshell, what is Benny's story in this show? Jackson: I mean, "queer Never Have I Ever" is basically how I would describe it. It's the perennial story of somebody who grows up, [but] specifically for him in the '90s as someone who's in a somewhat more accepting society for queerness, for being gay — [it's] not necessarily literally illegal — but it's still not the best thing to find out you are, especially when you're a boy among friends you're not sure are going to accept you. And then you try and cover that by being as straight as possible. You make up a fake version of yourself. And then you get to university, you see gay-straight alliances, and you flail towards some sort of authenticity, some sort of self acceptance — the divide between either becoming your true self, or harkening to the thing that has gotten you all the accolades, all the acceptance, up to that point. I think it's a pretty universal story, a pretty well-learned and well-earned experience. There's a book called The Velvet Rage that is about how if you are a gay man and have grown up in a straight world, as all of us kind of have, you will have created this fake self, this way to hide from shame and covet validation. And when you finally get to the point where you are sort of making the baby steps towards giving up that fake version of yourself, you realize that your ability to support your own sense of self, to have your own sort of self-confidence is totally juvenile and not necessarily there. And all you need is external validation. And this show is kind of all about that, where he does not have any sort of self-confidence or ability to feel good about himself unless it's people telling him he's good at football, or he is great at hooking up with girls or he's really hot, and he needs that. But he also needs to be himself. It's a very recognizable stage of life for the young gay man, I would say.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Étoile' cast and creators on fast-talking, mean drunks, and what they learned from ‘Gilmore Girls'
'I was 4 and handed a tutu — that's the gateway drug!' That's how Amy Sherman-Palladino explained her introduction to the world of ballet, which she celebrates in her new Prime Video comedy series, Étoile, cocreated with her husband, Daniel Palladino. More from GoldDerby 'Agatha All Along' star Joe Locke on learning from Kathryn Hahn, musical theater goals, and the 'Heartstopper' movie with Kit Connor TV casting directors roundtable: 'The Diplomat,' 'Overcompensating,' 'Only Murders in the Building,' 'Paradise,' 'Doctor Odyssey' How 'Overcompensating' cast one of its writers as its co-lead 'I trained as a dancer all the way until becoming a writer. I do think that if you love something like dancing, it gets inside of you. It affects everything about you. And if you love it, it never quite leaves you.' The creator-writer-directors shared insights into their creative process alongside their stars at Tuesday night's FYC event for their Prime Video comedy, alongside stars Luke Kirby (who plays Jack), Gideon Glick (Tobias), Ivan du Pontavice (Gabin), David Alvarez (Gael), Yanic Truesdale (Raphael), Simon Callow (Crispin Shamblee), and Tais Vinolo (Mishi). (Paris-based stars Charlotte Gainsbourg [Genevieve] and Lou de Laage [Cheyenne] were unable to attend. 'They're home in France being French,' quipped Kirby.) Fans of the Palladino-verse know that this series isn't the couple's first foray into dancing — Bunheads ran for one season in 2012. 'That was a small taste of what it was like to write and incorporate dance into drama and use physicality to move story along,' said Sherman-Palladino. 'Ten years later, I'm still angry that it doesn't exist — so vengeance will be mine!' Daniel Palladino admitted that casting for the show was a bit of a challenge, given their need for actors who could dance, dancers who could act — not to mention the ability to speak both French and English. 'We tend to write parts for which there is one actor out there,' he said. 'There was one Lorelai Gilmore. There was one Midge Maisel.' But when it came to Etoile: 'We knew we wanted Luke to be in it — he had no choice,' said Sherman-Palladino, calling him their 'hostage.' 'Call the police,' joked Kirby. 'I'm not a strong swimmer.' Kirby had worked with the Palladinos before on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, starring alongside Rachel Brosnahan as tortured comedian Lenny Bruce. 'I thought [Jack] was going to be a really cool guy,' said Kirby. 'And I was really looking forward to that. Turns out that the world has other plans for him.' Quipped Sherman-Palladino, 'You already played Lenny Bruce — you played the coolest guy!' Glick said he found his way into the eccentric choreographer Tobias through the writing. 'Tobias is someone who sees the world very clearly in his head, but is not able to communicate that to anybody,' he said. 'But when it's not the way he sees it, he's inherently sick.' He also credited choreographer Margueritte Derricks for inspiration. 'The way she goes through all of the dancers and tracks them like an animal, I stole from that her,' he says. Sherman-Palladino took every opportunity to praise the rest of the assembled cast as well — du Pontavice ('he takes it so much to heart'), Vinolo ('she plays a mean drunk'), and Callow ('we couldn't stop watching him'). Truesdale, who had worked with the Palladinos for seven years on Gilmore Girls, said they're the same 'vibrant, creative, crazy, caring, passionate couple' — but now they're more grounded. 'We look at each other, and very few words are needed,' he said. 'When we were doing Gilmore Girls, it was a runaway train,' recalled Sherman-Palladino. 'It was my first hour-long. The only thing I knew about an hour-long is, I guess, there's more pages in a script. I just wrote what I wrote, but more. I knew what I wanted, but I'd never done it before. So people didn't think I knew what I wanted. So I was in a weird panic; there was just a lot of panic going on. We never had the time to sit and reflect. We never had the time to work in a way that was thoughtful and contemplative and sit and laugh as friends, because we were all just literally throwing up, constantly. [Now] it's nice to be able to work in a thoughtful, calm way, and to be able to be people together. It was like working with him for the first time. And now we could enjoy it.' And as a summa cum laude graduate of Palladino University, Truesdale recalled the advice he shared early on with the rest of the cast. 'The first thing I told everybody at the table read was, 'Get ready,'' he said. 'The first note you're going to get over and over is: 'Faster.'' The irony is, though, the French actors actually talked too quickly — even for the Palladinos. 'The French naturally talk fast, so fast that we had to slow them down sometimes, which was shocking to our Gilmore people that were around us,' said Palladino. 'They don't believe in punctuation. There's no stopping a sentence,' said Sherman-Palladino. 'I believe all the actors lied to us at every point. I don't think they said anything that we wrote.' Best of GoldDerby How Charlie Cox characterizes Matt Murdock through action scenes in 'Daredevil: Born Again' 'Agatha All Along' star Joe Locke on learning from Kathryn Hahn, musical theater goals, and the 'Heartstopper' movie with Kit Connor TV casting directors roundtable: 'The Diplomat,' 'Overcompensating,' 'Only Murders in the Building,' 'Paradise,' 'Doctor Odyssey' Click here to read the full article.
