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Edge of Seventeen: How the K-Pop Powerhouse Is Reinventing Itself
There's mounting evidence of Seventeen's cultural dominance around the planet, from sold-out stadium shows and chart-topping albums in the U.S. and Japan to festival-headlining sets in Mexico and Germany. But nowhere is it more apparent than in the group's home city of Seoul. The area surrounding the headquarters of their label Pledis Entertainment's parent company, Hybe, is covered in Seventeen. The gloomy and humid weather on a recent May morning doesn't stop a herd of fans from snapping pictures and taking in the coffee shop across the street, where the faces of Seventeen — comprising members Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, The 8, Mingyu, DK, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino — paper the outer walls. Stretched across a nearby bus stop is a banner wishing Joshua a happy birthday. His bandmate DK has his own birthday banner just a few storefronts down. The 28-year-old's smiling face can be seen in beauty ads running on a loop in Seoul's subway cars. The whole city seems to be celebrating the group's 10th anniversary and the recent release of its fifth studio album, Happy Burstday. A party is held on the man-made islands known as Sebitseom, along Seoul's Hangang River, featuring a giant floating Seventeen light stick and a first-of-its-kind performance at the nearby Jamsu Bridge. Fans who couldn't snag a seat to the special performance did anything they could to see the group, even by jumping in yachts that pulled up next to the stage to watch from the water. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'A Light That Never Goes Out' Is a Cannes Debut Opus on Outcasts, Depression, Music, and Hope Netflix, BBC Studios Team on Comedy Podcast 'The Big Pitch With Jimmy Carr' Presley Chweneyagae, Star of South African Oscar Winning 'Tsotsi', Dies at 40 It's hard to imagine Seventeen's global profile getting any larger, but the group's ascendance to the top of pop shows no sign of slowing. The 13-member outfit was the world's biggest group in 2024, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)'s state-of-the-industry report, which tracks sales and streams. The organization ranked Seventeen third in total, just behind solo acts Taylor Swift and Drake and ahead of U.S. household names like Billie Eilish, The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar. Their 2023-2024 Follow Tour in Asia was the highest-grossing K-pop tour of 2024, raking in $98.4 million across 24 shows. The Hybe building is the ultimate temple to the group's success, currently wrapped in a message that reads 'Seventeen will challenge eternity.' That may be, but there's little they can do about the march of time. It's a moment of transition for Seventeen. On one hand — as all K-pop boy groups must do at some point — Seventeen is facing inevitable change as members of the group begin mandatory military service. South Korean law states that all eligible men must enlist before turning 30. Jeonghan, the eldest of the group at 29, and Wonwoo, 28, are currently serving and therefore unable to participate in any promotions. (Both performed on the new album before enlisting.) At the same time, Seventeen is grappling with change of a more philosophical nature: wrestling over what the band should become. This reckoning perhaps is best exemplified by Happy Burstday's track list, which features 13 solo songs — one for each member — and only three group tracks. The bandmembers, by their own admission, have focused heavily on group activities until now, even though several of them have also put out solo releases over the past decade. Any boy group that started as young Seventeen must contend with the quandary of how to age gracefully alongside its music and fans. Somewhat rarely for K-pop, Seventeen's members have had a heavy hand in the trajectory of their careers, as their label's founder, Sung Soo Han (whose official title, tellingly, is Master Professional), explains. 'The Seventeen members have been deeply involved not only in the creative process but also in shaping the group's overall direction, making decisions and guiding the team themselves,' he says. Pledis, which Han founded in 2007, has been Seventeen's label for their entire career. In addition to Seventeen, the agency has produced several domestically popular K-pop groups like After School and NU'EST, along with their latest boy group, TWS, which debuted to great fanfare in 2024. To understand Seventeen, and why they've lasted this long, it's important to understand the K-pop ecosystem as a whole. It's not a genre — in fact many groups, including Seventeen, explore several different musical styles throughout their careers — but rather a specific way of promoting and releasing music. What perhaps best defines K-pop is the intensity of its relationship with fans, both on social media and in more intimate in-person encounters. Communication apps allow fans to 'text' directly with their favorite K-pop idol. VIP concert tickets might include a send-off, where fans gather inside the stadium as the performers walk through snapping photos and signing 'photocards' (another K-pop specialty; think baseball or Pokémon trading cards but instead it's your favorite artist and it comes with each album). In recent years, K-pop groups have frequently collaborated with Western artists and released English-language songs. Happy Burstday alone includes collaborations with Pharrell Williams and Timbaland. The group released their first English single, 'Dar+ling,' in 2022. Most members of K-pop groups spend their adolescence preparing for this job under tightly organized trainee programs. Typically run by Korean entertainment companies like Pledis, these programs require aspiring stars to undergo years of grueling vocal, dance and language training for the chance to join a group. Seventeen's years of apprenticeship were largely broadcast through the online show Seventeen TV, which showcased and introduced Pledis' trainees. While not all members featured on that show went on to debut with Seventeen, some who left joined other K-pop groups or pursued adjacent entertainment careers. Seven-year contracts are the standard when starting out in K-pop, and in 2021, all 13 members of Seventeen renewed their contract with Pledis Entertainment, a year earlier than expected. When Seventeen started, K-pop was at a nascent phase globally. 'Since their debut, the K-pop landscape has expanded noticeably,' Han says. He adds that the globalization has the company 'establishing customized promotional strategies that reflect the cultural characteristics and specific needs of fans in each region.' Seventeen's 2015 debut EP, 17 Carat, sold roughly 1,400 albums in its first week on Korea's Hanteo chart. By contrast, Happy Burstday, released May 26, recorded more than 2.2 million sales in its first day. As impressive as the numbers are, the group's most significant evolution has been the maturation of its 'concept' — a key term in the world of K-pop, where groups might have an overarching storyline of superhuman powers, pirates or vampires — and their visual direction. For most of Seventeen's career, the focus sonically and visually has been on youth. Over the past few years, as the members grew from teenagers to men, their sound and look have also grown. On Happy Burstday, Seventeen is experimenting with harder sounds and darker visual themes. 'We are ready to reinvent ourselves,' says who sat for an interview alongside three of his bandmates, Joshua, Dino and The 8, in a dance practice room at the Hybe headquarters. The 29-year-old — dressed casually before he rushes off to get into the full glam an 11-member photo shoot requires — serves as the group's leader as well as the head of its rap unit (one of three Seventeen teams, along with the performance and vocal units). Onstage, is a commanding, charismatic presence. Offstage, among his fellow group members, he seems lighthearted and playful, laughing throughout the conversation. Unlike Western boy groups, the leader is not an unofficial designation (like NSYNC's Justin Timberlake or One Direction's Harry Styles) but a well-defined role typically involving logistical responsibilities. These days, however, the rapper says he considers himself 'a member of Seventeen rather than the leader' because of how his group mates have stepped up. 'We are standing at a new starting line, preparing for a new path ahead and ready to blaze a new trail,' continues. The move to include solo tracks on the album was part of a long-term strategy. 'Most of the members are going to enlist in the military soon. Up until now, we've mostly focused on our group promotions,' says 28-year-old Hoshi, the leader of the performance unit. Another strong personality onstage, Hoshi is calm and unfailingly polite, asking his group member Vernon, a native English speaker, to offer this reporter water before he fully sits down. 'We would like to show more of our individualities, each of the members' personalities and capabilities, so that when the time comes and we get back together again as a group, we'll be able to showcase ourselves as a better Seventeen,' adds Hoshi. The group has already begun this process through subunit releases, in which smaller configurations of the group will release a single or EP separate from Seventeen albums. Hoshi is a member of the unit BSS, along with vocalists DK and Seungkwan, and recently released a single album under the two-person unit HxW with Woozi. Jeonghan and Wonwoo released a subunit single album last year, prior to enlisting, under the name JxW. 'I just tried to make music that was genuine, that reflected our wholeheartedness and that was what our fans loved best and what we prefer to do as well,' says Woozi. The 28-year-old is arguably Seventeen's 'maestro,' to quote the title of the group's 2024 single, as he's spent the past decade shaping the group's identity as Seventeen's lead producer. The bleached-blond Busan native, who in our interview sits contemplatively among group members Mingyu, Jun and Seungkwan, is the leader of the vocal team. The unit structure is tied to the group's name: 13 members, three units and one team, totaling Seventeen. Although the members are assigned to a specific unit, each member might sing, rap and dance in the group; their unit is their specialty. The tribulations of adolescence have been the central theme of Seventeen's music from the beginning, but they've also defined the members' relationships with one another as they have spent their entire young adulthood together. 'We were housemates at one point for a long time, and that means we had to go through the good moments, bad moments, happy moments, angry moments at the same time,' says Dino, a member of the performance unit. Despite being one of the eldest in his family, Dino is, at 26, the youngest in Seventeen. When he debuted with the band, he effectively gained 12 older brothers, who alternately tease and care for him. sitting beside Dino for this conversation, breaks into giggles when I ask Dino about some of the ribbing he's been the target of over the past decade. 'I think it really helped me grow more mature very quickly, and I think I learned many more lessons than a normal kid my age would learn at that age,' he says. Despite having not chosen their bandmates — that was Pledis' job — the members of Seventeen say they share an ironclad bond to one another, and an equally strong commitment to the group, which remains their anchor. Last year, Jun, the only one seriously pursuing an acting career, had to sit out the North American leg of their 2024 Right Here World Tour and the group's Lollapalooza Berlin gig because he was shooting a film and television series in China. Yet despite his acting ambitions, he was determined to return for the group's latest release. 'I had my alone time for some time, and now I'm back with the group again,' the 28-year-old says. 'In the lead-up to this album, I put a lot of thought into how I can showcase a new side of myself during this promotion.' The bond may never have been broken, but it's surely been strained, as would any relationship that involves seeing one another nearly every day for a decade. Mingyu, a member of the rap unit, jokes that they've worked things out 'through endless fights,' which causes fellow group mate Seungkwan, a member of the vocal unit and subunit BSS, to jump in to clarify. 'We've never taken it physically or hit each other,' the 27-year-old explains. Adds Mingyu, 'Scars have to be made and healed, made and healed.' 'There isn't an age gap [anymore],' Joshua, a member of the vocal unit and an L.A. native, says. And, adds Seungkwan, 'Even though it was [Pledis] that brought us together, we're now almost like family.' Nearly all the members of Seventeen were teenagers when they debuted. As positive as they are, they acknowledge the difficulties of growing up in the public eye. 'We've been doing this since we were teenagers, so we don't know a life of being unknown throughout our 20s,' says Vernon, a member of the rap unit who was born in New York before moving to Korea at a young age. The fully bilingual 27-year-old regularly intervenes to clarify a translation for his group members, Hoshi and DK, and even stops the conversation briefly to praise the translator on how skilled she is. Vernon says the unrelenting spotlight has made the group more 'reserved,' a word that feels at odds with Vernon's current punk-inspired look but in keeping with his pensive personality. 'I know I had a hard time trying to understand myself in this process, and I'm sure the members did as well,' he says. Vernon considers every question carefully before answering, weighing his words. Which is why it's so much more meaningful when he expresses the reality of stardom's occasionally choreographed nature: 'Actually, being restricted of free speech in a way, it does kind of block our process of trying to understand ourselves, so I guess that was the hardest part.' Nearly all the members of the group must complete their 18-month-minimum military service in the coming years. The exceptions are Joshua (a U.S. citizen), The 8 and Jun (Chinese citizens), and exempt because of an ACL injury. 'We are doing our best to adapt to it,' DK says of the changing dynamics as members begin to enlist. Adds Hoshi: 'This is something that has been inevitable for us all along. We have been prepared. We have a lot of projects that we have discussed with the company very thoroughly up until now.' Woozi and are optimistic about the group's future. 'We understand that the fans are very sad that some of us are going to be away, but among ourselves, [we] don't consider this to be a really huge deal because we know that we are going to stay together,' Woozi says. 'We should consider this as quite a long preparation phase for the next album that's going to be even better and greater.' But, on the flip side, says 'I think this can be a great opportunity for the members who are still remaining; [they] can stick together and make something great to showcase to the fans. It can also be a great time for members who have been mentally or physically exhausted to recharge themselves.' Seventeen seemingly thrives under high-stress conditions in part because of their focus on mental and physical health. When this subject is broached, Dino and Joshua excitedly point to their bandmate The 8 as their expert of wellness. 'I do a lot of rehabilitation. I hit the gym very often [and] receive personal training,' says The 8. 'For my mental health, I do a lot of meditation, and each member has their own way of relieving stress,' adds the 27-year-old. 'On my off days, I try to not think about work at all and just stay at home and relax,' DK explains of his routine. Adds Joshua: 'We also have a lot of hobbies that we try to find to recharge. Mentally, we also do counseling, too, to help us out,' noting that the bandmates have always been given the resources to consult a professional when they're having a hard time. When asked how Pledis can ensure the safety and sanity of young performers, Han says the company has consistently offered aid to its artists when they need it. 'We are committed to supporting our artists so they can grow into healthy, well-rounded individuals, both physically and emotionally,' he notes, adding that Hybe operates in-house clinics for all artists and trainees. While Western music markets still haven't fully figured out how K-pop acts fit into the overall landscape — which leads to groups like Seventeen arguably not getting the same recognition as other acts with similarly stratospheric sales and impact — the band remains unfazed. 'We try not to dwell on those things because [the] people who would recognize us [will] recognize us at some point. At the end of the day, all we have to do is just try our best,' Woozi says. 'What we're trying to do is just tell our own personal story for the people who are listening and the people who love us.' The reflective Vernon echoes that sentiment. 'Honestly, I don't really care if everyone understands it or not because we're just happy and extremely grateful to be where we are right now,' he says. Adds Woozi: 'Rather than arguing with people who don't like us and asking why they're not liking us, I think we should just focus on our thing and run our own race. People have their own preferences and their own taste, and you just have to leave it up to them. There's no reason asking them why they like a certain person — that's too immature.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter Most Anticipated Concert Tours of 2025: Beyoncé, Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Sabrina Carpenter and More Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025 Hollywood's Highest-Profile Harris Endorsements: Taylor Swift, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen and More
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5 days ago
- Entertainment
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‘A Light That Never Goes Out' Is a Cannes Debut Opus on Outcasts, Depression, Music, and Hope
'Take me out tonight…where there's music and there's people,' The Smiths say in their 1986 song 'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.' Filmmaker, musician, and graphic designer Lauri-Matti Parppei grew up in the coastal town of Rauma, Finland. And they take audiences there and out to where music and people come together in their feature film debut, A Light That Never Goes Out, which world premiered in the ACID Cannes 2025 program, a sidebar to the Cannes Film Festival run by France's independent cinemas' association. 'Successful classical flutist Pauli (29) returns to his small hometown after a breakdown,' reads a synopsis for the movie, starring Samuel Kujala, Anna Rosaliina Kauno, Camille Auer, and Kaisa-Leena Koskenkorva. 'Reconnecting with old schoolmate Iiris, he is drawn into experimental music. Pauli, who has always sought perfection, is drawn to her chaotic energy and finds comfort in their sonic experiments.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Netflix, BBC Studios Team on Comedy Podcast 'The Big Pitch With Jimmy Carr' Presley Chweneyagae, Star of South African Oscar-winner 'Tsotsi', Dies at 40 Co Hoedeman, Oscar-Winning Canadian Animator, Dies at 84 Produced by Finland's Made and co-produced by Norway's Goodtime Pictures, A Light That Never Goes Out takes audiences on a journey of struggles and laughs. It has been picked up for French distribution by Les Alchimistes. Patra Spanou Film is handling sales. The filmmaker may have set the movie in a Finnish location known to few but the universal story rings a bell on alienation and the healing powers of community that seems fit to strike a chord with audiences far beyond Finland. Parppei talked to THR about the inspiration for A Light That Never Goes Out, its themes of outcasts and mental health issues, creating its experimental music, returning to Rauma to film, and possible future projects. What was the inspiration for your film? And to what degree does it show some of your personal experiences? My background is basically in the world that the film is showing. I'm from a small town, and I was a pretty lonely teenager. I had nothing else to do, so I started to make a lot of weird music and art. And through that hobby, I started to find friends. We were a bunch of outcasts, but we came from very different social classes and from very different backgrounds. And somehow we shared this massive drive to do something of our own and somehow shape the world to our liking. So I really just wanted to depict that world and that experience of doing art in it. Was part of your motivation for the film to give hope to people who feel like outcasts? Yeah, absolutely. I think 90 percent of the motif behind the film was just to give this feeling to people when they think how they could maybe do something like that. When we started making music, we didn't really have any skills to do so, and we just kind of learned as we went. I remember when someone asked me: 'Is it hard to hard to start to play guitar?' And I always just like saying: 'Well, it's very easy to play just one string, and you can make a song out of that.' So, this was our approach. So, yes, basically it's to encourage people to try out their own voice in different ways. In the movie, we see the characters using clothes hangers and other unusual items you wouldn't traditionally expect to see in the creation of music. How did you create the experimental music we hear in the film? You can say that it was a composition itself. Well, it was pretty meticulously written in the screenplay already: that's what's going to happen in the scene, and how the songs build up and progress. But then, after we cast the actual actors, we started to play around with things. And I brought them lots of crates full of different stuff. And our set production designer also came up with a lot of things, and then I kind of modified them and put on contact mics. And, yeah, I wrote and produced the music, but basically we created and arranged it together. Everything is played live on camera. The protagonist is facing mental health struggles. I am not sure if you would call it depression or something else. How key was it to showcase these struggles, and how did you approach that? Yeah, depression and anxiety – all the fun things, those illnesses or disorders, whatever the word is. That was a pretty integral part of the whole setting, because during the time when I was most active and still living in this small town – I actually moved back once – me and my friends, a lot of us struggled with all sorts of mental health issues, and some struggled with some substance or alcoholism and things like that. But somehow, making music and being with your friends always was a safe haven from that. Somehow it didn't reach that place. So, we really saved each other, even in a literal sense, during that time. And while depression and self-harm is not something that is thoroughly explored itself, it kind of paints the setting because I've struggled with similar issues myself. I kind of find depictions of depression a little exploitative somehow, if that's the word. How? In films, we are often putting depressive music and dark sounds around it, and someone is looking out of the window in a darkly lit scene. But being depressed is extremely boring. And it's about if you can find anything to fill up the boredom. Sometimes it's very harmful things. For me, it was pretty important to not romanticize depression, but show that this depressed person gets something completely different in their life. Did you need or look for help writing your characters? The two main characters are me in very different places in my life. One was me in a small town being very scrappy – I just wanted to make something of my own. 'Why don't people understand my ingenuity?!' And the other person is like me when I'm trying to be a filmmaker, and that world is very different. I kind of feel like a classical musician. I've never been a classical musician, but it's something that I feel because I need to adhere to some rules and bow down to the establishment and beg for money to make a film. At the same time, I have a lot of friends who have been more successful, and a couple of people who are close to me are also classical musicians. For me, it's absurd how they face pressures and how they are just thinking about how to present themselves to other musicians. And I get anxiety just watching them being stressed about their work. How is going back home these days? I am from a small town, and during the time that the film takes place in, I was a little too visible at times. I am not a person who wants to be the center of attention, even though I'm a musician. We have a band, so it kind of protects me from that. But I organized a festival there. We had a small record company there. We had the band, which still has strong ties to the town, and now I'm the filmmaker who has made the first film about that town. So, it sometimes feels a little uncomfortable to go to this place where a lot of people have an image of me, which is not really true, and they have had this for a long time, because I also used to work as a graphic designer in that town. I was just involved in this and that. So that is just part of being a small local celebrity. What was it like to return to Rauma to shoot the film and will you screen the movie there? Actually, we will have the first Finnish screening there. I was actually quoted by the biggest newspaper in Finland as saying that I don't care what the French say about the film, I only care what the people of Rauma think. I am a little nervous to hear how they react to it. But at the same time, it's my view of that place and my view on life and the world altogether. It's actually been super-rewarding to see how the film has crossed borders. Because the characters are speaking a very distinctive local dialect, and that's, of course, completely lost in translation. But that's the thing that Finnish viewers will notice first in the film, because it's very different. I've been super happy to see that there are similar small towns everywhere, and people can relate to the feeling of being there. While shooting in Rauma, did you cast any locals or did any people come up to you to ask for a role in the film? People were pretty indifferent to it in a funny way. They were just like: 'Yeah, they're filming some film.'But we have a lot of local people playing characters. The man playing a music store guy is a local guy who used to work in a music store that is now gone. And a couple on a boat was just some random couple from there. We asked them: 'You have a boat. Can you come play a small part?' So, we involved a lot of people. Are your main characters professional actors? Only the main character [played by Samuel Kujala] and his parents are professional actors. He has been in a couple of films and a very popular TV series. Everyone else is in their first role. Anna [Rosaliina Kauno] is actually from the town. We're so happy that we found her, because she really keeps the whole film together, to be honest. actually directed by a guy who is just in the room. Oh, okay, yeah, but yeah, well, but most days, just like new, complete newcomers and cool. It's very important for me to bring new people along when doing something, and even though I know for a fact that at least a couple of them won't be acting that much after this, I hope Anna will continue. Will we get to see more films from you? I hope I can get more films made. Currently, I'm working on two different projects. One will be a super-micro-budget thing, a small, small drama about an abusive relationship, a psychological drama. The other one will be a folk tale, a film which takes place in the countryside in Finland, in a rural setting, on a farm. I've started writing, so it's in early development. After my first feature, which took seven years from start to finish, or even slightly more, with a new project, I'm looking at a seven-year mountain. So it's just scary, but I think it's part of the charm of this profession. Anything else you'd like to highlight about or anything else? The thing was really behind the film, the whole concept was about friendship and hope, and what friendship and unity, and community can bring along. I'm just super-happy that the film, which I thought might just be a small, silly music film from my own hometown, which isn't that much of a marketable concept itself, is now out in the world and seems to actually touch people and pull the strings that we wanted to pull. I think that during these times, it's pretty important to have that. 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Netflix, BBC Studios Team on Comedy Podcast ‘The Big Pitch With Jimmy Carr'
Netflix and BBC Studios' BBC Studios Audio unit have unveiled the commission of comedy podcast The Big Pitch With Jimmy Carr. It will be co-produced by Netflix Podcasts and BBC Studios Audio and be available for audiences globally from today, Wednesday, May 28. 'There are over 27,000 different Netflix sub-categories. And they can get pretty niche. From 'Steamy Crime Movies from the 1970s' to 'Australian Dysfunctional Family Comedies Starring A Strong Female Lead,' the genres get really, really niche,' the partners quipped in a Wednesday announcement. 'The Big Pitch With Jimmy Carr sees a parade of much-loved comedians pitch movie ideas to Jimmy, our sceptical host, which fit Netflix's most obscure sub-genres. Guests are challenged to figure out the plot and cast under the pressure of Jimmy's withering gaze. At the end of the pitch, Jimmy decides whether to move to greenlight or condemn our guests and their dubious ideas to development hell.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Presley Chweneyagae, Star of South African Oscar-winner 'Tsotsi', Dies at 40 Co Hoedeman, Oscar-Winning Canadian Animator, Dies at 84 Taina Elg, Actress in 'Les Girls' and 'The 39 Steps,' Dies at 95 The program is BBC Studios Audio's first podcast commission for Netflix Across the 10 episodes of the podcast, guests will include Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed, Phil Wang, Romesh Ranganathan, Ahir Shah, Kerry Godliman, Michelle Wolf, London Hughes, Chris McCausland, Jamali Maddix, and Asim Chaudhry. 'By night, I'm a stand-up comedian, but by day I have a proper job in real show business,' said Carr, joking: 'I commission movies for Netflix. So, if you've ever seen a movie you liked on Netflix – you're welcome. This podcast gives a glimpse behind the scenes of the rigorous pitching process, and it's also a good excuse to mess around with some very funny friends.' The Big Pitch With Jimmy Carr is a co-production by Netflix and BBC Studios Audio. From BBC Studios Audio, the executive producer is Pete Strauss, with production executive Ian Heydon, production manager Mabel Finnegan-Wright, and production coordinator Becky Carewe-Jeffries. BBC Studios Audio's creative director for comedy & entertainment is Richard Morris, and the deal was brokered by Claire Long. From Netflix, the executive producers on the podcast are Kathryn Huyghue, Erica Brady, and David Markowitz. The series will be available worldwide to listeners wherever they get their podcasts, with 'fully visualized episodes' available on the Netflix Is A Joke YouTube channel. BBC Studios Audio's work includes such investigative serials as Stalked, To Catch A Scorpion, and Things Fell Apart, such long-running Radio 4 series as Desert Island Discs and In Our Time; as well as such podcasts as You're Dead to Me and Evil Genius. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
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5 days ago
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John Mulaney's Fight With Three 14-Year-Olds Was a Bit of a Letdown — Because It Had to Be
On Wednesday, John Mulaney made good on his promise to fight three 14-year-old boys. Well, he made OK on the promise. 'Four weeks ago, I promised to fight three 14-year-olds. From thousands of submissions, we selected three young men that are about to join me on the mat,' Mulaney set the Everybody's Live with John Mulaney bit up. 'All you at home, all you've done is talk, talk, talk. It's time to end the smack talk, end the conjecture and settle this, man-to-boy.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Netflix, BBC Studios Team on Comedy Podcast 'The Big Pitch With Jimmy Carr' Nick Kroll Recalls Orchestrating John Mulaney's 2020 Drug Intervention: "So Deeply Scared He Was Gonna Die" Netflix Buys Richard Linklater's 'Nouvelle Vague' After Cannes Debut The rules for the final segment on his 'What Is on the Mind of Teens?' episode were pretty straight-up: no punching, no kicking, no gouging, no biting. Headlocks were legal, 'so long as the arm is encircled' (one of your opponent's arms had to be included within the head or neck lock). In other words, it wasn't so much a fight as it was a measured grappling session. The live studio audience was pumped nonetheless, and lively intros for the boys from guest Adam Sandler and executive producer/announcer Richard Kind set the stage. Kind could barely be bothered introducing his actual host though, which did not go unnoticed by Mulaney. The kids were also the clear fan favorites. Mulaney got booed by members of his own audience — he flipped those people the bird. The four fighters took their shoes, socks, watches, rings and ties off (the boys entered the studio in the same suit and tie as Mulaney, though they got wrestling headgear) and entered the amateur-wrestling mat (with pro-wrestling-style ropes, though they were more like red carpet velvet ropes). Ding-ding. Mulaney went straight for the heaviest kid, who did most of the work while the other boys assisted here and there. Once they collectively dumped the 42-year-old comedian face down on the mat, a (legal) headlock was applied and Mulaney tapped. It was over in 50 seconds — or like two puffs of onlooker Sean Penn's cigarette — start to finish. Watch clips of the match here: The idea for the fight was born out of the viral 100 men vs. one gorilla online debate. This is what the Everybody's Live writers room settled on. 'I think a lot of those simulations online are super-flawed, because it's going to be a pile,' Mulaney said at a recent FYC event for his talk show, according to IndieWire. 'People might be picturing one young man — I think it's going to be all three jumping on me, and that's what I'm preparing for.' That's more or less what happened, and the 'gorilla' gave up. Of course, this was always a losing proposition for Mulaney. Mulaney is not exactly a physical specimen, but he is a 6'1' 42-year-old man; he could definitely hurt a 14-year-old boy. Except, he definitely couldn't hurt the kids, even accidentally, because that would have been disastrous for both him and Netflix. A Netflix spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Hollywood Reporter's request for comment on the match. 'Do I go in being like, 'Man, I can't on national TV — I have a family, I can't push a 14-year-old,'' Mulaney said at the FYC event. 'But … the second someone's up in your space…you can snap. I think that's what I'm counting on.' Thankfully, he didn't snap. Mulaney, a new dad, played it very safe, which as a practical matter left him nearly no way to win. Anyone who has ever been — or ever even know — a pubescent boy knows they were not going to tap out without fairly significant pain. There probably should have been a pinning option. It was a funny idea (14+14+14 = 42) born of a meme, and Mulaney did not go back on his promise; his promise just painted him into a corner. With Netflix's lawyers almost certainly in Mulaney's head — if not directly in his ear — the payoff to this monthlong setup could only be a disappointment. And so it was. Then again, if I, also a dad, am disappointed that a fight between a man one year younger than me and a trio of high school freshmen was a bit of a dud, it's probably time to take a hard look in the mirror. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
