Las Culturistas: “Drinkin' The Soda” (w/ Brittany Snow)

Podcast: Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers & Bowen Yang
Network: Big Money Players/iHeartPodcasts
Date: November 19, 2025
Guest: Brittany Snow

Episode Overview

In this lively episode, your “culture consultants” Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang welcome actress Brittany Snow for a joyful, wide-ranging conversation. They delve into Brittany’s pop culture roots, formative years as a performer, iconic roles, and her perspective on friendship, ensemble work, mental health, and the wild ride of recent projects—including the bonkers, campy fun of “Hunting Wives.” The episode bursts with nostalgia, humor, personal confessions, and some very quotable moments.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Florida Childhood & Early Career

• Tampa to Orlando Pipeline: Brittany reflects on growing up in Tampa and aspiring to the Orlando teen club/music scene.
  • [09:53] Brittany: "I was a Tampa kid...it was almost like, required that I was a part of dance and singing...pop stars coming out of Florida...it was very Nicki related."
  • [10:02] Brittany describes escaping to Orlando high school teen club "The Groove," living for weekends of soda (and freedom), no social media, and the MTV/Nickelodeon era.
• On Being a Child Actor:
  • [08:27] Britney: "My mom put me into those commercials when I was a baby. And so I have known no different."

2. Hollywood Teen Scene & “Drinking the Soda”

• Hierarchies in LA Teen Clubs:
  • [12:08] Brittany reminisces about exclusive club rooms for young actors (Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan) where they’d literally (and not so literally) “drink soda.”
    • Matt: "So does that engender a kind of like...hierarchy?"
    • Brittany: "You got to the head of the teen club line if you were on [a] show...we just knew we'd go to the front of the lounge."
• Pop Culture Memory:
  • [13:15] Brittany: "Ms. Beale was never there. It was David, who was into Kingdom Hearts with me."

3. Kingdom Hearts & Soap Opera Origins

• Namine, Soap Roots, and Panettiere Connection:
  • [15:59] Matt: "You are Hayden Panettiere's nobody."
  • [16:16] Brittany shares she and Hayden Panettiere had a soap history as sisters on Guiding Light:
    • "She was my little sister...the difference between 8 and 12 is so vast for some reason."
• Matt Explains Kingdom Hearts Lore:
  • [15:13] Matt delivers a hilarious, passionate download on the “Kingdom Hearts” universe, the cast, and Brittany’s critical role as Namine.
  • Brittany sheepishly admits she barely remembers recording the voice part—her main memory is asking the sound engineer about Christina Aguilera.

4. Mickey Mouse Club, Prestige TV, and “American Dreams”

• Too Young for MMC, Winning at TV:
  • [19:12] Brittany: "That's all I wanted...was to be on the Mickey Mouse Club. I would practice...too young."
  • Recounts moving from those aspirations to landing “American Dreams” at age 15, which Bowen and Matt recall as huge cultural moments (especially for TV-obsessed gay kids).
• Celebrity Guest Stories:
  • [20:45] Brittany tells stories of filming with surprise guest stars (Usher as Marvin Gaye, Paris Hilton as Barbara Eden) and seeing the real side of celebrity/fame pre-social media.

5. Resilience, Ensemble Work & Groundedness

• Maintaining Perspective:
  • [28:33] Brittany openly shares the challenges she faced during her biggest early projects.
    • "I always was sort of struggling with something at the time...never really was present or saw it for what it really was...in hindsight, it actually made me really grounded."
• Being Perceptive On Ensemble Sets:
  • [29:22] Brittany: "Having that sort of duality...knowing that someone else is doing something over here and I don't necessarily need to, has always been really helpful."
• Female-Friendship On Screen:
  • [29:48] On being consistently cast in ensembles: "It kind of makes me believe that people want to see, like, see me in movies that have to do with female friendship or like community...better than just me playing, like, I don't know, a castaway..."

6. “Hairspray,” Typecasting, and Broadway Friends

• Landing Amber Von Tussle via Psychic Vision:
  • [53:54] Brittany tells a brilliant story about flopping her first "Hairspray" audition, getting a psychic prediction, and literally calling director Adam Shankman for a second chance—and nailing it.
    • "A psychic told me I would play the daughter of an iconic blonde woman...can I just audition again?"
    • "I nailed the audition because I had that voice in my head, psychic or not, 'this is meant to be'."
• Laura Bell Bundy Connection:
  • [31:24] Brittany and Bowen discuss how Broadway’s Laura Bell Bundy (original Amber) was her “aunt” on Guiding Light, and gave her the "Hairspray" movie blessing.
• Why Nice People Play Great Villains:
  • [30:12] Bowen (quoting Tina Fey): "You need a really nice person to play a really mean person. That's why you were such a good Amber Von Tussle..."

7. Current Projects: Camp, Friendship & “Hunting Wives”

• Making “Hunting Wives” & TV Camp:
  • [35:38] Brittany approaches the show's wild tone seriously:
    • "If I lose the plot, if I'm sort of over the top in a way, then you don't have a groundedness at all..."
    • Bowen: "Honestly, it kind of makes the voicemail scene jump out even more."
• Viral Moments & Favorite Castmates:
  • [40:52] Bowen: "Katie Lowes rocks, man...her last line after she shot in the chest to be, 'You cunts.' It's the best way to die."
• Pitch Perfect Group Chat:
  • [46:43] Brittany confirms the cast's group chat exists, though it’s “died off” recently as everyone gets older and busier.

8. Mental Health, “September Letters,” and Hypnosis

• Letter-Writing for Healing:
  • [37:51] Brittany describes her personal and ongoing nonprofit, September Letters, inspired by the life-changing power of shared stories about mental health.
    • "You think you're doing this one little small thing, and it turns out to be really helpful to somebody that you might not even know down the line."
• Coping with Anxiety via Hypnosis:
  • [60:03] She opens up about severe speaking anxiety that almost derailed her at 25, and how working with a hypnotist (in nightly subconscious sessions) helped her rewire her approach to nerves and public expression.
    • "You start believing it because you don't have your conscious voice saying, 'I don't think that's true.'"
    • "It made me take a new thought pattern...actually having fun in the moment."

9. Pop Culture, Meg Ryan & the Power of Rom-Coms

• Culture That Made Her:
  • [68:29] Brittany’s answer to “what is the culture that made you say ‘culture is’?”:
    • “Strictly Meg Ryan movies on a loop...she always was the smartest person in the room...I loved that dichotomy.”
    • Matt: "You have brought that Meg Ryan archetype into the present...you’ve always really occupied that sharpness in the acting...”
• Rom-Com Tropes, 90s Movie Love Bombing:
  • [75:13] Brittany: "I don't know if you guys have noticed this about 90s movies, but there's a lot of commonality...stalking."
  • [75:24] Bowen: "And the girl is like, 'Oh my gosh, he loves me.' And it's like, you're in trouble."

10. Rapid Round: Dogs, Astrology, Friendships, and Future Work

• Dog Stanning:
  • [77:45] Brittany’s rescue dog, Charlie, is five pounds, cross-eyed, loves set life, and was nearly background-cast in “Hunting Wives.”
• Astrology Banter:
  • [80:12] Brittany is a Pisces (as is Bowen). Matt is a Scorpio.
• Teases New Shows:
  • [105:48] Reveals two upcoming projects:
    • Murdoch Death in the Family (Hulu) where she plays real-life reporter Mandy Matney.
    • The Beast in Me with Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys, a murder mystery from the team behind “Homeland.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [09:53] On the Florida ‘90s culture scene:
  “There was pop stars coming out of Florida…everything was very Nicki related. So, yeah, I had no choice.” — Brittany

• [13:49] On Kingdom Hearts voice acting:
  “Truly? Anything. Because I do not remember doing it.” — Brittany

• [16:16] Early Hayden Panettiere connection:
  “She was my little sister [on Guiding Light]...So ‘Kingdom Hearts’...makes sense. Like we're playing connected again.” — Brittany

• [28:33] On presence and groundedness:
  "I was too busy just trying to keep my shit together."

• [35:38] On playing the center of camp material:
  “That was a conscious choice. And sometimes it didn't work out, but I did feel like if I lose the plot...then you don't have a groundedness at all.”

• [53:54] The “Hairspray” audition psychic story:
  “A psychic told me I was going to play the daughter of an iconic blonde woman, and it’s too weird for this not to be true. Can I just audition again?”

• [68:29] The culture that made her:
  “Strictly Meg Ryan movies on a loop. She always was the smartest person in the room...I aspired to be that.” — Brittany

• [99:14] I Don’t Think So, Honey—Hospital Shows:
  “I don’t think that these shows are good things to watch because they don’t give anybody comfort. I don’t want to go to a hospital. Does anybody like going to the hospital? Why am I willingly going to the hospital…?” — Brittany (I Don’t Think So, Honey segment)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:23] — Bowen & Matt banter and intro Brittany’s pop culture icon status
• [08:00] — Brittany joins, humble introductions
• [09:50] — Tampa/Orlando/90s kids’ culture memories
• [12:08] — LA “teen club” pecking order and “drinking the soda”
• [13:15–18:23] — “Kingdom Hearts”, soap opera roots, and formative childhood connections
• [20:23–23:15] — “American Dreams” guest stars & celebrity encounters
• [28:33] — The grounding power of struggling through early success
• [29:48] — On being cast in ensembles, female friendship on screen
• [31:24, 53:54] — Broadway connections & “Hairspray” psychic story
• [35:38] — “Hunting Wives”: Playing the center of bonkers, campy TV
• [37:51] — September Letters & mental health advocacy
• [60:03] — Coping with anxiety, hypnosis, and returning to acting
• [68:29] — Meg Ryan: the archetype that made Brittany Snow
• [99:14] — “I Don’t Think So, Honey” segment: Ranting about hospital shows
• [105:48] — Brittany’s new Hulu and thriller projects announced

Tone & Language

• Friendly, nostalgic, and self-effacing—Brittany matches Matt and Bowen’s fast, referential, queer-comedy tone.
• Full of inside jokes (“drinking the soda”), meta-pop cultural awareness, and heartfelt vulnerability.
• Moments of humor often veer into camp, earnestness, and pop culture history.

Final Thoughts

This episode is a must-listen for fans of millennial pop culture, TV nostalgia, and the inner workings of Hollywood. Brittany Snow is candid, self-aware, and effortlessly charming—offering stories, confessions, and observations you won’t get elsewhere. The Culturistas’ signature mix of irreverence and sincerity brings out the best in their guest, with plenty of cultural wisdom (and a little chaos) for all.

Essential Listen For: Fans of 90s/2000s teen culture, TV nostalgia, musical theater, “Hunting Wives” stans, and anyone curious how we survive (and thrive) in pop culture’s wild, ever-shifting landscape.