The Commercial Break: TCB Infomercial — Joel Kim Booster

Release Date: July 15, 2025

Overview

This episode of The Commercial Break’s “TCB Infomercial” series features comedian, writer, and actor Joel Kim Booster as a guest. Hosted by Bryan Green and Krissy Hoadley, the conversation explores Joel’s comedic career, personal life, and his experiences with recent projects: Love Hotel (Bravo), Fire Island (Hulu), Big Mouth (Netflix), and his podcast Bad Dates. The episode is a blend of candid personal reflections, dark comedy, sharp pop-culture commentary, and playful banter in the show’s trademark unruly, irreverent style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Joel’s Upbringing, Coming Out, and Family Relations

• Adopted & Raised in a Conservative Household
  • Joel discusses being adopted by evangelical Southern Baptist parents and having adopted siblings.
  • Shares the “journal incident” where his parents discovered his sexuality.
    • Quote: "At that point in my life, my journal was less of like an introspective thoughts and dreams journal and more of just a Buzzfeed list of guys dicks I was sucking." — Joel Kim Booster [00:00]
• Emancipation and Long Path to Acceptance
  • Forced to emancipate at 17 after parents found out he was gay.
    • Quote: "I was emancipated when I was 17 when they found out I was gay. Didn’t talk to them again until I was in college. Reconciled a little bit ... things have gotten steadily better." — Joel [01:16, 14:04]
  • Father's eventual acceptance before he passed; mother's ongoing lack of support for Joel's marriage plans.
  • Discusses managing expectations:
    • Quote: "I stopped expecting certain things from my family a long time ago. Over a decade ago." — Joel [01:16]
• Self-Sufficiency and Chosen Family
  • Emphasizes not seeking familial approval, working for everything he has, and finding community support elsewhere.
    • Quote: "I haven’t taken a dime from my family since I was 17, and that has become cornerstone of my personality." — Joel [14:04]
    • Quote: "You find the family that can fill in the gaps. That’s what I've done—surrounded myself with people who provide the kind of emotional support a lot get from their families." — Joel [16:38]

2. Body Count, Dating, and “Bad Dates” Podcast

• About Bad Dates (Podcast)
  • Joel hosts comedians and storytellers who share cringe-worthy or disastrous romantic/sexual stories.
    • Quote: "We cast a wide net ... hookups, 10-year marriages that failed. They're all funny and instructive. I hope people are learning from the mistakes of my panel." — Joel [07:52]
  • Highlights some wild stories shared on the podcast—like a man soiling himself and framing his date [11:40].
• “Body Count” Conversation
  • The hosts and Joel lampoon the obsession (especially among men) with their partner’s sexual history.
    • Quote: "She chose you, bro ... body count is nobody else’s business but yours." — Joel [09:02]
    • Quote: "Let’s be real. People only care about body count when it comes to women ... it’s deeply rooted in this idea that women’s sexuality should be protected and preserved." — Joel [10:49]

3. Career Trajectory & Major Projects

Hosting Love Hotel (Bravo)

• Behind the Scenes
  • Joel describes hosting the dating show featuring Housewives, adapting to being around Bravo stars in person.
    • Quote: "It definitely felt a little bit like I was stepping into the Star Wars immersive hotel ... LARPing as a Bravo in Bravo land." — Joel [17:51]
  • Discusses the challenge of learning live hosting with little prep, fan reactions (both supportive and negative), and quickly assembling his wardrobe.
    • Quote: "Bravo fans are scary … I’ve learned so many new slurs that I did not know existed for Asian people." — Joel [20:23]
    • Quote: "There’s writers who have written clever puns … then a little bit of space for me to be me." — Joel [21:21]

Fire Island: Writing, Producing, Starring

• A Modern Gay Classic
  • Discusses the making of Fire Island as a modern-day Pride & Prejudice adaptation and its cultural significance.
    • Quote: "It’s a loose Pride and Prejudice adaptation … what Amy Heckerling with Clueless was a huge inspiration." — Joel [30:04]
  • On the importance and hope for more stories like it:
    • Quote: "My hope is that we won’t be looking back in 20 years and saying that Fire Island is still the only one that did what Fire Island did." — Joel [32:07]

Loot, Big Mouth & TV Writing

• Career “Failures” to Opportunities
  • Shares how being cast in Loot on Apple TV+ grew from a professional setback (Sunnyside’s cancellation) to a tailor-made role.
    • Quote: "It has the distinction of being the lowest rated premiere in NBC history ... And my career’s over. I don’t know, like, what I’m gonna do ... but Matt Hubbard ... loved working with me ... created the part of Nicholas with me in mind." — Joel [24:34]
  • Emphasizes letting time give perspective before declaring something a failure.
    • Quote: "Life is ... Don’t make the call in the moment ... you don’t know what the shape of the story is until you’re out of it." — Joel [27:02]
• Writing for Big Mouth
  • Joel worked three seasons as a writer on the hit animated puberty comedy.
    • Quote: "It was the most fun I’ve ever had in a writers’ room ... we just basically came in every day and relived our childhoods and mined them for storylines." — Joel [49:31]

4. Stand-Up Comedy and Artistic Evolution

• Balancing Stand-Up with TV/Film
  • Busy schedule means stand-up remains his main creative outlet but gets harder to fit as other opportunities multiply.
    • Quote: "The joke about stand-up is that you get so successful as a stand-up comic and they start asking you to do everything but stand-up." — Joel [27:43]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On his parents reading his coming-out journal:
  • "It was clickbait for my parents. They couldn’t resist … That feels like nurture, bitch." — Joel Kim Booster [00:00]
• On why “body count” conversations are fraught:
  • "People only care about body count when it comes to women." — Joel [10:49]
• On forging his own support system:
  • "You find the family that can fill in the gaps. Right. And that's what I've done." — Joel [16:38]
• On the pleasure and strangeness of hosting Love Hotel:
  • "It was like stepping into the Star Wars immersive hotel … LARPing as a Bravo in the Bravo land." — Joel [17:51]
• On his history with Fire Island:
  • "To get Margaret Cho in the movie was just such a surreal moment for me ... She birthed me in a lot of ways." — Joel [30:24]
• On Fire Island as a space for queer people:
  • "You step off that boat and onto the island … and a weight is lifted from you … There are no straight people. You can feel free." — Joel [33:24]
• On bullying and coming out:
  • "I’ve been getting called a faggot since I was, like, 8 or 9 … you hit 16…and you might as well just be fucking gay." — Joel [39:49]
• On the cultural importance of the Housewives:
  • "If you want to see women 50+ live complicated, layered stories on TV, Housewives is one of your only options—say what you will." — Joel [43:41]

Important Timestamps

• 00:00 — Joel shares his “coming out” story and family dynamics
• 07:52 — Joel describes the Bad Dates podcast and its concept
• 09:02 — The "body count" conversation
• 11:40 — Wildest Bad Dates stories
• 14:04 — On relationships with parents and self-sufficiency
• 17:51 — Behind the scenes at Love Hotel and Bravo
• 20:23 — Fan responses, negative feedback, and challenges
• 24:34 — From “failure” on Sunnyside to getting cast on Loot
• 27:02 — Advice: don’t “make the call in the moment” on failure
• 30:04 — Fire Island as a “queer Pride & Prejudice”
• 33:24 — The magic and meaning of real Fire Island
• 37:34 — Coming out at 16; growing up gay in conservative America
• 39:49 — Teen bullying and the relief of coming out
• 41:55 — Love Hotel Season 2? The show’s impact
• 43:41 — Why Housewives is important for women over 50 on TV
• 47:22 — The reality of reality TV (“They clock into the drama factory…”)
• 49:31 — On writing for Big Mouth
• 50:44 — Quick plug for where to find Joel’s projects

If You Haven’t Listened…

This episode offers a mix of insightful, often hilarious behind-the-scenes glimpses into comedy, TV, and the LGBTQ experience. Joel Kim Booster brings both biting candor and warmth—discussing his family struggles, path to independence, and navigating Hollywood as a queer comedian. The show’s hosts keep things light, irreverent, and rooted in pop culture, but allow space for Joel’s deeper moments to resonate. Essential for fans of offbeat, candid comedy interviews with a heart and a brain.

Featured Projects & Where to Watch

• Fire Island — Hulu
• Love Hotel — Peacock
• Loot — Apple TV+ (Season 2 coming)
• Big Mouth — Netflix
• Bad Dates Podcast — All major podcast platforms

Closing Note

Joel Kim Booster’s energy and humor shine throughout this conversation, making it one of the Commercial Break’s most entertaining and revealing Tuesday “infomercials.” Whether you’re a longtime fan or discovering him here, you’ll walk away laughing—and thinking.