TCB Informercial: Joel Kim Booster

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Commercial Break – "TCB Infomercial: Joel Kim Booster"

Episode Details:

• Title: TCB Infomercial: Joel Kim Booster
• Release Date: July 15, 2025
• Hosts: Bryan Green and Krissy Hoadley
• Guest: Joel Kim Booster

---

Introduction

In this episode of The Commercial Break, hosts Bryan Green and Krissy Hoadley welcome comedian, writer, producer, and actor Joel Kim Booster. The conversation delves into Joel's multifaceted career, his personal journey, and his contributions to various television and streaming projects. The episode intertwines humor with heartfelt discussions, showcasing the hosts' signature improvisational and candid style.

Joel Kim Booster's Career Journey

Joel Kim Booster opens up about his early experiences in the entertainment industry, highlighting both triumphant moments and significant setbacks.

• Sunnyside Challenge: Joel discusses his role in the NBC sitcom Sunnyside, which notoriously became the network's lowest-rated premiere and was canceled after just three episodes. Reflecting on this period, Joel shares, "It was for a long time, for two years, like, sort of this thing that hung over me where I was like, I failed so hard. I don't know what I'm going to do" (00:30:14).

• Breakthrough with Lute: Despite the setback with Sunnyside, Joel credits Matt Hubbard, the co-creator of Lute, who recognized Joel's talent from their time working together. Joel remarks, "You just know the arc of the story until you're out of it" (00:32:16), emphasizing the unpredictability of career trajectories in the entertainment industry.

• Success in Big Mouth and Fire Island: Joel highlights his successful stint as a writer for the animated series Big Mouth, describing the writer's room as "the most fun I've ever had in a writer's room" (00:55:28). Additionally, he discusses his role in Fire Island, a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, drawing parallels to Clueless and expressing pride in its cultural impact.

Personal Journey and Identity

A significant portion of the conversation focuses on Joel's personal life, particularly his experiences as a gay man in a conservative household.

• Coming Out Experience: Joel shares the challenges of coming out to his Christian parents at the age of 16. He narrates, "I was emancipated when I was 17, when they found out I was gay... I've lived half my life not living for my parents or family's approval" (00:19:22).

• Maintaining Familial Relationships: Despite initial tensions, Joel speaks positively about his current relationship with his mother, noting, "Right before my dad passed, we were in the best place that we'd ever been in as father and son" (00:19:05).

• Navigating Identity Pressures: Joel delves into the societal pressures faced by marginalized communities, stating, "You can get really tangled up in it really quickly" (00:42:42). He emphasizes the relief found in spaces like Fire Island, where he can be authentically himself without external judgments.

Love Hotel and Reality Television Insights

Joel provides an insider's perspective on his role as the host of Love Hotel, a Bravo reality show that brings together housewives from various franchises.

• Role and Responsibilities: As the "love concierge," Joel navigates the dynamics of the show, managing relationships and fostering connections among participants. He humorously recounts his wardrobe challenges, saying, "I think considering the time frame I had, the limited resources I had, I'm pretty happy with how I dressed on that show" (00:28:04).

• Cultural Impact: Joel reflects on the show's success and its portrayal of women over 50, asserting, "That's a little important because, you know, women of that age deserve it" (00:50:07). He criticizes the limited representation of older women in mainstream media and underscores the significance of giving them agency through reality television.

• Fan Interactions and Public Perception: Addressing the polarized responses from Bravo fans, Joel shares his experiences with both support and hostility, mentioning, "Bravo fans are loud. And Bravo fans are not afraid to send you a death threat" (00:26:36). He discusses the challenges of balancing scripted elements with his authentic self on the show.

Reflections on Success and Failure

Joel and the hosts explore the themes of resilience and perspective in the face of professional failures.

• Embracing Setbacks: Joel encapsulates his philosophy on failures serving as stepping stones: "It goes to show that the things that feel like failures and the end of the world in the moment can lead to bigger and better things down the road" (00:31:46).

• Advice for Aspiring Creatives: Emphasizing the importance of persistence, Joel advises, "You never know what's right around the corner" (00:32:16), encouraging creatives to maintain consistency and remain open to unexpected opportunities.

Closing Remarks

As the episode wraps up, Bryan and Krissy express their appreciation for Joel's candidness and contributions to the entertainment landscape. They briefly discuss upcoming projects and tease future episodes, maintaining the lighthearted and engaging tone that The Commercial Break is known for.

---

Notable Quotes

• Joel Kim Booster on Failure:
  "I just failed hard. This is humiliating. My career's over, Over."
  00:30:14

• Joel on Career Resilience:
  "You don't know how the arc of the story is until you're out of it."
  00:32:16

• Joel on Representation:
  "These are mega hits... They are super successful. They breed rabid fan bases."
  00:50:07

• Joel on Authenticity:
  "Were able to let go of a lot of that for a week and... slowly get reintroduced to it as you come back to the mainland."
  00:42:42

---

Conclusion

This episode of The Commercial Break offers an insightful look into Joel Kim Booster's journey through the entertainment industry, his personal struggles and triumphs, and his role in shaping representation in media. The candid conversations between Joel and the hosts provide listeners with both humor and deep reflections on identity, resilience, and the complexities of modern television.

---

Timestamp Reference:

• MM:SS refers to the exact moment in the transcript where the quote or topic occurs.

Transcript

[Joel Kim Booster]

Thanks for selling your car to Carvana.

[Brian Green]

Here's your check.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Whoa.

[Chris Hoadley]

When did I get here?

[Joel Kim Booster]

What do you mean?

[Chris Hoadley]

I swear it was just moments ago.

[Joel Kim Booster]

That I accepted a great offer from Carvana online. I must have time traveled to the future. It was just moments ago. We do same day pickup.

[Rachel]

Here's your check for that great offer.

[Chris Hoadley]

It is the future. It's.

[Rachel]

It's the present.

[Joel Kim Booster]

And just the convenience of Carvana. Sorry to blow your mind. It's all good.

[Chris Hoadley]

Happens all the time.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Sell your car the convenient way to Carvana.

[Brian Green]

Pick up.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Times may vary and fees may apply.

[Astrid]

Planning a Trip this Year Imagine how much richer your travel experience could be if you could speak the local language. Whether you're traveling abroad, planning a staycation, or just shaking up your routine, what better time to dive into a new language? With Rosetta Stone, you'll gain the confidence to have real conversations and create deeper connections wherever you go. Rosetta Stone is the trusted leader in language learning for over 30 years. Their immersive, intuitive method helps you naturally absorb and retain your new language on desktop or mobile, whenever and wherever it fits your summer schedule. With 30 years of experience, millions of users, and 25 languages to choose from, Rosetta Stone is the go to tool for real language growth. Don't wait. Unlock your language learning potential now. Listeners of this podcast can grab Rosetta Stone's lifetime membership for 50% off. That's unlimited access to 25 language courses for life. Visit RosettaStone.com RS10 to get started and claim your 50% off today. Don't miss out. Go to RosettaStone.com RS10 and start learning today.

[Joel Kim Booster]

So obviously as Christian as my parents are, they did not take it super well when I came out of the closet. Mostly because I did not come out of the closet. They read my journal when I was 17. Yes, gasp is right. It was rough because 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. You know, like no content to sift through, just straight to the headlines. It was clickbait for my parents. They couldn't resist. They had to see was tough for them. But what's even funnier, so I mentioned I was adopted. I have two adopted siblings. They're biological to my mom and dad and I have an older brother. And a couple of years ago he also came out of the closet, which is like, you know, like I couldn't have planned a better prank. You know like that. Oh, you pumped them good. Jesus. I can't. Oh, it's so funny. It's so delicious to me. Cause my parents, they really, like, they truly rolled the dice there, you know, like they made one themselves. They got one off the rack and they both turned out gay. You know, like, I don't know what the scientific argument is there, but that feels like nurture, bitch. Okay, that feels like your fault.

[David Spade]

On this episode of the commercial partial break. The next episode of the commercial break starts now.

[Chris Hoadley]

Oh, yeah. Cats and kittens, welcome back to the commercial break. I'm Brian Green. This is my dear friend and the co host of this show, Chris and Joy Hoadley. Best of you, Chris.

[Brian Green]

Best to you, Brian.

[Chris Hoadley]

Best to you out there in the podcast universe. Thanks for joining us on a TCB infomercial Tuesday. We're back on our home turf here in the studio, but we are happy, proud, excited to welcome comedian, writer, producer, actor Joel Kim, host. Reality TV show host Joel Kim Booster is here and he's going to be joining us in just a few minutes. May I just for a moment list some of the laundry items that go on his resume?

[Brian Green]

Oh, I know, it's so many.

[Chris Hoadley]

Are you ready? Fun. Employed. He's been on Conan. He did a Comedy Central Stand up presents. He's on BoJack Horseman, Sunnyside shrill, the critically acclaimed Shrill. I think that was on Hulu Big Mouth, one of our favorites. Search party iCarly Bob's burgers, curb youb Enthusiasm, American Dad. Joel Kim Booster, Psychosexual. He did a stand up special, a standout in LGBTQ Celebration, Celebrity Jeopardy, the American Baking Show, Loot Glamorous. Is it cake. RuPaul's Drag Race Industry. And he is or was just wrapped up Love Hotel with some of the.

[Brian Green]

Favorites of the, of the Housewives.

[Chris Hoadley]

Of the Housewives. I know Chrissy is into that. Very much. So we'll have to ask him. We'll have to dig in to all the things. Joel Kim Booster is having a moment in Fire Island. That was what I was about to say. I think he probably would be most known for writing, producing and starring in Love island, which has no Fire Island. Fire Island. I say Love island because I'm thinking of Love Hotel. Love.

[Brian Green]

Love.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

There is a Love is.

[Chris Hoadley]

There is a Love island, but he's not a part of that. I'm sure he likes watching it, though. I hear Love island this year I hear is spicy.

[Brian Green]

Oh, yeah.

[Chris Hoadley]

I, I was reading some reviews and then I see Astrid is watching some of the Is it Bachelorette? That's back. Is it Bachelorette? Bachelorette is back. She's watching that. So I'm sure I'll get sucked in at some point. Standing in the bedroom waiting to take a shower for an hour, like, with my towel on, like, huh, Let me just see what's going on with the kids.

[Brian Green]

Let me just check in.

[Chris Hoadley]

And then an hour later, I'm like, oh, my God. Did she really say that to him? Are they.

[Brian Green]

That's why I can't even start it.

[Chris Hoadley]

I know. It's crazy. Anyway, Joel wrote, produced, and acted in Fire island, which has been known to be an LGBTQ classic that many people have critically acclaimed.

[Brian Green]

It's a great movie.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah. And so I am excited to have you seen it. Have you seen Fire Island? Oh, yeah. I have not, but I will check it out. It's now put on the list of the 165,000 things that Brian will never get to because he has children. However, I do find the time to keep rerunning the same old British comedies night after night after night.

[Brian Green]

It's your sleepy time.

[Chris Hoadley]

It is my. It's sleepy time tea for me to watch that. Maybe I should watch, like, Love Hotel for us.

[Brian Green]

It's the nature shows.

[Chris Hoadley]

My daughter loves the nature shows. She likes to go. Any of those.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, we just pop one of those on and night, night.

[Chris Hoadley]

It used to be how the universe was made. What used to be my nighttime sleepy time tea. But then I started getting real cerebral about it, and it was. Some of it was freaking me out a little bit.

[Rachel]

Yeah.

[Chris Hoadley]

Like, I. I, like, as if I was tripping. Yeah. I didn't want to think too much. I was like, is that possible? I mean, you know, is it possible that you could go into a black hole and be stretched like spaghetti? I don't want to know that. Is it possible that that black hole in the middle of the Milky Way is sucking us all into the middle? But let us not dwell on bad things, Chrissy. Let us dwell on the good stuff.

[Brian Green]

Let's get into the good stuff, which.

[Chris Hoadley]

Is Joel Kim Booster. All of the links are in the show notes. You know how we roll around here, like every other podcast on Earth, we put the links in the show notes and super excited to have a conversation with, dare I say, an up and coming icon, Chrissy.

[Brian Green]

That's right. I think we could go there.

[Chris Hoadley]

There you go. All right, we'll take a break, and when we get back again, through the magic of telepodcasting, Joel Kim Booster, right here with Chrissy and I. What do you think?

[Brian Green]

I think we should do it.

[Chris Hoadley]

All right. We'll see you on the flip side.

[Rachel]

Okay. You're probably wondering why I, Rachel, have taken over the voice duties at tcb. It's pretty simple. Astrid asked me to shut Brian up, even for a min minute. Well, lovely Astrid, your wish is my command. Do you want to help Astrid too? You know you do. Leave a message for her or me or Chrissy at 212-4333, TCB. That's 212-433-3822. You can be on the show too. Just call and say something, anything. Or text us and we'll text you right back. Promise. Then head over to tcbpodcast.com and get your free sticker. It's your constitutional right to a sticker, and we must abide. You get the point? Follow us on Instagram at the commercial break and watch all the episodes on [e-mail] thecommercial break. Best to you and Astrid. Especially Astrid.

[Chris Hoadley]

This episode is sponsored in part by our longtime sponsor, Squarespace. I say Squarespace. You say what? Squarespace, the all in one website platform. It's designed to help you stand out and succeed online. Whether you're just starting out or you're scaling a business like we are, Squarespace gives you everything you need to claim your domain, showcase your offerings, put it all on a professional website to help you grow your brand and get paid. If it sounds like a lot, it is. It's all in one place. Without a website, you cannot do anything in 2025. You can't create and distribute content. You can't create and sell products, you can't showcase your services. And you certainly can't be a mediocre comedy podcast without a great looking website. Oh, but Brian, I don't have $50,000 to help me create a beautiful website. Squarespace does it for you. They have cutting edge BluePR blueprint AI. It helps you build a fully custom website in just a few steps using just basic information about your industry goals and personality. Wa bam. Beautiful website. But Brian, I don't have $50,000 to do search engine optimization. Some companies might charge you $50,000. Not Squarespace. Every website is optimized to be indexed with meta descriptions and auto generated sitemap. With so much more to help you show up on the search engines more often. Go to squarespace.com commercial for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use the offer code commercial to save 10% off your first purchase of a website. Or domain. Business cards and handshakes are great, but a website is your salesperson that never sleeps. Squarespace.com Commercial and then make sure to use the code commercial to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. And thank you to Squarespace for being a continued sponsor of the commercial break. Hey, what's up Flies? This is David Spade. Dana Carvey. Look at. I know we never actually left, but I'll just say it. We are back with another season of Fly on the Wall. Every episode, including ones with guests, will now be on video. Every Thursday you'll hear us and see us chatting with big name celebrities. And every Monday, you're stuck with just me and Dana. We react to news, what's trending, viral clips follow and listen to Fly on the Wall everywhere you get your podcasts.

[Astrid]

Ready. To level up, Chumba Casino is your playbook to fun. It's free to play with no purchase necessary. Enjoy hundreds of online social games like blackjack, slots and solitaire anytime, anywhere. With fresh releases every week, whether you're at home or on the go. Let Chumba Casino bring the excitement to you. Plus get free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bon Join now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. Play Chumba Casino today. No purchase necessary. VGW Group void where prohibited by law 21/TNCs apply.

[Chris Hoadley]

Joel is here with us now. Joel, thank you very much. Where in the world do we find you? Where does this podcast find you today?

[Joel Kim Booster]

I am in my home in Los Angeles. I will not say where because I don't know your listenership.

[Brian Green]

That's right, I don't know.

[Chris Hoadley]

Well, we don't know our listenership either. I wouldn't. Fuck no. Fuck no. We got some weirdos. I mean, every podcast, I think, has some weirdos. Bad dates. By the way, which is. Your podcast is great. Chrissy and I were just talking about it. We have both previous to even knowing you were coming on, have listened to the show, tell the listeners what Bad dates is about. Because the name isn't descriptive, right?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah. I mean, no, it's kind of right there in the title, right? Like I bring on a panel of three comedians, funny people, friends, and we all just sort of go around the horn and share tales from the trenches, you know, bad dates. I mean, since I took over, we've really expanded the definition of a date to include things like hookups. We have people come on Talking about their 10 year long marriages that have failed. You know, it's a wide net that we cast over at bad dates. But they're all funny and instructive. I hope. I hope that people are learning from.

[Chris Hoadley]

They take away a lesson from the.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Mistakes of my panel.

[Chris Hoadley]

Okay, so here's a good question. We'll wrap you into this conversation we've been having today. We were. There was a reel that came up. Alex Cooper had a reel on call her daddy. And someone, what I would call a child, was complaining about his girlfriend's body count. And I thought to myself, that's, like, one of the most immature things you could ever be concerned about. I mean, like, a conversation about sexual health and safety and all that. That's. But that's a mature conversation. This is the furthest thing from it. It's like, you know, jealousy and being upset and insecurity. Yeah. Like, oh, you're gonna unfuck those people? Like, what are you gonna do?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Either you chose you, bro. That's the thing landed on you, you know, and that it should be all that matters. Honestly, I really don't think body count is anybody else's business but yours at.

[Brian Green]

The end of the day.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, that was kind of our. Our. That was kind of our summation was. Hey, listen, if you don't want to know the answer to the question, if it's gonna really upset you that much, just pretend like she. It's been. The body count is one, and that's you, and you're the love God she's always been looking for. Otherwise, don't. Why are you even getting involved in the conversation?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah, I guess I really don't understand what people are seeking from asking that question. You know, Like, I think it is different for everybody who asks the question. But I guess for me, like, a lot of people I know who are concerned about their partner's body count, it is a. To them, they see it as an indication of a value system, and they want to make sure that their value systems align. And. But for me, that doesn't make any sense because I don't connect any sort of, like, sexual freedom to a sense of morality. Now, how they comport themselves, were they, you know, were they ethical about it? Were they truthful about it? Were they, you know, tricking people into having sex with them and that's why the body count was so high? That's a different thing. That's context. But, like, I think just body count in general is not, to me anyways, not an indicator of how virtuous someone is at the end of the day.

[Chris Hoadley]

I could not agree with you more. I think that's really well said. And something that we discussed also is, like, you know, the morality of. I think that's where people are coming from. They're coming from this place of. Do you. Do you have some. It's like. That's a purity test or something, right? Have you.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, especially when, like, a competition.

[Chris Hoadley]

I don't know.

[Joel Kim Booster]

And let's. And listen, I don't mean to be like, 2008 Tumblr right now, but let's be real. Like, people only care about body count when it comes to women. And it's deeply rooted in this idea that, like, women's sexuality should be protected and preserved. And it's this, you know, for the man that they eventually end up with. And I think it's like, you can. You can talk around it all you want, but, like, at the end of the day, like, that impulse. The impulse to care about someone's body count, especially your female partner's body count, comes from that place. And it's.

[Chris Hoadley]

You put words in my mouth. It's a man child, right? It's someone who. It's just based on some kind of misogynistic, you know, fantasy that you're the only one that, you know is ever gonna touch that. So what is a. What is the worst thing you have heard on bad dates? Like, what's the worst date on bad dates?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Oh, man. I mean, there's so many to choose from. They're all awful in their own ways, I think. Like, there is a story out where a guy accidentally shat his pants and then tried to frame the woman that he was sleeping with.

[Brian Green]

Oh, my God.

[Chris Hoadley]

What?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah, it was not the perfect crime, I'll tell you that. But, yeah, we got all sorts of. It runs the gamut from things that seem, like, fairly benign, like, oh, I got the ick. Because, you know, he wouldn't stop talking about his ex girlfriend and then got picked up by the ex girlfriend at the end of the day. You know, like, things like that. Like, pretty. You know, like, bad, for sure. But then there's also, like, plenty of stories of people who walk into what looks like the substance bathroom and, you know, fear for their lives and their organs.

[Brian Green]

The scary ones.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah. We get a nice variety for sure, though.

[Chris Hoadley]

Oh, my God. That's. I like that. We get a lot of emails from people who, like, I don't know, for some reason they think we're gonna be some kind of love coach to them or something. And we've gotten some wild stories. But I always am curious about whether or not because of the nature of our show, if people are using their imagination a little bit more than they are using, like, anything based in reality. But then we have one guy who wrote us, and he said that he was engaged to someone, and then the mom, like, took pictures, nude pictures of him in a bed. And so they were at an engagement party or a party before the wedding, and the mom who disliked him got. They were all wasted. She ended up taking him up to a bedroom, lured him, disrobed him, took pictures of it to appear as if he was nude, trying to pursue the mom. And the whole thing blew up. Like, the whole wedding blew up. But then I thought to myself, well, dude, you just. You dodged a bullet, bro, because you were never. Yeah, the mom that hates me.

[Joel Kim Booster]

You want to marry into.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, no, the mom that hates you is never going to. You're never going to next level.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Crazy.

[Chris Hoadley]

Did you grow up? I read in an extraordinarily conservative household.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Deeply conservative, Southern Baptist, evangelical, you know, the whole nine yards.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah. I think this is important to talk about during. During pride month, too. So tell me, I mean, do you have a relationship with your parents now? I'm sorry, I don't know if you're still here.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah, no, I do. I mean, my dad is dead, but my mom and I are on, you know, about as good terms as we could be, considering our differences. 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 in college, and then, you know, things have gotten steadily better. I mean, right before my dad passed, we were in the best place that we'd ever been in as father and son, I think, for my entire life. So I'm really grateful that I had that time with him before he passed. And, you know, my mom and I are, you know, good. I think, you know, she's not coming to my wedding. She's not supportive of that part of my life. But the fact is, is that it doesn't bum me out. It doesn't make me sad. I barely think about it, because, quite honestly, I stopped expecting certain things from my family a long time ago. Over a decade ago. You know, half my life. I've lived half my life not living for my parents or family's approval or caring about my family's approval. I haven't taken a dime from my family since I was 17. And that has become the cornerstone of my personality. Because everything I have, my house, my car, my life, is because I worked my ass off to get it. And I don't begrudge anybody who has a great relationship with their family and does receive support in some way. But I think that I'm really grateful that I am not a 35 year old who's still living desperately trying to get the approval of their parents. Because I know a lot of people like that and it's torture.

[Chris Hoadley]

I didn't always see two totally different situations. I'm not stepping in your shoes. But I didn't always see eye to eye with my father, had a rough relationship with my mother. My, you know, my, my childhood was, I guess it's all about perspective. But I read this from, I think it was Ram Dass said this. I read a book that he had written and one of the, in my early 20s, one of the things that he had said is that one of the most important steps that a human being can take is to realize that your mom and dad are just one words. They are human beings with their own thoughts and perspectives and they don't have to align with yours and you don't have to have their acceptance and they don't need to be a part of your life if that doesn't align with who you are, who you want to go. It was like reading the Emancipation Proclamation. It disconnected the word mom and dad from my, from all these expectations that I had of them that may or may not have ever come true. And that really sweetened the relationship with them because I was like, they're just human and they can be assholes and they can have opinions that don't share mine. They don't have to be these heroes in my story that are never going to show up. And so I, I relate with what you're saying is that you can still have a good relationship with them, but they may not be everything all the time.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah. And you find the family that can fill in the gaps. Right. You know, and that's what I've done is I've surrounded myself with plenty of people who provide the kind of emotional and familial support that a lot of people get from their families. And I just, you know, had to do a little digging and find it myself.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah. So you say you're unemployed, but you're really, you're just in between jobs, I would imagine, because. Fire Island Loot. Love Hotel. Okay, let's start with Love Hotel.

[Brian Green]

Big Mouth.

[Chris Hoadley]

Oh, and Big Mouth.

[Brian Green]

Huge fan of Big Mouth.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Oh, thank you so much.

[Chris Hoadley]

What a wild show that is. By the way, the first time I watched it, I was like this is incredible.

[Brian Green]

So, yeah, Love hotel.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Tell us.

[Brian Green]

I'm a big housewife fan. Brian is not.

[Joel Kim Booster]

But I, of course, I also live in a mixed household. So, yeah, okay. It is difficult. Love Hotel. I mean, the premise is pretty simple, and it's a pretty. It's a million dollar idea. You take four housewives, you put them in a resort with waves and waves of eligible bachelors, and you sort of just let them loose and see, you know, if any love connections are made. And I was the host of the show. I was the love concierge, which was. Which is the title that they gave me, which is.

[Brian Green]

You did a great job.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Meaningless. Thank you. And yeah, it was really crazy because I'm also a huge Bravo fan. And so it definitely felt a little bit like I was stepping into the Star wars immersive hotel, you know, like, I was just like, larping as a Bravo in the Bravo land. And yeah, it was definitely a learning experience. I'd never really done, like, I never hosted before or anything like that. So I was learning on the job for most of it. And, you know, it's a saying of, like, you're used to seeing these women through the safety of. Through your television, and then you're up close and personal, and it is a much different beast to sort of be wrangling them yourself.

[Brian Green]

So funny. Who were some of the couples that you were most surprised by? Like, I think I have to say, maybe Luann and James. I didn't expect to make it.

[Joel Kim Booster]

I know on first glance, I think we were all a little surprised by it, but. But, you know, the more I got to know Lou and the more certainly I got to know James, I think it makes quite a bit of sense because I think, you know, he worships her. And I think that is a huge plus for Luann. I think, like, you know, she's been burned in the past. She's been burned in the past by guys who don't worship her. And so I think, you know, he's a goof. He's definitely takes a while to settle into him. But I completely understand sort of why. Why they work. Because they are both goofs. They're both like, they love to, you know, joke around, and he makes her laugh, which I think is like, the big thing is, I think, like, most people don't realize how important that aspect of things is until you have it. And so, yeah, you know, it's listen and listen. The woman is a professional reality star. They're still seeing each other, but. But, you know, she has Admirers in lots of different places around the world. And the thing is, I think it works. It still works for them, you know, and so I think her life is so unorthodox that, like, of course she would have an unorthodox relationship. So I am happy that she left the Love Hotel with someone that she's still in contact with, which is unfortunately not the case with all of them. Right.

[Chris Hoadley]

Do you. Is it wild stepping into, like, the Bravo verse? Do people. Is it like, a whole new set of human beings that recognize who you are? And.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah, I mean, I have been tangentially involved in the Bravo verse for a while because I've appeared on Watch what Happens Live many times that people know I'm a super fan. So it wasn't like a huge leap, but it definitely. Yeah, the Bravo fans are scary. Bravo fans are loud. And Bravo fans are not afraid to send you a death threat. I will tell you, I've had my DMs. It's interesting. I've learned so many new slurs that I did not know existed for Asian people. Things, you know, retro slurs that they're bringing back. But, you know, it's also been very. It's also been positive as well. But it's just so easy. Cause the crazies are the loudest ones.

[Chris Hoadley]

But why are they angry with the host?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Well, there's. Listen if you know, you know. But I think also, I don't think there's a division amongst people who think I was a good host and who think I was a bad host. So I think that's a big part of it, I think, you know, and I'll admit, like, I was learning how to do the job on the job, you know, And I think I definitely got better and settled in. But there's a lot going on. There's someone in my ear telling me what to say. There's writers who have written clever puns for me to deliver and, you know, just a little bit of space for me to be me and inject myself into it. And so I think I learned how to do the balance a little bit better by the end of the show. Cause I was able to be a little bit more myself by the end. But at the beginning, I was definitely in this mode of, like, okay, they've given me what to say. They're in my ear directing me how to say it, and I'm just gonna do that. And then, you know, I think as they trusted me more and as I got to know them more, they were more willing to like, let me be me.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Brian Green]

Well, I loved. I think you did a fantastic job, and I loved your outfits.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Thank you. Thank you. That was stressful. I had three days. They gave me three days before I had to leave to figure out my wardrobe. And I wish I had a little bit more time, I'll tell you that. I was not a fan of everything I wore, but we made it work.

[Brian Green]

Yeah, it looked great.

[Chris Hoadley]

Wait, so hold on. So you get a phone call and three days later they want you, like, filming?

[Joel Kim Booster]

No, I got a phone call and it was. I had maybe a week or two, a week and a half lead, and then I sort of assumed that there would have. They would have a wardrobe department there. You would make that assumption, providing me with clothes. But, you know, it's the first season, and I think it is. You know, they were. They needed. That resort was not cheap. They needed to spend the budget in other, bigger ways to make the show look fucking beautiful. By the way, I think it looks gorgeous. But, yeah, I really scrambled and pulled together everything I could find that would and might work for the show. There are some misses I will say, after watching it back, but I think considering the time frame I had, the limited resources I had, I'm pretty happy with how I dressed on that show.

[Brian Green]

Oh, yeah.

[Chris Hoadley]

I think it looked white T shirt, dark pants. Joel, just go the commercial breakway and just wear the same thing. I forgot who said it. David Byrne said, keep on wearing the same thing, people start to recognize you. It is beautiful, though, by the way, that resort. Gorgeous.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah.

[Chris Hoadley]

I mean, did you get to. You. I'm. You're staying in the resort, Right?

[Joel Kim Booster]

We were there for three and a half weeks. Stayed there the entire time. And I will say it was gorgeous. I have nothing negative to say about it, except I think any resort, if you're there for three and a half weeks, it's gonna.

[Brian Green]

Gets old.

[Chris Hoadley]

It gets old.

[Joel Kim Booster]

It's gonna drive you a little crazy by the end of it, for sure.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, yeah, I. I hear you. It's usually give anybody four walls and let them live inside it for a while, and pretty soon those four walls are gonna start to look plain. Jane. So tell us. I am a fan of. How'd you get involved in. Yeah, how did you get involved with Lute?

[Joel Kim Booster]

You know, it's a really funny story, and I love to tell it, too, because it's such a great, instructive sort of lesson for people who are struggling. Because what happened was, is I was on an NBC sitcom called Sunnyside back in 2019. It has the distinction of being the lowest rated premiere in NBC history.

[Chris Hoadley]

Oh.

[Joel Kim Booster]

It was pulled off the air after three episodes, which they had not done in about eight years.

[Chris Hoadley]

You said three episodes?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Three, yeah. Three episodes. And this was well past the point when networks were pulling shows off the air early. They just weren't doing that anymore. But they made an exception for our show.

[Brian Green]

How sweet of them.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah. And, you know, it was a moment in my life where I was like, wow, I just failed hard. This is humiliating. And my career's over, Over. I don't know, like, what I'm going to do. And it was for a long time, for two years, like, sort of this thing that hung over me where I was like, I failed so hard. I don't know what I'm going to do. And so depressed. And then right as we were coming out of the Pandemic, I got an email from my manager about Lute and Matt Hubbard, who co created Lute, was a writer on Sunnyside and loved working with me so much on that show that. That he created the part of Nicholas with me in mind. And so I still audition, but it was definitely one of those situations where all I had to do was not fuck it up and they wanted me. And so, you know, I always tell people, you don't know how the story ends in the moment. You have to really give yourself some distance from it to see what the arc of this story is. And for me, it was a happy ending. And it's just funny. It goes to show that the things that feel like failures and the end of the world in the moment can lead to. To, you know, bigger and better things down the road.

[Brian Green]

So true.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, I think that's a real. I think that's very instructive that sometimes failures are actually validations and waiting. Right. And you never know who's watching. So I think the other important thing, I was saying this to someone who wanted to start a podcast, and I said, listen, consistency, stick with it. It's going to feel like failure over and over and over again. And maybe in the end it is, but at the very least, you did it like, you gave it a shot. And you never know what's right around the corner.

[Joel Kim Booster]

And life is, don't make the call in the moment.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, Never make the call in the moment.

[Joel Kim Booster]

I think this is a piece of advice that I actually got when I was doing Stand up too, is that, like so many people, something happens to them and they want to rush to the stage and tell the story about it. But so often it's such a smart idea to sort of give it some time because again, you don't know what the shape of the story is until you're out of it. And I think so many people make the mistake of, you know, whether it is, you know, as a performance or just in a moment where they failed, they want to tell themselves that this is the end of the story and they had no idea. You know, it's just. Yeah, it's a mistake I think a lot of people make.

[Chris Hoadley]

Are you still doing standup? Actively working standup?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah, I just. I finished a tour in February. Still going up around town as much as possible, shopping it around. Hopefully we'll be, you know, shooting it soon as my next special. And, you know, it is getting more difficult, I will say, I think the busier I get. It's this weird, like, joke about stand up is that, you know, you get so successful as a stand up comic and then they start asking you to do everything but stand up. Which, you know, I've always been someone, I've always wanted to be a writer. I, you know, studied playwriting. That was always the goal was write for tv. And acting was always sort of like a pipe dream that I had that I cared about, but never thought. I thought like the best I could hope for is to be a writer in a writer's room. And that was sort of. That was the big impossible dream, you know, like, I never thought I'd make a movie. I never certainly thought I'd make a movie that I starred in or produced. And, you know, standup was just easy because there was no barrier to entry, to get into it, you know, and it was an easy creative outlet that felt really fulfilling. And then slowly it became the most interesting creative outlet that I was, that I had in my life. So I just decided to pull the trigger and do it as my main thing. And it's funny that as soon as I got successful as a stand up, everything circled back around and suddenly people wanted me to act and people wanted me to write. And so again, it's that thing of you don't know how the arc of the story until you're out of it.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah. And we hear this from a lot of comics too. I mean, you know, there's standup comics that are on the road constantly. They're working on the next hour, working on the next hour. But we've heard from other comics who kind of have broken through just the. The journeyman kind of comic thing is that they get so busy, it becomes. And then you have to create the next hour. But when do you create the next hour? When you're touring the same hour? It's kind of this. It's a vicious cycle. It's, you know, a Raiders razor, so to speak. You've got to do it over and over again. You.

[Brian Green]

But a good problem to have.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah. I mean, listen, are you gonna complain about being busy? Fire Island.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Mm.

[Brian Green]

Love Fire Island. Oh, my God. I think it came out in 2022, right?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yes, yes. I'm still riding on the fumes of a movie that came out in 2022, but I think I will be for a long time, and I'm okay with that.

[Brian Green]

And it's kind of a Pride and Prejudice.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yikes. It's a loose Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Modern day retelling of Pride and Prejudice in the same vein that, like, what Amy Heckerling did with Clueless was a huge inspiration for what I did with Fire Island.

[Brian Green]

Well, it was such a fun thing. And Margaret Cho, she's been on our show there. I loved her in it as well. So iconic.

[Joel Kim Booster]

I mean, I grew up. I mean, she birthed me in a lot of ways. And so to get her in movie was just such a surreal moment for me.

[Chris Hoadley]

She named you in our interview as one of the comics that she admired to watch as one of the.

[Joel Kim Booster]

That. I mean, and when I hear things like that, it's just. It's hard to. It's hard to even absorb or like, it just doesn't seem real because, you know, when you watch somebody, when someone like that who has shaped you and your conception of your own identity and what's possible for yourself says something like that, it just. It's hard for me to absorb sometimes.

[Brian Green]

I can imagine.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, you. You grow up with your heroes and then your heroes are naming you as people that they're watching as the next generation to be the next heroes that it was. And in Margaret Cho, she breaks through. It's not just, you know, sexually liberal, liberated, or whatever classification you want to give her. She breaks through as like a legendary comic. She's just a human comic that defined stand up comedy in a lot of ways for so many people. She is absolutely like, you know, I was taken aback when we had Margaret Cohen on the show because she, for.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Me, was still stuff. I just did a show with her last week and she's still so funny, you know, like, oh, yeah, it's. And that is not always the case with people who've been doing it for a minute. And so it's always fun to Watch her. And she's still, you know, just as good as she was back when I was, you know, listening to her in high school.

[Chris Hoadley]

Do you get the sense that this movie is, like, iconic? Like, it's becoming, like. I mean, I know you don't want to, like, you know, I don't know, Fluffy yourself, but.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah, I don't know that I would ever feel comfortable saying that myself. I think that I hold, you know, it is something that people will return to throughout the years. But I also feel like there's a part of me that's like, God, I hope that by the time, you know. The reason movies like, but I'm a cheerleader are still so iconic is because we haven't gotten one like it since. Not really, you know, certainly not a lot of them. And so it still is so distinct and important and iconic. And 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. I hope that, you know, I hope people. I certainly don't hope that people forget about it, but I hope that there will be so many movies like it, more of that. It doesn't need to be this singular entity that people return to.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, no, that's interesting. Let me ask you something for those of the listeners that don't know Fire Island. Why is Fire Island. Fire Island? Why is everyone so enamored with Fire Island? The actual Fire Island?

[Joel Kim Booster]

The actual Fire island, yeah. Oh. So Fire island, it is a tiny little strip of land off Long island, and Fire island, it's funny, is it's known as a gay dungeon vacation destination. But it's actually. If you grew up in Long Island, Fire island is quite large and only two sections of it, Cherry Grove and the Pines are historically gay enclaves. And it's been around since the early 20th century. It's always been a safe haven for queer people. It's very difficult to get to. And that's a big part of why it became a safe haven for queer people. And it really was this sort of. Of magical space where, you know, there are no straight people. You can be, you know, you can feel free to be as gay or queer or whatever and surround yourself with gay and queer people. And it's great because, you know, when I first started going, when I was in my early 20s, you step off that boat and onto the island and you spend, like, a couple hours there and you realize, like, oh, my God, there's no straight people here. And a weight is kind of lifted from you for a minute. Because, you know, especially as a visibly gay guy, you know, like, there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. People clock me as gay before I even open my mouth. And there's a lot of pressure when you are in a public spaces, places like New York or la, and you're sort of like, aware that, like, oh God, like, I have to make sure that I comport myself in a way that maybe isn't flamboyant. And, you know, you know, I don't want the straight people to see me do XYZ and then make assumptions based on all gay people because they had a bad interaction with me. And like, and you go to Fire island and it not all dissipates. You know, there's a. There's a sort of different set of insecurities and anxieties that, you know, go hand in hand with that island. But there is something really powerful about being in a space with all queer people and being free of the pressure of, like, knowing that. That, you know, everything you do is going to be pathologized to the rest of the queer community by some straight person.

[Chris Hoadley]

That is very interesting, Joel. That. And as a straight man myself, that is a very interesting piece of, like, you just opened yourself up transparently a little bit into the psychology of what I'm sure this. The kind of like this invisible stress that. This invisible world that you're kind of dancing between. I used to have an older gay man was my roommate for a year, year and a half, and he used to say to me, it doesn't matter that people around me know that I'm gay. I still don't feel like I'm ever. That pressure to be a little bit straight is ever really off me. And I don't know if I ever understood what he really meant until you kind of said it. It was like, you know, I always. I'm always dancing this line. I always have to think these thoughts. I always have to be sure I'm guarded.

[Joel Kim Booster]

And I think any sort of minority or marginalized person feels that to some extent the pressure to be, you know, the best version and not misbehave and not ruin it for the rest of your group. I mean, I'm sure you will feel it as a woman. You know, like, there's this. This idea of, like, I have to be perfect. I have to do this. I have to be, you know, 50,000 things at once. Otherwise they're gonna say women aren't funny or like, you know, or they're gonna say, it's just, like, you worry and it sucks. Cause then sometimes, like, I do just want to be a gay guy, and I don't want to. And it's like, yeah, I am a stereotype at times, and I enjoy my life, and I am good at it. And I just think it's like, you can get really tangled up in it really quickly. And it's why those brief moments when I get to go to Fire island are so nice, because you're able to let go of a lot of that for a week and. And, you know, slowly get reintroduced to it as you come back to the mainland.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Chris Hoadley]

Did you. You said you started going in your early 20s. Did you identify that you were gay when you were young?

[Joel Kim Booster]

I think I said. I remember when I was four years old, I was, like, having a little sleepover with my brother and my sister in my sister's bedroom, Little sleeping bags on the floor, staring up at her glow in the dark light, starlights on in the ceiling, and telling them that I liked looking at naked boys more than naked girls. And they thought that was a laugh riot. But I was being serious. And I still remember this to this day. And I knew, like, really young that that was the case, and I did. And then I slowly sort of learned that it was wrong by the time I was 13. But I was pretty, like. Yeah. Like, confident in what I liked and what. Who I was at to some extent at a very young age. And then, you know, you learn to suppress.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Chris Hoadley]

And so when did you come out?

[Joel Kim Booster]

I came out officially at 16. Yeah.

[Chris Hoadley]

I'm sorry, you said you came out at 16 years old at 16. Yeah, that's. That's. That's pretty young.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah. And this was pre Glee, by the way.

[Brian Green]

Right, right.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Okay. So it was. It was especially brave of what I did. Okay. I didn't have Ryan Murphy paving the way for me. Gen Zers.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Chris Hoadley]

Well, I think that's. I think that's super brave of you as someone who will never have to be in that position. I can't even imagine. And now I have. I have. I have children of my own. And this conversation goes around with my wife and I a lot. You know. You know, you look at your children and you play the law of averages, and you see behaviors and you see things, and you go, oh. And. And you say to yourself, you know, I only can hope, and I can only pray that we never say or do anything that would make them feel any kind of anxiety about being as honest and as real and as them as they want to be. And, you know, as a parent, you can only hope to be supportive. I realize that I am not. That I am not. Like, that thought does not carry throughout every single parent in the universe. I wish it did, but it's pretty brave to even be 16 years old and come out like that.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah, I mean, definitely it is. I think even today to be 16 and come out, you know, I made the. You know, post Glee even. It's a scary thing to do, but. And it's all dependent on your context, too. But I think, like, a big thing for me was that, like, I've been getting called a faggot since I was, like, 8 or 9 years old, you know, Like, I am not somebody who can hide who I am. And I think, like, everyone has always been, you know, telling me. Was telling me that I was gay my entire life. Calling me gay my entire life. And so you hit 16 at a certain point, and you. And the calculus in my mind was sort of like, well, either way, even if I pretend to be straight, people are still gonna clock me as gay and bully me for being gay. So you know what? I might as well just be fucking gay.

[Brian Green]

Fuck it.

[Joel Kim Booster]

You know, just the math.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah.

[Joel Kim Booster]

It was just like, either way. Either way, I'm gonna receive this treatment from my peers. And honestly, after I came out, it was, like, easier almost, I think, like, there was just this, like. You know, like. Because when kids. I think teenagers especially, target someone who's closeted, who's, like, very clearly, you know, reads as gay, can't hide it, is not doing a great job of hiding it, whatever, what have you. When they finally own it and come out, it, like, sort of deflates a lot of the joy that bullies get from, you know, trying to, you know, tell people that you're gay because it's like, oh, now he's. He's kind of beaten us to the punch, and it's not as fun anymore when we thought he was just an effeminate straight kid who we could torture. So.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, no, that's very interesting. Yeah, it's like, almost like there's the. The pleasure in trying to poke at something that you're trying to hide, but when I'm not trying to hide it, it just deflates the situation a little bit. It's like, oh, okay, well, he's gay.

[Joel Kim Booster]

It's like, yeah, no shit, I'm gay.

[Chris Hoadley]

Congratulations. I figured it out at 4. It only took you however long to figure it out. Will there Be Love Hotel Season 2?

[Joel Kim Booster]

I don't know yet. I think there's a lot of rumors. There's a lot of speculation about what. What the format will be, things like that. I think they were really happy with the show, and I think that it was a hit for them, and people seem to enjoy it, and it'll be. And I think it's a great format for the network, too, because it's one of the best parts was to get to see these four housewives from disparate franchises sort of be in a space together. And then, you know, there's Ultimate Girls Trip that they experimented with as well. But this format, I think, is a little bit better because the problem with Ultimate Girls Trip was that. That when it ended, because they're just on vacation, there was no storylines, there was no arc really to it. It's just sort of like. And done going home. But with this, there's like, an intrinsic sort of structure that lends itself to a beginning, middle, end. You know, like, there is a climax on this show that I think is really satisfying for a lot of people. So you get to see these ladies play who aren't normally on shows together, and you also get, like, a satisfying buildup to an ending. And I think that is really great. And I think that's one of the joys of the first season of Love Hotel, at least, is that you see these four women who are normally in conflict with, if not each other, then other women on their franchises really just be friends and support each other. And, like, you know, it was girl code down the entire time they shot together. And that's a nice change, I think, of pace for people who watch these shows.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, that's interesting. Yeah, that's like a formula that Bravo doesn't. I mean, maybe they do on other shows, but these women that you're used to seeing in conflict with each other, all of a sudden, the through line is not conflict with each other, but supporting each other to try and find some other outcome that's positive for everybody.

[Brian Green]

Especially for women that are in their, you know, 40s, 50s.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Listen, I say this all the time, and it's like, you know, it's maybe a little tongue in ch, but it's actually kind of real, is that I always tell people, if you want to see women 50 plus on television live, complicated, layered stories, then unfortunately, Housewives is one of your only options, because we do not see women in their 50s or beyond on television a lot. Certainly not centered as the main focus of the show. And so say what you will, you know, think it's trash. It is, but it is also, like, I think, like a really fascinating look at these women who are, for a lot of people, invisible once they reach a certain age. And so to give them back this agency and to give them and to center their stories, I think is, you know, you don't have to like it, but I think it's sort of silly to deny that it's. That's a little. Important's not the word, but, well, yeah, I guess important is it because, you know, women of that age deserve it.

[Chris Hoadley]

You know, it's a mega hit. These shows are mega hits. They are super successful. They breed rabid fan bases. People live inside of these stories, you know, they die for the next episode. They, you know, you don't. And maybe not everybody likes it. I'm a huge fan of trash tv. I love trash tv. Just not, you know, that channel's not my channel.

[Joel Kim Booster]

We only have so much band bandwidth. We only have so much bandwidth.

[Chris Hoadley]

Which is trashier than any trash. But at the end of the day, these are mega hits. And there's a reason why, and I think that, you know, you might have hit on something, is because so many people, they see little bits of themselves in these lives that these other. That these ladies are. Are living, and they say, oh, well, you know, I can identify with that. It's an exaggerated version, but. But good television is an exaggerated version of ourselves.

[Joel Kim Booster]

It's the only sort of corner of Hollywood that takes women in their 50s seriously in a lot of ways. I think so many actresses age into this age range and then are sort of discarded because their value is so tied up in how fuckable they are to a lot of these studios. And then they're just sort of abandoned. And I think it serves a really important purpose in the ecosystem of reality TV and TV and general, I think.

[Chris Hoadley]

And without them, we wouldn't have so much Andy Cohen. And you know what? I could take all that guy you can get. I love that guy. I do.

[Joel Kim Booster]

No, I mean, it's. It permeates the culture. I. So many people who don't even watch Housewives, they know about the table flip.

[Brian Green]

Exactly.

[Joel Kim Booster]

You know, they know about who going to check me, boo. They know about who said that. They. They know all the quotes. They know all the moments. So whether you like it or not, unfortunately, it is a cultural juggernaut, whether you think that's merited or not.

[Chris Hoadley]

Do you know, Joe, do you know why I got turned off to the Real Housewives? You know, the Real Housewives of Atlanta? Oh, My gosh. We have to watch because that's where we're at. We have to watch in Atlanta. Then I got to know some of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, some of the early Real Housewives of Atlanta ladies, and I just was like, this doesn't. Like, it's not adding. What I'm seeing on TV is not adding up what I understand about their real life. And I also understand I'm not dumb enough.

[Brian Green]

It's exaggerated.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yeah, it's an exaggerated version, and I'm not dumb enough. But then, like, then it just kind of turned me off. I was like, whatever. But for. That's what TV is like. It's a dramatized version of reality.

[Joel Kim Booster]

I think it is a mistake to approach any Housewives franchise as though it is a docu series.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yes.

[Joel Kim Booster]

It is a lightly scripted reality experiment. And I think that it's so funny because a lot of people love to say things like, oh, they're not really friends. They're not friends in real life. This is so manufactured. This is so fake. And I'm like, yeah, I don't care. They are co workers. They clock into the drama factory. And like, yes, of course you're friends with people at work that you aren't normally friends with in real life.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yes.

[Joel Kim Booster]

And that's a real dynamic in and of itself. And it doesn't make it less. It doesn't make it any more fake. You know, it's just. It's like, yeah, when you work at Quiznos, you wouldn't necessarily fuck with Lisa outside of Quiznos, but you're. You know, you're mad at Danielle, so you're gonna align yourself with Lisa at kidsnows. You know, that is, like. That is how people operate at work. You know, you make alliances with people that you are not actually friends with to make it through. You know, And I think if you frame it that way, that's how I watch these shows, is that they are workplace dramedies about people who are working as Real Housewives. And I think if you. I think some people expect too much out of the reality portion, you know.

[Chris Hoadley]

And that's crazy, because I was watching whatever. I don't know, whatever Instagram account, and there were people that were following around some of the 90 Day Fiance people, and they were watching as. Over and over and over again, the film crew kept filming the people coming down the escalator at the airport for the, like, you know, oh, my gosh, they're here from whatever far flung country, you know, oh, you're here. Here's my sign and my flowers and I love you. And it's been 10 months since I've seen you. And the film crew just kept filming it over, like, 10 different times to get the reaction that they wanted or so that they could edit it in the way that they wanted to edit it. But I know that, and I don't care because if I watch 90 Day Fiance, I'm not watching because I think it's absolutely real. I'm watching because it's edited to be interesting and entertainment. That's right.

[Brian Green]

Yeah.

[Chris Hoadley]

So, well, before you go, talk a.

[Brian Green]

Little bit about Big Mouth. Cause I swear this is like one of my husband and I's favorite shows. Did you work? You're a writer.

[Joel Kim Booster]

You know, I was a writer. I wrote on three seasons of the show. I wrote between seasons three and six on the show. And it was one of the best jobs, so fun I've ever had. Nick Kroll is an amazing creative mind and boss, and it was just so much fun. It was the most fun I've ever had in a writer's room because we just basically came in every day and relived our childhoods and mined them for storylines on the show. And it was just. Yeah, it's just such a positive environment. And we all were there to have fun and really get to process some of our childhood trauma at the same time.

[Brian Green]

Right. And for our listeners, it's an animated show on Netflix that is basically, it.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Explores the experience of puberty in a myriad of ways that are sometimes poignant, sometimes gross, sometimes funny. But we tackle pretty much every aspect of adolescence and puberty from as many angles as we could fit into a season.

[Chris Hoadley]

If you don't know Big Mouth, I don't wanna know you. Turn off my podcast. Joel is the host of the Love Hotel Fire island, available to stream. Where is it available to stream? Hulu. Hulu on Hulu, Big Mouth on Netflix, Love Hot on Peacock, Love Hotel on Peacock, and Loot coming back on Apple, right?

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yep.

[Chris Hoadley]

That's right. Joel, you're all over the place. It's a pleasure to have you. I hope you will return to our little podcast here. It's really nice to get to know you a little bit.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Yeah. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.

[Brian Green]

Looking forward to seeing what you're up to next. And we'll be listening to your podcast, too.

[Chris Hoadley]

I love it. Oh, bad dates. That's right, Bad dates. Podcast, which is.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Thank you so much.

[Chris Hoadley]

Great links in the show notes. Thanks so much, Joel. We appreciate it.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Thanks, guys.

[Rachel]

Why don't you text us and we can text back and then you can text us and reply, then so on. It's a fun little game I've been playing and I think you'll be great at it. 212-4333, TCB. That's 212-433. You could leave a message too. If you do, maybe you'll end up being the voice of the show. But be warned, the pay is not great. You could go to the website and drop us an email. Also tcbpodcast.com and while you're there you can get a free sticker. Who doesn't want a free sticker? Just go to the contact us button and ask for one. Follow us on Insta at the commercial break and watch the [e-mail] the commercial break. Now I'm gonna go back to that texting game you want to play. Come on. Bye.

[David Spade]

When you haven't found love, it can feel like everyone else has. It's in every movie, every song, and all the PDA Looking for love sucks. Thankfully, California Psychics can give you the guidance you need to find the one we guarantee if your reading isn't life changing, it's free and new customers receive 20 minutes for just $20. Visit californiapsychics.com and experience the joy of certainty.

[Dana Carvey]

California Psychics Meet Natural Cycles the only FDA cleared and CE marked birth control app that's built around your body. The Natural Cycles app pinpoints your fertile days by tracking shifts in your temperature so you can plan or prevent pregnancy naturally. It's easy to use. Simply take your temperature in the morning with our free Bluetooth thermometer included with our annual plan, or sync with your Oura Ring or Apple Watch. The app analyzes your data and tells you daily whether it's a fertile or non fertile day. Natural cycles is 93% effective with typical use and 98% effective with perfect use. But beyond effective birth control, the app helps you understand your body and cycle better than ever. And unlike some period tracking apps, Natural Cycles provides an advanced data protection program to keep your information private and secure. Ready to go hormone free? Sign up for the Natural Cycles annual plan and get a free Bluetooth thermometer plus 15% off your subscription with the code [e-mail].

[Chris Hoadley]

Okay Mr. Joel Kim Booster what a pleasure. Such a nice guy. I really enjoyed our conversation. At least I did not quote Ram Dass in this one. So there you go. I came close. I came close. But I figure, you know, Joel's lived probably more life than I have. So I better shut my mouth and let him, Let him do the talking. Yeah, let him do the talking. Anyway, thank you to Joel for coming in. We really enjoyed our conversation. I will put him on the you are welcome back list. What do you think about that?

[Brian Green]

I think so. Oh, he's definitely in that category.

[Chris Hoadley]

All right, stay tuned. This week we have exciting information about, about the next TCB stunt that Chrissy and I are going to be doing. That includes watching an entire movie and doing the commentary. Breaking it all down live and on the podcast. Stay tuned as TCB introduces yet another dumb idea to you and we'll see if we pull it off. We're going to be doing it here in this studio so I think we can do it. If we were outside the studio then I, I would have questions about our actual ability or willingness to go do it. Also, I wanted to say about a former guest and hopefully returning guest, Reggie Watts and his girlfriend Cat. They are putting together a live late night show.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Oh.

[Chris Hoadley]

With. With some really heavy hitting celebrity comedians that are coming on. Cat is helping produce it. Reggie's going to be doing it. It's July 12th, 23rd. I'll be talking more about that later on this week and maybe, maybe fingers crossed we'll get Reggie in just for a few minutes and, and, or Cat so that they can have a conversation with us about it and I'll tell you where you can stream it live. I think there are limited tickets available. I think that's in Los Angeles. But hopefully this becomes a thing like a thing that they do.

[Brian Green]

I agree.

[Chris Hoadley]

But I can't wait to see this because I think I told Reggie you would be the perfect late night host. Uh huh.

[Brian Green]

I think you did the first time we talked to him.

[Chris Hoadley]

Yes, he stole my idea and then didn't invite me to be on. But I wouldn't invite me to be on either.

[Brian Green]

It's okay, we'll forgive him.

[Chris Hoadley]

If I had a list of people, Brian would not be at the top of it either. Okay, so all of Joel Kim booster's shit is down here in the show notes. Just open up your little podcast player. Take a look all the links right there for you at the commercial break on Instagram. Take 212-4383 tcb questions, comments, concerns, content, ideas and tcbpodcast.com audio, video and your free sticker. Okay Chrissy, that's all I can do for today.

[Brian Green]

I think so.

[Chris Hoadley]

But I'll tell you that I love.

[Brian Green]

You and I love you.

[Chris Hoadley]

I'll say best to you, best to you out there in the podcast universe. Until next time, Chrissy and I will say we do say, and we must say goodbye.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Get Smoother, Brighter Skin Instantly in one.

[Astrid]

Easy step, Dermalogica's Daily Microfoliant gives you the smooth, glowy skin you want without.

[Chris Hoadley]

Damaging your skin barrier.

[Joel Kim Booster]

This gentle exfoliating powder activates with water to smooth out rough texture and brighten skin. It's powerful enough to deliver results, yet gentle enough to use every single day, even on sensitive skin.

[Astrid]

See the results for yourself. Visit dermalogica.com and use code Smooth at.

[Joel Kim Booster]

Cart for an exclusive free gift with $65 purchase.

[Astrid]

Summer break is here, and while kids are excited to hit pause on school, as a parent you might be wondering how to keep their minds active without killing the summer vibe. Whether your child is trying to catch up, stay sharp or get a head start for the fall, IXL can make learning a seamless part of summer. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand what they're learning, whether they're brushing up on math or diving into social studies. It covers math, language arts, science and social studies from Pre K through 12th grade. With content that's engaging, personalized and yes, actually fun. It's the perfect tool to keep learning going without making it feel like school. Studies show kids who use IXL score higher on tests. This has been proven in almost every state. IXL uses smart technology to tailor support to each child's level, personality and learning pace, so make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now and listeners of this podcast can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at ixllearning.com audio visit ixllearning.com audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price.

[David Spade]

You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites. Indeed's Sponsored Jobs help you stand out and hire fast. With Sponsored Jobs, your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster and it makes a huge difference. According to Indeed data, Sponsored Jobs posted directly on Indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Plus with Indeed sponsored Jobs, there are no monthly subscriptions, no long term contracts, and you only pay for results. And listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more [e-mail] listen just go to indeed.com listen right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com listen. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.

[Chris Hoadley]

Sam I'm going to Coachella to see Diploma.