#3440 Next Gen NYC S2E02 Part Two: Letting Things Slide

Summary

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Watch What Crappens Ep. #3440: Next Gen NYC S2E02, Part 1 — “Letting Things Slide”

Host(s): Ben Mandelker & Ronnie Karam
Guest: Eric
Release Date: July 3, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode dives into “Next Gen NYC” Season 2, Episode 2—an irreverent, detail-rich recap and roast of the privileged children of NYC’s elite and their tribulations trying to make their own marks. Ben and Eric break down the episode’s key storylines, personalities, and ridiculous antics, bouncing between sincere social commentary and delightfully petty observations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Georgia & Prez: Romance, Bleach, and Crypto-Adjacent Shenanigans

• (01:03–06:33)
  • Georgia’s new boyfriend, Prez (yes, pronounced “Prez”), is introduced. His business is “crypto-adjacent”—he’s launching a betting platform where people wager on opinion polls, funded in part by crypto.
    • “Crypto adjacent is hilarious.” (02:13, Eric)
  • Ben and Eric riff on the absurdity: “Crypto-fueled business that definitely will not be at risk when the crypto market, which is famously volatile, tanks the next time.” (03:00, Ben)
• Hygiene Antics:
  • Georgia claims she doesn’t wash her hands—she just bleaches them. Shared laughter as she and Prez touch “dirty hands.”
    • “Yeah, I basically sterilize them over an open flame for about 30 seconds.” (06:10, Ben)
  • Eric fans out: “It’s gonna be so sweet when they both go to the hospital for dysentery.” (06:25, Eric)

Influencers & The Cost of #Content

• Amira’s $16,000/Month Apartment
  • (07:58–08:46)
    • Ben and Eric marvel at influencer economics: “Amira is also paying $16,000 for her apartment, which is crazy, insane, legitimately crazy.” (07:58, Ben)
    • Eric clarifies the reality: “...$16,000 a month feels like like 0.1% of earners and it's hard to sustain, but go off.” (08:46, Eric)
• Influencer Burnout
  • (09:11–11:39)
    • Life of an influencer described as “Groundhog Day Central”—constant vlogging, endless content, no real down time.
    • “The reason why we are not crazy people is because we do have some shame...It's hard to break free.” (11:29, Eric)

Riley, Brooks & Gen Z Hustle

• (11:39–14:27)
  • Riley, typically chatty on-screen, is quiet in group texts. Ben quips: “That’s just you living your life and not having a job.” (12:54)
  • Career aspirations: Riley wants to pivot from DJing to Columbia Law.
• (13:17–14:27)
  • Brooks and Riley, both children of Real Housewives, reflect wisely on hustle, parental privilege, and the time needed to build a career.
  • Notable quote: “Our parents are doing the best that they ever have, like right now, and they're like 30 years older than us, which is actually really good advice...” (13:17, Eric)

Amira’s Family & Acceptance

• (15:23–16:16)
  • Amira’s dinner with her parents is warm and supportive, not centered on her being trans.
    • “I think it's so refreshing to have Amira as just like a boss bitch with parents who are like, clearly loving her and supportive of her.” (15:23, Eric)
    • “That’s not the headline. That's the best part.” (16:02, Ben)

Last Names, Privilege & Independence

• (16:16–17:32)
  • Amira laments her “weightless” last name; Ava envies Amira’s hustle despite her own famous family.
    • “The grass is always greener.” (17:05, Ben)
    • “You got to have the goddamn hustle and the drive.” (17:05, Eric)
  • Free sushi in apartment debates (“dragon roll stipend” jokes—20:20/21:05)

Georgia: Strong Personality, Mild Self-Awareness

• Small-Dose Friend (21:18–22:44)
  • Ben: “Her tagline could be: ‘But enough about me. How are you?’ 35 minutes into the conversation.” (22:32)
  • Georgia rants about former friend Charlie affecting her business and likability.

Shai, Charlie & Upcycling Fashion

• (23:50–27:53)
  • Shai’s upcycling business—“It’s a thrift store.” (27:05, Eric)
  • Ben: “[Shai is] such an earnest, sweet soul, I hope that I can, you know, do nothing but support his brand.”
  • The hosts gently lampoon the micro-business model.

Cast Party, Social Maneuvering, Hudson/Charlie Drama

• Brooks’s Resort Collection Problems (28:38–29:16)
  • Brooks laments his postponed fashion launch; Liam offers road-trip help with sincere “chosen family” energy.
    • “This is why Liam has me in his little clutches… he wants to help his gay friend’s resort line…” (29:16, Eric)
• Pre-party Dynamics
  • Liam trains as a volunteer firefighter in Lake George. Details about coyote cries and “boy territory” jokes.

Party Night: Entrances, Newcomers & Tense Socializing

• Rowan (Brooke Shields’s daughter) Joins the Party (36:13–38:16)
  • “She is everything. I think she is a star. From the jump.” (36:20, Eric)
  • Rowan eats an undercooked chicken nugget—cue infectious-panic comic riff.
  • Rowan distinguishes herself: “It was never like, Brooke Shields is my mom. It was more like, my mom is Brooke Shields. Does that make sense?” (37:53, Rowan, echoed by Eric)

Gen Z Communal Hygiene Obsessions

• Potato Chips in Bed & Shoelace Horror (39:07–41:57)
  • Georgia's notorious sloppiness—eating chips in bed, not washing hands.
    • “I hate it so much… I cannot co-sign living in New York City and not washing your hands.” (40:39, Eric)
    • Discussion veers into shoelace disgust: “They soak in a way that soles don’t soak.” (41:02, Ben)

Showdown Night: Feuds & Social Fragility

• Charlie’s Isolation & Attempted Socializing (43:58–45:50)
  • Charlie is shunned at the party: “He’s like a very sad billionaire child right now. Sad when you think about it.” (44:33, Ben)
  • Riley rebuffs him; Georgia refuses to talk: “No, we're still not talking… Don’t need you here.” (45:10, Ben as Georgia)
  • Shai invents “Not my turkey, not my Thanksgiving,” to everyone’s bemusement.

New Cast: Hook (aka Tyler), Brooks’ Status, More Drama

• (47:25–49:13)
  • Host banter over “Hook” (formerly Tyler), a new cast addition with a “rebranded” persona.
  • Amusing speculation on Hook’s real backstory and hotel management degrees. (“My name is Hook, and I am a conceptual journalist. What?” 48:20, Eric)
• Vignette Overload
  • The editing “like a Shakespearean play… one little vignette after another.” (49:27, Ben)

Party Flirtations & Potential Romances

• Shy Meets Rowan (49:34–51:53)
  • Shy tries to flirt—a bit awkward, but Rowan plays along (“As of right now…” she says about her boyfriend).
    • “She was trying to be bitsy boopy, but it was more like bitsy oopsie.” (51:47, Ben)

The “Perfect Show” Feud: Girls & Gays vs. Charlie

• Clique Dynamics (51:56–53:44)
  • Frustration with Charlie’s inclusion in the friend group.
    • “We have this, like, great, perfect, like, girls and gays circle here. Why are we ruining it with Charlie?” (51:53, Ben)
• Georgia Protects Prez
  • “Prez is like this cute, like, sparkling, unbothered ball of light. And you have. Charlie’s just like, prickly, like, dark…he fucking sucks.” (53:13, Eric)

Closing Scenes: Bittersweet Resolve

• Final Party Interactions (54:31–57:11)
  • Ava gives a “chosen family” speech and hints once again at the importance of a doorman.
  • Ariana and Charlie have a surprisingly friendly chat despite the tension, with hints of possible future trouble for Hudson.
  • Charlie goes home, sips tea, and mulls over his “multiple sides.”
    • “He’s just like...there's a side of Charlie that shows you his heart a little bit and like, cares like, because, like, somewhere deep, deep, deep, deep down, he's like a good guy.” (56:30, Ariana via Ben)

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• “Crypto adjacent is hilarious.” – Eric [02:13]
• “I basically sterilize them over an open flame.” – Ben [06:10]
• “$16,000 a month feels like like 0.1% of earners... but go off, Amira.” – Eric [08:46]
• “Our parents are doing the best they ever have...like 30 years older than us, which is actually really good advice.” – Eric [13:17]
• “Her tagline could be: ‘But enough about me. How are you?’ 35 minutes into the conversation.” – Ben [22:32]
• “That’s just you living your life and not having a job.” – Ben [12:54]
• “It's so refreshing to have Amira as just like a boss bitch with parents who are...loving her and supportive of her.” – Eric [15:23]
• “You got to have the goddamn hustle and the drive.” – Eric [17:05]
• “I hate it so much. I cannot co-sign living in NYC and not washing your hands.” – Eric [40:39]
• “We have this...perfect girls & gays circle here. Why are we ruining it with Charlie?” – Ben [51:53]
• “Prez is like this cute, sparkling, unbothered ball of light. And...Charlie’s just like, prickly, like, dark...he fucking sucks.” – Eric [53:13]
• “He was trying to be bitsy boopy, but it was more like bitsy oopsie.” – Ben [51:47]

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Episode Structure & Flow

00:00–01:03 – Ads/Intro
01:03–06:33 – Georgia & Prez: Being “crypto-adjacent,” hygiene quirks, early relationship dynamics
06:33–10:47 – Ava’s influencer hustle, Amira’s NYC life, the real costs and stress of content creation
11:05–14:27 – Riley’s return, group text woes, Gen Z’s career anxiety, Brooks and Riley share grounded perspectives
15:23–16:16 – Amira’s supportive family, discussion on trans visibility as normalcy
16:16–17:32 – Last names, privilege, debate over influencer versus inherited wealth
21:18–22:44 – Georgia’s self-absorption, social fatigue, business drama backstory
23:50–27:53 – Shy’s upcycled fashion business, banter about micro-entrepreneurship
28:36–31:47 – Party night is planned; Brooks’ collection saga; Liam’s upstate fireman escapades
36:13–38:16 – Rowan Shields arrives: instant fan-favorite energy, undercooked nugget panic, establishing herself
39:07–41:57 – Chip-in-bed banter, shoe/handwashing hygiene, shoelace horror
43:58–45:50 – Charlie gets iced out at the party; “not my turkey, not my Thanksgiving”
47:25–49:13 – “Hook” enters, identity rebrand lampooned
49:34–51:53 – Shy and Rowan: flirtation, accidental camera-slip, promising seeds of future drama
51:56–54:13 – Inner-circle v. Charlie, girls & gays v. straight bro polluters
54:31–57:11 – Ava’s speech, closing vignettes, Ariana and Charlie’s fence-mending, closing “deep down he’s good” montage

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Final Thoughts

• The hosts’ energy oscillates between comic exasperation and genuine sociological insight.
• Strong running threads of privilege, authenticity, and self-invention thread throughout: Do parental connections or hustle matter more? Is influencer success worth the grind? Why does Gen Z fixate on hygiene but tolerates “letting things slide” emotionally?
• Standout cast additions: Rowan (“Emma Stonian vibes”), Hook (the self-styled conceptual journalist).
• Hygiene, hustle, and who belongs in the circle are the season’s rising themes.

This is quintessential Watch What Crappens: Equal parts affectionate roast, pop culture critique, and campy soap opera breakdown—perfect even for listeners just catching up on the Next Gen drama.

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Transcript

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[Ben]

Guess what happens when there's so much. That happens. Hello and welcome to Watch what Crappens, a podcast about all that crap on Bravo that we just love to talk about. This is part two of the recap. If you missed part one, go check out your podcast feed. It's right there. And without further ado, let's get right back into the recap. So now we go to speak of Georgia. Now we go to her boyfriend. His name is Prez. P R E Z. You gotta love the, you gotta love the names on the show, Prez. We later on have hook. It's great. So Georgia and Prez are, they're walking along and she has a big announcement. She's like, oh my God, I slept from like 2 10:30 to 10:30. Like, I literally like bleached my arms and then like went uptown.

[Eric]

Which, by the way, didn't fully catch the bleaching of the arms. Is that the arm hair?

[Ben]

I think so. Unless you just will want to just bleach. Is this the closest we're gonna get to like a clean hand from Georgia is that she's gonna stick her entire arm into a bucket of bleach?

[Eric]

Yeah, I don't, I don't wash my hands. I just bleach them. Okay, but then, but then we. I love the conversation between Ava and Geor. Georgia goes, prez is my new boyfriend and he's a completely different, like, ball game. And it was like, but isn't he in crypto? He is crypto adjacent. He is not. He is not in crypto. He's crypto adjacent. I think crypto adjacent is Hilarious.

[Ben]

Yeah, I. I cracked up when she said crypto adjacent. I was like, that's. I think. I don't know if I want to even be adjacent to that.

[Eric]

No, I want to be out of crypto stadium in a different town, across

[Ben]

the different border away, far, far away. And so Georgia explains. Yeah, he's like, building, like, a betting platform and it's opinion based. So they run a poll every day. Like, is mom Donnie's wife hot? Like, yes or no? Like, you're kind of, like, betting on what you think the majority of the opinion is. And they get, like, a lot of funding from, like, crypto places because it used to be kind of in crypto. So it's like, okay, it's a crypto fueled business that definitely will not be at risk when the crypto market, which is famously volatile, tanks the next time.

[Eric]

Right. And it's only a place where you can bet on stupid things like the attractive level of a government official. And then we can have people spend their money, most likely from crypto into a stupid betting website. Oh, yeah, crypto adjacent. That sounds great. I'm happy for you, girl.

[Ben]

By the way, any thoughts on is mom Donnie's wife hot? Do you want to bet? You want to place a bet on it?

[Eric]

It's like, hey, I've got dinner.

[Ben]

Why are you paying for dinner? Oh, I won this bet about whether or not mom Donnie's wife was hot.

[Eric]

She is.

[Ben]

It turns out she turns out she is. Next, I've got. I've got 300 riding on Joanne Wally Kilmer, so.

[Eric]

And I'm paying 500 bucks for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey's if they're serving salmon or beef.

[Ben]

I wrote in halibut. I don't know, I'm just being wild.

[Eric]

It could yield a big return.

[Ben]

Yeah, I do wonder what today's. I wish I knew what the. What the. What the app was, because I would love to see what today's quiz was or is. So Georgia and Prez, they're now going to a high tea date. And they're sitting at this place, one of these, like, tea places that's like, over the top and kind of like fancy or whatever. And Georgia is. They're deciding between, I guess, a chair and a couch. And I only bring this up because I just think it's funny, like, Georgia navigating between furniture, like pieces of furniture that she wants to sit on.

[Eric]

And I think it's amazing that Prez goes, whichever one you don't want. He's so afraid. He's afraid of her in a way that I find to be weirdly romantic.

[Ben]

I know. Georgia tells us that Prez and I are one week apart, same year, one week apart, born in the same city, he's a New Yorker, which I think is, like, very important for me. And she asked if he went to manor school growing up. And he's like, no. Did you go to Manor school growing up? She's like, clearly not. It's funny, there's this poll I was just seeing this morning that was like, are people who went to Manor school hot or not? I bet $200.

[Eric]

And of course I voted. Yeah.

[Ben]

So I guess that means I'm not hot. Actually, I just realized she didn't go to manor school. She's not hot.

[Eric]

You're right. But then. But then when Prez. When George is like, I didn't go to a manor school, I raw dog life. And then it goes to a shot last year of Georgia touching the bottom of a shoe and. And then saying, okay, first of all, being a little bit of a slob is kind of cool. And then she's like, yeah, that's why we're so perfect. You don't wash your hands? I don't wash my hands. I just bleach them.

[Ben]

Yeah, I just. I basically sterilize them over an open flame for about 30 seconds. And prez is like, yeah, I don't wash my hands as much as I used to. And she goes, because of me. He goes, yeah, she's. Oh, yeah. Then they touch their dirty hands together.

[Eric]

I'm. It's gonna be so. It's gonna be so sweet when they both go to the hospital for dysentery.

[Ben]

People at dysentery, hot or not, vote here. This is my dysentery body. So now we go to Ava and her manager, Andrew, that are just walking along, and Ava's like, oh, my God, I think somebody just threw up behind us. It's like, that's very New York. Which it is.

[Eric]

I love New York. So chic. You can just hear someone vomit behind you. I'm just finishing Lena Dunham's book, and did you see the. There's, like, a thing about. Oh, no. Who's the famous Vogue photographer? The photographer. And apparently when Lena Dunham was shooting a photo shoot for Vogue on the Brooklyn Bridge, someone jumped off the bridge behind her. So I'm just picturing, like, them so New York. It's like, the darkest stuff ever. Jesus.

[Ben]

Wow. I was that caught on camera because that would have been a shot. They say, like, if A stuntman dies while you're filming a movie. Like you should use that shot because it's like they died in vain, you know.

[Eric]

Wow, that's really beautiful. I love how much we can really take the value of the shot over. I just think this is all so dark sided. It's all so dark.

[Ben]

You know, this is what happens when you introduce Lena Dunham into a recap of next gen New York City. Lena Dunham, hot or not? Vote here. So anyway, Ava's getting ready because she and Riley and the Miura are going to be doing an Urban Outfitters holiday campaign. That's going to be like a holiday party before Halloween. That's very exciting. And they're getting, they're going to get ready for this big party. And Ava is saying how Amira has everything figured out because Amir has like a car and she has an apartment. Amira is also paying $16,000 for her apartment, which is crazy, insane, legitimately crazy. And it gets me worried because I know she's doing well with social media, but I worried like, are you doing that? I mean, can you earn that much money on social media? I guess you can. $16,000.

[Eric]

You can. My husband is works in Influencer and I know that the big ones make a ton, but I don't think, I mean $16,000 a month feels like like 0.1% of earners and it's hard to sustain that but go off Amir, I mean she's clearly killing it, but it does not sound fun. Her days sound horrible.

[Ben]

I know. And we see right away we go to a mirror recording one of her videos and she goes, you guys, I just got home from the gym and I'm about to have a protein shake. I wanted to talk about it with you. Color me intrigued.

[Eric]

I wanted to talk to you about my protein shake. And then she says a typical day in my life is crazy. Like I genuinely start most of my days at 5am and I start filming all of my content, mostly about protein. And then you see her go from work events to the dinners to then repeating it all the next day. I'm like, I know a lot of kids these days want to be influencers, but does that sound fun? Like talk? There's. I know she has this whole scene about her work life balance, but that sounds like burnout central.

[Ben]

I know. You know what, I need to hold on one second. We need to pause this for one second because Ava is about to tell me about her protein shake. So give me about 30 seconds. I need to find out about it. And we'll come back to the podcast.

[Eric]

Okay, do that.

[Ben]

You guys want to find out about my protein shake? Okay, here we go. What's going on? I do think it actually sounds really grueling because every now and then, I'm like, you know what? I've got a little bit of a following. I'm gonna. I'm gonna raise my social media profile. I'm gonna do some more influency things. You know, I'm gonna post a story every day where I'm gonna talk. I'm gonna show a little bit of my life every single day. And I literally never do it, because this. Sometimes the idea of just, like, getting up and, like, recording something, I'm like, I just. I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready to.

[Eric]

It's hard enough to live life and then to, like, have to capture every other moment and then re. Watch every other moment and then put a caption over it and then click post, and then keep living your life and then capture it and then do it again day after day after day after day. Groundhog Day Central girl.

[Ben]

It's hard. Like, I'm trying to build a. A name for myself and food and board gaming on the side, and, like, you really just have to throw yourself out. You have to, like, really be so shameless. Be like, guys, check it out. Here's some salmon. This is how you cut it. Okay. Like, and subscribe. This is called a knife. Okay. I love to get them. You can get them anywhere, you know? And then you're like, it is.

[Eric]

And unfortunately, the reason why we are not crazy people is because we do have some shame. And, yeah, it's hard to break free.

[Ben]

Yeah. We now go over to Riley, who we haven't seen all season. She finally returns to the show an episode and a half into the new season, and she's talking about how she does not really text in the group chat that much. So she's like, yeah. I mean, literally, group text went off yesterday, and I put down my phone for five seconds. There was, like, 20 messages. I was like, wow, I cannot believe Riley, being as chatty as she always is, does not contribute a lot to the group texts.

[Eric]

And then she's like, people just start liking it. I was like, what is even going on? And I'm like, I can't hear you. And then we see the full text exchange, and it's like, honestly, it does sound like a nightmare, if I'm being honest.

[Ben]

Yeah, it's a Love island text exchange. As someone who's in an active Love island text group. When those episodes start airing, those text messages fly fast and furious, you know. Yeah. But Riley's whole thing is that like she took a year off after school, by the way. I feel like after you graduate, if you take a year off after you graduate, that's just, that's just having a, that's just a year in your life. You don't, you're not taking, if you're not like enrolled in something, you're not taking it off and you don't have a job, you're not taking it off from anything.

[Eric]

That's vacation.

[Ben]

That's just you living your life and not having a job.

[Eric]

That's a year long vacation.

[Ben]

But the good news for her is that she is, even though she wants to be a dj, she's also interested in becoming an entertainment attorney. So she is going to apply to law school at Columbia, which is very impressive. And that's, that's the direction that she wants to take her. Her life these days, which is exciting.

[Eric]

Which I, I actually really appreciated this next scene where Brooks and Riley are talking on the phone because again, it surprises me when there's like well adjusted children of Housewives because Brooks being honest brand, I'm like, I'm like really struggling with my brand and I feel like you have to be patient because like it doesn't all happen overnight. And then Riley saying exactly like you have to be patient. Our parents are doing the best that they ever have, like right now and they're like 30 years older than us, which is actually really good advice. Like I all I talk about on my podcast a bunch about how like I worry that my career is not where it's supposed to be or I like compare myself. But like these kids are right. Their parents have been hustling for a very long time and are super rich and obnoxious now, but they were always obnoxious, but not always rich. And it takes a while to, to build this. So I, I give Brooks respect for that. Like you gotta.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Deal with the ebbs and flows.

[Ben]

Yeah. And Riley. Yeah. And Riley also having that perspective instead of being a spoiled brat is great, you know?

[Eric]

Yeah. They know that they need to hustle and they have to continue to hustle or be.

[Ben]

Just volunteer at some like dog and cat shelters and get an espresso machine.

[Eric]

As long as you're posting something, that's all that matters. Post post.

[Ben]

Tell us about your protein shake.

[Eric]

Yeah.

[Ben]

So now, now we have a scene of Amira going out to dinner with her mom. And actually it was both of her parents. It's a very nice scene. They, they, they meet up and basically she talks about how her parents they, when they, they got divorced, but now they're like friends with each other and they have a really nice relationship. And she's talking to them about having a work life balance issue. And she works really hard and just hard because a lot of her friends, like, don't get it. They don't understand that sometimes you have to wake up and tell people about your protein shake in the morning. Okay. And that's effort. But her parents are like, so lovely and supportive of her. I really, like, I really, really appreciate this. They're just, they're very kind and, and nice people. But there's also nothing terribly funny that happens here. It's just like.

[Eric]

No, but my, my thought from this was even though they don't talk about how Amira is trans, I think that's actually cool that they don't and that she is like, kind of the head in charge. I think it's so refreshing to have Amira as just like a boss bitch with parents who are like, clearly loving her and supportive of her. I'm like, God, this is so nice to see versus, you know, all the other shit that we have to. That is going on in the world. And for Amira to be like, just a total boss with like, nice parents and she happens to be trans, I think is incredible.

[Ben]

That's not the headline. That's the best part. It's not that.

[Eric]

Exactly, exactly.

[Ben]

And it never has been. It's just like they just accept her for exactly. For who she is and support her and love her regardless. And that's really the template of how

[Eric]

it should be for everyone, 100%.

[Ben]

And, and one thing that Amir is saying is that it's really hard for her in the city, or it had been hard for her to get to where she is because her last name, despain, doesn't have any sort of like, weight in the city. Like, it has, it has no heft. It doesn't mean anything to anyone. However, we then go over to Ava, who is, she's like, I have a famous last name and I can go. She is, she's having pizza and she's like, you know, living in the shadow of your family and having to deal with your reputation while also trying to make a reputation of your own and build your own brand and have a slice of pizza at the same time. It just sucks. So I'm just really out here hustling. As evidenced by me sitting here having a slice of pizza. I just want that independence. I want my own apartment. I want to be like Amira. The grass is always greener. Eric, it's like that.

[Eric]

I was just thinking that like clearly your name is nothing if you don't have it. Doesn't matter if you had a big name, you got to have the goddamn hustle and the drive. And yeah, I think Ava might have it, but if she wants a sixteen thousand dollar apartment like Amira, then you got to be posting about that protein shake every other hour. Girly,

[Ben]

I don't want to tell you what you got to do with your life, but it rhymes with gloating.

[Eric]

Great cheek.

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[Ben]

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[Ben]

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[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Ben]

Go easy. Sold by car on Carvana. Amazing offer really. I hit 200 on the scratcher. Did the scratcher come to your house and hand you a check?

[Pablo Torre]

No.

[Ben]

How many scratchers did you hit to get that? I hit a button on Carvana.com once. Okay, that's fair. It's like the lottery except you always win. Not like the lottery at all actually Exactly. Inexplicably good offers worth bragging about. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply. So. But Ava's like, you know, it's. It's really hard having a. A famous last name. But I want.

[Sponsor Voice]

I wanna.

[Ben]

I wanna. I wanna make a name. I wanna get out there. I wanna. I want to be independent. I wanna work hard and do what I need to do. And George is like, by the way, I have an apartment for you. She's like, does that have a doorman? It's like, do you need a doorman? She's like, yeah, I need a doorman. It's like, before I could become independent like Amira, I first need to start at a certain level, so I need a doorman, please. I need to feel safe. She's like, well, he owns, like, a restaurant down below, which is, like, a really good sushi restaurant, and he would give you free dinner and stuff, so.

[Eric]

And she's like, well, okay. Free sushi safety. Which, of course, the. The fancy sushi restaurant is probably in the most dangerous part of town. You would be in so much danger. Yeah, that's. You have to weigh between a dragon roll and a life of crime. I think you're okay.

[Ben]

Yeah, I think I'm taking the dragon roll. Also, by the way, I don't believe for one second that you're always gonna be fed free sushi. I think you get one meal maybe, like, once every nine months, and you have to come in crying and look like you're in a rom com and just, like, a car, like a taxi just drove by in a puddle and splashed you.

[Eric]

Yeah, girl, we're in a recession.

[Ben]

Dragon roll.

[Eric]

That. That fresh sushi ain't cheap. You'll get one dragon roll per every presidency.

[Ben]

Yeah, you're on a dragon roll stipend. It's not happening every single time. So now Georgia meets up with her gay Cooper, which we love. A gay friend, right?

[Eric]

Yeah. But poor. Has to hear her monologue for an hour, and it just keeps cutting the Cooper going. Right, right, right.

[Ben]

Which he was ready to have a whole scene. He had, like, a little. He was wearing, like, a little, like, marching band kind of jacket or, like, ringmaster. Like, it had the. Like the little tassels. All those tassels.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah.

[Eric]

He comes in a full look, meanwhile says a half of a syllable.

[Ben]

I know. So George is like, guess what, Cooper? I have tea. She's actually moving out of her boyfriend's apartment. And he's like, oh, yeah? Well, I have some news about my boyfriend. Anyway, so it kind of makes sense actually because like, I made the mistake of moving in with a partner as we all know it. Well, my boyfriend told me he doesn't want it. And also like the relationship I was like, in like I think last year, everyone, it's just like insane. It's just like. But like, it's just crazy. So I, I think that we're gonna be going on a break anyway. There's like free sushi. And I told her, like, you can get free sushi, I know you won't be saved, but you get free sushi. Am I right? Anyway, great seeing you.

[Eric]

I'm glad we had this chat. We've all, we've all had a Georgia in our life. And Georgia is the friend that people say behind her back, she's really great in small doses. And I, you know, love her every now and again.

[Ben]

I know, I know she really is. Or she. Her tagline could be. But enough about me. How are you? 35 minutes into the conversation,

[Eric]

100%.

[Ben]

But she is going on and on about Omar and talking about how Omar stole her business idea and was like cozying up to Charlie and she's just like not happy about it whatsoever. And then meanwhile we see Charlie and Shai are meeting up to go out to drinks or something like that. And Charlie, just so you know, this street gets 5 out of 5 stars from Charlie who says this is a cool ass street. Great choice. Shy, which I think it's

[Eric]

by the south street. It's like lower Manhattan. I used to be a tour guide and I would walk people Stone Street. I would walk people down this street and it is actually quite cute. And there's some great little eateries there. So you know what? It was a good choice.

[Ben]

Shy's great. He picks the best streets down street. I mean, what else is it related to?

[Eric]

Eric. Eric Stone Street? Yeah, I think he is. He actually founded it in 17. Yeah, he's. He's a witch.

[Ben]

He's been around all this time. So lot lots more text messages come through. There's. It's such a very dense show because there's so much information that we have to weed through. But. But we see Shy and he's talking about how he says Georgia posted the most blurry photo of her kissing some guy. It's the most Georgia post I've ever seen. And Charlie's like, God bless her.

[Eric]

When she's like 45, 50, she's for sure going to be one of those like skitso like energy healer type ladies, which I think is so mean. But of course, Katani being like, she's a character actress. He's just saying it in a mean, straight way.

[Ben]

I think it's mean too, because I think it's going to happen when she's 35. So Charlie. Charlie's saying he's like, chill with Georgia. But, like, I don't know, there's all this stuff with Omar. It's like, I don't know. I don't see why it's that emotionally charged. And then George is telling Cooper. She's like, you know, I love Charlie. I actually fudgeing loved him and I cared about him. And I have seen him in, like, moments be caring like. Like, he let me sleep on his couch for like a month. And that is not nothing. But then, like, it's like you have like 7,000 other things that he did that are like, so unacceptable. Like, I had clients, two clients in the past couple months say our legal team is worried about hiring you because you have associations with Charlie Decorations also. We just are not sure about you as a person.

[Eric]

But then she does say, he's, like, affecting my business. Like, nothing's like, fallen through yet. But I'm doing all these events to make money to pay rent. It's very expensive to live here. I don't have parents who are like, here's a quarter of a million dollars. Go have fun. Which in a way, I do sort of like the honesty of these people talking about who has the famous parents with money and who doesn't. Because that is a quintessential part of living in New York is who here actually has to pay their rent versus who here has parents doing it.

[Ben]

Yeah, exactly. So then Shai is telling Charlie a story that he went to Georgia, had a bowling party, presumably to drum up hype for a club club. And he's like, you know, I always go to everything Georgia puts on. And I had a brand launch party. And then last minute, Georgia was like, oh, my God, I'm not feeling well. But then she posted on her stories that night that she was out with friends, which tough. Not cool.

[Eric]

That's not cool. And then Charlie does his. One of his isms. That's whack. It's like, okay, I'm gonna slide in.

[Ben]

Did she slide? Did she slide out of that plans? Yeah, man, that's whack.

[Eric]

Now it's like, okay, now that's Fresh Prince of Bel Air. But go off king.

[Ben]

Yeah. Shy. We got an update on what he does in his life because we never learned last year because he was on for five seconds and he. He has started a clothing brand and he's like, my first collection was like 30 shirts. It's like, all one of a kind. It's all, like, upcycled material and like, from, like, flea markets and, like, from, like, old grandmas, like, hoarding stuff, and I'm like, taking off their hands. So if your grandma has any old linens, like, send her my way. Like, give me. Give her my number. You know what I'm saying?

[Eric]

I want to call yalls grandmas. You got a grandma?

[Narrator/Advertiser]

I'll.

[Eric]

I'll hit up your grandma slide.

[Ben]

Did you like his shirts, Eric?

[Eric]

Ultimately, I did. What I was more questioning of is the business model of. Oh, so you're just reselling clothes? Yeah, it. Oh, so it's a thrift store.

[Ben]

Yeah. Well, is he re. Is he reshaping the linens into new shirts?

[Eric]

He's saying upcycling, which, like, it's. You know what it again? Shy is such an earnest, sweet soul that I hope that I can, you know, do nothing but support his brand. But for him to say, we only have 30 pieces. So it's like, okay, so you bought 30 shirts and then you try to sell this 30 shirts. Like, I do question sort of what is going on behind the scenes with this brand? But I only cheer for our shy. And you know that. You know that.

[Ben]

Yeah, we. We love our shy. And actually, Charlie does have they. Do they make some jokes about, like, yeah, he's gonna start, like, releasing some shirts that are only black and have diamonds on them, and that way Hudson will buy them. And they're like, yeah, Charlie goes, dude, that's the move. Make your clothing band specifically curated for Hudson's taste. And they're laughing as if, like, brands don't already do this, right? I'm like, it's. It's called fast.

[Eric]

And the joke is that they're like, how can we best fuck over our rich friend Hudson?

[Ben]

Yeah, I know exactly how can we extract as much money from Hudson as possible?

[Eric]

You know, at least they're all being honest with themselves.

[Ben]

Yeah. Let's move on to a new day. It's a new day. It's a new text chat. There's going to be a part. The party is tonight. This. The holiday party.

[Eric]

Oh, yeah.

[Ben]

Holiday party. And they're all excited. Brooks and liam are on FaceTime. And Liam is like, hey, man, have fun tonight. Let me know if there's any tea that I miss. And Brooks is like, I'll fill you in on how it goes, wish you were coming. I mean, I'm working through some challenges right now with my brand and stuff, so it's, like, hard. And Brooks is saying how he has a resort collection that he's dropping, and it was supposed to drop in June, but now it's October and it hasn't really dropped. And if anything, it sort of wound up in Texas and he knew he needs to be in New York. And doesn't his dad do this stuff? Doesn't. Where's Seth? Where's Seth? To help him out.

[Eric]

Yeah. I'm sure Seth is doing a lot of heavy lifting, but I have to say, this conversation where Liam's, like, trying to brainstorm how they can do it together, it is speaking to my 8th grade self so deeply, to what we talked about at the top. I'm like, this is why Liam has me in his little clutches, is because he wants to help his gay friends. Resort line, and they're gonna rent a truck from Texas and drive it to New York.

[Ben]

And do, you know, like, when you're there and you're. You know, when you. Basically when you do have, like, like the. The star of. When you have, like, Nathan Detroit. And he is saying to you as ensemble member 13 in. Sit down. You're rocking the boat. Hey, you, I'll drive with you from Texas to New York. You're like, oh, my God.

[Eric]

Oh, my God.

[Heygen Advertiser]

It's happening.

[Ben]

It's happening.

[Eric]

The first time ensemble member number 13 has ever been given so much responsibility as sitting up in front with Nathan Detroit. This is. I won't let you down. Like, it's. It's so chosen. It's. You know, no one's going to reign on my parade. It's just so. It's so huge for Brooks.

[Ben]

Yeah. I mean, it's good old and reliable.

[Eric]

And then Brooks goes, sounds like fire school is going really well. You're like a modern day Hannah Montana. What?

[Ben]

This pierced a big hole in the image that Liam was creating for himself. Liam is, like, seeing himself as like, yeah, I'm a volunteer firefighter. You're like Hannah Montana. He's like, yeah, I guess I am.

[Eric]

Sure you're right. Kind of best of both worlds. Sure. I see where you're. I'm picking up what you're putting down.

[Ben]

I. Well, I wasn't. I mean, party in the usa, I guess, partying.

[Eric]

But hop off the plane at Lake George International.

[Ben]

I would say Jay Z's on the radio, but there's no reception,

[Eric]

so.

[Ben]

So, yeah, Liam is missing this party because he is learning how to be a volunteer firefighter in Lake George. And he's also talking about. He's like, hey, you ever hear a coyote cry? He's like, what?

[Eric]

No.

[Ben]

It's like, yeah, it's terrifying. It's like. But I like the escape up here. I have to go up here and think. I think about everything I regret up here. Listen the coyotes crying.

[Eric]

And then Brooks goes. Purge yourself of it. Such a. Such a. Like, theater gay. He's just trying to. Yes. And whatever the hell the straight guy is talking about.

[Ben]

I don't know what this guy's talking about. I also think, like. Like, anytime you mention coyotes, you're kind of entering boy territory. I think it's just like, coyotes are full on. Like, any. Any discussion of coyotes is boy, right?

[Eric]

Oh, yeah. It's a classic trope of where you have a wolf on your shirt, too. And it's like, oh, he's gonna ruin me. Okay.

[Ben]

Yeah. So Georgia is having issues with Shai, it turns out, because Shai is friends with Charlie, and she didn't. She doesn't really like that. She doesn't like Shy being friends with Charlie because she has a beef with Charlie. So we're learning that there's a burgeoning issue on that front. And then Riley is. Riley is talking about her relationship with Shy. She sees Shy as, like, a cute little brother, you know? And Shy tells her. She's like, I mean, I don't. I don't want to sound mean, but, like, I didn't know who you were last year. Like, I didn't, like, know who your mom was. And, like, I've just never seen the show. I've never watch reality tv. I only watch Survivor.

[Eric]

She's like, yeah, clearly. I actually do believe Shy.

[Ben]

Okay.

[Eric]

Do you not?

[Ben]

I. You know what? I do believe it, but I still sometimes find it crazy that there's a world where people don't watch reality tv.

[Eric]

Oh, I know.

[Ben]

I know that it is, but you're a little.

[Eric]

You're a little inside of it. I would say you're a little.

[Ben]

I guess so. I don't watch a lot of scripted, so I'm like the. I'm like the inverse. I'm like, what?

[Eric]

Yeah. And some people only watch Love island and nothing else. Like, sort of wild. How many different people, different journeys people take. But if I. I. I think Shy doesn't watch Real Housewives. He might be lying about not knowing who Candy is. How could you not know Candy? I mean, she's an institution.

[Ben]

Yeah. You have to Know who candy is. So there's a lot of texts going around, flying around furiously, diagonal wipes happening left and right. It's like triangles on the screen. Text messages, lots of stimulation. And Ariana starts talking about how Hudson's gravitating towards Charlie and she does not like it. And she says, I assume Charlie's gonna be at the urban event tonight. But, like, I'm sure Amira invited him. And if he is, like, we're definitely having a conversation. So now Amira is getting ready and she's basically saying, you know, I think that Charlie's misunderstood and their producers want me to invite him to the party. So I'm just gonna say that I feel bad for him and he's gonna come to the party tonight.

[Eric]

And then Charlie has actually some self awareness where he's like, oh, this friend group. I'm no stranger to walking into a room and having someone be upset with me or, you know, me be the focus of the drama. Like, I don't have any issues with anybody. I think one or two people might be uncomfortable. Like my biggest fan at the moment, the fact that I'm in headlines, you know, associated with things. I think that people might be uncomfortable with me being there with whatever. Like, I get it. The guy was tortured and I was there. Okay, we get it.

[Ben]

It's like, big deal. I mean, how many of us have been to parties where there's been someone strapped to a bed up top being electrocuted by the ends of a table lamp wire. No big whoop.

[Eric]

We blackmailed them out of Italy. What's the big deal?

[Ben]

So. So now we go to this event and they're all saying hi and everything, and Ava is posing with the box of pizza, and she's saying, yes, pizza.

[Eric]

And then Brooks, this was one of my favorites. Is something on fire? Ava goes, I thought it was my hair, because that happened to me once, but it's not. No, no, no, no. It's like, you're on fire. Oh, my God. That was a good pickup line, Brooks. And then when he goes, yeah, no, but literally, it smells like fire. It wasn't a pickup line. It does smell like flame. But then he very smartly gassed her up for a second and then actually asked about the literal issue of flame.

[Ben]

You are, like, hot like fire, but also a fire. You're not on fire, but there may be a fire in the vicinity.

[Eric]

You look good. And should I call 91 1?

[Ben]

Should I. Should I call Liam? He knows how to handle this. Liam's like, I'll be there as soon as possible. Just give me eight hours. There's traffic on the Taconic.

[Eric]

I'll be here at 2:30 in the morning. So I think we're okay.

[Ben]

Very exciting time because now we meet yet another new cast member. This is Rowan, daughter of Shields. Tell me.

[Eric]

I love her so much, Ben.

[Ben]

Tell me.

[Eric]

I just.

[Ben]

Thank you.

[Eric]

Think that when your mom is Brooke Shields and then you end up being such a funny character actress as her daughter, I think it. I feel so lucky to see her on our screens. Like, she is everything. I think she is a star. From the jump. She. She showed up on screen.

[Ben]

Yeah. And she's like a lot goofier than I'd expect the spawn of Brooke Shields to be. I have no shade against Brooke Shields. I love Brooke Shields. You know, suddenly Susan. Other things that she does. But like, but like Rowan to be such a goofy, you know, rom com, you know, girl whose umbrella gets inverted by the wind late, you know, type. I, you know, very happy.

[Eric]

It's almost like a little. Emma Stonian. What do you say?

[Ben]

Yeah, I was just about to say. I was just about to say.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah.

[Eric]

So likable.

[Ben]

Yeah. So she. She bursts onto the scene and the first thing that she does is bite into an undercooked chicken nugget. And there's. There's just like a wave of concern of like, oh, my God, it's undercooked. You are literally about to die. You just got on the show and you were literally going to die on the show so quickly. So she spits it out and everything. And Rowan, she starts telling us about, you know, her life and everything. And she says, you know, I grew up different than most, and I recognize it, but it was never like, Brooke Shields is my mom. It was more like, my mom is Brooke Shields. Does that make sense?

[Eric]

Which, you know, at first glance, it doesn't. But then you. Then you digest it for a second and you understand that she is Emma Stonian and you realize it does make sense. She's saying that it's not that she woke up every day and said, oh, my God, my mom is Brooke Shields. She woke up and said, my mom is my mom, who happens to be Brooke Shields. And that's why Rowan is so normal, is because her mom never weaponized her fame over her children.

[Ben]

That's exactly right. So Georgia. Georgia loves Rowan. She's like, you're.

[Pablo Torre]

You look beautiful.

[Ben]

The coat is great. The coat is a good add on. And, you know, it's so funny. I just answered a poll Today about do coats make you look hot? And the answer is yes. Did you know that mom, Donnie's wife wears a coat?

[Eric]

And she actually was voted hot as well. So you're in good company, girl.

[Ben]

Bad news, though. They did say that Brooke Shields is no longer hot, which is so mean. I was like, what? That's a crazy thing to say.

[Eric]

And I know I shouldn't have told you that, but that I had to be honest with you because we're friends and I. Your. My boyfriend used to not summer with you, but like, you know him.

[Ben]

Oh, wait a second. I just looked it up. Brook Shields is still hot. They say that Brooks, as in the body of water is not. Are not hot. Streams are hot and.

[Eric]

Sorry, sorry, sorry. Brooks are. The water is hot, but your jacket is not hot. I'm so sorry. I read it wrong. Sorry.

[Ben]

The polls are changing, like, minute by minute. It's like a really intense world that we live in.

[Eric]

Yeah. You know, crypto's really volatile.

[Pablo Torre]

Oh, shit.

[Eric]

I wasn't supposed to say that.

[Ben]

Oh, my God. Have you had Brooks coin yet? It's so good. What? What about my coin? No, not you. It's body of water.

[Eric]

Brooks. Not you, Brooks. Okay, My business is really suffering.

[Sponsor Voice]

Okay,

[Ben]

so Rowan says that like, she's like being friends with like, Ariana and being friends with Georgia is just like the difference in like night and day. Because, like, Ariana is like very type A. And I would say Georgia is like type Y. And Georgia was just like telling me that prez. Like a little upset like, because I keep on. I keep eating in his. I guess George is eating in his bed and she keeps eating chips in his bed and like filling the bed with potato chips.

[Pablo Torre]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Like, Ariana washes her hands and Georgia just came down with the black plague.

[Ben]

Georgia is like, she said, she said. She told me recently that she voted that bubonic plague is hot. And I didn't really know what that meant until she actually got it.

[Eric]

And she got it from the chips in her bed because they were actually pre war. The chips were from the pre war apartment.

[Ben]

I don't love that George is eating lots of potato chips in the bed and getting little chip fragments all over the sheets.

[Eric]

I hate it so much.

[Ben]

It's actually terrible.

[Eric]

No, terrible. What?

[Ben]

You just brush it off.

[Eric]

I have such self diagnosed OCD about washing hands that I love George's quirkiness. But I cannot co sign living in New York City and not washing your hands.

[Ben]

Yeah, and like touching the bottom of that shoe. I have a new thing which is about shoelaces. And I think we spoke. I think sometimes we forget how disgusting shoelaces are because those shoelaces, they touch everything and they soak. They're. They soak in a way that souls don't soak. And so, like, we may be careful about, like, not touching the bottom of our shoes, but when we're tying and untying our shoes, we are touching those shoelaces that were marinating and whatever was in the bathroom, whatever was on the sidewalk, whatever was on that sticky floor. And it's terrible.

[Eric]

I agree. And I wash my hands as like too many times. I'm probably over washing. But I prefer that you have to

[Ben]

wash because you have to compensate for Georgia. Like, if one person's not washing, then the balance of life is that someone has to wash twice.

[Eric]

Well, and like Lisa Rinna wiping down all of her hotel rooms. Like, I get it, I get it.

[Ben]

Yeah, Here comes one right now.

[Pablo Torre]

Hey, Pablo Torre here. As a sports journalist, I've covered global sports for many years now. And there is one thing that I can promise you. Nothing compares to the World Cup. And this time it is even better. Thanks to McDonald's, you have the chance to take home one of nine legendary cups when you order the FIFA World cup meal. The cups feature some of the biggest legends in football like David Beckham, Terry Henry and Ronaldinho. Christian Pulisic, Lamina Mall and Alfonso Davies. Right now, get one of nine legendary cups when you order the FIFA World cup meal. Only at McDonald's. At participating McDonald's only for a limited time while supplies last. All rights reserved. Copyright 2026. McDonald's at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Ben]

So Charlie comes in and Georgia is not looking at him and he noticed he clocked this and he's like, it's so ridiculous. It's so dramatic. And he is. And he. He's also upset because he thought this was somehow going to be like a sit down formal dinner. I don't know why. I don't know why an urban outfitter holiday launch, pre Halloween holiday launch party would speak to, like, tasting menu, three, four course meal. But that's what he thought. And he's just like walking around and like, no one wants to talk to him or look at him. And he's like kind of feeling sad. Charlie's like a very sad billionaire child right now. Sad when you think about it.

[Eric]

Yeah. Poor Charlie. I'm sure he will struggle to find the next person to torture, you know?

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Eric]

Soho Loft. Yeah.

[Ben]

So Brooks is saying how, like, Amira has basically given Charlie an olive branch. He's like, like. Or like, not like an olive branch, but like, what's like an arm? Like, I don't know, like a finger, Like a life flow. Like something like that. It's like, you know, Gen Z. I am a little concerned for Gen Z,

[Eric]

for the, their frame of reference for like phrases and sayings.

[Ben]

Yes, exactly. So then Charlie, now first he tries to talk to Riley, and Riley's like, please don't hug me, please don't touch me, please don't talk to me. And Charlie's like, okay, fine. All right, well, I guess this isn't gonna work out. So Riley basically shoes him away. And then, then Charlie is like trying to talk after Riley. He's like. He then sees like, Georgia cross the way. He's like, can we talk? She's like, no, we're still not talking. No, no, nothing for me. Got. Bye. Get out of here. Don't need you here. Thank you. I also liked, by the way, when Riley said something about like, you know what this is like, not my circus, not my monkeys. I just don't even care anymore. And Chai's like, did you say, not

[Eric]

my turkey, not my turkey, not my Thanksgiving. Yeah, no, I'm. I fear for these Gen Z kids too now because. And then he goes, oh, wait, I just invented that. That's amazing. It's like. Well, first of all, you overheard someone you thought say that, so you did not invent that. And second of all, it's actually not a good saying. Not my turkey, not my Thanksgiving. Rolls off the tongue. Shy.

[Ben]

It's very wordy. Chai. That's not an upcycled phrase. So then meanwhile, over with Gia and Amira and Brooks and Rowan and Riley, Gia's like, Guys, did you hear about my drama a little bit,

[Eric]

right?

[Ben]

I was like, I heard something about it. It sounded boring. Is it as boring as it sounds? She was like, yeah. I mean, it was about my mom unfollowing Ava Brooks. Like, oh, God, this again. As if we didn't sit through all of last season when Brooks belabored Charlie saying something to Chloe over text about, like, can't wait to have you come over to my place without your brother or something like that.

[Eric]

Well, they do love to. It's. It's me. The jokes on me by saying, I love how fast they move past that fight. And now G is at the end of this episode bringing back up, like, Teresa unfollowing Ava Dash.

[Ben]

I know. And Rowan's trying to follow, and she just can't. I think she's still, like. I think her mind is still thinking about whether or not she's gonna die from her undercooked chicken nugget.

[Pablo Torre]

Oh.

[Eric]

Which I would be there too, but I did love how Brooks, like, checks in with Rowan where he's like, are you following Rowan? And then she's like, oh, yeah. And she does a full ozzy. A full bit about. Yeah, totally. Absolutely. Got it. No, I'm like, this Sophie B. Is really good. And then all of a sudden, Hook walks in, which Hook. Talk about the name Hook.

[Ben]

I mean, wow. This guy. I mean, he is like, the name Hook is very exciting.

[Eric]

It is. But then the fact that his birth name is Tyler, I find that to be really exciting. Charlie's like, so I was friends with Ava and Tyler or Hook. And it's like, clearly, Hook told them before the show. I'm going by Hook now. Okay? Don't call me Tyler. My name's not Tyler.

[Ben]

He's like, I did not go to Sibel Friends Academy, okay? My name is Hook, and I'm from the streets.

[Eric]

My name is Hook, and I am a conceptual journalist. What?

[Ben]

They're like, wait a second, but didn't you go to Cornell? Didn't you, like, didn't you, like, major in hotel. Hotel management? And he's like, hotel management? He's like, no, no, no. My name is Hook. I was raised in a phone booth, and I'm tough school of hard knocks.

[Eric]

I am living in Red Hook, okay?

[Ben]

I. I am.

[Sponsor Voice]

I'm.

[Ben]

I'm of the streets. I. I'm. I'm pretty gritty. I also am a huge fan of self check in. It's like, ah, you did do hotel management. No, I mean, self ets. A, like, checking yourself, like, Checking. Checking yourself.

[Eric]

Yeah, don't check me, boo. You know who. Go check me, boo. I'm losing it, Ben.

[Ben]

I'm losing it too, because I forgot that this episode was super sized. And it's like. It's an episode that is not ending. As I. When I sat there, I watched it, I thought, I love this show. But when you go through it, you're like, wow, It's. It never ends. It's just.

[Eric]

Well, like you said, the editing, it's like a Shakespearean play.

[Ben]

And now it's just like one little vignette after another. The next vignette is Rowan going up to Shy and saying, do you like my. Do you like this jacket? It's like a real. It's real polar bear. And he goes, no, it's not.

[Narrator/Advertiser]

Check.

[Eric]

Yeah, check the tag. Check the tag. And then he goes, that's not real polar bear. It's Zara. Which. Incredible.

[Ben]

He's like holding out the idea that it could have been polar bear.

[Eric]

He's like, this is Manhattan. This is next gen nyc. I mean, someone might be wearing real polar bear to the function, but then Shy is such. Shy is me when I was 19, just like, always hopeful that he would fall in love because he's like, you know, this is my first time meeting Rowan. And A plus. I think I could see myself with Brooke Shields daughter. I never. I never knew who she was. I. Well, I did see the Adams family on Broadway, and I think she might have been in that, but. Yeah, no, I don't know.

[Ben]

I remember seeing Greece sometime in the mid-90s, and I'm pretty sure I saw her there, but I don't know.

[Eric]

Yeah, no, I think there was a. Maybe, I don't know, like a documentary about her, but I don't watch that kind of stuff.

[Ben]

I don't know. I have to make sure that this family is a family I want to be associated with. Because if they're down to hunt polar bear, I don't know about that.

[Eric]

But anyways, yeah, A plus, Rowan. I'd like to date her. Oh, and then I do like their little cute bit where Shy goes, oh, Rowan, I think you're. I think you lost some of your coat. And there was the little white fluff on the ground. And then Rowan. Yes, Anded that. And she. And then, of course, Shy goes, so a boyfriend, girlfriend. And I think Rowan handled it beautifully. Four years. Four years. And then Shy. That's a long time. Puts me right out of the running. No, I'm kidding. And then Rowan, as. As of Right now. Yeah. Which I do. That's gonna. Yeah, I do wonder. That's gonna bite her in the ass, because I think she was just trying to be. Yes, Andy. Bitsy bootsy girl. But when you're on camera on a show about relationships that, you know, Rowan's boyfriend of four years might not love that she said on camera, as of right now.

[Ben]

Yeah, she was trying to be bitsy Boopy, but it was more like bitsy Oopsie. Exactly.

[Eric]

I agree. And I did.

[Ben]

Yeah. So Ariana is a bunch of the kids. Basically all the. All the non straight men have gathered and they're like, who's inviting Charlie to these parties? What is going on here? Why is he here? And George is like. I mean, it's like, crazy. It's like. It's like the city has, like 8 million people. And, like, why does, like, Hudson have to hang out with Charlie? Or why does Omar have to hang out with Charlie? Like, like, what is Amira? Is Amira the one who's bringing Charlie around? This is all Amira's fault because they're trying to, like, also manufacture a feud between Amira and Georgia over a fight from last year about Medioc, but maybe Amira's boyfriend. So they're all kind of like. Like, why do we. We have this, like, great, perfect, like, girls and gays circle here. Why are we ruining it with Charlie? This could be the perfect show. Why is he here?

[Eric]

Which I did, like, the sort of cut to Amira, like, taking her selfies and being fabulous. I'm like, that is a good little seed for future drama. Which is why these producers know what they're doing.

[Ben]

Yeah, exactly. So then this is when Georgia spots her boyfriend talking. Prez is talking to Charlie and she's like, get over here, get over here. Don't you dare. Don't you dare talk to him.

[Eric]

And Georgia goes. Prez is like this cute, like, sparkling, unbothered ball of light. And you have. Charlie's just like, prickly, like, dark. Like. Like. I don't know. I lost the poetry. But he fucking sucks. And I do understand your point, Ben, that he. That she would not want Prez around Charlie for very real reasons. But I don't know. Something tells me that Prez is so afraid of Georgia that he's not going to do anything to. To her that.

[Ben]

Well, the other thing is, what value does Prez have? Is he of a. Of a famous family? Does his family have money? Because if he has no money, then she does not. She has nothing to worry about. Like, if he offers no value to Charlie, like, Charlie will discard him immediately. Actually, if anything, Charlie will be friends with Prez only to annoy Georgia.

[Eric]

Right. Oh, right, right, right, right, right. Which is not beneath Charlie, but Prez, allegedly, his family was hanging out with the Brook Shields's family, so.

[Ben]

Oh, that's right.

[Eric]

So there's got to be some status there. Yeah.

[Ben]

Unless his, like, family. Yeah, maybe his family. Maybe his, like, dad was on Suddenly Susan and his connection full circle.

[Pablo Torre]

Great.

[Eric]

I would love that.

[Ben]

That lore, the Lord, the Suddenly Susan Laura would be just so. Excellent. So the.

[Eric]

The.

[Ben]

There's, like, a little speech about, like, welcome to our brand. Thanks. Ava does a whole thing of, like, friends are the chosen family, and holidays are for family, so we're happy to be spending it with friends. And if you know of a good place that has a doorman, just let me know, because family.

[Sponsor Voice]

Yay.

[Ben]

And now they're done with this party, and now they're outside and. And Charlie's still trying to talk with everyone. Everyone's just like, Rose, Charlie. And so Charlie, it wounds up, winds up with, like, Charlie and Ariana talking. And for all that, for all of Ariana's bluster about why Charlie is the worst in the world, she has this, like, sort of lengthy conversation with him that is very friendly. Did you notice smiles?

[Eric]

I did, but I couldn't tell if I just have so much respect for Ariana that I'm like, I think Charlie was trying to work his charm over her, but she was actually trying to play into it by just being like, yeah, I'm gonna. Yes. And you a bit, but just don't up my ex boyfriend, who I still actually love. Like, I kind of think Ariana still had the power in that scene.

[Ben]

Yeah. I feel like they're worried that Hudson's gonna get on hard drugs or something, which I think is like, a legitimate fear. Like, Charlie is the type to be like, hey, bro, you ever try this? And then it's like an After School special.

[Eric]

But that's how it happens. I. Because I think because all Hudson wants is to feel. Not to get too therapy about it, but all Hudson wants to feel is, like, valued and cool and accepted. And then I bet Ariana said, sees that he could become, you know, Charlie's next colleague in torturing someone.

[Ben]

Yeah. Which would be not. Not great.

[Eric]

No good.

[Ben]

Would be a very bad image for the chicken empire of his family. So they had this whole talk, and then everyone's. Everyone's, like, watching around the corner, like, ew, why Is she talking to him? It's gross.

[Eric]

Brooks is like, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't.

[Ben]

And then, like, Charlie comes over and Brooks just like, runs away. He runs around the corner. He's like. And Ariana. The episode sort of draws to an end. Amazingly, you never thought it was gonna happen, but Ariana is basically like, I believe that there is 102 sides of Charlie. His ego is so big, but he's just like. And he's like a prick, but there's like a side of Charlie that shows you his heart a little bit and, like, cares, like, because, like, somewhere deep, deep, deep, deep down, he's like a good guy. And we see him turn on his electric water kettle and make himself some tea and look out over New York City and then be like, oh, I burned myself on this and burned the

[Eric]

out of my mouth trying to sip this too. You're even trying to sound Gen Z about your tea sipping.

[Ben]

I know, because the bruisers were like, so do you have any tea, Charlie? He's like, fine. And he like, actually makes himself some tea. It's like, that wasn't what we meant.

[Eric]

How he's like, I tried to slide into this cuppa and got burned up.

[Ben]

One of my least favorite words, Cuppa. Thank you, Eric, for sitting for, for participating in this lengthy next gen recap. It's such a fun show. You are so hilarious. Remind everyone where they can find you.

[Eric]

Thank you for having me, Ben. I'm at Eric Wills on Instagram. E R, I, C W I L Z. And you'll see my podcast Gay Ass Podcast there and all my other stuff. And Ben, you're the best and I adore you.

[Ben]

You're the best. We love you so much and thanks for being here. Bye, everyone. Watch what crap. INS would like to thank its premium sponsors. She answered the call. It's Adia Paul. Ain't no thing like Alison King.

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[Ben]

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[Narrator/Advertiser]

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[Pablo Torre]

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[Heygen Advertiser]

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