EP. S2E52 — Emmy Surprises & Snubs w/ Niles Abston

Ashley Ray [00:00:27] Welcome to TV, I Say with Ashley Ray, your go-to podcast for discovering what to watch on TV and getting behind the scenes insight from the people who make the shows you love. Last Wednesday, Emmy nominations officially came out, and we’re here to help you understand what’s going down. We’re going to break down everything. Like, you know, the TV Academy–they got some things right. They got maybe a few things wrong. So, I had to bring in my friend who is one of the funniest stand-up comedians I know. He’s also a writer on the FX comedy series Dave. He’s also appeared recently in Netflix’s I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson. Niles Abston, welcome to TV Club.

 

Niles Abston [00:01:04] What’s up. You named all those credits, and I was like, “And I’m still broke.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:01:08] Right? That’s how it goes when you are a TV writer, and you choose this industry. Yes, we are still on strike also. And recently an article came out in Deadline where they said they want us to be on strike until we lose our apartments and we starve and every TV writer is broke.

 

Niles Abston [00:01:26] Well, joke’s on them. That was already happening to me before the strike started.

 

Ashley Ray [00:01:29] Right. They were like, “We want them to struggle.” And it’s like, “We were already struggling.”

 

Niles Abston [00:01:33] “Already doing that, buddy.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:01:33] I just think it’s so wild to have that come out the day before Emmy nominations when you’re about to celebrate all these writers. You’re about to celebrate everything they wrote that couldn’t have been made without writers. And the night before, they’re like, “Well, at least actors are reasonable, unlike those writers.”

 

Niles Abston [00:01:53] And their punishment is be homeless because you want to be treated right.

 

Ashley Ray [00:01:56] You want to be treated right. Meanwhile, the actors might go on strike. We’ll know at midnight. I really hope they do. But AMPTP– AMT…

 

Niles Abston [00:02:05] No one even knows. That shows you how important they are. No one even knows what to call it.

 

Ashley Ray [00:02:10] American Motion– AMPTP. They brought in federal mediators to be like, “Get the actors to not go on strike. Please convince them.”

 

Niles Abston [00:02:21] They literally called the feds.

 

Ashley Ray [00:02:21] Yeah, they literally were like, “No. Biden. Make them do our shows. Like, what are we going to do if Kaley Cuoco isn’t in a million Peacock shows? Like, you have got to get her in line.” And I really hope that we get a strike. Actors, please. I need the actors on strike. Like, if you think the writers are annoying on strike, wait until you get a bunch of sanctimonious actors out there.

 

Niles Abston [00:02:46] Theatre kids.

 

Ashley Ray [00:02:46] Theatre kids with bullhorns. We’re winning this thing in, like, a week. We’re shutting this down so quickly. So, before we dive into nominations, I want to know, you know, do you usually watch the Emmys? Are you, like, a big Emmy person?

 

Niles Abston [00:03:03] I have a rule. I don’t watch award shows until I get invited to them. And I’ve never been invited to an awards show, so…

 

Ashley Ray [00:03:10] And no offense, but you were not invited this year?

 

Niles Abston [00:03:12] I was not invited. You are listening to a snub right now.

 

Ashley Ray [00:03:16] I would say that Dave was snubbed. I do believe Dave was snubbed. I thought it was going to get at least a writing nom. And obviously, in your finale, you had Brad Pitt.

 

Niles Abston [00:03:28] Yeah, I thought they would at least give Brad the guest–

 

Ashley Ray [00:03:30] I thought for sure. And it was clearly one of those guest starring roles where it’s like, “We’re doing this to get him an Emmy.

 

Niles Abston [00:03:37] Get him in there.

 

Ashley Ray [00:03:38] Like, “This is to get Brad Pitt an Emmy. Let’s do it. That’s the play.” And the Academy didn’t bite.

 

Niles Abston [00:03:44] They didn’t bite. I thought it was a wonderful episode. Brad did his thing.

 

Ashley Ray [00:03:47] It was really good. It was so funny. I loved it. And I think that this new season of Dave kind of suffered from the momentum it got during COVID. And then the promotion wasn’t as loud this season. It was everywhere. And then it was just kind of like FX was like, “Oh, well, it’s established. People get it.” And it was like, “No, you got to remind people.”

 

Niles Abston [00:04:09] I didn’t really feel like it got pushed as much. And, like, we all agreed this is the best season. It just kind of sucks that it didn’t get… Because, like, you got that coupled with the strike and everything. It’s really hard to promote something right now with all of this going on in the industry. So, this kind of came out at a bad time.

 

Ashley Ray [00:04:26] It also seems like FX a little bit was like, “We have our new favorite baby. And we don’t care about Atlanta anymore.”

 

Niles Abston [00:04:34] No. The Bear is their favorite child now.

 

Ashley Ray [00:04:35] The Bear is the new favorite baby. And they were just like unless you have a new Bear spin-off, like, they don’t care. It’s the show that they pushed, and it succeeded because it got, like, the most Emmy nominations. So, I’m a big Emmy person. Since I was a kid, I have been obsessed with the Emmys. I’m a TV person. This is our big night. This is our Super Bowl. So, I think, like, every time this happens where people are like, “How is that a comedy?”

 

Niles Abston [00:05:09] Yeah.

 

Ashley Ray [00:05:10] Since as far back as I can remember, there have been comedy nominations where people are like, “How did that–? Why?” And so, you have to understand there’s all these, like, weird rules that the Academy has. So, genre is not defined by genre. It’s defined by how long the show is. It doesn’t matter if it’s the saddest show in the world. If it’s like 30 minutes, it’s going in the comedy category. And if it’s an hour, it is going in the drama series. You know, there aren’t many hour-long comedies, but technically, I was like, “Then shouldn’t Ted Lasso be in that category?”

 

Niles Abston [00:05:47] Yeah, because they had a few hour episodes.

 

Ashley Ray [00:05:49] Yeah. Oh, they extended every episode this season to an hour–hour plus. So, I was like, “How come Ted Lasso isn’t in the drama category if that’s how it goes?”

 

Niles Abston [00:05:59] Did they do a thing where like, “Well, it started off here, so we don’t change it up”?

 

Ashley Ray [00:06:03] That’s what I was wondering. If it was previously in this category, does that have something to do with it? And then I wondered if it had to do maybe with, like, the episodes for consideration. Because, like, The Bear was nominated for Season One, even though Season Two just came out. and so, I think maybe Ted Lasso was nominated for the previous season. And we’re going to see another season of Ted Lasso noms for this last season.

 

Niles Abston [00:06:28] Oh, wow.

 

Ashley Ray [00:06:28] Like, I think that’s how they break it up.

 

Niles Abston [00:06:31] Interesting.

 

Ashley Ray [00:06:32] So that’s kind of annoying because we’re going to see another season of undeserved Ted Lasso nominations, is what I would say.

 

Niles Abston [00:06:41] I’m one of those people that I watched Season One because I didn’t have anywhere to go.

 

Ashley Ray [00:06:45] Yeah. Same.

 

Niles Abston [00:06:46] Then once I could leave my house, I’ve never watched that show again. I’ve not watched that show since I could leave the house.

 

Ashley Ray [00:06:54] I loved it. I truly loved the first season. Second season, I was like, “Okay, I’m still with it.” Third season, I was just like, “They don’t even know what this show is.”

 

Niles Abston [00:07:03] They don’t even know what they’re doing.

 

Ashley Ray [00:07:05] Yeah, but it’s one of those shows that because it came out of the gate so strong and got so many nominations, it’s just always going to get nominations. It’s like Modern Family. Like, we just have to consider it baked in, which I also feel is what we’re going to see happen with Abbott Elementary.

 

Niles Abston [00:07:21] I was going to say that. Yeah, I think Abbott Elementary will get nominated for the rest of its run.

 

Ashley Ray [00:07:23] For the rest of its run.

 

Niles Abston [00:07:24] They kind of deserve it.

 

Ashley Ray [00:07:26] It’s about time a black show has that.

 

Niles Abston [00:07:29] That’s what I’m saying. And that’s why I’m hyping. Like, we haven’t really seen a mockumentary get that, like, recognition in a while either.

 

Ashley Ray [00:07:35] Yeah, same. So, I don’t care if it’s Season Ten and Abbott Elementary, like, writing the worst episodes you’ve ever seen. I don’t care. It is grandfathered in. Y’all got to do it with so many of your shows. Do you know how many Modern Family nominations we had to sit through?

 

Niles Abston [00:07:51] Too many.

 

Ashley Ray [00:07:51] Too many.

 

Niles Abston [00:07:52] And just, like, the cool thing with Abbott is just, like, how funny they are in that kind of, like, rigid format that’s kind of dead. It’s hard to be funny in that.

 

Ashley Ray [00:08:01] It’s so funny.

 

Niles Abston [00:08:03] And I think for the degree of difficulty you got to give it to Abbott Elementary.

 

Ashley Ray [00:08:06] You do. And that’s why I’m happy with all of the nominations they got, which is a few.

 

Niles Abston [00:08:11] Should have gotten more in my opinion.

 

Ashley Ray [00:08:13] Yeah. So, they did get Best Actress in a Comedy with Quinta getting her nomination, which I think is so deserved. And I honestly think she should win given who else is in the category.

 

Niles Abston [00:08:25] I think so too.

 

Ashley Ray [00:08:26] I mean, you have Christina Applegate, Dead to Me.

 

Niles Abston [00:08:28] I’m a Dead to Me fan, but honestly was surprised when I saw that. I haven’t finished the new season yet. I started, like, the first two. I know they had some trouble because, you know, she’s ill. So that was kind of hard to shoot that season.

 

Ashley Ray [00:08:42] And it was the final season, and a big part of it is, like, her character also dealing with some illness. So, I feel like that’s one of those. Like, you know, honoree nominations, where it’s like, “Oh, she worked really hard/ and the show ended.” Marvelous Mrs. Maisel–same thing.

 

Niles Abston [00:08:59] Never seen it!

 

Ashley Ray [00:09:00] Neither have I!

 

Niles Abston [00:09:02] From what I’ve heard, it’s a good show about a comedian. But it’s not, like, a comedy, though.

 

Ashley Ray [00:09:07] Yes. I don’t know. It’s like a drama, I think. All my friends are like, “You should watch it because you’re a female comic and you’ll relate.” And I’m like, “I don’t think I will.”

 

Niles Abston [00:09:16] Is that show half hour?

 

Ashley Ray [00:09:18] You know what? It must be because it’s in the half hour nom. It’s an hour? What are these rules? What are these rules? Why is Marvelous Mrs. Maisel–? And when Ted Lasso… If they are hours, why are–?

 

Niles Abston [00:09:33] I’m a little upset.

 

Ashley Ray [00:09:35] Now, I’m upset.

 

Niles Abston [00:09:35] I’m not going to lie. I’m a little upset.

 

Ashley Ray [00:09:38] Because, like, put it in the drama. Like, it’s not a ha ha funny show. It just is about a funny person.

 

Niles Abston [00:09:44] And as a person that wrote a ha ha funny show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:09:47] An actual ha ha funny show.

 

Niles Abston [00:09:49] It’s just kind of upsetting.

 

Ashley Ray [00:09:50] Okay. And I know that nomination is because it’s the last season of Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

 

Niles Abston [00:09:57] Oh, it’s the last one?

 

Ashley Ray [00:09:58] So, again, that one is a… I think a lot of these nominations are: “We know the show is ending.”

 

Niles Abston [00:10:03] We got to get a Dave Season Four to outlast some of these shows so we can maybe get one.

 

Ashley Ray [00:10:08] But even then…? We all know it was the last season of Atlanta.

 

Niles Abston [00:10:14] Right.

 

Ashley Ray [00:10:14] Basically snubbed.

 

Niles Abston [00:10:14] They didn’t get anything! And I thought they–

 

Ashley Ray [00:10:17] They did. They got a Best Cinematographer for the episode when Paper Boi goes back home to the South.

 

Niles Abston [00:10:25] Oh, okay. So, they got Best Cinematography.

 

Niles Abston [00:10:28] I thought Season Four was, like, everything the show is supposed to be. And I thought the finale was, like, perfect because it was, like, subtle but hilarious at the same time.

 

Ashley Ray [00:10:36] Yes.

 

Niles Abston [00:10:37] But I feel like some of these shows–people just stop watching them. And I feel like Season Three made a lot of people just give up on it. It was four years in between.

 

Ashley Ray [00:10:46] Yeah, they had this long hiatus. People forgot. Season Three, people were kind of, like–

 

Niles Abston [00:10:50] Four should have been Season Three.

 

Ashley Ray [00:10:51] That’s what I said.

 

Niles Abston [00:10:52] Three should have been Season Four.

 

Ashley Ray [00:10:53] It didn’t help when Donald Glover–when they came back from hiatus–was like, “Season Three of Atlanta is so good. It is better than The Sopranos.”

 

Niles Abston [00:11:05] Come on. And I’ve only seen four episodes of The Sopranos.

 

Ashley Ray [00:11:08] Same. I’ve only seen the first, like, three.

 

Niles Abston [00:11:10] But I just know how dear people hold that show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:11:14] Yeah. And as soon as he said that I was like, “Sir, those little, white Academy people are not trying to hear that.”

 

Niles Abston [00:11:20] If you say that, you got to back that shit up, you know? And I thought Season Three was, like, really cool. But I definitely think, like, if you’re not like a huge fan of, like, what he does artistically, it probably came off as like, “What are they doing? What are all these short films?”

 

Ashley Ray [00:11:37] It was a great chance for the writers to get to, you know, share their own perspectives in their own episodes. But I think it alienated the Academy, and so…

 

Niles Abston [00:11:48] I saw a few people talk about how they really wish the Goofy documentary episode would have got a writing nominee. I thought that was amazing.

 

Ashley Ray [00:11:55] I thought that one would have got a writing nominee, but instead… And also, I mean, we know how this works with the Academy. They can only nominate so many Black people.

 

Niles Abston [00:12:05] Right. There’s only so many Black spots.

 

Ashley Ray [00:12:06] There’s only so many Black spots. It usually goes one Black show in each genre, genre and then…

 

Niles Abston [00:12:15] Another one if it’s just, like, really good.

 

Ashley Ray [00:12:16] If it’s really good.

 

Niles Abston [00:12:18] But it has to be really good. And I think with Beef getting a lot of nominees now–that was the other, like, minority spot.

 

Ashley Ray [00:12:26] Truly Beef, I think, took a lot of the minority spots. Yeah, I think it definitely took some of the nominations away from Swarm. Swarm did get a writing nom. And it also got Lead Actress for Dominique, which is great. I love her, but it didn’t get Series. And I think we see a lot of diversity this year, particularly in Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

 

Niles Abston [00:12:53] Best Supporting Actress is always, like, a Black–

 

Ashley Ray [00:12:56] It is.

 

Niles Abston [00:12:57] Over, like, the last 15 years, Best Supporting Actress has always been, like, a black competition and, like, one white lady in there.

 

Ashley Ray [00:13:04] And again, this year, we have four Black women who have taken over this category.

 

Niles Abston [00:13:10] You wedge them all into one–

 

Ashley Ray [00:13:12] One category. You got Alex Borstein–I’ve loved her since Mad TV. But, you know, again, I’m not watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.

 

Niles Abston [00:13:24] Just for stand-up comedy as a whole, I hope Janelle wins.

 

Ashley Ray [00:13:28] I want Janelle to win. For all of stand-up comedy, I need Janelle to win.

 

Niles Abston [00:13:32] Because I feel like Black women in stand-up comedy just get paid dust, like, all the time.

 

Ashley Ray [00:13:36] All the time.

 

Niles Abston [00:13:37] So I feel like a show like Abbott that has a woman on the show that’s also an amazing stand-up comedian–I don’t know if you’ve ever seen her, but she’s…

 

Ashley Ray [00:13:44] Oh, yeah. We’ve done shows together. We did a show together out here. She is not only so amazing but so just supportive of young Black female talent comics. She had a festival–

 

Niles Abston [00:13:55] She used to run her own festival. That’s why I started running my own festival. I saw Janelle doing it.

 

Ashley Ray [00:13:58] I talked to her. She was just like, “I got sick of all these white festivals being like, ‘I only accept one person of color.’”

 

Niles Abston [00:14:04] I just did one the other day. Janelle was, like, one of the reasons why I run a comedy festival.

 

Ashley Ray [00:14:10] Yeah, like, “I’m going to do my own. I don’t need to wait for these people.” And then also beyond that–she started her own festival and said, “Oh, I’m not going to let you typecast me as being this Black, female comic, who’s just for Black people, who just does her shows in Harlem.” She was like, “This is an alt comedy festival.” Like she had, you know, Maria Bamford–all of these, like, white, indie hipster people.

 

Niles Abston [00:14:32] Come be on the thing.

 

Ashley Ray [00:14:32] Come be on it, who are like, “We love her. We want her approval.” Like, she changed the game. And so, I need her to get her Emmy.

 

Niles Abston [00:14:39] Let’s go. Team Janelle.

 

Ashley Ray [00:14:40] Team Janelle. I love you, Ayo. I love you, Sheryl Lee Ralph. I love you, Jessica Williams. Jessica was the best part of Shrinking. Y

 

Niles Abston [00:14:50] I couldn’t watch it because they didn’t hire me, so…

 

Ashley Ray [00:14:54] I know how that goes.

 

Niles Abston [00:14:55] I interviewed for that one, so I was like, “I can’t watch it.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:14:57] There’s a few shows where when I interviewed, if I don’t get it, I’m like, “Will I watch the last season of Big Mouth? We’ll see.”

 

Niles Abston [00:15:07] Will anybody watch the last season of Big Mouth is a great question.

 

Ashley Ray [00:15:11] But I am just upset because I am afraid of a Ted Lasso wash.

 

Niles Abston [00:15:16] Really? You think that would happen?

 

Ashley Ray [00:15:17] Well, you see, I believe Hannah Waddingham has usually been in the Best Actress in a Comedy Series. This time they, like, put both Ted Lasso women in Supporting Actress with Juno and Hannah. Hannah, I think, because for the final season they didn’t want it to seem like, “Oh, Juno’s supporting, Hannah’s the main,” even though that is exactly what it is.

 

Niles Abston [00:15:37] That is what it is.

 

Ashley Ray [00:15:37] So now we have Hannah. I think she’s going to win it. She was the best part of the last season to Ted Lasso.

 

Niles Abston [00:15:44] That’ll be interesting. That’ll be kind of like when Jamie Lee Curtis won that Oscar.

 

Ashley Ray [00:15:48] It’s about to be just like that. And it’s going to make me angry. I’m already prepared to see, like, when they do the reaction shots and the cameras on Janelle. I’m already prepared to see the look her and Ayo share because I know it’s going to be Hannah.

 

Ashley Ray [00:16:13] What do you think of Best Actor in a Comedy Series since your boss didn’t get it?

 

Niles Abston [00:16:17] Well, that’s the thing. How can you give it out when the best guy is not even in it?

 

Ashley Ray [00:16:21] Right. It’s not even valid.

 

Niles Abston [00:16:23] I’m going to be real. I just think Dave is better than all five of these white guys. If we’re going to give it to a white guy, let’s give it to the one that really did it.

 

Ashley Ray [00:16:30] I think he did do a great job this past season.

 

Niles Abston [00:16:33] And I know I’m biased because I’m friends with him. I work with him and everything. But here’s the thing, though. What if Jason Sudeikis had to write Ted Lasso, make music for it, then also help direct it, like, help cast it, and get Drake and Brad Pitt to be in the show? And it’s just like the dude rapped, sang, acted, like, he did everything. And it was great.

 

Ashley Ray [00:16:55] It was good–every emotional beat. Meanwhile, this last season of Ted Lasso, Jason Sudeikis barely even wanted to be on the show. Like, he’s barely in episodes.

 

Niles Abston [00:17:04] Oh, he’s not in it that much?

 

Ashley Ray [00:17:05] Yeah, because, like, you can tell that he as a person got kind of sick of his character–gets kind of sick of the bit. And so, most of the last season is everyone around Ted Lasso. And that basically makes it so they could write him out because Jason doesn’t want to do a spinoff, obviously. And they truly just use the entire last season to be like, “Okay, let’s put Jason on the sidelines.”

 

Niles Abston [00:17:27] We have a category where there’s more white dudes named Jason than there are Black men in the category.

 

Ashley Ray [00:17:34] There are none. For Best Actor, we have Bill Hader, Martin Short, Jason Segel, Jason Sudeikis, and Jeremy Allen White–a very attractive group of men. I mean, I’m not kicking Jeremy Allen White out of bed.

 

Niles Abston [00:17:47] That’s hilarious.

 

Ashley Ray [00:17:49] You know, first of all, I still just take issue with Jeremy Allen White getting these comedy series nominations when he is doing his most dramatic work.

 

Niles Abston [00:17:58] And the thing is, he’s a great actor,

 

Ashley Ray [00:18:01] An amazing actor.

 

Niles Abston [00:18:01] I’ve met the guy. I was on Shameless for a day. I think he’s really dope. I think he’s a great actor, but it’s, like, just not funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:18:08] It’s not funny. And he’s not doing anything funny.

 

Niles Abston [00:18:12] At least with Bill Hader, like, Barry is a dark comedy at its core. And, like, it’s making fun of Hollywood and stuff, you know? He also directed a lot of those episodes. He writes them. I know a couple people that worked on the crew, and they said he’s, like, one of those guys that worked every position on set, so he knows how to run a good set and everything like that. So, if I had to pick somebody, I’d say, Bill,

 

Ashley Ray [00:18:35] I want it to be Bill. Especially with this category, I feel like they set it up so Bill can win. Like, it should be Bill, but…

 

Niles Abston [00:18:45] If it was up to me, it’d be Mr. David Bird taking home the trophy.

 

Ashley Ray [00:18:48] But, you know, these old white people in the Academy are just like, “Martin Short! I’ve loved him since the ’60s.”

 

Niles Abston [00:18:55] I mean, Only Murders in the Building definitely gets some, like, “Oh, we like these guys.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:19:00] That’s the one where it’s like, “I’ve been a fan for forever.”

 

Niles Abston [00:19:02] I don’t know anybody my age that watches the show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:19:05] I watch it!

 

Niles Abston [00:19:06] Really?

 

Ashley Ray [00:19:07] I do.

 

Niles Abston [00:19:08] It’s cool?

 

Ashley Ray [00:19:10] It’s fine. It’s, like– Yeah, it’s cool.

 

Niles Abston [00:19:11] My dad watched it. And, like, I don’t really gauge things off him. Like, my dad likes the Rock movies. So, when he says something is cool… He said Only Murders in the Building is fine. And he loves Steve Martin. So, he said it was fine, I was like… Wasn’t it, like, based off, like, Steve Martin heard a murder podcast and was like, “Why isn’t this TV?” And it kind of already is.

 

Ashley Ray [00:19:29] It already is. The whole show feels like what old people think young people want. Like, they’re like, “These young kids are so obsessed with murder.”

 

Niles Abston [00:19:37] Yeah, well, that makes sense why it’s getting nominated. That’s who voted.

 

Ashley Ray [00:19:41] Yeah, that’s who votes. So, you know, fine. And then, like, the young people pretend to like it because Selena Gomez is in it.

 

Niles Abston [00:19:51] I forgot she’s in that.

 

Ashley Ray [00:19:51] Yeah. But I do want to talk about the Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series because there’s some heavy hitters here. We have Anthony Carrigan from Barry, Phil Dunster from Ted Lasso, who was the best part of the last season.

 

Niles Abston [00:20:04] Anthony Carrigan is NoHo Hank, right?

 

Ashley Ray [00:20:06] Yes, that’s NoHo Hank. We have Brett Goldstein, also from Ted Lasso, who has already won the award in the past. So, who cares? No offense. He’s also very talented–very funny. But also, you won already. Let’s move on. James Marsden…

 

Niles Abston [00:20:20] I was very surprised.

 

Ashley Ray [00:20:21] I am shocked.

 

Niles Abston [00:20:22] I’m so happy, though.

 

Ashley Ray [00:20:23] I am so happy.

 

Niles Abston [00:20:25] I thought he was hilarious.

 

Ashley Ray [00:20:26] He was the best part.

 

Niles Abston [00:20:28] I didn’t know he was that funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:20:29] I didn’t know he was that funny.

 

Niles Abston [00:20:30] I had no idea.

 

Ashley Ray [00:20:31] The way he was just able to make fun of himself. I need a Jury Duty sweep because I’m just shocked Jury Duty even got the nomination.

 

Niles Abston [00:20:39] If Jury Duty won all the comedy stuff, I’d be so happy. I texted my friend Marcos today that writes for the show–and I was just like, “Dude, the show’s genius.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:20:46] Yeah. It’s genius. Mekki Leeper, who I think is so great–

 

Niles Abston [00:20:51] He’s great. I met him, like, a couple months ago. We did a show together, and I was just telling him… I know he got nominated for writing.

 

Ashley Ray [00:20:57] He got nominated for writing. I need him to win. And again, another amazing stand-up. The first time I ever did a big featuring spot in Boston, I was opening for him. He was so nice.

 

Niles Abston [00:21:08] Yeah, he’s funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:21:09] And it’s just another guy who is just so funny, loves lifting people up, and makes weird stuff. So, I need the stand-up comedy people to get their dues here. And I need James Marsden to win this. Sorry, I love you, Tyler James Williams. Everybody Hates Chris. I love you.

 

Niles Abston [00:21:24] The thing about Tyler is he’ll have more chances to win because Abbott is now this perennial show. Whereas, like, Jury Duty–that’s not going to happen.

 

Ashley Ray [00:21:33] It’s not going to happen again. They can never really do it again.

 

Niles Abston [00:21:36] They couldn’t put my boy GaTa in there. I say James.

 

Ashley Ray [00:21:40] And GaTa also, I believe, deserved that Supporting Actor in a Series nom.

 

Niles Abston [00:21:47] I just feel like him and Dave were just one of the best comedy duos on TV. For somebody that’s not the title character, he just brings so much, like, impact to the show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:21:56] You know, I mostly also wanted Dave to get a lot of nominations because I knew it would make Donald Glover very angry. Like, if Dave had gotten one nomination, he would have been so angry.

 

Niles Abston [00:22:10] Definitely.

 

Ashley Ray [00:22:10] So I know he’s somewhere going, “Dave only got one, but at least we got nominated.” So, then we also have the Best categories for Limited or Anthology Series. Are you big in this category?

 

Niles Abston [00:22:23] Well, I’m a big Beef fan. I haven’t seen any of these other shows.

 

Ashley Ray [00:22:28] Yeah, this is always one of those categories where I’m like, “Oh, I didn’t even know that was made.”

 

Niles Abston [00:22:33] I saw a lot of billboards for Fleishman is in Trouble. I don’t know what it’s about.

 

Ashley Ray [00:22:38] Yeah, I watched Fleishman is in Trouble. It is about a man who is awful and sucks. Like, truly, it is just about the guy who played the Facebook dude–

 

Niles Abston [00:22:52] Oh, Lizzy Caplan’s in it?

 

Ashley Ray [00:22:52] Yeah. Lizzy Caplan’s in it. She’s the best part. All the best parts of Fleishman in Trouble got nominated. Claire Danes.

 

Niles Abston [00:22:58] Claire Danes is in it?

 

Ashley Ray [00:22:59] Yes.

 

Niles Abston [00:23:00] I need to go watch the show!

 

Ashley Ray [00:23:01] Yes.

 

Niles Abston [00:23:01] I love Lizzy Caplan and Claire Danes.

 

Ashley Ray [00:23:04] Yeah. There’s one episode that just focuses on the two of them, and it’s, like, the best thing. Outside of that, the show is about basically Claire Danes’ ex-husband being like, “My wife sucks. I hate her. I think she’s cheating on me.” And then you find out that actually she just had a horrific mental breakdown and is in need of serious help. And the whole time, he’s just like, “My bitch wife.” And it’s not that great of a show until the one episode at the end when you see the wife’s story, and it’s like, “Oh, okay.”

 

Niles Abston [00:23:31] I’m going to check it out.

 

Ashley Ray [00:23:31] Know. So yeah, it’s worth checking out. I think I kind of figured it would get the nominations because it has the cast. I’m very happy for Dominique Fishback in Swarm.

 

Niles Abston [00:23:41] Me too.

 

Ashley Ray [00:23:42] And then I got to give a shout out to my girl because, listeners, you know I’m a Daisy Jones fan.

 

Niles Abston [00:23:48] Oh yeah? You watch that show? You like it?

 

Ashley Ray [00:23:49] Oh, I love Daisy Jones. It’s good. Is it good in the way you might think of good? I’m not going to answer that for people because it’s good in a way that it changed my entire life.

 

Niles Abston [00:24:04] I’m kind of a sucker for movies and shows about music groups.

 

Ashley Ray [00:24:08] Exactly.

 

Niles Abston [00:24:09] If I watch it, I’ll probably like it.

 

Ashley Ray [00:24:10] And as soon as you’re like, “Oh, it’s just Fleetwood Mac fanfiction.”

 

Niles Abston [00:24:14] Oh. So, it’s a fictional band?

 

Ashley Ray [00:24:16] Yes, it’s not a real band, except I do tell people they’re real.

 

Niles Abston [00:24:21] That’s funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:24:21] But they did get Best Actress in a Limited Series with Riley… Keough?

 

Niles Abston [00:24:25] Yeah. Elvis’ granddaughter.

 

Ashley Ray [00:24:26] Elvis’ granddaughter winning for that. She hasn’t won, but she was nominated. I think she should win.

 

Niles Abston [00:24:33] I’m rooting for Ali Wong on that one.

 

Ashley Ray [00:24:34] I do want it to be Ali Wong.

 

Niles Abston [00:24:37] So I met Ali Wong at a party a couple of months ago.

 

Ashley Ray [00:24:40] Was she nice?

 

Niles Abston [00:24:40] She’s so cool. And if she wins, I’m going to say I was her good luck charm.

 

Ashley Ray [00:24:44] Yeah. I want it to be Ali. I want Beef to win a lot. I know there was a lot of controversy around the casting

 

Niles Abston [00:24:52] No, for sure.

 

Ashley Ray [00:24:53] They are nominated for Best Casting, which I thought was a little funny because that was the worst part of the show.

 

Niles Abston [00:25:00] With Ali Wong, she’s so good at stand-up, and I know she’s been wanting to act in stuff. And some of the things I’ve seen her in I just didn’t think was good. But, like, she’s obviously a good actor, so it was just cool to, like, finally see her play a role where she can do all these different types of shit. She just doesn’t just tell jokes. So that’s why I love Beef so much.

 

Ashley Ray [00:25:22] And I hope people don’t get weighed down in the controversy of it when it comes to recognizing individual achievement.

 

Niles Abston [00:25:30] Individual achievement.

 

Ashley Ray [00:25:31] And that guy didn’t get nominated, okay?

 

Niles Abston [00:25:34] And I don’t think he should have. Even without that, I don’t think he should have. He was fine.

 

Ashley Ray [00:25:39] Yeah. He was pretty okay in the show. He did a good job doing what he had to do, but it also felt like, “You are just playing yourself.”

 

Niles Abston [00:25:46] He’s a piece of shit playing a piece of shit? Great job, bro.

 

Ashley Ray [00:25:51] And then one of the shocks–one of the kind of underdogs here–was Welcome to Chippendales, which got a lot of nominations. Kumail Nanjiani, Juliette Lewis…

 

Niles Abston [00:26:00] So I thought that was eligible for last year. So, I guess that came out in a different window or something.

 

Ashley Ray [00:26:06] Yeah, I think it came out in a later window. People completely forgot about it. Like, I think I watched it earlier this year? I don’t even remember really when it came out, but I did like it.

 

Niles Abston [00:26:18] He had a good performance in it. I saw a couple of episodes.

 

Ashley Ray [00:26:19] Yeah, it felt like one of those shows that would just kind of be overlooked. So, I’m very, very happy that it wasn’t. Every nomination that came through… Murray Bartlett–who I absolutely thought deserved it for that show–got it. So, you know, I’m pretty happy with Best Supporting in Anthology Series–all of this–except I don’t believe that we should have gotten all these Dahmer nominations.

 

Niles Abston [00:26:42] Yeah, I mean, that’s one of those things that just comes from it was the most watched show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:26:46] Yeah.

 

Niles Abston [00:26:46] And so it’s one of those things of like, “Okay, that’s a marketing play.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:26:51] Yeah, I feel like Netflix just buys some of this. Like, Dahmer getting nominated and then Wednesday? Wednesday got so many comedy nominations.

 

Niles Abston [00:27:00] That’s the thing. Those are the two shows where the ratings were just through the roof.

 

Ashley Ray [00:27:03] Yeah.

 

Niles Abston [00:27:04] So it’s just one of those things, like, “Come on.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:27:06] They bought that.

 

Niles Abston [00:27:08] That’s the thing about these award shows. If you can get just regular people who don’t really care about this kind of shit to watch it, then you win. So, a show like Dahmer that was just like, “I don’t even understand how the ratings were just crazy.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:27:23] No idea. It’s like, “Have you guys not watched a documentary before? ”

 

Niles Abston [00:27:27] That’s the thing. My thing was just like, “Do you not know the story?”

 

Ashley Ray [00:27:30] We’ve been here. But Niecy Nash did get a nom for that. And so, I’m happy for her. Love her.

 

Niles Abston [00:27:39] Ray Liotta got one? From the grave. I see you, Ray.

 

Ashley Ray [00:27:45] Which I feel like he’s going to win because–

 

Niles Abston [00:27:47] What is Blackbird? I’ve never even heard of this.

 

Ashley Ray [00:27:50] Yo. Okay. I don’t even know.

 

Niles Abston [00:27:52] You don’t even know?

 

Ashley Ray [00:27:54] So I was looking it up before this, and I remembered, “Okay, so it’s on Apple TV…” Someone told me it has the creepy guy who played Richard Jewell. He also was in I Think You Should Leave. He’s the guy who’s like, “Oh, I’m never going to say my lines faster than Tony.”

 

Niles Abston [00:28:13] Oh, okay.

 

Ashley Ray [00:28:14] He’s that guy. And it’s him playing this dramatic, creepy role, where he is a serial killer. And I guess Ray Liotta is a cop who, like, tries to get in his head, so he can help them find other serial killers or something. I don’t really know. But it just, again, seems like one of those things where it’s like Apple TV bought a nomination.

 

Niles Abston [00:28:33] Okay. And it’s a limited series, so there’s just one season?

 

Ashley Ray [00:28:36] Yeah. One season. It’s like, “Okay.” The Best Writing for a Comedy Series–we did finally get some recognition for The Other Two here.

 

Niles Abston [00:28:46] Finally.

 

Ashley Ray [00:28:47] Yes. I wanted The Other Two to get a comedy nom, but I think Jury Duty took their slot.

 

Niles Abston [00:28:53] Shout out Chris and Sarah, man.

 

Ashley Ray [00:28:54] Yeah.

 

Niles Abston [00:28:55] Y’all mean asses is funny. That’s all I’m going to say. Them mean motherfuckers are funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:28:59] They are so, so mean apparently. They’re so mean, Tina Fey made fun of how mean they are.

 

Niles Abston [00:29:04] Which is crazy.

 

Ashley Ray [00:29:05] Which is wild. And if you… Actually, no, I think with Tina Fey, most people know the rumors of how mean she is in a writer’s room. Like, I was going to be like, “Maybe this is Hollywood word of mouth.” No, everybody knows how Tina Fey runs a room. It’s a lot of sarcasm. You got to be on your toes. And apparently, Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider took that to the 11th level of hell.

 

Niles Abston [00:29:29] It was like they was running Guantanamo Bay over there and shit.

 

Ashley Ray [00:29:31] Yeah, like, apparently, the people who have written on The Other Two consider themselves, like, survivors of war.

 

Niles Abston [00:29:40] I wasn’t there, so they might be right.

 

Ashley Ray [00:29:42] And I mean, this last season–was it the funniest season?

 

Niles Abston [00:29:45] The show is just so funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:29:47] It’s so funny.

 

Niles Abston [00:29:48] I haven’t finished the last season just because, like, I don’t want to be done with it yet. It’s just so funny. Just joke for a joke. And I feel like a lot of times we just miss that. And the shows that do get marketed and do get this recognition–it’s a lot of shows where it’s like, “Oh yeah, I guess that was funny.” But The Other Two is like, “You will audibly laugh out loud.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:30:08] Yeah. Laugh out loud–actual jokes. And if you gotta be that mean to get that funny?

 

Niles Abston [00:30:14] We like that sometimes.

 

Ashley Ray [00:30:15] I mean, the proof is here in the nomination–kind of–because they didn’t get Series.

 

Niles Abston [00:30:19] That is interesting to get Writing but not get Series.

 

Ashley Ray [00:30:21] Yeah.

 

Niles Abston [00:30:23] I don’t feel like there’s one episode in that season that’s just head and shoulders better.

 

Ashley Ray [00:30:27] Better than the rest of it.

 

Niles Abston [00:30:28] It’s all just very funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:30:28] Yeah, as a whole.

 

Niles Abston [00:30:30] Do you know what episode it was?

 

Ashley Ray [00:30:33] No, I’m not sure which one. But because they have such a reputation of being evil and, like, people in Hollywood–the way they work–I would guess people were like, “Y’all are mean. So, we will give you a writing nomination, but we will not give you a Series nom.”

 

Niles Abston [00:30:47] That’s it.

 

Ashley Ray [00:30:49] They have hurt too many people.

 

Niles Abston [00:30:51] Probably.

 

Ashley Ray [00:30:52] And then the drama categories. I don’t think I’ve ever been more bored by the drama. nominations for the Emmys.

 

Niles Abston [00:31:03] Yeah.

 

Ashley Ray [00:31:04] It turns out the Academy only watched three dramas this year.

 

Niles Abston [00:31:08] And it felt like you already know what it was going to be.

 

Ashley Ray [00:31:10] Yeah, do I even need to say? Succession, White Lotus, and The Last of Us edging in as sort of the new one that stood out. Like, I love Succession. I love it, obviously. Very good show.

 

Niles Abston [00:31:26] There’s other shows.

 

Ashley Ray [00:31:27] There’s other shows.

 

Niles Abston [00:31:29] But it seems like prestige drama has turned into rich white people problems on TV in the last ten years. And it’s just kind of gotten to the point where it’s like, “We get it.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:31:39] We get it.

 

Niles Abston [00:31:40] For a show like Snowfall in its last season to not get anything.

 

Ashley Ray [00:31:44] To not get a thing

 

Niles Abston [00:31:45] Seems kinda crazy to me. Damson should have been in there. And you got, like, P-Valley.

 

Ashley Ray [00:31:51] P-Valley got snubbed for sure.

 

Niles Abston [00:31:53] I feel like there’s just dramas that have to do with other things in life that just they didn’t watch.

 

Ashley Ray [00:32:00] And for me, the most annoying part is I know Succession and The Last of Us are going to sweep like Best Drama, Best Actor, Best Actress–I get it. Even though I do think it’s kind of funny for Best Actor, you have Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin, and Jeremy Strong all going up against each other.

 

Niles Abston [00:32:17] Because they fill the Supporting Actor category, too. That just means we just have a lot of white men in our show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:32:23] Yep. And then on top of that, they took over all of the Guest categories.

 

Niles Abston [00:32:30] Two shows.

 

Ashley Ray [00:32:32] Two shows took over all the guest categories. And usually that’s like, “Oh, we get a little opportunity for some… You know, that would be where your Brad Pitts stand out.” And instead, they were just like, “How about every person who was on Succession was a guest actor?”

 

Niles Abston [00:32:45] You know, when the government’s slashed affirmative action, the Academy is like, “Hey, why don’t we do it too?”

 

Ashley Ray [00:32:50] “Yeah, we can do it too.” Like, it’s just so irritating to me because I don’t think all of these people who guested on White Lotus deserve this.

 

Niles Abston [00:33:00] Yeah, I didn’t get the Nicholas Braun

 

Ashley Ray [00:33:02] Yeah, I don’t think he should have been nominated.

 

Niles Abston [00:33:06] Because, like, I get Skarsgård. I was kind of talking on Twitter. We were going back and forth about the Alan Ruck thing. And THEY gave some examples, and I was like, “Okay, I guess.” Matthew–I get it, too. I think he was great.

 

Ashley Ray [00:33:22] Yeah. And that one for me is like I think Matthew should have been Best Actor. So, I know it’s going to be controversial.

 

Niles Abston [00:33:30] But I couldn’t really argue with that. He was in it enough.

 

Ashley Ray [00:33:34] Yeah. I think he should have been Best Actor and Kieran should have done Best Supporting. And if Kieran had done Best Supporting, he would have won.

 

Niles Abston [00:33:40] I get Skarsgård.

 

Ashley Ray [00:33:42] I get the Skarsgård. I get, you know, some of these.

 

Niles Abston [00:33:46] I didn’t watch this season of White Lotus. I don’t know these white dudes.

 

Ashley Ray [00:33:48] Yeah, looking at it, honestly, I don’t think the men of Season Two of the White Lotus really deserve this many nominations. I would have just given it to Michael Imperioli.

 

Niles Abston [00:33:59] You’re telling me four guys in the White Lotus are better than all the supporting actors on, like, a Snowfall?

 

Ashley Ray [00:34:05] Yes. Right. Right.

 

Niles Abston [00:34:08] That’s crazy. That just means you didn’t watch the show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:34:10] You didn’t watch the other shows. And that’s usually how this goes. Like, I think they did an interview in Variety that, like, talked to a bunch of people who vote on the awards and are in the Academy. And they literally were just like, “Usually I’ve only seen like 1% of the things nominated.” Actually, that really upset me this year because the show I wrote for–Alabama Jackson–we were a For Your Consideration last year in the Best Animated Short category. And previously, if you got some votes, you would be nominated in this category, and there would be something. Then they changed it this year to you had to prescreen any of the animated shorts and then anything that got a vote had to at least get 9/10ths or something of the vote. And no animated short did.

 

Niles Abston [00:35:03] So, there’s no category.

 

Ashley Ray [00:35:03] Nothing got nominated because nothing got enough clearance.

 

Niles Abston [00:35:08] That’s a dumb reason to not nominate.

 

Ashley Ray [00:35:10] Yeah, because I do a lot of animated writing. That is a category where cool things are just actually allowed to shine–shorts that might have been online only that people didn’t really get to see.

 

Niles Abston [00:35:24] Right.

 

Ashley Ray [00:35:24] And instead this year they were like, “We’re changing the rules. It didn’t get any attention. So, you know, we’re just not going to have the category.” So, a lot of the shifts this year in rules, I think, have made some things better, some things worse–when it comes to animated, worse because we’re getting less of it. When it comes to late night and talk shows, though, we have a big change that has happened. So Best Talk Series–or as it’s basically known, the John Oliver Award because John Oliver has won it every year for the past, like, five or six years. Like, it’s not even a category anymore. We all know Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is going to win. So finally, they changed it. They switched up the categories. So now John Oliver is in Best Variety Series with Saturday Night Live and A Black Lady Sketch Show. And Best Talk Series is now The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Problem with Jon Stewart, which, you know, most people are like, “Jon Stewart came in and took John Oliver’s spot.” And then John Oliver–because technically he is not a talk series. Like, he doesn’t do talk interviews. He does staged pieces.

 

Niles Abston [00:36:42] Oh, so you have to do interviews now?

 

Ashley Ray [00:36:43] Yes. Now, to be a talk series, you have to have a talk segment.

 

Niles Abston [00:36:49] They changed that this year?

 

Ashley Ray [00:36:49] They changed that this year to give basically all these other shows a chance because John Oliver just kept sweeping the category.

 

Niles Abston [00:36:56] Was Ziwe not eligible?

 

Ashley Ray [00:36:59] Ziwe would have been eligible and I think was a For Your Consideration. So, I think it just did not get a nomination.

 

Niles Abston [00:37:08] That’s interesting.

 

Ashley Ray [00:37:09] And I believe after the first season, it was a little like, “How come Ziwe didn’t get a nomination?” So, it’s still basically, like, the white guy late night show category.

 

Niles Abston [00:37:24] Amber Ruffin would be eligible, TOO.

 

Ashley Ray [00:37:26] She would have been eligible–never got a nomination for it. And now I don’t believe they’re bringing her show back.

 

Niles Abston [00:37:32] I don’t think they are.

 

Ashley Ray [00:37:33] Yeah. So, I like that John Oliver was such a threat that they just were like, “Let’s change the rules.” Having John Oliver go up against Saturday Night Live is kind of a refreshing battle. Like, SNL…

 

Niles Abston [00:38:06] I wonder how Lorne feels about this.

 

Ashley Ray [00:38:07] Right? Like, SNL is usually just steamrolling that category because it’s only ever SNL and A Black Lady Sketch Show.

 

Niles Abston [00:38:14] Yeah. And there hasn’t been enough, like, consistent sketch shows to even be in a category. I Think You Should Leave isn’t–

 

Ashley Ray [00:38:24] No, I Think You Should Leave–they did this weird thing where they considered it, like, Short Digital Video Comedy or something instead of, like, a sketch show, which I think is a way for Netflix to try to game it from being in the same category as Saturday Night Live. But honestly, I don’t think I Think You Should Leave would win up against Saturday Night Live.

 

Niles Abston [00:38:46] Nah, they wouldn’t let that happen.

 

Ashley Ray [00:38:48] Those old white people would not let that happen.

 

Niles Abston [00:38:50] “The guy you fired? Yeah. Not gonna win.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:38:53] But I do think I do think John Oliver has what it takes to take it from SNL. And I would love to see it.

 

Niles Abston [00:39:01] I would love to see that.

 

Ashley Ray [00:39:02] I would love to see SNL finally lose. No offense, but let’s, like, get them on their toes a bit.

 

Niles Abston [00:39:09] Yeah, if they have to go up against John Oliver every year from now on…

 

Ashley Ray [00:39:13] And A Black Lady Sketch Show–they announced it is not coming back for another season.

 

Niles Abston [00:39:17] Oh, this is the last one?

 

Ashley Ray [00:39:17] So this is the last one. Last chance at a nom. And it also got some, like, directing nominations and, like, production. You know, I think it’ll win there. I did also think that all of the reality nominations were very boring.

 

Niles Abston [00:39:33] Vanderpump Rules finally got one.

 

Ashley Ray [00:39:35] Vanderpump Rules finally got one.

 

Niles Abston [00:39:36] That was for, like, all the internet.

 

Ashley Ray [00:39:38] Yeah, that was, I think, just internet buzz.

 

Niles Abston [00:39:41] Marketing is everything, baby.

 

Ashley Ray [00:39:42] It’s all marketing. I’m going to be real; I want my Selling Sunset girls to win.

 

Niles Abston [00:39:45] Yeah? I’ve heard good things. They’re incredible.

 

Niles Abston [00:39:52] I’ve heard good things.

 

Ashley Ray [00:39:53] And the last season–bringing in Nick Cannon’s baby mama?

 

Niles Abston [00:39:57] Which one?

 

Ashley Ray [00:39:58] How am I supposed to know the answer to that?

 

Niles Abston [00:39:59] That’s why I asked.

 

Ashley Ray [00:40:02] She’s the mother of the eighth child.

 

Niles Abston [00:40:04] Oh, okay. So, she’s later in the game. Okay.

 

Ashley Ray [00:40:06] Yeah. Like, I think at one point her tag at the bottom is, like, her name, and then it says, “Mother of eighth baby to Nick Cannon.”

 

Niles Abston [00:40:12] Wow.

 

Ashley Ray [00:40:13] So, you know, they deserve. And then, you know, we do have Best Television Movie. Did you watch any of these? Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas?

 

Niles Abston [00:40:26] I watched Pray, and I thought Pray was really good.

 

Ashley Ray [00:40:29] I loved Pray.

 

Niles Abston [00:40:29] In fact, I think it was the most streamed movie on Hulu.

 

Ashley Ray [00:40:32] I think it was. I would love for Pray to Win. Also loved Fire Island.

 

Niles Abston [00:40:39] I heard Fire Island was good. Just haven’t seen it.

 

Ashley Ray [00:40:40] It’s really good. And again, another, you know, piece here made by an amazing stand-up comedian, Joel Kim Booster.

 

Niles Abston [00:40:48] Joel is funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:40:49] So funny. So, you know.

 

Niles Abston [00:40:51] I gotta watch Fire Island.

 

Ashley Ray [00:40:52] Yeah. And I have not watched Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.

 

Niles Abston [00:40:55] I heard it’s not bad.

 

Ashley Ray [00:40:56] I heard it’s not bad, but I don’t understand what the Roku Channel is or how I get it or how I watch it. So, they gotta put that on a real channel for me.

 

Niles Abston [00:41:05] A real channel?

 

Ashley Ray [00:41:05] Sorry.

 

Niles Abston [00:41:07] I didn’t hear any good things about Hocus Pocus 2.

 

Ashley Ray [00:41:10] I did not hear good things about it. And I’m a big Hocus Pocus person.

 

Niles Abston [00:41:13] I love Hocus Pocus.

 

Ashley Ray [00:41:14] And the reviews were so bad, I was just like, “I’m just going to not do this.” Overall, though, I feel like not a lot of surprises here. Some snubs. Reservation Dogs did not get a nomination.

 

Niles Abston [00:41:27] Yeah, I thought they would maybe get something.

 

Ashley Ray [00:41:30] How are you feeling overall about these noms? Disappointed? Happy?

 

Niles Abston [00:41:33] I mean, I feel a lot of them–I saw it coming already. I really thought Dave would get a nomination. I just thought we’d get a couple.

 

Ashley Ray [00:41:45] Yeah. I thought at least writing.

 

Niles Abston [00:41:48] I’m happy Jury Duty got in there.

 

Ashley Ray [00:41:51] I think Jury Duty took that silly true comedy slot.

 

Niles Abston [00:41:55] Which is crazy that there’s like, “All right, let’s do a spot for one show that actually has jokes.” Whatever.

 

Ashley Ray [00:42:09] So we’ve talked enough about the Emmys. I do want to talk about your experience being a writer. You know, I think people look at Emmy day and all these nominations, and they get so excited about their favorites or their favorite shows. The actual writers and people behind it–we get lost.

 

Niles Abston [00:42:25] We do, and we make it all happen.

 

Ashley Ray [00:42:27] Yeah. So, working on Dave, what was it like?

 

Niles Abston [00:42:30] Oh, it was amazing. For a first writing job, it was just so ideal to work for somebody that came up off the internet–it wasn’t hard to kind of relate, and it wasn’t hard to kind of know exactly what he wanted for the show because we speak the same language. And that was part of the reason I got the job. He saw my first stand-up special on YouTube. So that was part of the reason I got in there. So, it was just a great collaborative process. And he’s just, like, one of those guys that wants everybody to throw something in the pot, regardless of if you’re a staff writer, if you’re the showrunner’s assistant, whatever. Everybody had a chance to get their stuff in. He’s a really collaborative guy.

 

Ashley Ray [00:43:14] That’s so amazing because I feel like so many of these shows that get nominated, you hear about the writer’s room experience. And, like, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, for example–they have a room of playwrights who write the show, and then they have, like, three comedians they bring on every season who are just like, “Put a joke here.”

 

Niles Abston [00:43:32] What?

 

Ashley Ray [00:43:32] But it’s very much understood, like, the playwrights behind this are writing the show. Another reason I’m like, “Why are you in the Comedy category?” Usually, I feel like the showrunners have such, like, you know, control over what they want in the show, who they let, like, give ideas, who they want to work with–so hearing that Dave is truly just, like…

 

Niles Abston [00:43:51] Everybody. I mean, I feel like what made this season so good–everyone kind of got their perspective in there a little bit because a lot of the season is about dating and his relationships with women. So, I think a lot of the women writers on our staff really got to really put stuff in there that probably… You know, if it was a show where he was just like, “All right, this is my life. We’re doing whatever I want.” He allowed the women writers in the room to, like, really mold a lot of the situations and characters and stuff. And I think it made it way better.

 

Ashley Ray [00:44:20] Yeah. And I mean, I think you see that the best gift from that is everything we see with GaTa.

 

Niles Abston [00:44:26] It’s so real.

 

Ashley Ray [00:44:28] That’s him. And, like, the episode where they go back to Atlanta and GaTa realizes his friends set him up to steal the–

 

Niles Abston [00:44:36] That was one of my favorite episodes.

 

Ashley Ray [00:44:38] Yes. My favorite. We also have Usher. Before Usher was back in the news, Dave knew what was up.

 

Niles Abston [00:44:46] That was another thing. A lot of the guest stars in our show all had, like, little things that popped off in zeitgeist because, I think, like, MGK and Jack Harlow, like, dissed each other. And then two weeks later, the episode came out. It was crazy. So, like, a lot of shit happened in the meeting.

 

Ashley Ray [00:45:01] Which was your episode.

 

Niles Abston [00:45:02] That was my episode.

 

Ashley Ray [00:45:03] How did it feel to watch the clip of Jack Harlow going, “Pussy” go viral?

 

Niles Abston [00:45:11] Being on set to see the two of them just go at it was so funny because a lot of the stuff–every time they would get a zing on each other–we’d all kind of look at each other and laugh like, “I think one of them meant that shit.” They were really just going back and forth. It’s funny. They really had to whittle it down to get some of that stuff in there because, I mean, it was just so much good stuff. The two of them were just so funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:45:32] This is why we need DVDs back with all of the bonus material.

 

Niles Abston [00:45:34] Right. I would love to be able to have, like, all the deleted scenes from this season in a blooper reel–just for the bloopers they showed us at the party. I was like, “If people could see this.” Brad Pitt bloopers? I feel so, like, honored to be able to see that.

 

Ashley Ray [00:45:50] They need to bring those back. I truly can’t believe Brad Pitt did not get a nom for that episode.

 

Niles Abston [00:45:55] He was amazing.

 

Ashley Ray [00:45:56] He was amazing.

 

Niles Abston [00:45:56] There’s a scene in the show where he gets a gun held to his head. And the girl tells him, “Do something that’ll get yourself canceled.” And he says something in, like, an Asian accent.

 

Ashley Ray [00:46:07] He’s like, “Well, I don’t know. There’s this one I did, but I didn’t even say it.” And they’re like, “You have to do it.”

 

Niles Abston [00:46:12] It was just amazing.

 

Ashley Ray [00:46:14] It’s so funny.

 

Niles Abston [00:46:16] It’s everything you would want if Brad Pitt was in a show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:46:18] But, you know, Big Angelina Jolie–she’s still out here. She’s out on the streets. She put the kibosh on that. She was like, “No.”

 

Niles Abston [00:46:26] It happens.

 

Ashley Ray [00:46:27] And obviously I want to talk to you about I Think You Should Leave. What was the filming experience like on set? And viewers, if you have not watched I Think You Should Leave Yet, what’s your problem? Get it together. I watched the whole new season in one day. You’re in the sketch where you’re playing a character filming a sitcom.

 

Niles Abston [00:46:50] Right. And he even said, like, that was one of his most ambitious sketches. So it was, like, crazy to be a part of it because they essentially had to write three scripts for one sketch.

 

Ashley Ray [00:46:58] Yeah. That was the part I was curious about because what your characters are doing feels like a real script and show.

 

Niles Abston [00:47:06] We did our own complete thing. The cool thing is we’re sitcom actors acting out a sitcom, and then there’s a live audience. So, what they did first–before they brought everybody in–they gave us the scripts for the sitcom. And so, we had to act out the sitcom for, like, an hour. And so, we learned the entire sitcom, our blocking–it was like a real show. My friend Bruce Gray–a comedian–he was also one of the sitcom actors. Like, there was a moment where he comes in and, like, he sits down and the crowd applauses and stuff. And so, like, we had to learn all these cues like we were in a real sitcom. We really felt like we were on Friends. We had to learn everything like a real sitcom. And then they brought Tim in, and Tim watched us do it so then he kind of saw, like, “Okay, these are the points where I’m going to kind of jump in and say things in the mics in the audience.” And so, then they brought in the whole studio audience. So, then we had to take the rehearsal and act out the real sitcom in front of the background actors who are the audience. And so that’s when things really got kind of like, “All right, I’m kind of nervous now because I can’t flub the line because I have to laugh after I say it, and then it goes to the next person.” They had to create a whole sitcom set, create a sitcom, and then let Tim do his thing. So, there was just so many moving parts. We were there for a long time.

 

Ashley Ray [00:48:20] That is so cool.

 

Niles Abston [00:48:22] Everybody was having so much fun, though because the sitcom stuff was funny, the background stuff was funny, and then Tim is just hilarious. And, like, to get to watch him just do all these takes. Like, they’ll just like, “All right. We’ll let Tim do takes.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:48:35] Of course.

 

Niles Abston [00:48:35] And he’ll just do, like, “A bunch of different stuff and never repeat the same thing.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:48:38] Yeah, like, I would love to just get some sort of documentary on his improv process and just behind the scenes. Again, put it on a documentary.

 

Niles Abston [00:48:48] I would love to see– A Tim Robinson documentary–how he gets in his characters–is crazy because when I got on set and I came out the trailer and l was changed, he was there chilling. And we talked for a second. He’s, like, the most normal dude in the world.

 

Ashley Ray [00:48:59] Yeah.

 

Niles Abston [00:49:00] He’s nothing like these people he plays on TV.

 

Ashley Ray [00:49:02] Like, again, I want it on a DVD, so you can see because in reality, he’s just a dad with, like, kids. He skateboards.

 

Niles Abston [00:49:10] Yeah, he skateboards.

 

Ashley Ray [00:49:10] He’s truly just, like, hardcore, like, skater. You would never think he’s actually that cool.

 

Niles Abston [00:49:16] Like, when I was talking to him, I was expecting him to, like, say something weird or, like, spit everywhere. But he’s super normal. It was kind of jarring how normal he is.

 

Ashley Ray [00:49:26] “Just a normal guy, popping ollies, doing my thing.”

 

Niles Abston [00:49:29] But it is dope to just be in the season and get to see him work and everything.

 

Ashley Ray [00:49:34] Yeah. Also, you worked on all these shows. So, was Dave your last gig before the writers’ strike?

 

Niles Abston [00:49:39] Yes.

 

Ashley Ray [00:49:40] Yeah.

 

Niles Abston [00:49:41] And that was kind of upsetting because, like, the show comes out and we’re on strike. And so…

 

Ashley Ray [00:49:46] Yeah.

 

Niles Abston [00:49:46] You can’t really feed off of momentum. You know, usually I write an episode, like the Miguel episode, I would have meetings the next day, talking to people about it. But it just came out and we’re on strike. And so, I feel like a lot of people didn’t even, like, see it.

 

Ashley Ray [00:50:00] Yeah, like, that momentum just isn’t there. And then there are TV writers–there are comedians who go into TV writing–and it’s like we kind of have this thing we can fall back on because–the two of us–we’ve been on tour all summer. We’re doing shows to kind of support ourselves. Comedy does not pay like television, you know? Like, how have you been managing that divide of trying to get on the picket line and, like, really support the WGA, and also, we still have to work–we got to, like, get out, we got to do shows, we got to be on tour?

 

Niles Abston [00:50:31] Yeah. It’s definitely been tough. Like, balancing… Because I haven’t been on the picket line as much just with, like, work. Like, I work at a dispensary. I’m a bartender. That sucks. And then I do stand-up and so, like, I still want to perform. And just, like, I got to text somebody literally after this to let them know, like, “I can’t do the show Saturday. I got called into work.” There’s so many shows I’ve been missing because I have to work.

 

Ashley Ray [00:50:55] Yeah. People don’t realize, like, I had to get a day job. Like, the thing I do for work isn’t happening right now. And now they’re like, “You’re going to starve until October.”

 

Niles Abston [00:51:06] I don’t know what I’m about to do because I’m in the process of trying to, like, find a new place and everything. All of this is annoying. And I got, you know, tour dates in August, so I’m trying to go make a little money–go and do that. But it is definitely just really hard. Like, you’re really trying to balance all this stuff. And then you still want to support and be on the picket lines and everything. But, you know, some days it’s just, like, really tiring. Like, I was on my feet for 9 hours at work. I don’t know if I can just walk the picket lines all day.

 

Ashley Ray [00:51:30] Right? Exactly. It’s like I go work at a restaurant and then I, like, have to go picket. And then I also have to go do shows all night, go on tour, and, like, do my podcast and all this. And it’s like, “I need the TV jobs back.”

 

Niles Abston [00:51:40] Yeah, I need the TV jobs back.

 

Niles Abston [00:51:42] Dave Season Four, please.

 

Ashley Ray [00:51:44] I’m hopeful. But it’s also like, “Who knows what’s happening?”

 

Niles Abston [00:51:49] Who knows what’s going to be brought back with all this. And, like, things that got greenlit right before…

 

Ashley Ray [00:51:57] Even when they come back, they’ll probably be like, “Oh, we know we said yes to this, but…” You know, kind of like what happened with Glow at the beginning of coronavirus. So, I don’t know. It’s just a scary, scary time. But all of that to say if you’re listening and you love stand-up comedy, go support the comics you love because it’s paying the bills. Go get those tickets. Support the stand-up comics you love. And, you know, before we go, I do want to do a quick watchlist with you. Give the people some shows to watch. Outside of all of these white shows the Academy wants to force on you, what are you watching?

 

Niles Abston [00:52:34] Watch South Side on HBO Max while it’s still on there.

 

Ashley Ray [00:52:37] While it’s still on there. Who knows…?

 

Niles Abston [00:52:41] Definitely watch that. I would say watch this last season of snowfall. I love Damson Idris. His performance this last season was just, like, otherworldly.

 

Ashley Ray [00:52:50] He was really good. And so is Brandon Jay McLaren. He was so good in it.

 

Niles Abston [00:52:54] Really good. I have been watching The Other Two. I would say go watch. It is a very white show, but it didn’t get a lot of love. I would say go watch them.

 

Ashley Ray [00:53:02] Yeah.

 

Niles Abston [00:53:03] I love Beef, but I feel like everybody watched that.

 

Ashley Ray [00:53:06] And go watch Dave.

 

Niles Abston [00:53:08] Please watch Dave. Just specifically Season Three, Episode Eight.

 

Ashley Ray [00:53:11] Yes, Dave is a white man, but there are other people in the show.

 

Niles Abston [00:53:15] There’s other people in the show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:53:18] So, you know, for me, I’ve been watching The Afterparty, which just came back to Apple TV. Yeah, Season Two is here–the first three episodes. If you watch the first season, then you know the gimmick is that each episode is, like, a different genre of, you know, movie or comedy or whatever, and then it’s trying to solve a murder. So far, the second season feels like it’s lost its purpose a little bit. They don’t really know what they want to do with it, and they’re doing a lot of the same jokes.

 

Niles Abston [00:53:47] I quit after the pilot.

 

Ashley Ray [00:53:48] Yeah, it’s one of those shows where unless you really find these actors charming, it’s kind of like, “Okay, I don’t need to see the same plot, like, eight times.”

 

Niles Abston [00:53:57] Because it very much felt like what’s the… Knives Out.

 

Ashley Ray [00:54:01] Yeah, it’s like Knives Out-esque except even more annoying because you truly watch the same events from, like, eight different perspectives over each episode. And you’re like, “Oh, okay. They’re making the same joke about the drunk thing at the wedding.”

 

Niles Abston [00:54:13] They did this already.

 

Ashley Ray [00:54:14] Yeah. And it’s like, “Oh, but this time instead of a rom com, it’s like a murder thing.” And it’s just like, “I don’t care. I don’t want to do it.” But I probably will watch all of it. We also have, like I mentioned, Platonic, which just had its finale air. And again, I enjoyed it. Guy Branum was, for me, the best part of the show–just an incredibly talented stand-up comedy.

 

Niles Abston [00:54:36] He’s so funny.

 

Ashley Ray [00:54:36] So, so funny. He’s just incredible in it. He’s, like, the funniest part. And it’s just a hang out sitcom except, like, it wants to be more meaningful than that. But it’s not. It’s weird. So, hey, we got that. And then, you know, we also have The Secrets of Miss America.

 

Niles Abston [00:54:57] What is that?

 

Ashley Ray [00:54:58] It’s basically a spinoff of The Secrets of Playboy that A&E did. And now it’s looking at how the Miss America pageant is evil.

 

Niles Abston [00:55:07] Huh.

 

Ashley Ray [00:55:07] Yeah. If you didn’t know, Miss America Pageant…

 

Niles Abston [00:55:10] I figured. Most things that deal with young women are usually bad.

 

Ashley Ray [00:55:14] Is going to be evil, especially when they’re like, “This white guy, Sam, controls everything.” And it’s like, yeah, of course he’s evil to all of these girls. So, the first two episodes are out. You know, for a true crime thing on A&E, it’s pretty well done. It is highlighting stories people weren’t aware of, but it is not as salacious as The Secrets of Playboy.

 

Niles Abston [00:55:35] Secrets of Playboy was crazy, huh?

 

Ashley Ray [00:55:35] Secrets of Playboy’s crazy. Secrets of Playboy–they were talking about, like, murders. Hugh Hefner had sex with a dog, like…

 

Niles Abston [00:55:43] I’m going to watch this.

 

Ashley Ray [00:55:44] You should.

 

Niles Abston [00:55:45] Like I always say, Hugh Hefner died at the right time.

 

Ashley Ray [00:55:47] The exact right time.

 

Niles Abston [00:55:49] When you’re a white guy with money, you got to die at the right time.

 

Ashley Ray [00:55:52] The right time because he skipped all that. They actually are bringing it back for a second season. There are so many Playboy secrets that they’re making another season of Playboy Secrets. But the first one, they interview his girlfriend of multiple years, all these people who give the inside knowledge… Everything in that house was recorded. “He did this. He did this.” So that was worth watching.

 

Niles Abston [00:56:15] What?

 

Ashley Ray [00:56:15] Yeah. Yeah. Secrets of Miss America, though, doesn’t quite live up to that shock.

 

Niles Abston [00:56:19] Because it’s like, “Oh, it’s bad.”

 

Ashley Ray [00:56:21] Yeah, it’s kind of like, “Oh, they told us what to eat.” And it’s like, “Well, of course they did.” And they talk about how strict it is during the year when you are Miss America–you’re not allowed to date, you’re not allowed to, like, go out to bars…

 

Niles Abston [00:56:36] Really?

 

Ashley Ray [00:56:36] People would be like, “I would dress up in a, like, disguise so I could, like, go out and drink with friends.”

 

Niles Abston [00:56:42] People just care about Miss America so much that you can’t go in public.

 

Ashley Ray [00:56:45] Apparently. If you told me, “Oh, that’s Miss America–she has eight boyfriends and a baby,” I wouldn’t care.

 

Niles Abston [00:56:51] But I wouldn’t even know what Miss America looks like.

 

Ashley Ray [00:56:53] I could not tell you who has won Miss America at any point in time other than, like… What? Vivica Fox?

 

Niles Abston [00:56:59] Vivica Fox won?

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:01] She was Miss America, like, in the–I don’t know–’80s or something. She was the first Black woman to win.

 

Niles Abston [00:57:06] Wow. I didn’t know that.

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:07] But then they took away her title because she, like, took a nude picture or something.

 

Niles Abston [00:57:11] Wait. No, that’s Michelle Williams.

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:13] From Destiny’s Child?

 

Niles Abston [00:57:14] No. Michelle Williams. Light-skinned lady. I don’t think that was Vivica Fox. I don’t think that was Michelle Williams.

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:22] Michelle Williams is from Destiny’s Child.

 

Niles Abston [00:57:23] No, not Michelle Williams, Destiny’s Child. Michelle Williams, actress.

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:27] White Michelle Williams?

 

Niles Abston [00:57:28] No. Light-skinned Michelle Williams.

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:31] There’s only two Michelle Williams!

 

Niles Abston [00:57:33] No, there’s not! I promise you. Vanessa Williams! My bad.

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:38] Oh, I said Vanessa Fox. That’s her.

 

Niles Abston [00:57:41] Her face was who I was thinking of.

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:43] I said Vivica Fox. It’s Vanessa Williams.

 

Niles Abston [00:57:44] Vivica Fox and Michelle Williams.

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:47] Together, we got there on that one.

 

Niles Abston [00:57:49] Yeah, because she was on Desperate Housewives for a second.

 

Ashley Ray [00:57:51] Yeah, she was the first African American to receive the Miss America title. But, yeah, they took away her crown for–I don’t know–she took a nude picture or something

 

Niles Abston [00:58:02] It sounds like an episode of The Idol or something.

 

Ashley Ray [00:58:05] Yeah. Yeah.

 

Niles Abston [00:58:06] No nominee for Tedros. That’s crazy.

 

Ashley Ray [00:58:08] I can’t believe The Idol didn’t get anything. Wow.

 

Niles Abston [00:58:13] I thought The Weeknd was going to get Best Actor.

 

Ashley Ray [00:58:15] I thought it would get, like, a Best Original Song, maybe.

 

Niles Abston [00:58:19] Really?

 

Ashley Ray [00:58:19] I mean, that one song is kind of a banger.

 

Niles Abston [00:58:23] “I’m just a freak–” It kind of goes hard. I’m not going to lie.

 

Ashley Ray [00:58:26] Oh, I was at a birthday party last week–

 

Niles Abston [00:58:28] And it played?

 

Ashley Ray [00:58:29] Oh, they played it, like, three times.

 

Niles Abston [00:58:34] It was supposed to be the hottest show of the summer.

 

Ashley Ray [00:58:35] The hottest show this summer. I thought at least they’d get a music nom. But Daisy Jones & The Six didn’t get a music nom.

 

Niles Abston [00:58:43] So none of the original music–?

 

Ashley Ray [00:58:45] None of the original music got nominated.

 

Niles Abston [00:58:47] I know a lot of people that, like, stream the music from the show.

 

Ashley Ray [00:58:49] I play Aurora so much. It is constantly at the top of my Spotify. I listen to that album once a week. I don’t understand how it did not get a nomination for any of its songs. Like, Academy, wake up. But again, this just goes back to my theory that Daisy Jones is a real band, so it wasn’t original music, and that is why they didn’t get nominated.

 

Niles Abston [00:59:11] I’m gonna go around telling people it’s a real band.

 

Ashley Ray [00:59:13] I tell people it’s a real band. I bought a Daisy Jones shirt. And when I was in New York, someone was like, “Is that a band?” And I was like, “Yes, they’re real. They’re from the ’60s.”

 

Niles Abston [00:59:20] I thought The Five Heartbeats was a real group for the longest time.

 

Ashley Ray [00:59:22] See?

 

Niles Abston [00:59:23] And I just thought Robert Townsend, like, quit doing music to be a director.

 

Ashley Ray [00:59:28] To be a director. And so, I’m telling people Daisy Jones is real. And that’s why the music wasn’t nominated–because it actually came out in the ’60s.

 

Niles Abston [00:59:36] Oh, so it’s a period piece, too?

 

Ashley Ray [00:59:38] Oh, yeah, It’s a period piece.

 

Niles Abston [00:59:39] I gotta go watch this.

 

Ashley Ray [00:59:40] It’s good.

 

Niles Abston [00:59:41] So, I gotta go watch Daisy Jones and… What was the other one? Fleish–?

 

Ashley Ray [00:59:45] Oh, yes, yes. Fleishman is in trouble. It is good. I enjoyed watching it. It is very, like, sad white people in therapy but…

 

Niles Abston [00:59:54] My favorite

 

Ashley Ray [00:59:54] Yeah, in a good way.

 

Niles Abston [00:59:56] I’m not trying to watch happy white people. I watch It’s Always Sunny already. I don’t need more of that.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:00] Yeah, exactly.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:02] Oh yeah, I’ve been watching that, too.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:02] Oh yeah.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:03] The new season of that.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:03] The new season is so good.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:04] I haven’t seen the one with Bryan Cranston in it yet. I’m saving that for, like, a day where I really need, like, a pick me up.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:10] It was probably my favorite episode of the season so far.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:13] It was that good?

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:13] But, like, I just can’t believe that the show’s been on this long and it’s still so good.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:16] And it’s still funny!

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:18] This last episode they did is about the gang, like, taking over, like, a fake Chuck E. Cheese, basically.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:24] That’s hilarious.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:25] And it’s… It, like, also in a way is them addressing, like, how they approach cancel culture and, like, how jokes have changed over all this time.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:32] Ohhh. I can’t wait.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:34] It really gets into it.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:35] My, like… I have this, like, crazy dream that one day there’s going to be an episode called “The Gang Goes to See Niles Abston Live.” So, like, I’m about to make some t-shirts that say that.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:44] You could make it happen! Danny’s your friend.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:46] Yeah, that’s the homie. That’s my friend.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:46] That’s the homie, right? So, get it going.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:50] And I know a couple of writers on the show.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:51] Okay.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:51] That’s, like, the dream. I’m about to start selling a shirt that says that “The Gang Goes to See Niles Abston Live.”

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:56] Yeah. Like, make it happen.

 

Niles Abston [01:00:57] It’s gonna be fun. I gotta make it happen.

 

Ashley Ray [01:00:58] Oh my God. Thank you so much for joining us.

 

Niles Abston [01:01:00] Thanks for having me for.

 

Ashley Ray [01:01:01] For breaking down these Emmy nominations for the people–the disappointments, the highs, the lows. Give us the plugs! Where can people find you? Where can they get tickets to your shows?

 

Niles Abston [01:01:12] Yeah. Please find me on Twitter @niles100 and on Instagram @thenilesabstonshow. And if you are in any of these cities–Baltimore on August 4th, Washington, D.C., August 5th, Philadelphia, August 6th, and New York City, August 11th–I will be there doing stand-up. If you hit me on social media, go to the link in my bio. All the tickets are there. Please come see me.

 

Ashley Ray [01:01:37] And I know I got listeners in all those cities, so do it.

 

Niles Abston [01:01:39] Please do. I haven’t released the tickets yet, but I’ll be in Portland in September and Vancouver on 9/11.

 

Ashley Ray [01:01:46] Oh. Never forget.

 

Niles Abston [01:01:48] Why not go to Canada? I’ve never been to Canada before, so I was like, “Why not?”

 

Ashley Ray [01:01:50] Neither have I. Neither have I. That’s our way of saying, “What’s up, Montreal?”

 

Niles Abston [01:01:54] Exactly. Yeah, I’m not going to Montreal, so…

 

Ashley Ray [01:01:57] Neither am I. So we won’t be at Montreal, but we will be doing shows elsewhere.

 

Niles Abston [01:02:03] Come see me. I’m pretty good, I’d have to say.

 

Ashley Ray [01:02:05] Thank you so much for joining us. For your homework, I’m going to ask you to catch up on Dark side of the Ring because this new season has been really good, and I need you to get into it because I want to talk about it. And I’m going to bring some wrestling people on the show, I think, so we can do that. Yeah, I want to do a wrestling episode. I’m telling my producer right now. We’re doing a wrestling episode. And after that, I’m going to ask you to watch Ten Year Old Tom, which is on Max. No one is talking about this amazing season that came out. And also, Righteous Gemstones. Please go watch the new season of Righteous Gemstones, a show that should have been nominated. I don’t know what the Academy has against Danny McBride. He made someone angry at some point in time because they do not want to give him awards. But what Righteous Gemstones is accomplishing this season–I want to write about it. I want to talk about it. So, we’re going to do that. That’s your homework. Really quick list today. I mean, come on, you already have enough things that the Academy is making you watch because you haven’t heard of them, but they got nominated. I guess I need to watch the last season of The Crown still. Yeah, that’s on me. But that’s your homework. Thanks so much for listening. We’ll be back next week with another episode. TV, I Say with Ashley Ray is an Earwolf production made by me, Ashley Ray-Harris. It’s engineered by Abby Aguilar, produced by Scott Sonne, executive produced by Amelia Chappelow. And our original theme song is by RaFia. It means so much to me if you go rate, review, subscribe. Follow TV, I Say. Let us know what you think and tell your friends. Share with your Golden Girls. Tell your Boys. If you love my TV recommendations, let everyone you know know. For special TV Club members, join my Patreon.