Subscribe to This Podcast: An Exclusive Interview with The Gossip Guys

gossipguysWho else loved to watch the weekly exploits of privileged teens, Blair, Serena, Chuck, and Nate?  Fans of the hit series Gossip Girl can re-live the scandals and heartbreak through the Gossip Guys podcast every Monday. Recently, I spoke with Gossip Guys hosts Andy Greene and Aaron Davitian about their show and more. You can follow them via Twitter 

How did two guys decide on doing a show about Gossip Girl?

Andy: Aaron and I met at a UCB improv class, and we bonded over our shared love of sports and teen dramas, which is a very unique blend for two dudes.

Aaron: After class ended, we went to UCB shows every week and brainstormed ways we could work together.

Andy: I really wanted to do my own podcast. I’d done guest work before, and I liked our dynamic. Aaron and I couldn’t be more different, but we still get along. We thought two guys talking and analyzing what is perceived as a “girly” show would be funny. This was before Gilmore Guys.

Aaron: We rattled through different shows and names, and looked for shows that didn’t already have huge and existing podcasts, and for a show that was easy to stream. Beverly Hills 90210 (the original), was my all-time favorite, but Gossip Girl was my millennial favorite. And it was on Netflix.

Andy: I had never seen the show but knew I’d like it, and that created the dynamic of Aaron being the shepherd of Teen Drama-dom, guiding me along through a show that he had seen three times, had flown to NY to do his own Gossip Girl tour…

Aaron: And then we couldn’t come up with a name that wasn’t Gossip Guys, which is so similar to Gilmore Guys, which at that point had started.  So we just went with it.

 How often do your new episodes drop?

Andy: New episodes drop on iTunes and Android very Monday.

Aaron: That’s when Gossip Girl aired on The CW.

Andy: It’s also the start of a new week of school!

Aaron: Not that any of these characters actually go to school.

 How often do you record?

Andy: It varies. When we’re in-season, we record at least one a week, sometimes two.

Aaron: I think we did like 4 one week.

Andy: That was brutal. But also, you kind of get in a groove, and it felt good to have so many banked.

How do you decide on the guests?

Aaron: At first, we didn’t have any guests…

Andy: It wasn’t until Episode 14 until we had our first guest. I think that’s the podcast rule, right? Wait 13 episodes before changing your format?  We wanted to figure out our rapport before bringing someone else into this mess. Then we had my friend and fellow improviser Agata on, who had her own podcast (Trends with Benefits), it went great, and we wanted to do more.

Aaron: We chose friends that loved the show that were also improvisers. But it’s not always that. Andy gets them at parties.

Andy: I met an actress at a friend’s birthday party, and she was in our latest episode, “In the Realm of the Basses.”

Aaron: Now we do guests every other episode.

Andy: For season 3, we’re going to reach out to the awesome TV podcast community and bring them on. We look for people with a social media presence, podcast experience, and most importantly, a love for Gossip Girl and teen drama.

Aaron: On May 2’s episode we’ll have our first actress from the show, Emma Demar, who a minion from season 1, on the pod. We’re going to explore that avenue as well.

What are your favorite episodes of the series?

Andy: Well, for me, I haven’t watched the show all the way through. That’s kind of the concept. So I don’t know yet! But thus far, the first season Thanksgiving episode “Blair Waldorf Must Pie!” was fantastic, and I’d also throw in “Victor/Victrola.” The pilot’s super impressive. The show knew what it was from the word go.

Aaron: Season 1: “Blair Waldorf Must Pie,” “Woman on the Verge.” Season 2: “The Age of Dissonance.” Season 3: “Last Tango, Then Paris.” And the series finale, “New York, I Love You xoxo.”

Andy: That’s a terrifyingly long gap in-between favorite episodes at the end.

What are your least favorite episodes?

Aaron: Anything with Vanessa. (laughs). 

Andy: The start of season 2. “Summer Kind of Wonderful” and “Never Been Marcused” were dark days, and “Dark Night” wasn’t much better.

Who’s your favorite couple in the series?

Aaron: Rufus and Lily. They deserve it. They’ve suffered so much. Twenty years…

Andy: Wrong. It’s Chair. Chuck and Blair. Or Dan and Nate.

Who’s your favorite character in the series?

Aaron: Chuck Bass. Obviously.

Andy: It was Dan in season 1 before they ruined him. Blair’s had a rough season 2, but I think it’s her right now, and I think she’s only going to get more entertaining.

When you’re not recording Gossip Guys, what are some other podcasts you listen to?

Andy: So many. Canon. WTF. You Must Remember This. My roommate’s podcast Tom Hanksgiving, which I guest on from time to time. The Writer’s Panel. Rachel/Jay & Miles X-Plain the X-Men (I’m so behind).

Aaron: Shipping Room, Ted Talks, Tom Hanksgiving, Around the Horn.

What makes your podcast stand out from the other Gossip Girl podcasts out there?

Andy: There are other Gossip Girl podcasts out there?

Aaron: We haven’t listened to a single one.

Andy: How many Gossip Girl podcasts are hosted by two guys? (laughs). 

Aaron: How many act out fan fiction? (laughs). 

Andy: Erotic fan fiction, no less.

Aaron: How many play Never Have I Ever?

Andy: Like we said, when we were picking a show, we looked for a show that didn’t have any huge podcasts already out there. We wanted to be the first. Or at least the most unique. Hopefully, we achieved that.

Is there a dream guest that you’d love to have on the podcast?

Aaron: I have this dream about Blair and Serena… (laughs).

Andy: Are you sure it’s not Rufus and Lily?

Aaron: It might be with all of them.

Andy: Gross. I think our dream is to have any or all of the main ensemble cast on the show.

Aaron: That would be so cool.

Andy: I don’t even know how we’d do that. But yeah. Getting Blake Lively, Ed Westwick, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley and Chace Crawford on the show is the dream.

Aaron: My real dream is to live like Chuck Bass.

Andy: Which will totally happen with all our future podcast riches.

Any funny stories while recording?

Aaron: I’m usually high so I can’t remember anything that stands out. But Andy showed up drunk one time. It was for our season finale too.

Andy: My most shameful moment. I had an alumni party during the day and got a little out of hand. I was a mess. I tried watching the show to prep…

Aaron: And I told him it wasn’t happening that night. I’ve never seen someone look so sad. He looked at me and asked, “Did I screw up?”

Andy: I definitely did. I’ll never live that down, and I deserve to hold that pain forever.

Aaron: He’s so dramatic.

What advice would you give to new podcasters?

Aaron: Don’t drink and podcast. (laughs).

Andy: Wait 14 episodes before having a guest. Don’t be afraid to change the formula.

Aaron: Record on a couch.

Andy: It’s so comfortable!

 

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