Patrick J. Adams on the Making of ‘The Madison.’ Plus, ‘The Pitt’ S2E12 and a TV News Roundup.

>> I didn't suppose to have to clear the room.

>> Stand up and walk now. >> Hello and welcome to the watch. My name is Chris Ryan. I am an editor at thewringer.com. And joining me in the studio very little going on this week.

It's Eddie Greenwald. >> How are you? >> I'm doing good, brother. >> Happy opening day. >> Good to see you.

>> We represent just the beauty of baseball. And the national pastime here. >> I thought for sure we were going to get a Philly's hat today to celebrate opening day. But, you know what happens if you cut my arm open?

Blades Philly's red. >> That happens to everyone. >> That's amazing. >> When it comes to hats, I like to mix it up a little bit. We've talked about this.

“>> Do you think that you are like eagle eyed viewers?”

Because we have viewers now of the podcast. Do you think they're aware that you've been subtly spelling out a message with letters in your test? >> No, that's what I've been saying. >> That's the message I've been signaling with my hands.

>> It's less or less a month and a day on the watch. We're going to talk about the pit. We're going to talk about top chef. We have a special guest from the Madison Patrick Adams. >> You're to hear to clear some things up.

>> I feel pretty like I got the plot of the Madison. I got it. >> Yeah. >> That's all clear to me. It's not like Paradise.

Which we will be talking about on Monday after it's season finale. >> Can't wait. >> A couple of things at the top to discuss news and notes wise. The Harry Potter trailer did drop. >> Yes.

>> Kind of unexpectedly. I was unexpected for you. >> No. >> Okay. >> Thank you.

“Nor was it unexpected to many because yesterday was the HBO Max launch event for UK and Ireland.”

>> Sorry. I was reading the Financial Times. They mentioned it there. >> And for those people, I know that you are mostly -- >> FT.

We were just focused on other things. >> You mostly travel by waymo these days, but have you taken public transportation in any of the major cities you would have seen? Or they were the best platforms. >> I travel by waymo, but a higher guide to sit in the front seat just to make it normal.

>> Just to be like, how's the temperature for you, sir? >> Would you like the ox cord, my friend? >> Yeah. >> That's great. >> Yeah.

>> I was not surprised. Also, I'm buying on. Why are you paying more attention that members of the cast posted tomorrow? >> Okay. >> Great.

It's coming at Christmas of this year. >> Yes, that was news. >> Okay. >> That's crazy. I think my relationship to you being over there is, you know, obviously you're part of the writing

staff and it's been a huge deal for you and it's -- >> And for my frequent flyer miles. >> And for your frequent flyer miles. >> Which I can't wait to use an airport soon. >> When you go to George Bush airport news, didn't --

>> I wanted to go through the trailer frame by frame and ask you if you were responsible for each scene.

“>> I think that's the only way we should be covering the show.”

>> I don't you have any observations or do you have any reflections or any statements you'd want to make? >> I'm -- >> To me, this is all new. >> Yeah. >> Like, I've watched Harry Potter movies over other dudes' shoulders on airplanes or in bars when they're on YouTube.

>> Just two adults staring at children becoming visitors. >> Just two adults staring at children becoming visitors. >> Fuck is wrong with me. >> I was at a bar. >> Two people.

>> One last year and I was like, "Damn, this is pretty interesting." >> But it's obviously what's it like seeing the stuff on screen? >> At the bar, were they showing one of the later films when they're like a little more mature? >> Now, they seem pretty young. >> Wow.

>> I guess they're always young, right?

>> It's not like the old potters to us. >> Yeah, right. >> They'll stop giving good ideas away for free. >> Didn't they make an old Potter or a Potter has a kid? >> Isn't that the play?

>> This should be our podcast for the next year and a half. >> I don't think so. >> The play is, yes, many years later and the children of the first generation. >> Okay. >> Let's start going off to Hogwarts and maybe let's make you more interested.

Harry Sun is sorted into slithering. Do you like those words? >> In that order? >> I never got that. I never understood what that stuff was.

>> Well, you've got nine months to catch up. >> Okay. >> And I have to say I really appreciated your enthusiasm about the trailer for a property that you have at this point. >> Well, I will say the corny part out loud, which is like when you see work that your friends have done come to life, it's pretty cool. >> Thank you.

>> That's how I felt about CR month. >> It was the same thing.

>> It was basically the same.

>> It means the same to the Warner Brothers Discovery Corporation. >> It's possible. >> Yeah, it was extremely exciting. I'll just say that I thought, as we go through this, like in everybody knows, I am a consulting producer on the show. I am not the showrunner.

I am not involved in the decision making and I am not privy to like the cuts of the trailer. >> Sure. I was seeing it for the first time and I was really pleasantly surprised because there was footage that I had seen and involved in and there was things that I had never seen before but was happy to see. And the thing that I was most excited about about the trailer was that it did seem to communicate some of the central tenants of what Francesca wants to do with the property and what we want the show to be.

>> If you had been responsible for the trailer, if you were the decision maker, would you have used J. Roose come clean as the music for Harry?

>> Oh, in the beginning. >> Yeah. >> No, I mean, Hans Zimmer is doing the score but I would have done some of his doon work over the trailer. Just like the real real blaring stuff. No, I thought the kids look great and there's a lot more to unfold. I don't know, what else can I should I say?

>> Nothing. >> I mean, it's coming out. >> Christmas of this year, you know, it's a very Christmas Eve. >> I'm sure like more will emerge. It was cool to see Papa Sadeo, I thought that's mostly my relationship to the show, I guess, at this point.

>> Other than the Lithgow, right? >> Mm-hm. >> And it frosts also seen genomic tear, saw her. >> Right. >> So randomly got served a scene of her death in another TV series.

>> Oh, yeah.

“>> Because of your interest in the Harry Potter trailer?”

>> No, it was like I saw, it was like a prompt of like sickest needle drops and her death. >> And it was John Williams, Harry Potter score over her death in, I don't know. >> No, I don't want to show the death since I care like don't story. >> But it's a funny story. >> Do you want anything else you want to say about the Potter stuff?

>> No. >> I'm excited to, I'm excited to have it out there. >> And I'm excited for Christmas back in London. >> Are you going to be there for Christmas? >> I will be introducing the show to the world, yes.

I know I just sort of -- >> To the premiere would be theoretically in London at Christmas. >> Yes, and all the principles have decided that better to introduce the entire project to the world than a podcast. >> The world's American.

>> The world's American. >> On the internet. >> Yeah. >> Let's talk a little bit about something that happened right as we were finishing. What was -- I thought a solid show for us on Monday.

>> I always feel like it's a little bit like in a way game when we're in a different studio with a different series.

>> And didn't we do Monday was like, let's talk about a bunch of different shows? >> Yeah. >> Right. >> I thought it was a good show. >> It was fine.

>> It's here.

“>> Now I'm turning it down a little bit.”

But as we were leaving that day, it was announced something that -- >> There's some news here. >> Indeed. >> It had been out there. >> It was.

>> It was. >> Which is that. >> Mahershallah Ali, one of my favorite actors, is joining the cast of task for season two. >> Say the name of this character. Do you have it in front of you?

>> Yeah, sure, do you do. >> It's cool as hell. >> He is going to play, quote, "Eddie Barnes described as a season. And well-respected DEA agent in Philadelphia whose team comes to agree and to conflict with Tom's unit." >> This is the same energy I saw on the Harry Potter on HBO subreddit yesterday.

Like we all have our fandoms. And Mahershallah Ali playing a guy from Philadelphia called Eddie Barnes is pretty much our love language. >> The thing I wanted to point out other than the fact that this is so great to see Mahershallah get a role that he will obviously be syncing his teeth into. Is teeth in too since he did not get to see syncing his teeth into anything. >> Yes, come on.

>> Look at us, that was pathetic. >> Cut that. >> Actually, what are we doing?

“>> No, it's like a fucking cool like predator guy.”

>> Here we go. >> Blade has been in this sort of development hall. I don't know what kind of schedule holds it put on his time. The only real thing that popped off for him. I'm going to say since like true DEA three.

>> Yeah. It was a little drastic. >> Yeah, little brain that. >> Yeah, and he's like that was cool. >> Good in it, but it's a weird like, that's an Oscar winning actor man.

What's going on? And so it's awesome that he's going to be doing this. And it's also a great zag for task to be probably making the oppositional force of Tom. >> Mm-hm. >> Another law enforcement agent.

>> Mm-hm. >> You know what I mean? And it's going to get interesting. >> Are you saying all comes? >> I'm dying Philadelphia stuff.

>> All cops aren't buddies. That's right. >> Is that what that stands for? >> Damn. >> That's tough.

Now you like that one. You're a cab joke so pretty, buddy. Good because they're right. I'm dancing on the edge. >> Yeah.

>> You never know which way I'm going to go with him.

>> I mean, like, those wars, you know, I guess a cab gets come, comes off. But we want to, it's a lot of bastards out there. >> So you don't want to just like limit them to the one. >> Exactly.

>> I don't know. It's a limiting. So any other thoughts on this? >> No, it's just exciting. I mean, it also potentially is proof of concept for why task is not going series,

which is that they can attract really a list talent to come play in this sandbox for presumably one season runs, or maybe one, and then you come back in a sort of like, you know, we don't know the terms of his deal. But I would imagine that he is not joining the show to become the new Tom Pellefrey,

>> No, I would imagine it.

“>> But they're building a pantheon of characters and worlds within the setting of the show”

that could be revisited depending how long it runs. >> And then Sir Kristen Cole gets out of the, the being at the end of season two and he could be the big bag of season three, or the good guy for season three. You know, there's a lot of opportunities here.

I also think it's some point not that he would probably do it. But if the concept of the show is durable enough, rough look would leave in one way or another, and you could have two different characters. I mean, it doesn't have to be an anthology for it to change a lot.

>> No, I mean, the star of the show is basically the wall-wide diaspora.

>> That's right. >> So like, as long as you can get a hogey within spitting distance of where the characters live, they can be the stars of the show. >> I didn't really have that much more for you on the news side of things, but I did want to ask if you saw the war of the rings news this week.

>> Yes. Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that. >> So it's like, some sort of lower the ring celebration or anniversary this week, or there's like war to the next day? >> Some sort.

Like, couldn't be me who definitely have no idea what's going on. >> What was it in the financial times? >> It wasn't. >> They were writing about it in an alphabet. >> I mean, the price of gold is fluctuating,

so thus the one ring may have gone up in value. >> But Peter Jackson did some straight-to-camera video stuff on social media,

and he was like, yeah, Andy Circus's movie is going pretty well.

The hunt for gallum. We discussed that. >> We sure did. >> And he was like, little surprise. And he patches in the co-writer of another Lord of the Rings movie that is in development.

And it's Stephen Fuck and Colbert. >> Yes. >> And it turns out Stephen Colbert really likes chapters four through eight of Fellowship of the Ring, which aren't really in the movie Fellowship of the Ring, so he's like, what if we did that?

>> Is that all like the Tom Bombadil chapters? >> Yeah. I can fucking get it. Now you put me on an ice flow and set me out and started shooting arrows at me, like a Viking when I knew.

>> What are Vikings called? >> Middle Earth. >> Middle Earth. >> Those guys are dwarves, right? >> You talked to your people about that.

I don't know. >> Does Gimli and all those guys see? >> This is the thing. You can't pin me down. >> Well.

>> You don't know where I'm at. >> This is, honestly. >> I only like the chapters in this book about the little, minstrel. >> Do you really?

>> No, I'm just trying to zag. >> Okay. Because I'm having my reaction to this news is closer to what you were like, why are they hunting for Gollum when they just hunt for Gollum for four five movies? And for three movies.

And that's my reaction to this, which is I know that there are LOTR fans who are Tom Bombadil is actually,

“and I don't really know if that's how you say his last name.”

>> When you say like in 1984, Philly's left fielder who platoon's left, right? >> Like what? >> No, he doesn't. He sounds like a rapper who hung out with like a buckshot and like the rest of the gang. >> Black moon.

>> Like show an AG Tom Bombadil drop a knowledge. >> He apparently, I have read the books. And since he's not in the movies, I'm not certain about this. But he's like the counterweight to soar on, right? >> He's Tom, I thought he was just like a dude with a band track.

>> Because the whole thing is at one point he puts the ring on and nothing happens.

>> Because he's powerful.

>> Oh, I thought it was because he chose himself. He doesn't need to get married. Tom chose Tom. >> I'm wondering, I guess this could be a 90 minute movie. I doubt it, but it could be like a tight, interesting little like slice of life with a bit of,

who was this guy and, you know, what do he mean to this world? But child Stephen Colbertman, he is not going to be hosting the late show. >> Much longer. >> Much longer, but he is going to be writing a Lord of the Rings. >> Do you want to weigh in on, there was an interesting Daniel de Dario wrote an interesting piece in Variety about Stephen Colbert's

“victory lap of a final season and how it was sort of becoming hurtling, hurtling a little bit?”

I don't know if you had any feelings about that. >> I haven't seen it, I haven't seen a single second of it to be honest. >> This is like someone... >> Well, I mean like curdling how is he like... >> He sounds like the federal judge is testifying front of the set.

The nominees, just like, who won the 2020 election? And you're like, I haven't seen it. >> Yeah, I read the fight-up to the title. >> I know, I have no idea, is it different than the way it was in 2017? >> Right, I mean, I think the thing is that because of the political nature of what happened

and that he's had this long runway to be, I think, right, justly, agrived. >> Sure, all of the guests who have come on, including the star of HBO's upcoming Harry Potter Show, John Lithgow, are just using their time on the show to just glaze him and like, Lithgow wrote a poem about like the rapier wit of Sir Stephen, you know, and all this and how like the scared orange man ran.

>> It's a miracle that this is not a popular thing with the most of America.

It's like, it is, because you, this is- >> I'm a cobert as well, right?

Like it is, this is show does pretty, pretty well. >> I think it all does pretty well, I think it's expensive.

“I think that people who are old, like us, remember Johnny Carson's last week.”

I mean, we didn't watch, they have to watch Johnny Carson, but do you remember what a big deal that was- >> I do, I remember the election. >> For the election. >> We, like, that midler came on and sang him a song and he was like, you know, crying. But that was like four days after 30 years.

>> Yeah. >> So it is a little bit of a long. Anyway, I'm glad he's going to do something. He's a very smart, very talented guy. >> Yeah.

>> And it seems like a passion for it. >> He is co-writing this with his son. >> That's nice. >> And with a long time, Lord of the Rings screenwriter, co-screener, or philipopoins.

>> What do you think, how do you think philip is feeling about that?

Like, trying to be the third wheel in a man and his son doing their dream?

>> Well, I think he's probably, like, how do we make these, like, I think she's trying to work on, like, making the chapters that are intentionally, like, the beginning of a journey, have a mid, first, a middle, a beginning of middle and end. >> What? And I don't want to put you on the spot here, but I will.

Of your favorite works of literature, which three chapters would you like to adapt into a film? Like, for me, I would say it's chapters 36 through 41 of Larry McMurtrie's Texasville. You know, just the rest of it, you kind of get it. But there's no good answer. It's just kind of all wild.

>> No, no. >> My answers are really disturbing. There are like parts of bloodboready in their own film.

“>> But you and your 15-year-old ward would adapt it together?”

>> My boy. >> There's kind of a 15-year-old ward in Bloodmurdeen. >> Is that a little bit longer? >> It would give you the idea. >> It's like the same's great, the judge and his kid.

>> There's one other thing, I don't know. We mentioned that Danielle Deadweiler is going to be the star of the exfiles reboot. >> Yes. >> Do you see her co-star was announced this morning? >> No.

>> Himesh Patel. >> That's great. >> We like a lot of from sensationalism. >> I saw that Jillian Anderson is like, it's going to be really fucking cool. >> Nice of her.

Didn't have to do that. >> Yeah. I think that those two have like a good relationship to exfiles. >> Yeah, I mean, the company has been silent about it. >> But because he talked about who's going to win the MVP in the NBA,

I mean, he's a pretty silent guy. >> Do you think? >> I don't think he has like a pod where he's just like tonight. >> My takes on. >> Tom Bombadil.

>> The TSA. >> Tom Bombadil. >> Did we talk about, I mean, we'll have time to talk about this.

“But like, do you have we established on the pod where we are with exfiles?”

I think we've talked about it. >> Yeah, is this interesting to you? >> Yeah, it's pretty good.

>> Honestly, I probably, first of all,

I was a little bit more of a millennium guy. >> That is such a neat, you take. >> And then I have had two runs, not complete runs through expiles. >> Yeah. >> But my wife and I did the lure cut.

>> Basically, once where you basically watch the alien version of it. All the continuing stuff. >> Yeah. >> And then there are like just like the top 15 monster of the week. >> And you see what Vince Gilligan was capable of.

>> Yeah. >> And then it's just like, oh damn. And everybody, practically everyone who worked on that show is like of note. >> I think it's very cool. I think we should also 100% go.

When this show comes out, we should do a podcast where you're like the only true text with Millennium. And I could come back with actually the lone gunman spin off. >> I don't think either of those shows are available to watch. >> We should just talk about them.

>> Okay. >> I think I would drive interest. But I think it's exciting. And I'm curious to see the path that considering two of this year's best director nominees were both involved in the very delicate and purposeful rebooting of beloved 90s

early 2000s television shows. We know what happened with Chloe Jows. And so I'm curious to see what happens with Kuqler's X5. [MUSIC] >> You can say it.

>> Yeah. >> But you can't say that. >> Egal. [MUSIC] >> That's right.

>> Save. >> What do we talk about? >> Yeah. >> Why don't we talk about a bowl of show that's on right now. Spoilers for this evening's episode of the pit, which is six p.m.

>> I believe it's six p.m. And I think the tenor of the episode is set early on when someone says, "Smoke him if you got him, this place is going tits up." >> Yeah, Santos says that. >> Yeah.

>> This was another banger, even with the very like stilted turns to camera and says, "Well, you know, emphysema is a rising cause of death in the senior citizen community moments. It's really coming together, man. And I am really impressed with what they are doing with Robby.

Because for as much as obviously there is a kind of parroso relationship with TV characters, there's pretty common phenomena on these days and people being like,

but it's also compelling television and it's fiction. So you can stand at arm's length and watch it. I didn't really get it.

Maybe in the first few episodes or not not get it.

But I was like, "What's this interesting? Like, what are they going to do and how are they going to land this with him?"

“And I think what I said and get it, I was like, "Well, he's come in.”

Everybody is immediately keyed into this helmet thing and this motorcycle trip." But what you don't really see or what doesn't really become apparently for a few episodes is the lack of his loss of his warm touch. That this ability to take somebody aside and make them feel okay, or make them feel better, or share, or be vulnerable,

or talk about like, "Here we do a moment of silence and we do a debrief. And all these things is a teaching hospital." All the stuff that was like, obviously principles of the hospital that he had internalized and made part of his character, essentially. He lost, he's lost it. He is a guy steam rolling through his last work day

and is making everybody around him pretty miserable. Including people that he's trying to help like Duke, who he's brought in and insists on him getting a scan so that Robbie can leave. Because now there's obviously a ton of speculation about to what extent Robbie is leaving and what plane of existence he is leaving

and several characters or at least Dana pretty specifically is like you are giving off like last will and testament vibes pretty much. It was nice to see that some of the characters on season two of the pit

“seem to be watching season two of the pit.”

This is what that's a very succinct way of the long way of what I just said. Yeah. Santos says something Dana goes right at him. I really like Santos is, I feel like I missed typed it, but something about like a grand ego death.

And Robo Dock over there shooting her in the proverbial dick. Yeah. Yeah, that's a pretty, she should be a podcaster. It's pretty good. During the first eight or nine weeks of the show,

it seemed like you and many people, myself included, were waiting for the other shoot to drop in terms of the big event and was going to royal the ED. And that part of that may have been just what the show had taught us to expect that if they were going to choose a day,

they'd choose an exceptional day, probably due to some thing beyond any expectation of what an emergency department can expect to handle. So it's a mass shooting in the first season. And this season sets us up to believe there's going to be something because people are, it's incredibly hot.

People are gathering for the festivities for the holiday. We have seen some fireworks related incidents. There's the looming cyber attack that actually,

this episode reminds us, never came.

They just shut themselves down to avoid it. In the last two weeks, the storyline that has emerged as the central story of this season is Robby's internal combustion combustion. And I'm wondering how you feel about,

it seems like you're feeling positively about it. But the way that the show, I don't know if it ropa-doped us or just lulled us into expecting one thing and then suddenly receiving another. But do you feel like your engagement of the show

is at the same level that it was last year and how is this resolved? You're feeling about the first part of the season. Great question. Thank you.

“I think that there's a way in which this,”

what they're doing on the second season is a great leap forward

and a great example of how this show is going to be able to iterate and move forward and do five, six, seven, ten seasons however many they want to do. That being said, the Robby bullet is in some ways the same kind of caliber of bullet of a mass casualty event.

You know how many times going forward on the series, they're going to be able to do winding Robby up and having them come apart over the course of a day. So it's an interesting gambit that they're doing at this early and what I think we would all assume

is at least going to be a four season run, right? I mean, I think the nature of the show, I know I turned to camera less weak and I was like Robby is not leaving the pit or not dying on the pit. In a perfect world, the pit isn't just like a reboot

of a broadcast network style show. They want this to run for ten years. So I would imagine in success this show will outlive, not literally, but many of its characters. Well, even, you know, and that was one of the cool things I thought about

this episode was as the night shift started coming on and you see Matteo and you see a homeboy with a coffee that's just the greatest triage nurse of all time. He's a doctor. Yeah.

You're like, oh yeah. And then when Matteo says to Javadi, like you should join the night shift, it's like the dark side of the show. Yeah, the dark side.

It's sitting right there for them to do that.

whether you'd want to make season through the night shift or whether you'd want to spin it off and do the pit night shift. This seems like a very carefully written important show to the people who are writing it.

I don't know if they're ready to franchise it yet. Yeah. But there's so many different directions as it can go in as what I'm saying. It's Dr. Shen, by the way. Dr. Shen.

I feel good about it.

“You know, I was glad actually when I think Alshimi says”

the other two hospitals have paid the ransom and we're going to have our defenses up soon. Did you like that she knew that with her own internal Wi-Fi? She was like, hold on. I have a signal.

Well, I'm pretty easy date when it comes to this show. Well, she is doing the part. She has taken on part of Robby's job and responsibilities and personality and that she is quite calm and seems to be very comfortable conducting and teaching.

Like I've in a profess, a professorial vibe and role and that seems to be working with a lot of the younger doctors and residents. Yeah. I think if you think about the potentials, if it's an HBO Max show,

but it's an HBO show in many ways. And an HBO show is nothing if it doesn't have a morally complicated and conflicted male lead. And one of the challenges to probing and exploring Robby as a main character, not just as the engine that makes the entire show go,

is that as a doctor, he is essentially flawless. Through, I don't know how many episodes has been 15 plus 9s or 24 episodes, he is, I don't think he's ever made a mistake or a misdiagnosis. Other than the slash trick, there's nothing he hasn't seen before.

Right.

“So if you accept that, and I think there might be hopefully room to poke”

at that in future seasons, what you needed to do in this season was to give him the runway to experience what a crash would be without the temporary high of a crisis.

The first season was about him walking in on a day that was going to be

very traumatic for him and memories of COVID and of his mentor. And then in a, as about say, strange way, but I don't think it's strange at all, the day gave him something that he almost needed to not deal with the trauma. It gave him a different mountain to climb,

and he could focus on the thing that he's been focusing on for his whole life, because what's in front of him is opposed to what's behind him. The, the smart character misdirected this season is we all thought that there was, it was going to happen again. And in fact, what's happening is this season winds down is,

he could go now. He could go. It seems. And he is not going. Well, this is the, the best scene of the episode to me,

very on the nose, but the pit is a very direct show in a lot of ways. Was the Dana Robby confrontation outside? Mom and dad are fighting.

Well, her just being like, I always like when there's a hierarchy to a television show,

but then it gets broken by the characters of the TV show itself. Robby is the main character of the pit, but I liked the fact that Dana reminded him and the viewers that in real hospitals, these places and these institutions have to keep running for as long as they can, wither without the heroes, the main characters.

Which is awesome. And the fact that she's like, it's still here without Adamson. It'll be here without you. It'll be here without me. Like, which is what we said about ER when Dr. Green and Dr. Ross left.

Right. And it's so it's just like, to basically, if ego death is what you're looking for, like, you can get it here. You know?

And I really liked that confrontation that they had. It seems like I would be curious to know whether or not Dana and Robby's relationship

is something that they have basically gotten feedback about like Catherine Linesa

being who she is and being as popular as she is. And then like we need to make Dana his foil. Yes.

“Well, I think that there isn't that there's the potential for this to be the case,”

but in the early episodes of season one, it's not necessarily a given that these are the two main characters, that these are the two pillars of the show, the North and South Pole who you're rooting for. And what's uniquely interesting about that relationship

is that we have no idea if they have ever spoken socially in their lives. If they have ever hung out, if they ever have a different valence of their communication. Like, can they chill out and talk about the pirates? Right.

And so this scene was particularly interesting because they were going at each other with the level of energy and frenzy that exists in the emergency room.

but in that scene thinking about what they were like together in that moment, it had me wishing that if we ever get another beers in the park moment, like we did at the end of the season one,

could we see what they'd or is it better for actually finally having a television show

where work family isn't really family, it's just work. I wanted to talk about the off ramp of this season,

“because I believe there's like four episodes left, three episodes left.”

What number was this? It's 6pm, but now they're past shift now. Like every- This is episode 11. Is that right?

Yeah. So we have three episodes left, let's say. Four. What about a bonus episode like Stranger Things, which I know the powers that be you're still denying,

but the real head's known to us. I was pretty bummed out that Sorrow went out of business because I was almost done assembling my, but Stranger Things, you're super cut. Wow.

They didn't even leave back home. They didn't even leave back home. Hi, I asked you off the record. How did we cast Bombadill? How did I cast him?

Colorblind. I have Shrek playing him. That's so sick.

So Scottish representation, finally.

In the first season they're like, "We're going to finish the mass casualty event. We're going to tidy up. We're going to take a look at Pittsburgh from the roof and from the park.

And now we're going to go home. I don't know when these guys are getting off work. Like Santos has their paperwork to do. Joy kind of ostentatiously. Joy left.

Put up boundaries. Classic green while move there. To be like- One million percent. I'm off the clock.

I respected the hell out of you. Did you really? Yes. God, you're such a zoo. I know.

I'm the younger voice in this podcast. It's just like- Then- Then- Like, do you really want to be a doctor then?

Yes. She doesn't want to be an emergency room doctor. I got- that's been abundantly clear. I like her character a lot, but that was very funny. It was also sort of an abrupt like-

Is this a sag thing like they didn't want to pay her for extra. No.

“I think they are really leaning into something”

that we are not used to seeing, which is a complete lack of sentimentality. But like- I'm going to take a nap for four hours. So, goodbye.

And we don't know if he's coming back. I assume he's coming back because of his prominence in the show. And, you know, the night shift and all that. Yeah. But nurse Jesse might be out for- might be gone.

And I think this is another example of how nimble they are. They know that the show is going to be running for multiple seasons. They know that they have opportunities to give all of these actors and these characters more room to grow. But they're- and because they know that,

they're kind of being savages. And they're using something that they didn't intend, which is the departure of Dr. Collins to be permanent, like, if you're not disturbed forever. But they're using the audience's surprise,

but that to their advantage. Because now there's a sense in the casual fan of, like, Jesse might just get remanded to a different country.

But we may never see her again.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It does make me think that if I ever get into, like, a car accident or something, I wanted to happen at, like, around six.

Like, get the fresh blood for me. First of all, but also, like, cool maybe, like, some of my fanfaves are still on the artwork. So they're bringing you in. And you're like, "Oh, thank God, Dr. Shen."

I bet you're still on that first dunky's high. That guy loves his- That's so interesting.

“You should do an RFK junior, Dr. Shen thing.”

Dr. Shen loves dunking donuts. Does RFK love dunking donuts? No. You don't- Have you not been reading the news?

Oh, I'm sorry. Financial news only for you. Things go well for your portfolio. Yeah. He was, like, you're having a COVID.

There's a lot of opportunity. He was, like, you can't call this milk in this. - In this, what are you talking about? - Just shut the fuck up and try and fix some other problems. - Oh, you're not gonna meet. - No, him.

But he's worried about Duncan Donut's milk. - Yes. - 'Cause of this, like, creamer, like, the flavored splashes that they put in there. - I can't think of a single bigger problem in America right now. - Honestly, you know what I mean?

- You know what I mean? - Yeah. - Is when you go to Dunk, and you get a fucking hazelnut infused, whatever. Like, let people do what they want. - Yeah. - You know, we used to feel that way in this country.

- What are you about? - Other shit. - I think this is real. - Don't look at Donut's. - Do that to camera. - Hands off. (laughs) - Send this clip to Bill.

(laughs) - Because he loves RFK, because he loves Duncan. - We're from Boston. - And I thought that would help. - I had no idea RFK was coming for Duncan Donut's. - Oh yeah, yeah.

- I mean, first, first, Duncan Donut. - That being said. - Sweet cream is nice. - That being said. - It's like, I don't wanna invalidate any, like, contractual obligations I have to sweet cream,

but it has, you can feel it. - You can feel the kale is from elsewhere. Now, elsewhere. - Something. - It's soft.

- It just doesn't have a crunch. - Yeah. - If that's domestic kale, because the tariffs of the sweet, delicious, Canadian kale that you drink. - You can eat kale that I've been feasting on.

- What are you talking about? - I don't know. - I'm just asking the questions. - We're getting way off track and we have a tight show today. - Oh.

- Whittaker and Santos, I thought, was nice. I mean, we, to tell me what you wanna talk about, because I thought that there were a lot of really nice

- Did you catch Santos pocketing a scalpel? - Scalpel and sutured pack, I think. - I did. - I did, and that was the moment when, poorly time moment that Whittaker chose to be like,

admit that you like having me in the house and that we're roommates and we can be friends. - That's what she admitted it. - She admitted it with her anger, but then... - That's right.

- And then, the classic Santos frustration, yeah.

“- I think Santos has had a really good arc this season.”

- Yeah, me too. - She made Garcia happy, she did a good job. - I'm trying to look up the name of the director of the episodes. - It's Amanda Marcelis, brother.

- She did great. - You did great Amanda.

- And she did a great job in the first season.

- She did. - I don't know, this might be our first second season episode. - So, just for the record, this was episode 12, there are three left, you were correct, noted. - Everyone's in a while.

- Everyone's in a while, you get one. I wanted to mention Amanda Marcelis because I thought the part of the filmmaking excellence of the show is surprisingly un-showy. Like we rarely, even though the camera is constantly moving

in the choreography is tighter and more demanding than on, I think, any other television show currently on the air. It doesn't call a lot of attention to itself. You're focused on the patience and the doctors

and the medicine even if you don't understand it. So, I thought it was really noteworthy and cool when they did take a little cinema moment when the firework guy starts to go south and Robbie says, "Purla, get the brother out of here

"and the camera in a one or follow, "perla out.

"Purla does have some breathing."

- So, wow, they fucking do it, man. They flex. - Cinema. - As far as patients go, "cooked out, golfer."

- Whoa, he's not beating the allegations. You know what I mean? There was no-- - Oh, I was like, "Oh, maybe he has a brainworm "that's made him mean."

And it turns out it was just cocaine and white cloths. - Brainworms just make you hate Dunkin' Donuts as far as I can tell. From my limited study of the field. But, yeah, it's kind of funny that, again,

sometimes with a show like the pit, with a relentlessness in the pace, the zigs can be zags, where it's just like this douchebag who assaults nurses and golfs and drinks all day. - Might be a jerk.

- And his no friends, they're just like, "Oh, yeah, I'm gonna come back at 9 PM."

- Never met the guy. - Never met the guy.

- And then the only other one that I wanted to mention was the only other big plot thing I wanted to mention. - I guess it's just Emma's first day. I suppose paralleling with joy being like, "Doctors get burned out.

“"It's important to go off your shift when you do."”

I don't get paid to be here. This might internship. I'm not trying to become an ED doctor anyway. Was Emma being like, "I'm gonna stay after being put "in the headlock with my cocaine golfer."

So I thought that was, they do nice jobs like balancing out stories with like, well, there's this way of doing it. There's that way of doing it. Neither one is better than the other. Or just have a Dana carrying around some tranquilizer

ever since you got assaulted last year. - Same. - Not 'cause I was assaulted, just 'cause you never done it. - You've never done it. - You've worked on it. - You've worked on it. - Slam some versehead before I've talked to you.

- Take it down and not. - Yeah. - I would say, you wanna talk to McCay at all. She had some pretty cheat-to-camera scenes of like, sometimes I worry I've lost access to my human emotions. - Yes, I thought that that was a bit of a,

I like Fiona Durafe as a performer and I just think that that was a little bit of a rigid scene. - I agree. - And I, Langdon kind of being like this lost lamb in the, trying to connect with everyone.

- But I thought that was good 'cause it would have been like, the hour after you get yelled at like that, does it really so probably? And I like that they even followed up as Santa's being like, "I don't care that he's an addict.

I care that he was an asshole." - Yeah, and they also added context in the Dana Robby scene where he's just like, he's a criminal and I let him get away with it, which is a level of it. We hadn't really been discussing in terms

of why he hates him and thus hates himself. Dana called him on it.

“I think that McKay is a really, really good character”

and presence in the space and they use her well as like a finishing touch and a lot of canvases, but without the ankle monitor drama of season one, she hasn't had as much to do about herself. So I thought it would be interesting.

- She's such an idiot. - She's such an idiot. Tonight, night she has three hours solar date. - That doesn't seem as ticking clock to me is Jesse got arrested by Ice Agents

and is now in a detention center, but I guess everyone comes with their own points of view to the show, but she says, but she's the one who says to Robby at the end, I had friends who would go close to the edge.

And so it's curious to see, is she going to be the person who gets him at the right moment? - I don't know. - We have Santa's kind of spiraling, what she's going to do with her life, and obviously they've threaded through her relationship

to her senior patients really well this season. And I think that this show is not slick,

at the end of the season. - It might be us because the only other note I has is that if, and I don't know what members of the larger Warner Brothers discovery family or the make people to make the show do listen to the pit,

but I would just like to make a personal request for like 20% fewer elder care storylines, going into season three, particularly ones. So do you remember how like when we would watch, we reference this often, but like we watch four seasons

of the wire being like, no show has ever had this level of vericimilitude about the drug war than the wire and then season five, they showed journalists and we're like, nah, it's not like some funny bullshit.

That's the only time I got taken out so far in two seasons of the pit is when the stubborn old couple who can't live alone, except help, thanks to the patient care of two young guys. - Only except help because it turns out

“like their meds of the only thing in the way.”

- Let me tell you something, worth the camera. It's probably not just the meds. No, I mean, I'm just gonna say like that was a little bit. - Shut up, Britney Young from Glow, though, is the daughter of a- - That was great.

- That was great. - That was nice to see her. - I do like seeing friendly faces from other TV shows, pop up, like it's the love boat. - Patrick Adams is gonna be joining us soon, but I did wanna talk to you about top chef.

- Oh, Christ, yeah. - I need to get into this. - This is the thing. Sometimes I need you to kind of watch, watch the sheet music while you're playing fiddle, you know?

- Like Tom Bamba, though. - I have one thing to say about this. - Whole episode. And if you haven't watched the most recent episode

of Top Chef, which is the third episode.

- It's the 23 episode, three true colors. - And it's about the elimination challenge involves using natural dyes. - That's what RFK wants to do. - Then I hadn't been sent home.

She seems like a lovely person, and I'm sure as an excellent chef. If she had not been sent home, it would have been my January sixth. Because they opened it up to the idea

“that somehow not putting food on a plate”

wouldn't get you sent home. Like she just has like an onion sauce at the bottom of a bowl. - Which, by the way, for you as a diner, that's as good as no food.

- I don't really love onions, yeah. I mean, I know that they're in everything, but like as like a crit, I fucking hate raw onions. - Yes. - And I don't really like--

- And a bowl of dyed yellow onion soupies. - No, I would have just been like, I pass. And then they kind of, the judges, which I thought this was a fascinating, and this is an awesome season of this show so far,

but I thought it was so interesting because Nana goes a little bit early.

I think she's like second or third.

Can't finish any of her plates, like does just this stuff 'cause her chicken galantine won't come together. And she undercooked it, right? - First she undercooked it,

then she didn't get it on. She just needed slice of it. - I thought they used the inevitability of her exit as a green light to tear off on all of the contestants. - Yeah, they had angry Tom early in the season.

- And it almost got to the point where I was like, if it's so easy, you fucking go do it. - Look at you. - Not like in a mean way,

but I was like, is there somebody out there who can really easily use natural dyes to confuse but delight the judging battle? - And use them in a way.

“I think the brief was have them be brilliantly colored,”

which is also very hard because look, shout out to our health secretary. I've seen fruit loops in England. You know what I mean? - Oh my God.

- I've seen 'em. - And what did they look like? - Very muted, very chill, very chill. It's kind of like cool orange treatos over there. You're like, what is this?

Why does this taste like milk and cheese? And not like I'm just gonna eat this. - But let me ask you, don't you prefer the American version of it cool orange treatos? - Yes, what?

- Where it's just like pure for said. - I don't slam, yes, I don't. - You don't need to lie to me. - Yeah. - You know what I mean?

Like I can eat healthy and I can also like treatos. - I know I can contain multi-dust. - Yes, I have made a choice here. - Yeah.

- Why do we sound libertarian? - Because ironically I find, I don't like cigarettes over there. - Okay. - Which is probably for the same reasons.

Like where they're like treating it differently or less or whatever. It's just like tobacco. - Yeah. - We had to come here to get it.

- And they better, the camel company puts smack in theirs. - It's toasted. - I believe. - I like, sorry, go back.

- No, it's a great.

First of all, the season has been absolute fire.

It's been great. There is a completely renewed pep-in-it-step and it's really impressive. And one of the things that was so impressive about this episode is they are not handholding anyone.

The two challenges of this episode, there's a quick fire with our old pal Emerl comes and it is a challenge to class up liver mush. If you had a drinking game in which you took a drink of alcohol every time a character said liver mush,

my respect and condolences to your family, you died. That was, and by the way, that's basically what you and I would call Scrapple. - Yeah, I thought it was gonna be more like pat-tay, but it wasn't.

- You look real sad. - I hate it, but I didn't look like pat-tay for a while. - But I really like that early on,

the characters anyway at this point. This is a maybe a more convenient time

“to be like a troll's six activation challenge.”

But instead they were like, here's a regional delicacy that many people would turn their noses up at and you have to make it good. - Yes.

- It was cool, and then the die challenge was another thing, where they actually, in a way that I feel like they had kind of lost touch with the less few seasons. They educated, they were like, this is a hub of garments, manufacturing and dying, and so we're going to have

you do this thing. I actually liked that they almost all fucked up, because it was a big flashing sign being like, this is fine. - I know it was television, so I know that they have

to kind of entertain that, but Nana had had not gotten her food.

- Well, she left a mold on her inner first dish

for elimination, for her second elimination dish. She had completed some of them, didn't plate them great. Had obviously, she was quite upset about that. And then in the third episode, completely messes up her checking galantine, died dish.

I guess for an upset but to her credit, it was like, I'm walking out in front and I'm being like, I did not complete my dish. Then you get 17 chefs after her, and they're all being told, like you fucked up.

- But do you think it was melodramatic television, reality show, optics at play, in which they had to kind of hide the ball and make you forget that this challenge was decided instantly when it started,

“or because I think even if that's the case,”

they pivoted it into an opportunity to just roast everyone in a way that I think was-- - Which I thought was cool, but the last 15 minutes of the show, I was like, they're not really going to make some weird, like, Nana not doing the dish at all

was better than somebody making something boring. - Who's the woman? Was it Sherry? Who's just like, I have studied decades for this challenge. I know how to make like beautifully rainbow.

- Yeah, the black, the charcoal pork thing that she made. - But then she made like rainbow colored spetzle and then down them in like white sauce. And then they made black, was she make black parsnip, gray, parsnip, mush? - Yes.

- They fucked up. - It was kind of interesting. - Yeah. - And do you feel, but speaking of your January 6 was a beautiful day of liberation ideology

that you're bringing to this television show? - Fair. - Are you just as for day? Do you feel now that the ring mold, the ball?

- You could say the second guy as well,

the guy who made the Vindaloo lamb. - So he made his cumulative cooking, probably stood higher than the nonos. - Yeah, it's pretty, it was interesting that they had seen it.

- And now it's a go-to-last chance kitchen and those other two chefs aren't. So that's interesting to me. That's interesting. - Are you doing the Vindaloo sphingers?

- Why is that? - Why is that happening? I know people, my assumption is that people who don't watch top chef or have stopped watching top chef have also stopped listening to us talk about it,

but I would say again, this season has the juice, and I can get the juice out. - Kai is watching every week, before these pots. - Did you watch before the pot? - I watch last night.

- Oh good, what do you think, Kai? The season wise, nono-wise, January 6th, lives when he's wanna weigh in. - Did you get upset if nono-who-one, or not one? But if not one, she was certified the winner.

Do you understand what I mean by that? - If they did not send nono-who, I would have been upset. Oh yeah, I was like, you're done. - Yeah, you're done, yeah.

- Well, she has a more reasonable temperament than you, you're a little hotheaded about these things.

- Let's stop down for a second.

- Okay. - And when we come back, we'll have Patrick Adams from the Madison. Andy and I are honored to be joined by Patrick Adams. - It's happening.

- From the Madison, we've been kind of circling each other long time listener first time calls. - I'm on quotation. - I brought this for you, Andy. - What?

- To bring a gift. - Thank you, a piece offering. - I just wanna say, if this is from Taylor Sheridan and he's giving Andy some kind of gift through you, they did check it out secure.

- I'm gonna be more shy. - This is actually the hornet's nest. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, from the hornet's. - This is very nice. - Oh my God, I just wanted to make sure

he had a career for him. (laughing) - Fizzic homies. (laughing) - You know, obviously, I didn't sign this in case Chris wanted one,

but I feel like you probably need both. - I really appreciate this. - This is really good. - I'm available on streaming too, you know? (laughing)

- I know it is every product. - Look, I'm a series probably that I just wanted to make sure you had physical media. - That's really kind of you. - Any bonus content on here? - Yeah, tons, tons, but I don't wanna ruin the surprise.

- Did you do an audio track?

“- I think I'm sure it's a good question.”

I think we did on the first season. - Yeah, commentaries. - So yeah, you can get the behind the scenes. - Could you just bring this back when Megan signs it? (laughing)

- I don't know what to say now, I'm not good. (laughing) - It's going good, it's a really nice thing. - You guys know I'm a huge fan.

It's sort of shocking, I'm, are you shocked?

“Are you shocked when people listen to your podcast?”

- Yes. - Yes, I think we just do. - You guys are a big deal. - Sometimes I think they just indulge us in that these cameras aren't connected to anything.

- No, no, no, I'm there. I'm listening weekly, except when you're gonna spoil a show that I love, that I'm, 'cause I'm watching industry now because of you. - Oh, so I try to avoid like industry talk.

- Are you at industry, like I were you? - Season two, season two. - Just basically, there's a lot, come, there's a lot. - I was gonna ask you, you know, this is sort of the end of your Madison run last interview.

- For S1, for S1, S2 is already in the can. - Uh-huh. - Do you feel like you are coming out the other end of a shoot of like a kind of tailor-shared and promo tour whirlwind?

- I've never experienced anything like this.

I also have a two month old daughter as we just discussed. So I don't know where I am, what's happening. - Um, and this press tour, like all things with Taylor shared and it's just like the craziest version of a press tour for a TV show.

I mean, they don't really do this for TV shows. Your show probably won't have this. (laughing) - Yeah, I won't be fooling around telling you to talk about it. - So we did London, we did New York,

and then I went to Toronto, 'cause I'm from Toronto. - Awesome. - Yes, it helps sort of prime the pump of the locals. - Yeah, yeah, we gotta get a Canadian's excited to do that. - My Canadians are digging Taylor's stuff.

- Oh, they love it. - Yeah, they love it everywhere. - I didn't know why we were in London, but apparently it's huge, he's a big dealer. - Yeah, I can imagine,

they watch landman in a different way over there.

“- I think it confirms all of our privacy.”

- Yeah, how do you think they watch it? (laughing) - You let me know how much we can spoil about the television show the Madison, but I would say that you were doing a press tour

with actors who's lifespan on the show. - I think we talked about our part, our limited, and so we did see some of these actors. - Yes, you decide whether we name them or not. - We had to walk a bit of a high wire.

- Some of these actors said to be like, boy, it was really great doing that scene. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, we can't.

I mean, and a lot of us never worked together.

- Right, we were so happy to be like, yeah. - How great it was to be on set with them. - No, but we could walk a fine line. I mean, we were given the ability to talk about loss and that there was some that there was a tragic loss.

They just didn't wanna name that loss. - I think that's diagrammed in the trailers and stuff like that. And we talked about it when we talked about the first couple episodes. Let's talk a little bit about your character Russell

if you actually do like the sort of more official. - Have you guys watched? - Yeah, I watched it. - You have to watch everything. - Yeah, yeah.

- Which I don't know how you do. - I don't know how you do it. - I don't know how you do it. - But I choose to watch the mess and it was like, you are Taylor fan.

- Yeah, I would say that there's like 60% of it, I just sincerely like, and then there's 40% of it, I'm just like, this is so, I'm so curious about how it gets made, how he writes all this stuff. - That was what I was a dog for.

“- Okay, I showed up, that's what I was interested in,”

as how is this man doing this? - 'Cause I suffer from my term this the other day, TDS. I've Taylor Drainjmann syndrome, and yet I'm still watching. - Yeah. - We've got you, so it works on either side.

- So I'll be honest, I was probably a bit more in your camp before I started. I hadn't consumed a lot of Taylor. I'd seen 1883, which I think I only watched because I knew that this was maybe in the mix and the director

that we had Christina Gross on the show, had done a lot of that. - So I started with 1883, and it was really impressed.

I watched some of 1923, but I had never seen Yellowstone,

and then tried it, it wasn't for me, it wasn't something that I wanted to stick with, but I was profoundly impressed by the production, and I was like, something is going on here. So to go and step on to the set and sort of get to see the machine and operation was pretty remarkable.

What is the machine like? That we're both curious about that. - I mean, they've been making shows now for what 10 years. So this is a group of people who have been working together in an environment that's not easy to shoot in.

You're shooting on hills that are like, that's Stacy's Valley, and the show is this technique. I'm a nerd for technical, I'm like shooting in that valley is an insane thing to try and pull off, and they do it with no problem.

You're shooting in the elements, it's raining, it's windy, we shoot five cameras, everything, everything, it's five cameras. You're inside in a restaurant, we're shooting five cameras, you're out in the field for five cameras. So it's just like the 18 that has been found by Taylor

and his team over the course of many years, they all love it 'cause it's job security. They're everybody's so happy to be there. And if you're not good at your job, you've probably not been asked back.

So you sort of step on to that set. Usually you step on to a set and you feel like everybody's getting to know each other. It's like the first day of a new school for everyone, but on a Taylor set, you're the new one.

- We know each other, they've been at school for years and you're the new kid and they're like, what do you got? - The five camera thing is that the way they talk about Friday night lights,

where it's like, there's coverage everywhere, so you can kind of do your own thing. - Yes. - It's Friday night lights was a little more on the shoulder.

And so I did one episode of Friday night lights and I remember, I mean, famously, there was no, or personally, they would just show up and be like, "Go, just see what happens if you just terrifying." As an actor just walking on the set,

this is more prepared, we're rehearsing, we know where they are, but you know, I'm a camera guy, I'm a nerd for cameras and I love to know you're on a 50 and you're on an 80

and on suits, we would never have more than three cameras

in a courtroom, two cameras every other day. So I'd always be aware, okay, we're kind of here. - Yeah, yeah, and as an actor, that does something to your brain on this set, you can't do those calculations anymore, if there's too many cameras.

- Also, it's not even a set. I mean, one of the things that we definitely agree

“on about the Madison is gorgeous, beautiful, right?”

There's a shot after shot, it's just stunning. - This is stunning. - Unbelievable. - And so you spent years in a courtroom on a set, suddenly you were just sitting in northern Toronto.

- Yeah, it's a 10/10 year, the more we talk about it. Suddenly you're on this wheat field, golden wheat field, somewhere in Montana, overwhelming. - Yeah, how does that change both the performance

and the overall experience of having the job? - Well, you arrive with a lot of gratitude. I mean, I remember when we drove out the day one, the base camp is an hour, you get on the highway from both men, you drive like 40 minutes,

you get off the highway, you get on the small road, then you hit the dirt road, then you're on the dirt road for 20 minutes until you get to the base camp. And then you're at base camp, you get ready, and then you do the 20 minute drive down the roads

that Taylor has built, Taylor in his, not Taylor personally, has not built the roads. - Oh, that's crazy. - But they've built the roads to get down to the cabins that they've put next to this, you know,

next to the river, whereas before it was just a ranch, there was nothing there before. So you arrive filled with the majesty of nature, and you've watched the sun come up over the river. So that does something to you.

For me, as the character, Russell scared of everything. Like, like, so there's so much to interact with. When the wind would blow in my face, I would get to pretend I have dirt in my eyes. There'd be bugs that would drive me crazy.

Like, I was just trying to use the environment as much as possible to be as uncomfortable as possible.

“- That's how I use the environment always.”

- Yes, I can relate to that sometimes. But Patrick's a bit more comfortable in that place. - Okay, you'd show up and be very grateful that you get to shoot in the same place with these people that know how to shoot it.

That's a big difference, 'cause if you could be in that environment with maybe people who are learning

it for the first time, I don't know if you've had

that experience, but you can be miserable, 'cause nobody kind of knows what to do when the wind blows or starts raining, but these are people that have been on the front lines with Taylor for so long.

- I was reading small interviews with you last night, and I came across one, when you were, I was like, from EW, when you were nominated for SAG for suits, and you said, talking about the character of Mike on suits, you were like,

the thing about Mike is, it gives me the chance to embody the energy of somebody who's in a new environment that scares them and that they're not sure that they can survive in, and you were like, you were talking about

- I see the drone to this. - Well, what's going on? Like, I don't know. - Yeah, you don't want to be, I feel very uncomfortable.

- Mike, we did the poker table, like I know exactly what's going on. You kind of like to be a little bit on your toes. - I think I relate to that more. I don't know.

“I think the desire, especially as an actor,”

and people want you to be a leading man, is to be super cool and be the Harvey Spectre, you know, to be that character. And I certainly spent a lot of time on suits, wishing I could occupy that space and be that.

But, you know, lo and behold, you come off suits, and this is what I'm drawn to. It's just what I relate to. I'm much more of that guy who's uncomfortable and unsure how to be and how to be with people.

And I'm into discovering their confidence along the way. You know, Mike became a much more, I guess he started confident, but he was in a very alien environment and I thought that was fun.

And that was my experience of being on a show for the first time.

I had never, I mean, I'd done guest art stuff,

but I'd never, you know, been on a series where we're shooting 16 episodes and doing all the things that come with that process. And so I would have thought maybe I'd be more confident now.

- Sure. - But when I read a script like this, I see that character and I just think is an actor. There's so much more to do. It's so much more fun.

- Yeah. - I'm more of a Lewis Lit guy. (laughs) I get it. - I get it. - I get it.

- I get it, I get it. - That was the color. - Call us on Saturdays. - Yeah. - Fire of the DVD player.

- I'm more of a Lewis Lit guy that I think maybe a Harvey Spector guy. - Gotcha. - I think that's more interesting. Tom Wandskins is like, you know, that's who I'm drawn.

- I know that one. - Yeah, you know that one. (laughs) - I do want to ask about the scripts 'cause as you alluded to at the beginning,

the Madison has a sort of unique production history. You shot one six episode season in 24. - Yeah. - That's right. Then you shot a second season of six episodes in 25.

- We just finished it this summer. - Yeah. - Four, ended December. - Yes, exactly. - With a project like this, like all Taylor projects,

he's the writer. - Yeah. - When you signed on to the first season or when you showed up are all six scripts locked or is it a fluid process?

- Not even close. - Fluids will work. - Yeah. - I think I got one scripts and I got to decide whether

And if you watch the first episode, Brussels does not have a lot to do. So it was really just a conversation with him, one of the few conversations I've had with him, where he talked about the part

and how he wanted to shoot the show and how he likes to work and, you know, what he had responded to in the tape that I had sent in.

“- Did you have to fly to Texas to have this conversation?”

- No, luckily, he does these tests in Wyoming. - Oh, okay. - Which I don't know why they're in Wyoming. - Yeah, yeah, why not. - But strangely in parallel to the show,

my stepfather passed a few years ago and we had this thank you. And we had this cabin out in the wilderness north of Toronto. It's sort of a common thing to have cottages up there. And we'd been going there all whole lives, but it was really his domain.

He took care of this place, it's very remote hard to get to. And we had just bought it from my mom. - Okay. - And I had just arrived at this property at this cabin and was like, oh my god, I gotta take care of this place.

I don't know how to do it. When I got the audition for the Madison. And so long story short, we were in this environment living out the story of the Madison apparently in our own little world.

When he said, well, I loved your tape come to Wyoming. And it was like, it's on an island where I was like, I can't leave my family on an island. My father, who's not well, was coming to visit us. It was just like, I know this is an amazing job opportunity,

but I cannot come to Wyoming to see you. And I thought that would be the end of it. And to his credit, he was just send another tape.

And my team still thought you're never gonna,

this isn't gonna happen if you don't go to Wyoming. Like, that's a part of the process. Taylor needs to see you in person and smell you and see you do things. - And I make you do whatever you have. - Yeah, so you've naked it in front of me.

- Exactly. - Yeah. - So I thought it probably won't work out and I made another tape and then he called and said, you got the part.

So I didn't have to go through that hole. - I thought that would do. It sounded very scary. - That also sounds like that would appeal. Like, you were living, that should I thought. I'm like, I'm in a cabin, having this family experience.

My father's coming to visit the, sorry, that's more important to me in this moment than blowing up this hole. - Sure, that's a tailored good show. - I think that's good.

- I was hoping that, I don't know if it ever landed 'cause he never said anything about it. - I didn't get it. - This is the first, he's here, he only listens to this show. - Did you feel like, what was it like to jump into that

blind with only the first script and not knowing the full trajectory of the character?

“Because I think for as much as he's an outsider”

in terms of the environment, he's a city guy, he's a finance guy, and he's all of a sudden out here in the wild, like, he's also the only guy among a bunch of women and an outsider to the family, so to speak, because he's the son and law and by marriage.

- It was a leap of faith, yeah, it was a leap of faith. - I mean, there's worse things than, I mean, I knew, even though I wasn't super familiar with all Taylor's work, I was like, I know this is gonna be a big deal. I know that his shows are a big deal,

and I know Michelle Fifters in it, and as an actor, I'm gonna get a front row of seats, whatever she's gonna do with this part, which is really attractive, and I just sort of trusted that he would become something more than what was in that

first thing, I guess I trusted that instinct that I related to the part, and it's just sounded kind of like an adventure that I was willing to go on. - The Michelle Fifters thing we have to talk about,

because she's so amazing, generally,

and she is amazing on the show. - Isn't she like-- - It's phenomenal. - But it's kind of unique, or at least very rare, and Hollywood, she took off, essentially took off decades to raise her family into different priorities,

but then she comes back with her 100 mile power of fastball, still in tax. - Unbelievable. - Just paint in the corners, and to watch it on set. - Yeah, it's like, it's like I get any great craftsmen,

when they paint, you're like, oh, that looks easy, I could do that, like, that it looks easy, but she just, it's so effortless. - Right. - Yeah, like when you're on set, you're like,

oh, that's, you just did that. Like it didn't, it doesn't seem to take, I'm sure that there's a ton of prep, and God knows what she's doing to get into that place, but she's just so effortless in the doing of it,

that it's a thing to behold. - Is there a specific moment you remember where she went from, holy shit, that's catwoman to your colleague?

- I never got over it, I still get nervous around her.

I told her in the press tour, and she hates it, 'cause it's like the last thing in the world. She wants, she's like, we gotta get rid of that. She doesn't want any, like, mystique. She just wants to work, but I was doing this stupid thing

where I was rewatching, like, every movie that she's ever made. - Yeah, that's why. - So I was working with her, thinking that was gonna help. - Did you go do the Chris Farley interview with her?

“Every day, remember that time increased too.”

- That's exactly what I was doing. I'd watch, like, age of innocence, and then show up and have to shoot a scene with her. I'm like, what am I doing? - So when you had to, with the annual day Lewis,

was it like, exactly, I'm like, hey, when you're a Russell, did you watch Baker Boys when you were going through a scene? - You know, I couldn't, 'cause it's not available. - Oh, okay.

- Did you know that it's not available? - I didn't. - I hate that it's because of the music. - You have to get the DVD. - Yeah, it's also like one of those things

that it might have been like three studios that have since been merged for two people.

I think they're just playing like piano jazz.

“I'm sure it's like public domain at this point,”

but it's one of my favorites. - I was hoping you could get on this as folks and we'll try to get the five, you see, Simmons is a huge Michelle Fife or Fife and stuff. - Yes, we've talked about doing to Keela Sunrise

and I'm watching her movies, but Baker Boys is, I remember being one of my favorites, but I couldn't revisit it 'cause I didn't have the DVD. - Like, I was curious, 'cause you've also done, you've gotten to work with like Dustin Hoffman, you know,

on luck and whether or not there is a commonality of people at that stature like that you, or ever like, I wonder, obviously maybe they're acting styles, they're acting schools that come from a different, but is there something that like that top of the call sheet

kind of person brings that is describeable? - I've been around some top of the call sheet people that are not people who you'd want to be around, but in my experience, especially with those two people, they love acting.

- Yes. - They're really disinterested in being stars or what you think of them as stars. In fact, it's kind of a burden because it's a sort of series of expectations

that they're not interested in. I really related to Michelle right off the bat, she would talk about her nervous she was. Like real nervous and I've nervous all the time as I've already explained.

So to have a person who's delivered those performances say to you like, "I'm as terrified as you are." I don't know what I'm doing. And then of course she steps up and throws the fastball and you're like, "You know exactly what you're doing."

But you need that process of saying like, "I don't know, I don't know if I have at this time." Dustin was a little bit less like that. I think Dustin knew he had it. But he's just having fun though.

- Yeah. - He just loves it. I was on an elevator with him shooting luck once, a fake elevator on set. And they had put in the little numbers, the change.

They go up and down to show you what floor it was. And we were alone in the elevator, waiting for them to move some lights. And I was just standing behind him quietly. And I was watching him watch these lights change

as they were like making the floor change. And he was acting the floor stopping and starting. Like the cameras weren't on him. He was just like staring at it. - To feel like his body was like this is fun.

“How could I pretend this elevator is moving up and down?”

- And he looked at me and noticed me and he's like, "Pretty cool, huh?" - I was like, "Oh, yes, sir." - Yes, sir. - Let's do it together.

- No, he wasn't a pretty cool what I'm doing. It's just like pretty cool. - Yeah, yeah, I think that's like going to be magic. - Yeah, right. That's awesome.

- Yeah, they're like kids in a way. - There's some great stuff in the finale. Season finale with you and Michelle, I was curious about you. You got on the flight back.

- The joke. - And you guys do the Irish car bombs together. But she actually starts to unpack your character a little bit. And I was curious whether the stuff that's in that season finale about kind of getting it

like your character, Russell's like, "What do you, man?" - Like, what do you think? - That is totally unexamined. - Yeah, and that, like if that's a signal towards like,

what is stuff like that? - Again, I have no idea. - I hope that's what it is. - Yes, you know, it's a leap of faith. I took that scene to mean like, yeah, we're exposing

that this character is just lived kind of in fear for lack of a better word of his wife and just sort of getting along and just trying to do whatever he can do to not cause any waves.

“And then I think that scene is her saying like,”

who are you? - Yeah. - What do you want? What are you doing? And his inability to answer that,

I hope, plants a seed for him.

I think going into the second season,

there's some stuff that shows that he's on the path to try to figure out really who he is in this environment and how he wants to show it for these people. But yeah, I don't know. (laughing)

- That's the thing with Taylor. Are you really don't know? Sometimes we didn't get those final scripts until days before we shot so. - This is kind of a bigger picture question

and it's a little thinky, but you're here on the different paths. - The different paths. - No, you listen to the podcast. - It's a different podcast. - To look at your IMDB and your CV,

like you've had such a phenomenal and long career which is hard for an actor to have any time. But it also felt like it was really reflective of the changes in the industry where if you look a person on your career,

you're doing guest spots on really prominent shows and getting your reps in in different styles and getting at lights lost in the old case, like big shows in the era. And then you get the type of thing

that a lot of working actors out here in the stream of which is like, I get to play cool characters on a popular show. And I know where my paychecks coming from and I know my colleagues, I have my money space.

- And then that era of like, reliable series work has completely changed. - It evaporated. - And now you're in the streaming era and you may have found it again,

but it involves once a year before anyone seeing the show flying to Montana. Almost even I don't even realize there's a question that it's just your observations. - I feel just crappy.

I look at my IMBB and it just looks sort of like patched together 'cause for me it was all just survival. - What are we doing? - I get a guest spot, you know?

Like, yeah, I feel like I'm always hustling.

People always ask you when you do press tours, like what drew you to this character? And it's like a lot of times like, I have kids. I need a job. - You know, I want to sound cooler than that.

Like I have all the opportunity in the world and I do have more opportunity than most, but I love what I do, I love acting. And so even at 44 and tired and three kids, I just, I try to take that dust and story to heart

find a script that light something up in me, even if it's Russell and it's three scenes in the first episode, I go, I can do something with that and lucky enough in this case, you get to do it with like the top notch people, but I just love to do it.

- I just really love acting. - Do you have any like, have you ever like been like, this is a different industry that it was seven years ago,

12 years ago, or maybe it's always used.

So it's like, consistent thing about your perspective,

“but I think Taylor's stuff is this weird hybrid,”

'cause he like exists in this like, there nobody else is like you're made up his own, you're watching Dallas and sometimes it feels like you're watching an action blockbuster film, you know, so it's like this crazy hybrid of like,

very old school TV principles and new, new feature film stuff and everyone's a little different, like our show, I don't know, so many of the other shows, I wouldn't say rely on it, but like the cartels around the corner and someone's coming for the land.

- No spoilers. (laughing) - Our show-downs doesn't have any of that. - Yeah, literally it feels, I yet, maybe, but it just feels like Taylor is, you know,

I don't know where he writes or how he writes, but he sits down and he's like meditating on grief. He always talks about plot, there's the one thing he said in that early conversation was that he's not driven by plot, which says to me, I too have seen landmen.

(laughing) You know, the process of writing a show is you know often is let's put a bunch of cards on the wall and figure out story B, A, the story B, B, and you, by committee, you know, you go write it,

but then we're gonna put notes on it and this is a guy in a room going like, this is what I'm thinking about. And sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, if you're not a fan, but I will say it's kind of cool

to be on a show that's just like, one person's vision, totally. And they are allowed to do whatever they want. Yeah, and nobody's coming in and saying,

“well, what if it was a little bit more of this or that?”

It's his idea and he trusts Christina absolutely and I cannot speak highly enough about her. I mean, when you talk about the visual part of the show, she came up through the camera department, she was a director of hisography, so she her spirit

as much imprinted on this thing as his is and to his credit, he really lets her run with the ball. So we're given a lot of leeway, it's like, these are the words, do within what you will. So he cast people that he loves,

he's put Christina in a position where he trusts her and then he's like, this is what I've written, go. See what happens. When you read the scripts, when you get them, do they feel different than a typical,

episodic television script? 'Cause like, when you watch them, that's the 20 minute dinner scene. Yeah. And you're like, well, yeah, or you're like,

wait, Russell's gonna go out with her? You know what I mean? Like, Russell's gonna go out with Stacey and like, they're gonna, isn't it gonna be the daughters have like a final like, that's the way the episode is,

is they have like this resolution? Yeah, it doesn't seem to care about the expectations. But that must make it interesting as a, not a script reader and an actor. I think it's fun to play those scenes, yeah.

I mean, it sometimes leaves you scratching your head and sometimes you're like, oh, I thought I'd have a moment, you'd take a sort of expect you'd get a moment that ends up going to somewhere else, someone else, but I think we all bought into this story early on.

Both we all believed in it, we believed in Michelle, we were all there to support her, this performance, especially given what she had to do in the first season. So, you know, you're kind of a long for the ride.

Yeah, was Taylor with you on the press tour in New York? No. I really wanted to know what going to New York City with Taylor is like having watched the first episode of the Madison.

Did you watch his introduction to the premiere? Very, very tender. No, I didn't see that. That's what I mean. He was like, this is like, you know, I lived in New York,

I love New York, and New York didn't love me back. It was a beautiful, yeah, he's a remarkably, I know why remarkable.

He's an amazing writer, and he's obviously prolific,

but the way he spoke from the heart and the app, I want that show. He hasn't Taylor, part of public talking, speaking. No, Taylor, the early LCD sound system shows. (audience laughs)

This isn't working for me, something's off. Usually like, other DFA stuff, I wanted to just, so you have the three kids, you're a working actor, but are you an avid TV watcher? I'm a pretty avid TV watcher.

I mean, we have kids, I don't know how you watch what you watch with kids, like you're watching that much. But you do on the show, I don't know. Talk about all of it, what do you mean? I mean, you're an actor, you know,

it's like sometimes you kind of fake it. You see, you can do, like, I'm waiting for your blue-y watch up the show. Because we're deep and blue-y. I am held back, but I'm out.

I'm going to be honest with you. Come on, let's go. Let's go, let's go, let's go. Go for it. That's right, I'm going to get that day.

I'm finally covered with real stuff.

Yeah, I try to watch as much as possible.

“That's why I love your show, honestly, because it's a cool guide”

to, like, you guys have set me on to some things that I didn't know about. I had tried watching the first series season of industry early on and life happened. I liked it, but I just life happened.

So to hear you guys talk about it, it's like, okay, no, I know. I taste to your line. I'm going to want to watch that show.

We just started. What do you think of that? I like it. The tone is really cool. Did you do Patriot?

Did you watch that when it was a love to Patriot? That's it. I think it was, is that him? Yeah. I didn't realize Steve Conrad.

“I think it's like the people who love Patriot,”

I think are much more, and I've tried with Patriot. Maybe I should try again, but. I, you know, Patriot's I, I'm saying I loved Patriot. I don't even know if I finished Patriot, but I just remember loving the vibe.

Yeah, I was so in on the vibe and his performance. Yeah, it was in. So that's how I felt about this. I was like, I hadn't just felt the tone. Yes, different than most things.

And that on TV can sometimes be enough, 'cause there's so much that feels the same. As a Canadian, if you've ever done Shorsey, if you've done it, I love them too much. I can't do that.

That's too good. No, I mean, but like, do you watch that stuff? I watched Letterkini, I watched Shorsey, I have not finished heated rivalry at, but my sister is a fan.

Okay. Orphan Black was a guest at Canadian Eastern co-production that I was a big fan of, and then I tweeted my way onto that show for a minute. And now in Friends with Tattooia, Tattooia on Miss Lonnie,

which is amazing. That's good. You're social media manifests things. It doesn't look at us. This is really, and they say it's all bad.

I don't think that's true. Try to find our videos yesterday. If you pick them up, someone has supposed this on social, so we can get a little history here, 'cause I couldn't find the original.

Yeah, so it was like, it was pretty amazing. In my car, in your car radio, and being,

“you have to understand how surreal that was.”

'Cause I do, I literally listen every week,

and you guys had never talked about suits ever.

Or did we do what made the video so amazing? Because you did in that case, 'cause you were to come up, and you were laughing about, like, why is this show? It was like, it was pretty good, and I was basically, like, yes, I know it started people like Patrick J. Adams,

and I didn't watch it. I literally said something just like a shot. It's just a drive vibe. How bad were driving by? How bad was the response?

You've made commentary about the, as some people came after you after I made a post. Yes, no, you got, yeah, you got the suits stand. Did they get, did they, were they mean? Were they, no, they're, there's a polite group.

They're passionate. I told, they want to educate. Yeah, they want to, they're, they don't, they lead with how much suits have you watched? Since this podcast started.

Yeah. Yeah, where are we? Were you waiting for physical media? Can you come one episode of suits? From what I understand, you did a show on USA.

I did. I did. They didn't make you watch suits before. Is that part of your country? Do they, weirdly, they made me watch royal pains?

Yeah. And they were like, from the blue sky era, we'd prefer to do. Because now you, you don't have a place to start, and you don't have to stream it.

It was really high quality. It's really kind of, really high. I, I, we'll, we'll pivot. Because we do like to sag on the show. Yeah.

So yeah, three years after it became the number one show in the world. We'll do suits now. It's now the time. The DVD versions of suits. Yeah.

I don't know, I'll be like, actually, the episodes are one and a half minutes longer. There's little time.

“Can we do a ringer rewatch of suits that all be involved in?”

Yes, it should here. Probably. Okay. Yes. Perfect.

Do you notice everyone? Yes, probably. Probably. Probably not. I was maybe not going to have one.

It'll send the job. Yeah. Yeah. I mostly are from Juliette, about my suits are Asia. She's a big fan.

I don't know Juliette. She lives in New York. She's, she's, she's her head of operations. Let's get her in. And she's just created a moment for her, where she's on the subway listening to it.

And she hears one of Hi really. Yeah. I do. Don't know. Thank you, Juliette.

But this is how we, you want to know a fun ringer thing that you can cut out. But Adam name him. Yeah. I went to high school with. No way.

Yeah. I love Adam. He's the best. Oh my gosh. He's so funny.

My favorite phone credit. It's so smart.

Can I nerd out with you for a second?

Just stick the camera thing. That you were looking at my shirt. I saw that you did. You've done some photography exhibits. Yeah.

Yeah. I've a couple of logos. I haven't done a ton of that. But I survived as a photographer when I was an actor. I was taking headshots.

And you ever get into the film side of it, like the actual, like, shoot a lot of film. You made, like, like, moving him. Like you're, because you're speaking so fondly of the photography department on shows you're on.

That's what I'm drawing. I directed some episode of suits. You'll discover those later. Yeah. Yeah.

Later on. I'm directing. And I think-- And I think-- By the way, they're just really interesting.

They're very lengthy and inspired. Really dark. What is under these suits? Yeah. I'm super dry.

That's where I'm on set.

I'm always just working out with the camera department.

Yeah. When you hang out when it's not like a scene of your suit. Yeah. I don't want shadow. I was shadowing Christina on this.

And usually when I shadow Christina, I just go and hang out with the camera department and ask them questions. I just, first of all, I just love cameras. I love visual storytelling. I love getting to understand. You have five cameras.

There's so many people who are focused on different things and trying to figure out how you organize all those cameras, like, well, who's going for the close-up? And on most shows, there's like an A camera. And I am in charge of the close-ups. And on this show, it was like, so fluid, it was like, no, you're there.

Now get that. You get that close-up. You're feeling that. Shoot that eagle that's flying by right now. It was like, sort of this beautiful orchestra that nobody really needed to be told

And so yeah, I don't know.

I'm just fascinated by that. It's always interesting.

“Like, when the actors start to gravitate towards that, I saw like, Giovanni Rebezi”

as he super into makes the camera. You made the camera.

The James Vista was in battle with Shawn.

Yeah. And he was the DP on the, he built a strange darling like this really good, like, kind of horror movie that came out.

“I got to work with him once on his show, which was called.”

Thank you, Pete. Thank you, Pete. Oh, yeah. We got that. And it was amazing.

He's such a trap. He loves cameras. Yeah.

“It's like a camera in an outwater with like a camera on his neck and like a really.”

He would love that.

And just, they take a picture of me.

Patrick, man. Thank you so much for coming on the water. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you.

Thank you. The green light to come on. When you finish industry. Come back on. Talk about that.

Good luck with season two whenever that comes, but congratulations on that. I want to come. Let me come back for season two. So he's just a telltale or Chris said hi. I will.

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