I promise not to sound drunk this time.

Is that what we're...

Is that the bar?

Hello, I'm Mikey O'Connell.

I'm a writer and editor at The Hollywood Reporter,

and I'm having an episode.

Yes, we are all well into the Year of Our Lord 2025,

and I know what you're thinking.

Another podcast. Well, I'm going to erase those doubts, and I know what you're thinking. Another podcast. Well,

I'm going to erase those doubts, and I'm going to do it with some help from my friends and a few famous people. Since I can be a real SOB and I want to ease us into this new relationship,

I'm going to do it with a love letter. This one's for Tim Robinson, my fellow Michigander, a man who emerged from getting fired by

S&L after a single season, Ouch, to become one of the most beloved and bizarre comedy brains

of the 21st century. He gave us Comedy Central's short-lived Detroiters before leaning into cringe

with Netflix sketch series, I think you should leave, and now the chair company on HBO.

This is another one from Robinson and his serial collaborator, Zach Canaan, and it launched about

two weeks ago. HBO said the first episode ranks as their most watched comedy premiere in five years.

It's half a decade.

And sure, that's with only 1.4 million viewers across three days in multiple platforms.

You still need Dragons or Mike White's Sex and Murder Hotel to hit nine digits.

But what's interesting here is that the last comedy to debut and pull that kind of number was Avenue 5.

For anyone with a short memory, that was from Armando Ianucci, the guy who gave us Veep.

And it was this big budget workplace comedy set aboard a spaceship.

...