If you think there isn’t anything charming about three 20-something best friends and roommates with jobs at the same call center, think again. Screenwriters and actors Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson and Anders Holm play funnier versions of themselves in Comedy Central’s bro-tastic sitcom, “Workaholics.” In honor of being renewed for a third season of the show, which had its series premiere last year, the cast checked in with The Daily Texan and discussed everything from their YouTube beginnings to hair products and sex toys.
The Daily Texan: What can we expect to see in season three?
Adam DeVine: Whoa, hitting us with the heavy questions! Probably some really serious things like obesity and finding new drug dealers and using hallucinogenics on business trips. So, definitely stuff that the youth of America can relate to. We’re basically doing a public service.
DT: What inspires some of the episodes?
Blake Anderson: Some come from real life stories, or exaggerated real times in our lives, but other things are simple, [such as] what would be the funniest thing to see on television and what other shows [are] not hitting on.
DT: How did YouTube play into your success early on?
DeVine: We started making sketches in 2006 and it really helped us find our comedic voice and figure out what kind of comedy we like to do. It was like practice for what we do now. Comedy Central saw us on YouTube and gave us a show from there.
DT: How has life changed since the show?
DeVine: For myself, it’s awesome. We’re like kind of famous now, it’s really cool. I have friends that are like, “Don’t you hate that people you don’t even know are just nice to you for no reason?” and I’m like, “No, it’s freaking awesome! It’s so cool that people are just nice all the time!”
Anderson: It’s also cool when you get people you respect like watching the show, too. It’s like you get to meet musicians and work with actors that you never thought you’d work with, too.
DT: Do you guys ever prank on set?
Anderson: I don’t know if we do pranks as much as we dare each other to do stuff. It’s just too early in the morning, I’d be afraid that if I really fucked with someone that early in the morning, I might just get punched in the face.
Anders Holm: Yeah, there’s a lot of dads on the set [whose time we don’t want to waste], and be like, “Hey, check it out, I put peanut butter all over the set,” and they’re like, “Okay, well now we have to clean that up, and now I won’t get to see my daughter tonight.”
DT: Why do you think the show has such a huge following?
DeVine: I think we’re relatable. When you’re in college and right out of college, these are the kinds of jobs you get like right out of school, and you’re living with your friends and you pull pranks on each other. Also, it gives you cool ideas like putting poop in a dollar and seeing who picks it up.
Anderson: We just make a TV show that we would want to watch.
Holm: Plus, we’re friends in real life and to me that would be interesting.
DeVine: Plus, we have more dick jokes per capita than any other show.
Holm: Well, yeah. That’s the real answer.
DT: How close are the characters in the show to who you guys are in real life?
DeVine: I think that we’ll just, like, take on character flaws and really exaggerate them for comedic purposes. Except for that I’m actually dumber in real life than on the show.
Holm: Yeah, we scaled that back.
DT: A few weeks ago you guys tweeted about getting some Fleshlights for the season premiere —
DeVine: Oh yeah! Are you asking if it is a real thing or if it feels like the real thing? I don’t mean to throw them under the bus because they were so nice to us by giving us free stuff, but it’s not even close. If you’re going masturbatory device you got to go Tenga Egg. Look it up. Get on it. I think it’s like $6. Way better.
Anderson: To be fair though, I heard that if you heat the Fleshlight up before you use it, it’s better. It is weird though.
DT: Okay, last question and it’s for Blake. What hair products do you use?
Anderson: Mostly I use shampoo and maybe later in the week, I’ll throw in conditioner. But we have a hair person on set who I think uses Moroccan oil in it.
DeVine: It’s a magical head of hair.
Printed on Wednesday, May 2, 2012 as: Workaholics trio discuss comedic path to third season
