Ryan Davis & T Springs

A Mediocre Time with Tom and Dan: Episode Notes Hosts: Tom Vann, Dan Dennis | Guest: Ryan Davis, T Springs

Sponsors / Ad Reads None. There were no sponsor segments. The only promotion was for Ryan Davis's weekend at The Funny Bone Orlando. Segment Rundown Cold open: Funny Bone plug. The hosts welcome Ryan Davis and T Springs, who are in town for two shows tonight and two tomorrow at The Funny Bone Orlando. Ryan does a quick "morning radio" voice to kick things off.

Flashback: the 2017 visit. T remembers stopping by the studio in 2017 on their first "prove it" tour, when clubs booked them on weeknights. Krista had set up a press run for them, and a limo driver named George took them to two radio stations before the studio. T says he was struck by the setup (couches, emoji floor, full branding) and by the hosts' freedom to talk and dress however they wanted. He calls them early adopters, since clubs rarely pay for radio press anymore and comics just Zoom in now. The hosts credit Danger Brains, their original branding agency, and explain that they branded everything to look legitimate next to mainstream media. Along the way there's a running joke that the duo looks like "a biker and a cop."

The $150K special. Ryan explains why he paid about $150,000 to film his own special, and jokes that he only learned he'd been overcharged when people said specials don't cost that much. He compares himself to Josh Johnson, who could bring proven weekly viewership to HBO, and says he had no such leverage. He hired top crew: the editor of Chris Rock's specials and the shooter of Mike Epps's specials. He also rented the House of Blues Chicago, repainted the stage, and brought in new lights, drapes and one-night-only Yondr phone pouches. He thanks Killer Mike and Run the Jewels for sending him their sneakers before release, and he wears the high-tops in the special.

Netflix says no. Deon Cole personally walked the special into Netflix, and someone else pitched it too. After about six months Netflix passed without explaining why. Ryan says feedback is a basic courtesy, and a host compares it to dance competitions, where judges write down why a dancer missed the next level. Netflix then invited Ryan to the Netflix Is a Joke festival, where he killed with the same jokes from the special.

T's independence take. T says he had pushed Ryan to stay independent and avoid corporate oversight, and that Netflix mostly cares about which talent brings in new subscribers. Ryan clarifies