The Point Radio: Sex, Drugs And Denis Leary

Denis Leary is back on weekly TV, bringing along a big dose of SEX, DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL. He talks about his new FX series and how he brought in a few famous friends to make it work. Plus FRIENDS OF THE PEOPLE has returned for a new season on TruTV. Jennifer Bartels and Lil’ Rel Howry talk about why this ain’t you’re daddy’s SNL.

In a few days, we’re back and we heard to the set of the CBD summer hit, UNDER THE DOME. Be sure and follow us on Twitter now here.

Transcript

The Point Radio It's Mike Raub. Dennis Leary has brought sex, drugs, and rock and roll to have hacks and to series television as well. However, this time he had a little help from his friends. He explains that coming up. Plus, Friends of the People is the sketch comedy show everybody's talking about on TruTV. And we'll find out just how funny these guys are. Let's get to The Point.

This is The Point. The Point Radio. Get The Point Radio. Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll is the new FX series created by Dennis Leary and it centers on a dysfunctional rock band reunited after 25 years. At the heart of the show is the relationship between Dennis' character and his daughter, played by actress Elizabeth Gillie. She's very wise for her young age and I think she doesn't part wisdom onto you even though your character is even so much older. We have a lot of moments like that. We do, wouldn't you say?

Yeah. We do. Yeah. We have a lot of little talks. It's hilarious to me that he would have seen that movie, The Squid and the Whale, and not liked it.

But he has no idea about Jonah and the Whale and has never heard of it. He's so limited in his knowledge. You know, it's not music related. He really doesn't know anything about it. Yeah. But he does. I mean, he does. He does impart wisdom on her. It's like dual parenting, but it's not in the way that you'd, I guess, expect. I don't know. During the show, calls for a lot of music, some of which is original and to pull that off, Dennis reached out to some talented friends.

I have a number of friends in Rock and Roll. I have a few famous friends in Rock and Roll. Dave Grohl, Greg Dooley, and Joan Jett. Greg Dooley is a really close friend of mine. He's the lead singer and the songwriter for the Afghan Whigs. You're a very talented guy. So I called in my acting shits with them first to say, I need you guys to come in and maybe do something for the series.

And you have to work around their touring schedule. And then I knew I could get Greg if I could convince him about what I needed. I could probably get him for a week right before the Afghan Whigs were doing this reunion tour. So I took all the old Heathen songs and gave them to Greg Dooley. And we went in with the Afghan Whigs, essentially, minus their bass player who was spending time with his family. And they they took the songs and basically turned them into what they are.

And then when we had to go in with Liz's character and the modern day songs, I took our second advice, which of guys from my comedy band, but they're all professional musicians. Great session guys. Very well-known players. Ozzy Osbourne's band, the Jim Carroll band, the Del Fuego's. I mean, their credits, Raging Slab. They're all great. We went to Electric Lady, took a week or eight days with Dooley and me and the Whigs.

Did all the early stuff. Then two weeks with us. About three and a half. Really? So three and a half weeks with those guys and Liz to do all the modern day stuff. And then some of the comedy stuff, you know, Radio Head to Morrissey, which is one of the episodes. We just did that live on the set. We improv a little bit in the studio space. And then there's some songs that I farmed out. I farmed out a song to my son that's an EDM song.

Because I don't know a lot about EDM, but we wanted to do an EDM episode later in the season. So I gave it to him and had him come up with his EDM song. And yeah, and there was a couple things. There's a good friend of mine who's co-wrote, you know, the asshole song with me named Chris Phillips. There's a part, there's a plot in the show where the bass player writes this opus about the Irish Potato Family. He writes a rock opera. So this Chris Phillips is a song cycle.

So I gave it to Chris Phillips and he wrote all of those songs. Also in the cast is John Corbett, who has that kind of unusual connection to be there. Well, you find out rather quickly. You find out that he slept with my wife 25 years ago. So I'm going, hey, I'm really, I'm really interesting in all my answers. Everybody's coming over now. You'll find out that he slept with my wife and he doesn't really have any remorse over that.

So I'm going to get a little, a little old fashioned retaliation and go after his young, hot, smoking hot daughter who ends up being a very capable singer in her own right. I mean, this chick, Liz Gillies in real life can really sing. We, I don't know where he found her. Well, she was on that show Victorious. So I do know where he found her. But the fact that she got in the room with him and won this part was pretty, pretty awesome for us. The first time we saw John on the small screen was in the CBS classic Northern exposure.

And John said that this show has a lot of similar. This show is very similar to that. It's quirky. Here I am 25 years later, the same week. I have another a new show launching, which is quirky and weird, filled with comedy, but has this dramatic moments. And it's, you know, that's that's really what I think you're going to do TV. You know, the worst thing that can happen to me is ending up on one of those sort of formulaic comp shows or medical dramas or I'm not going to put anybody down.

But we all know the kind of shows that are on those programmers. And sometimes as an actor, they they whip a lot of money at you and say, you know, come aboard, jump on the Good Ship Lollipop. And they make it so tempting that you just do it. You know, but I don't think you're really satisfied because you're not getting a chance to have fun and be funny and improvise and do it with Dennis Leary. I mean, come on, man. Sex trucks and rock and roll is just another in a long line of shows created by Dennis for television.

I was curious as to how he got started in the business. Started in the theater at Emerson College in Boston. And I didn't really have any experience as an actor on film because that was, you know, I never thought of that until I got out. So once I started doing once No Gear for Cancer became a hit and I started getting film offers, I was very lucky that I ran into some people. And I said, I need an acting coach. I need a little training.

So I got saved by a couple of people, which is good. And then, you know, I had to learn that process. And I was also lucky because a couple of those people I met said, listen, get a production company, start generating stuff on your own because the phone stops ringing as an actor. You're either back on the road as a comedian or you're not working. So those are like the two key lessons I try to tell young actors is even if you don't write, get a production company, start buying books and start getting ready to self-generate.

Sex trucks and rock and roll new episodes every Thursday on FX. And you can see previous episodes too right now at FXnetworks.com. Get ready, the Avengers DVD is coming. All that and more as we look at what's going on in pop culture. Amazon is back their first series.

It's going well direct to series and avoiding their usual pilot program. It's one that will start Billy Bob Thornton and it's called The Trial. It's produced by David E. Kelly, which probably gives it a pedigree that makes Amazon pretty happy. It'll come to the streaming network sometime in 2016.

The co-directors of the new vacation reboot are also going to be on tap to write the new Spider-Man screenplay. Sources say that John Francis Daly and Jonathan M. Goldstein will write to the Spider-Man reboot for Sony, which is said to get underway in production sometime later this year. According to Entertainment Weekly, we can look to see Hawkman popping up in this season's episodes of The Flash and Arrow. No word yet on exactly which series he'll appear in or if it'll be a both with a crossover. However, it's expected that the Hawkman character will set up the debut of Hawkgirl and her part in this spin-off DC's Legends of Tomorrow, which will premiere early in 2016.

No official confirmation on any of this from The CW, however. Flash does premiere its second season on October the 6th, followed by Arrow's new season, which premieres on The CW the next night, October the 7th. Marvel Studios has announced a release date for the Avengers Age of Ultron on DVD. The Blu-ray and digital releases, which will include On Demand as well, will debut on October the 2nd. However, it'll be available on Digital HD, Digital 3D, and Disney Movies Anywhere a few weeks earlier. That'll take place on September the 8th.

Also, there's no word on exactly what the extras will be, although they are promising deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a gag reel. Comedy Central's Key and Peele is ending their run in September after five seasons on the network. The co-creators said they're actually ending the show at their own request to move on to do other projects. The point, the point, the point. Friends of the People is TruTV's first ever comedy sketch series, and it's back for another run of episodes on the network right now.

I talked to cast member Jennifer Bartels and asked her to fill us in on just what the show is. So Friends of the People, basically we got an order for 10 more episodes, which is a great sign. And it's, you know, it's seven people that came together, you know, seven eclectic comedians and actors. We all write and produce on the show. And it's fast, funny, well-paced sketches that kind of explore everything.

You know, everything from truth and comedy, small bits and moments, to fun, broad characters, to man on the street, you know, to the Lucas Brothers and that cool energy, like, that they have when they do their fun to loop something. What's nice is you can find some, many people can find something they like about Friends of the People. And I think it says it in the title, and I think it says it in the work that we put out there. So that's what I enjoy, is that I like a show that could be tailored to many people, and that's what I think this show does. Of course, there'll be some comparisons here to the granddaddy of them all, Saturday Night Live.

But cast member Lil Rel Howery tells me that there's some differences here. Well, one of the things that's set at the point is the pacing of the show. Our show has, we have a lot of sketches we're putting out there in one episode in the half hour. The pacing of it is totally different from SNL. And also, I think we have so much creative control. That's the biggest part of it.

Like, we're all our own Laura Michaels. Imagine Laura Michaels, actors, role producers, everything, and SNL. We're all our own producers, and we have control of our show. And that's the biggest part. When you're a comedian, you can write what you think is funny, and there ain't really nobody that can really beat on it.

That's the best film in the world. Jennifer talked to me a little bit about how she got into comedy. I always knew I wanted to perform. I would perform for my family and dance around the Flash Band soundtrack as a kid. And then I was the kid that people thought was funny, and then they'd get annoyed because I wouldn't shut up.

But then in high school, I really rallied to get That Sense of Humor or Clap Clown, and that made my day. I wanted that more than Prom Queen. And then I got into theater in college, and I went to East Carolina University, and I majored in theatrically trained in theater. And then moved to New York and really fell into Upper Citizens Brigade, which is one of the top improv and sketch programs. It fell into that, and it was just an awesome, supportive thing.

Yeah, I just like to make people feel good about themselves, and through honest things, through honest observation. I guess I've always known. I don't think I could do anything else. I mean, I could. I don't think I'd be good at it. I mean, I don't know. But now I'm showing myself to be in card here. Jennifer has a lot of responsibility being the only female in the cast, and I asked her if that was a big challenge.

I look at it from the performer aspect. You know, I have a lot of people that would love to be in a position I'm in. It's a very hard industry. So when I have to maybe play a less challenging role, where it's two lines to support the joke of a sketch as a woman or a mom or a wife or whatever, I'm bound to do that because I also have the creative control to play my big characters and to really fulfill that creative side that is important to me as a performer, a female performer, as a person. But I know I'm wearing a lot of hacks on the show, and it's a challenge, but I'm totally up for it.

And the guys make me feel like I'm good at it, and so that you gain confidence from that. But yeah, I mean, it's a lot of work, but I love the work, so it's good. So as far as what makes these guys laugh, Rael filled me in. I'm a big, like, Ken and Eddie, and there's a lot of great new stuff out here, too.

I mean, we have a sketch show, but I still love Q&P. I think they have a great show, the Chappelle Show in the Bay. So it's a lot of stuff that makes me laugh, actually. I'm a weirdo. I can watch a romantic comedy. I can watch the movie Happy, and then watch the silliest, stupidest thing in the world.

So I got a really broad system. Friends of the People with new episodes every Thursday on TruTV. Friends of the podcast back in a few days, and when we are among the things we have to share, there's a little look at Under the Dome, keeping us entertained through the long, hot summer. Where is it going to go before this season's over?

We'll find out that coming up and more when you look for us on websites like ComicMix.com, getthepointradio.com, and the iTunes podcast directory. Under the Point Radio is where you'll find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. We'll see you back here in a few days. Getthepointradio.com