DESUS
MERO
&
BY: Emmanuel Maduakolam
PHOTOGRAPHER: EDDIE LEE
STYLIST: JADE CHUNG
The new kings of late-night television.
DESUS WEARS: GUCCI CAP, GUCCI SHIRT, MITCHELL & NESS JERSEY, LOUIS VUITTON COAT, CHAMPION SWEATPANTS, GUCCI SHOES
MERO WEARS: CHAMPION T-SHIRT, LOUIS VUITTON HOODIE, MITCHELL & NESS JERSEY, LOUIS VUITTON SHOES, MERO’S OWN JEANS, Peralta Project CAP
Since the late-night talk show first surfaced during the mid-1950’s with Tonight Starring Steve Allen, the show format has been a fixture in pop culture. Over the years, the amount of programs involved in late-night have increased drastically, with cable, premium channels and even subscription-based streaming platforms entering into the fray. However, while many of these shows lack broader appear to a younger generation of viewers, Desus & Mero has reconfigured the talk show format for a new audience.
Desus (a.k.a. Desus Nice, a.k.a. Daniel Baker) and Mero (a.k.a. The Kid Mero, a.k.a. Joel Martinez) are both Bronx natives who first met during summer school as teenagers. They didn’t reconnect until much later in 2009 when they both, individually, found fame on Twitter for their witty social commentary. At the time, Mero was working as a teacher’s assistant and Desus was a columnist for Black Enterprise under the name C. Daniel Baker.
The two caught the attention of Complex, leading the platform to commission the podcast Desus vs. Mero in December 2013, which then became a web show in April 2014. While at Complex, the two also independently launched their podcast Bodega Boys, which is still running. After a 13-month run, they made the leap to MTV, signing a development deal with the network and appearing on programs like Guy Code, Uncommon Sense and Joking Off. Then in 2016, the duo signed up with Viceland and premiered Desus & Mero.
Viceland propelled the duo to fame, with the show translating the energy of their Complex incarnation onto a bigger stage. While sitting in front of a taxidermied bear dressed in Timberland boots and a Yankees hat, the duo rattle off jokes and commentary on pop culture, breaking news and everything in between. Since its October 17, 2016 debut, Desus & Mero has featured a wide variety of guests, including Issa Rae, Seth Rogen, Jimmy Fallon, Larry Wilmore, Jerrod Carmichael and Rachel Maddow, among others.
However the workload began to pile up on Desus and Mero and as their contract with Viceland came to an end, the duo felt undervalued and overworked. So when Showtime came knocking, Desus and Mero jumped ship to bring their show to the premium cable network, which promised not to mess with the original formula.
The new incarnation is Showtime’s first late-night talk show series, and it’s already proven to be a success, amassing a million viewers in the week after its debut. Showtime has even expanded Desus & Mero to two nights a week for a special summer run.
Now on the biggest stage of their careers, Desus Nice and The Kid Mero, sit down with HYPEBEAST to discuss the move to Showtime, their ascent from Twitter, the late-night television landscape and why the Knicks have the worst luck in sports. The brand is strong.
“Our audience is so broad.”
DESUS WEARS: N.HOOLYWOOD SHIRT, LOUIS VUITTON PANTS, GUCCI CAP, DESUS’ OWN SHOES
MERO WEARS: LOUIS VUITTON TURTLENECK, MITCHELL & NESS JACKET, CHAMPION SWEATPANTS, MERO’S OWN SHOES, Peralta Project CAP
So the last six, seven years, how has it been for y'all? A lot has changed.
Desus Nice: That's the best way to describe it. It's been a lot.
The Kid Mero: It's like school. When you go from junior high to high school, you're like, "Oh, sh*t." And then you go from high school to college and you're like, "Oh, sh*t," all over again. It's kind of like that oh sh*t-ness. From like each level up. You know what I mean?
Desus: It's like a rollercoaster ride, really. If we had just stopped at like a popular podcast, that would've been good. If we had stopped at TV, too, that would've been kind of chill. If we had stopped at Viceland, it would've been good. But to be at Showtime now, to be on that high level premium cable… You don't really see it being, as you're going through it. It's like even [one time], with my friends, [we’re] all going to this party, I was like, "Yo, who's popping? Who's here that's popping?" They was like, "You." And I was like, "Oh, wow."
How does it feel to be completely wanted by a network?
Mero: It feels dope, man. The roll out, the promo, everything. If you would've looked back to 2005, been like, "Yo, 2005 Mero, do you ever think that you will be in a Super Bowl ad?" I would've been like, (makes gun reloading sound). Give me the iPhone, give me the wallet, get the f*ck out of my face, you weirdo." But it happened.
They shelled out the money. They put the billboards everywhere, they put us on MetroCards, which to a New Yorker is like, being in the Bible. It's wild. So it's just really good to have the confidence that you have in yourself reflected by the person that's backing you.
Desus: I want to say, as a feeling about being wanted, I think the other places just didn't know how to handle us. It's kind of like, remember when the Knicks had Jamal Crawford?
Why do you think networks find it so hard to promote y’all?
Desus: They've never seen anything like it. There's a lot of people who are funny online. And then you get them in a room and they can't talk, and they can't make eye contact with you. Or you got people who can make a hilarious two-minute viral video but then they can't be funny for two minutes straight. And they take meetings with us, and we just do this for like, four, five hours. They're crying, people's hips hurt. And you know, people in a way, that's refreshing. In the same way, it's kind of scary, 'cause then it's like, "Yo, these guys, they don't really need writers, they don't need this, they don't need that.
If you have never seen anything like that, that's a little off-putting for a network exec, and they didn't know how to format for TV. Like, how do you get that same kinetic energy that's off the top of the dome, and make it authentic for TV, and make it come through? Viceland and Showtime, they were just like, "Yo, we're just gonna get out the way and let you guys do what you do."
I think every time we [go] somewhere, people are just like, "No problem, we can just find another Desus and Mero," and as you can see, there's no other Desus and Mero.
It looked like Viceland tried.
Mero: You got a bunch of 70-something-year-old white dudes in like, an ivory tower, being like, "What does the youth enjoy? What is that? Is that a podcast? Is this a popular podcast? Let's put it on television, it will work." You can't just apply that to anybody. You have to have the right personnel.
I think everyone was excited about y’all getting picked up by Showtime but began to wonder how much will the networks change due to the show’s expanded demographic. Like, would you have to tone it down?
Mero: You'd be surprised, man, because even when we are on MTV, like the first SXSW we went to, we got approached by a lady that had to be 60-something-plus years old. She was shaking, like, "Oh, I love you guys, I love the podcast, I love everything you do." And then we're getting approached by a dad with his kids, then it's like other people who are in their 20's, people in their 30's, from all over, f**king, it was like a Benetton ad, bro. Every type of ethnicity you could think of.
So it was never like, "Yo, we're afraid that our audience is gonna abandon us," because our audience is so broad. It's just like, "Yo, they're just leveling up, let's go. Let's follow them, let's see where the next step takes them."
Desus: I mean, regardless of what platform we're on, people just gravitate towards the authenticity of our voice. I remember at one network, they were just like, "Yo, people in the Midwest, you guys talk too fast, they're not gonna get it, they’re not gonna get the slang, the references." And you know, like, not gonna lie, I used to get into arguments. I was like, "Yo, fam, just put us out there, we're gonna prove our worth."
The new show has the same format with guests, but there’s also the sketches and you have a room full of writers now while also ramping up the political commentary. Was this something that y'all been waiting to do?
Desus: We had Stacey Abrams on, Corey Booker. We always had a political side, even on the last show. But now it's become apparent. Because it's now all the politicians are like, "How do we reach this demographic?"
This is like a cool way for you to reach millennials and not seem like you're pandering. You don't want to see f**king Kamala Harris doing “The Whoa” dance, cause she's gonna lose mad voters. But she comes on our show and it's just like, "Yo, can she hang with them? Is she like, real?"
Most politicians have speaking points, but after their five speaking points, they have to be a real person. And we'll always expose that. It's a big election coming up and we'd be doing our viewers a disservice if we didn't show them the real side of these candidates.
What’s really great about the show is that it goes against the grain of every late-night show that’s out there. How do you stay true to the winning formula but continually evolve?
Mero: It's just a matter of fact of knowing, yo, sh*t evolves. That applies to everything. Like I said in an interview before, it's like basketball, motherf**kers are not playing basketball the same way they were in 1950; sh*t is a totally different game. So why would you do jokes from 1950 in 2019, you know what I'm saying?
How important do you think comedy is right now?
Desus: Right now just about everything that's going on, especially, you know, Trump and just the wealth disparity. It just like things kind of weak right now in the world, and people need comedy but not a distraction kind of comedy. It's kind of like a nervous chuckle that we're all doing. It's therapy for all of us. I feel like maybe the musical act on the Titanic. Like we're just playing music, things are going to hell, and everyone's like, yo, y'all killing it.
I remember on election night when Trump became President, people were watching our show, we're going through this with you. On election night we had Cardi B, Talib Kweli and Jim Jones on. Those are not political pundits. They're just like, yeah, we might be in trouble now. And that's what we do.
The Viceland departure, was that difficult to make? What actually happened?
Mero: It was all right. To me it was just like business, bro, because we came there from MTV so when the MTV deal was over, like I got a family to feed. I'm just looking at it straight, bottom line, what's the numbers. And I will come in, I just put my best foot forward. That's it.
Desus: Like when you get traded from an NBA team, you just changed the jersey. Like our show is our show, regardless. Whether it's us two together on the four train, shooting the sh*t, or in front of a screen on like Paramount Studio, like it's just going to be us. And it was no hard feelings. Like he said, it was just a business thing. It's like term is up, time to move.
Desus: We’re never uninspired. We've come so far from just literally when we were on Complex we had to share a Metrocard. We would do the podcast, twice, [and] every time we did the podcast at Complex, we'd take the four train back to the Bronx and we'd just be sitting there talking sh*t on four train. Some White guy is like, “Hey you guys are funny, you guys should get a TV show,” and now we got a TV show. So we're doing pretty good. We're pretty inspired.
“They put us on Metrocards, which to a New Yorker is like, being in the Bible.”
“There's no other Desus and Mero.”
“We knew that no matter where we went, our fans were gonna follow us.”
- DESUS
- MERO
- DESUS
- MERO
So I have to ask you about the Knicks missing the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA.
Desus: Wow, didn't know we were going to be attacking this interview.
No attack. How great do you think he can be?
Mero: Zion?
Desus: You know now that the Knicks passed on him, he's going to be like the greatest player ever. That's just the way it works. If the Knicks got him, you'd be like, "Ah, he'd probably have a heart condition and go play like two seasons." Now, he's going to be Jordan meets Steph Curry meets LeBron meets Beyoncé. He's going to be out of control.
Mero: I'm going the other way. I already got my [people] working on it, they cutting chickens heads off and doing all types of sh*t. The muthaf**ka is going to be the next Dominique Wilkins, but he's going to get hurt this coming season.
Desus: You want to see a happy ending. It was one of those things. It was like the Knicks had been like this scrappy loser team. It reminds me of the year of 9/11 when the Yankees went to the World Series and everyone was like, "No brainer. The Yankees are going to win." It's a miracle. New York's got to win it and they got to win. I was a kid. I was like, "What the f*ck was that?" I was like, "F**king Arizona? Who wants to go to Arizona? F*ck John McCain."
Sometimes it doesn't work out that way and it's funny, we shot that sketch for our show with Fat Joe, Jadakiss and all these Knicks fans, they were watching and that energy in the room, it was just like, "Yo, we got this," and in the back of my head was I like, "Yo, what are you doing? Knicks fans, we have never gotten anything. Why would you set yourself up for it?" But that's life of a Knicks fan.
Best and worst moments since the shows tenure with Viceland?
Desus: The worst moment of the show [when we were on Viceland], we were interviewing Diddy and this big fat house fly landed on his drink and he was like, "What the f*ck is this bro?" I was like, "Sorry dude."
Mero: The worst I think was our beards in the first season, premiere episode [on Showtime].
Desus: Ew.
Mero: We got a new barber now.
Deleted segment or just a part of an interview that you wish you kept?
Mero: Taye Diggs [when we were on Viceland].
Desus: Taye Diggs. Do you remember there was a scene in the Brown Sugar when he catches his wife with some guy and he orders champagne and he's like, "Oh, we're celebrating my divorce." It was an iconic scene. We asked him about it and he said he improvised that whole scene and he acted it out verbatim on set, but we couldn't clear it.
That's one of those... because you know black people love that scene. If that had aired, it would definitely have gone viral. The instruction they gave him was like, "Imagine you were really walking in on your wife of how many years and she's with this next guy and they are spending money on a date, how would you react?" (makes tapping glass motion). Clink, clink, to my divorce.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Watch Desus & Mero take over the HYPEBEAST website below:
MERO WEARS: CHAMPION T-SHIRT, LOUIS VUITTON HOODIE, MITCHELL & NESS JERSEY, LOUIS VUITTON SHOES, MERO’S OWN JEANS, MERO’S OWN CAP
