Welcome to the Deep Dive. We dig into the sources,
pull out the knowledge, and basically give you
the core insights you need. That's the plan.
Today, we are diving deep, really deep, into
American comedy. Specifically, we're focusing
on David Benjamin Wayne. Ah, yes, David Wayne.
Born August 1st, 1969, Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Now, he's listed as, you know, comedian, writer,
actor, director. He does all of it. Right. But
I think we can argue he's really the architect
of a whole style. This modern, absurdist ensemble
thing. Absolutely. Architect is a good word.
Because when you look back over, what, 30 plus
years now? Yeah, since 91, roughly. It's the
same faces popping up again and again. The same
kind of bizarre, very specific sensibility. It's
really remarkable. And his career, it's just
completely defined by... collaboration isn't
it and just the sheer amount of work he's produced
totally the volume is kind of nuts but it's not
just hiring actors right it's like he cultivates
this this creative family yeah family's a good
way to put it and those lines between directing
writing acting they get really blurry in his
projects because it feels like the group makes
it for the group exactly there's this baseline
of trust You know, you feel it in the work. And
that trust, I mean, it's given us some seriously
memorable comedies over the last, what, quarter
century? Oh, for sure. You've got the absolute
cult classic Wet Hot American Summer. From 2001.
Still amazing. Then he manages to pivot somehow
to mainstream success with role models in 2008.
Which was huge. Yeah. And then back to weird
stuff like Wanderlust in 2012 and that incredible
parody that came together. 2014, yeah. With Rudd
and Poehler. Just brilliant. And that's just
the movies. We haven't even touched the TV universe.
Right. Children's Hospital. Medical police. His
voice work. Super jail. That warden voice. Unforgettable.
So our mission today really is to kind of unpack
how he did that. How does that work? Yeah. How
do you take that raw, almost chaotic energy from
your first comedy troops? Back in the 90s sketch
scene. And turn that into a career, a sustainable
one. That keeps bringing back the same core group
of people for decades. It's really unusual, especially
in Hollywood, which usually focuses on like the
one big star. So that's what we want you, the
listener, to get a handle on today. How did Wayne
build this collaborative engine and how does
he keep it running? Okay, so to understand this
collaboration thing, we got to go back right
to the beginning. Shaker Heights, Ohio. Born
into a Jewish family. Parents Nina and Norman
Wayne. Seems like a pretty, you know, standard
middle class background. Yeah, the sources point
to that. But the really key thing, the experience
that apparently shaped his comedy. It wasn't
just his general upbringing. What was it then?
It was summer camp, seriously. He went to a camp
in Canaan, Maine. Oh, wow. And that experience,
that specific setting, the counselors, the kids,
the woods, the whole vibe that became the sort
of the loose inspiration for Wet Hot American
Summer. His first movie. So the seeds were planted
really early. Absolutely. It's like he took this
really familiar, almost nostalgic American thing,
this summer camp movie. Or like meatballs or
something. Exactly. But then filtered it through
this just completely bizarre, deeply committed,
absurdist lens. That's the Wayne touch right
there. Okay. So from camp in Maine and growing
up in Ohio, he heads to New York, NYU film school,
starting in 88. And this is where things really
kick off because he's not just learning about
cameras and editing. He's finding his people.
Immediately. Right. He hooks up with others and
becomes a founding member of this sketch group,
the new group. Which pretty quickly turns into...
The state. Legendary. Absolutely legendary. And
the state is so crucial here. It wasn't just
a TV show on MTV. No, it was like... like a boot
camp for that whole ensemble. Totally. It ran
for, what, 26 episodes between 93 and 95? Something
like that. And Wayne wasn't just starring in
sketches, playing all these weird characters.
He was also co -directing most of them. With
Michael Patrick Yen, right? Yep. So he's learning
the craft from both sides of the camera, how
to shoot fast, how to cut it funny, how to get
that specific, like, high -energy, absurdist
performance out of a big group. That show had
such a manic energy. Incredible pace. And the
fact that they all co -wrote that book. State
by state with the state. Yeah, I remember that
book. It just shows that collective ownership.
It wasn't one writer's voice. It was the group's
voice. Okay, so the state ends in 95. MTV moves
on. How do you keep that creative momentum going
without that platform? That seems like a critical
moment. It was, and the answer was Stella. Ah,
the suits. The suits. In 1997, he teams up with
two other key guys from the state, Michael Ian
Black and Michael Showalter. the core trio exactly
and this wasn't just like The State Part II,
it was different. A pivot. They really refined
their style here. How so? What was different
about Stella? Well, The State was, you know,
rapid fire sketches, lots of characters, very
broad in some ways. Yeah, channel surfing energy.
Right. Stella was narrower, maybe. But the humor
got way more surreal. High concept stuff. Just
the three of them, usually in suits, dealing
with really mundane problems. But with this intense,
totally illogical seriousness. Exactly. It started
as this cult live show in New York City nightclubs.
Ran for ages. They built a real following just
from the live show. And they toured it. And crucially,
they started making the Stella shorts. Those
little videos, they were kind of precursors to
viral internet stuff, weren't they? Totally.
Short little films, skits, usually just a few
minutes long, perfect for the early internet.
Yeah. And they showed that Wayne... Black and
Showalter could sustain one single absurd idea
with absolute commitment. Which all led eventually
to the Stella series on Comedy Central in 2005.
Right. And if you trace it back, that partnership,
Wayne, Black. Showalter. That's the absolute
nucleus. Showalter co -wrote and co -produced
Wet Hot with Wayne, right? Yep. So that specific
sense of humor, that shared language they developed
in the state, refined in Stella. That was the
engine that powered Wayne's jump into making
movies. And the loyalty, keeping that core together.
That seems to be the real differentiator. Okay,
so moving from like downtown comedy clubs and
basic cable sketch shows to making actual feature
films, that's a huge leap. Massive. But he didn't
go alone, did he? He basically brought the whole
gang with him. Pretty much. His debut film, Wet
Hot American Summer in 2001. It was all about
the ensemble. But that must have been huge risk,
right? A first time director, super niche, absurdist
comedy. Oh, absolutely. Huge risk. He directed
it, co -wrote it with Showalter, co -produced
it. The whole concept absurdist summer camp comedy
wasn't exactly mainstream catnip. No kidding.
It felt like an inside joke sometimes, but in
the best way. Totally. It was low budget, a real
passion project. It was designed to capture that.
Zach's sketch energy, those inside jokes. And
the comedy demanded total commitment from the
actors. Like that bit about needing to go into
town right now, even though it's just a short
walk. They play it deadly serious. Exactly. 100
% commitment to the absurdity. And that's why
the cast list is just insane. It's mind -blowing.
Looking back, you had established names like
Janann Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce. Right. But
then you had all these people who were about
to explode. Paul Rudd. Pre -anchorman Paul Rudd.
Christopher Maloney doing comedy. Bradley Cooper
in one of his first roles. Amy Poehler, Ken Marino,
Elizabeth Banks. It's like a who's who of the
next 20 years of comedy. How did he even get
them all for a weirdo, low -budget first film?
Well, the network was already there, see. A lot
of them were friends from the state or friends
of friends from the New York comedy scene. So
they trusted Wayne and Showalter. Implicitly.
They knew the script was hilarious, even if it
was bizarre, and they knew the set would be collaborative
and fun. It was like, let's all go make this
crazy thing together. A collective gamble, basically.
Yeah, and even though it bombed at the box office
initially. Totally bombed. It set the absolute
template for Wayne's whole approach. Trust the
ensemble, lean into the absurdism, and the talent
will make it work. even if it takes the audience
a while to catch up. Which they definitely did
with Wet Hot. Okay, so after that cult success,
what came next? The Ten? The Ten, yeah. 2007.
And this one was, like, pure, uncut Wayne. He
directed, wrote, and produced it. Based on The
Ten Commandments? Kind of loosely? Very loosely.
Again, huge ensemble. Winona Ryder was in it.
Paul Rudd again. But this one didn't quite land,
did it? No. It showed that maybe pure sketch
-style absurdity, just a collection of weird,
unrelated vignettes was a tough sell for a wider
movie audience. Right. It had a super short theatrical
run, went to DVD pretty quick. It felt like another
passion project, but maybe it showed him he needed
some kind of recognizable structure if he wanted
to reach more people. Which brings us right to
the big one, the pivot. Role Models, 2008. Yep.
His first widely released film, as the sources
say. And this is where he proved he could blend
his style with, you know, actual Hollywood filmmaking.
It felt like Wayne, but... Exactly. It's like
he grafted his sensibility onto a more grounded
concept. The premise is pretty standard studio
comedy, right? Two screw -ups forced to mentor
kids. Classic setup. But he fills it with his
people, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks again, then
adds Sean William Scott, Jane Lynch, Christopher
Mintz -Plasse, and the script just crackles with
that fast Wayne dialogue, those weird little
character details. And he's in it too. Oh. As
Chevron Bane, Dale Iriper. Of course he is. He
loves putting himself in there. And this one
worked. Critically, commercially. Oh, yeah. Positive
reviews, big opening weekend, like $19 million.
It proved that the Wayne rhythm, the Sherp jokes,
the fast cuts, the total commitment to weird
supporting characters could totally work in a
mainstream movie, as long as the story had something
relatable at its core. So Hollywood starts trusting
him more, leads to bigger budgets. Seems like
it. Which takes us to Wanderlust in 2012. He
directed this one, co -wrote it with Ken Marino.
Another sweet and wet hot guy. Keeping it in
the family. Always. And here, they keep the ensemble
feel, but add serious star power. Jennifer Aniston,
Paul Rudd again, obviously. Mellon Ackerman,
Alan Alda. Wow, Alan Alda in a David Wayne movie.
That's something. Right. It shows the studios
were willing to invest in his collaborative model.
They saw he could handle A -listers, but still
keep that specific comedic vibe alive. And he
sneaks in another cameo, right? As a weatherman.
Always finds a way. Just has to be physically
present in the world he's building. So if role
models in Wanderlust were him meeting Hollywood
halfway, maybe? Then 2014's They Came Together
was him running gleefully back to his absurdist
roots. Oh man, I love that movie. Just a full
-on parody of romantic comedies. Directed it,
co -wrote it with Showalter again. See? That's
Stella Corps. That's his creative home base.
And starring Rudd and Amy Poehler, who by then
were totally part of his regular crew. Plus Ed
Helms, Cobie Smulders, Max Greenfield, Christopher
Maloney again. Another stacked cast. And he acts
in this one, too, as Keith. Yep. It's like a
meta takedown of every rom -com trope imaginable.
It shows this pattern. He proves he can handle
the big studio stuff, but he always circles back
to the pure passion projects with his tight -knit
group. That makes sense. And then there's a bit
of a shift later with A Futile and Stupid Gesture
in 2018. Yeah, that one's interesting because
he only directed it, didn't co -write it. It's
the National Lampoon story about Doug Kenny.
Right. Starring Will Forte, Dom Algleason. It
showed he could step outside his own writing
voice and just be a director handling a complex
biography. Still produced it. Acted as an interviewer,
apparently. He can't help himself. But the main
focus was directing someone else's script. Shows
a certain kind of maturity or versatility in
his career, maybe? Okay, so he proves he can
conquer Hollywood features, both mainstream and
weird. But where does he consistently go to,
like, recharge that creative battery and keep
the ensemble working? Television. Gotta be television.
It just offers the perfect setup for his style.
How so? Well, the speed, the repetition, the
ability to do high concept stuff without needing
a massive movie budget. It's perfect for that
ensemble workshop feel. And the most obvious
example is him returning to his own origin story,
basically. The Netflix wet hot shows. It's kind
of amazing they pulled it off. Two whole series
based on the 2001 movie. Co -written, directed,
acted in by Wayne, with Showalter right there
beside him. It's like the ultimate commitment
to a bit spanning almost 20 years. And it relied
completely on getting that original cast back.
Playing teenagers when they're in their 40s.
Which is part of the joke. The first one, First
Day of Camp, came out in 2015. Eight episodes,
a prequel. And somehow... They got almost everyone
back. It's incredible. And critics actually liked
the series more than the original movie generally.
Yeah, I remember that. Why do you think? Maybe
the absurdity, the heightened reality just works
better in short episodic bursts. You can reset
the weirdness every episode. Makes sense. And
then they did the sequel series 10 years later
in 2017. Yep. And wanes in both as Yaron, the
weird Israeli dude. But the peak Wayne absurdity
has to be him playing Bill Clinton in Ten Years
Later. Oh my God, yes. Just completely straight
-faced. That's it. That's the essence. Meta -humor
combined with utter, unwavering dedication to
the strangest possible choice. But beyond Wet
Hot, the real engine room, the place where that
core group really lived and breathes for almost
a decade. It has to be Children's Hospital, right?
Absolutely critical. You can't understand Wayne's
sustained output without understanding Children's
Hospital, 2008 to 2016. What made it so important?
It was like his, his comedy laboratory. He was
a creator, developer, producer, writer, directed
a bunch of episodes. And acted in it. Of course.
As Rabbi Joey McJuju, or just as himself sometimes.
The structure was genius, wasn't it? Short episodes,
parodying medical dramas. But like an anti -procedural.
The premises were completely absurd and would
change constantly, sometimes even mid -scene.
It let him keep his whole network busy. Rob Corddry,
Ken Marino, Aaron Hayes, Lake Bell, Henry Winkler
even. All constantly working, playing, experimenting,
without the pressure of a big network show or
a coherent plotline. Exactly. Low stakes, high
concept. They could push the meta humor, constantly
breaking the fourth wall. It was just a playground
for them all. And he basically replicated that
formula later with Medical Police in 2020. Pretty
much. Creator, writer, exec producer, director,
same vibe, different plot scaffold. It's how
he keeps the machine going. He creates these
self -contained worlds for his family to play
in. We see it again with newsreaders too, right?
The news magazine parody. Yep. 2013 to 2015,
creator, EP, directed a segment, acted in it
as Jim Day. And even recently, like Mr. Throwback
in 2024 EP, directing episodes, he just keeps
building these platforms. Relentlessly. But we
also got to talk about his whole other career
in voice acting. Right. Uses that same absurdist
energy, just vocally. His biggest starring role
there was probably... The warden on Adult Swim
Super Jail. Oh man, the warden. What a character.
2008 to 2014. Just pure maximalist chaos in vocal
form. Effusive, kind of terrifying, totally over
the top. It's perfect for Wayne's sensibility.
Cold commitment again. Always. But maybe the
voice roles people hear most often are on Bob's
Burgers. Oh yeah. Who does he play there? He's
Courtney Wheeler, the annoying rich girl. Oh,
right. With the necklace locket thing. That's
the one. And also Grover Fishoder, Calvin Fishoder's
brother. The eccentric one. He's done those since
2012, right? Even in the movie. Yep. Over 15
episodes. He really embeds himself in these established
worlds, too. Plus other stuff like Sheep in the
Big City Way Back, Big City Greens, Tuca and
Birdie. He gets around. But if we're talking
about keeping the network alive during tricky
times like the early days of web video, we have
to mention waney days. Oh, Wayne -y Days is essential.
Absolutely essential. Ran for five seasons, 2007,
2011, on my damn channel. Which was like a real
pioneer platform back then. Totally. And the
show itself was a masterclass in doing a lot
with very little. What was the premise again?
He's playing himself, kind of? Yeah, a fictionalized,
pathetic version of David Wayne. Navigating,
dating in New York, everyday life, and for some
reason, working in a sweatshop. Right, the sweatshop.
So weird. And he'd talk about his problems with
friends. Exactly. The episodes were short, super
low budget, looked like they were shot in his
apartment sometimes. But the guest stars, that's
the key. Yeah. It proved everyone would still
show up for him, no matter how small the project.
Absolutely. Regulars included Zandy Hardig, A
.D. Miles, Matt Ballard. But the guests, Jonah
Hill, Jason Sudeikis, Rob Corddry, Thomas Lennon,
Josh Charles. Paul Rudd, Michael Ian Black, obviously.
Of course. It just showed whether it's MTV, Comedy
Central, or some brand new web channel nobody's
heard of, his people will come play because they
trust the creative environment. It's fun. It's
safe. And Sandy Hardig, who was key to making
waney days happen, she later became his wife,
right? Yep. Which, again, just highlights how
intertwined his personal and professional life
became in sustaining this whole collaborative
engine. It's all connected. You know, looking
at all this, the thing that really jumps out
is just the sheer consistency of the cast across
decades. Rudd, Marino, Banks, Poehler, Maloney,
Showalter, Black. It's like a repertory company.
It's not just random casting, is it? It feels
deliberate. Like there's something specific about
the environment Wayne creates that keeps them
coming back. I think it has to be. It seems less
like a traditional director dictating everything
and more like facilitating. He lets their comedic
voices shine. So they feel valued creatively.
Exactly. When actors trust the director, trust
the process, and know they can bring their A
-game and it'll be appreciated, they return.
That loyalty, that shared comedic language they
built way back. That seems to be the core of
it. But shared language is key. Okay, maybe let's
touch on some personal details that kind of frame
this period. He lives in L .A. now, right? Makes
sense for the work. Yeah, based in Los Angeles.
And you mentioned Zandy Hardig, who was so involved
in Weenie Days and other projects. They got married
in 2009. They divorced later, in 2015, I think.
And they have two sons together. Right. That
constant overlap between the personal and the
professional just seems central to how he operates,
how this network functions. Which brings us to
his most recent and maybe most unexpected project.
The middle -aged dad jam band. I just love the
name. It's perfect. Isn't it? He started it during
the pandemic, apparently. And he plays the drums.
Of course he does. And guess who else is in the
band? Let me guess. Ken Marino. Bingo. Another
state alum, longtime collaborator, playing guitar.
It's amazing. After conquering basically every
platform, MTV, cable, movies, streaming, he goes
back to the absolute simplest form of collaboration,
just jamming with his buddy. It feels like pure
passion, right? Completely outside the Hollywood
machine, just making noise for the fun of it.
Performance for its own sake. It really feels
like it connects all the way back to the early
days, doesn't it? Yeah. Like the spirit of the
state. Or Stella just doing stuff to make each
other laugh or entertain whoever shows up. But
now it's music instead of sketches about, I don't
know, pudding. Exactly. It's like a full circle
thing. Back to pure communal fun. We should also
probably mention he wasn't just making the comedy.
He was also commenting on it for a long time.
Oh, yeah. Those VH1 shows. I love the 70s. I
love the 90s. Part two. Best week ever. He was
a fixture on those talking head shows. Right.
So he's deeply embedded in the comedy scene,
not just as a creator, but as someone who clearly
loves and understands its history, too. Like
he's both making the history and narrating it
at the same time. Hashtag, hashtag, outro. Okay,
so wrapping this all up, what's the big takeaway
for you, the listener, from this whole deep dive
into David Wayne? I think for me it's that his
success isn't really about one single towering
genius figure. It's about the power of the group,
the sustained ensemble. Right. It started with
the state, got solidified with Stella. That gave
him the trust and the talent pool to even attempt
something like Wet Hot. And then he used the
mainstream success from films like Role Models.
To basically fund and populate his more niche
-specific TV stuff, like the Wet Hot series,
like Children's Hospital. It's a cycle. And what
makes it all hold together, what gives it that
lasting appeal, is that he never really ditched
his core sensibility. Never. Even in the big
studio movies, that absurdist streak, that commitment
to the weird joke, it's always there under the
surface. And because he keeps using the same
core people, the ones who get that language,
there's this amazing sense of familiarity across
all those projects. Yeah, you know what you're
getting in a good way. Whether it's a web short
or a Netflix series, you're getting that specific,
reliable, committed, Wayne -iverse voice. It's
comforting almost. It's a really adaptable model
too. Yeah. Based entirely on loyalty. He went
from MTV to Comedy Central to web channels to
Netflix, HBO Max. Yeah. He follows the platforms.
Which leads us to our final provocative thought
for you to mull over. Given this history of adapting,
of always finding new outlets, and given this
latest move, the middle -aged dad jam band. Yeah,
think about that. His career has always sort
of moved back towards these lower pressure, more
communal things, right? From the big screen,
back to TV, back to web series. And now. literally
just playing drums with his friend Ken Marino.
Could this be more than just a pandemic hobby?
Could this shift towards something so low stakes,
so purely about the joy of collaboration? Could
it signal where his creative energy is really
headed next? Like, is he maybe consciously pulling
back from the whole Hollywood feature film grind?
And choosing instead to return maybe more permanently
to just pure communal performance, favoring the
simple fun of playing with friends over the headaches
of big productions. Something to think about
next time you watch Wet Hot or Role Models. Where
does that energy go from here? Definitely something
to chew on. Okay. That's our deep dive on David
Wayne. Thanks for joining us. We'll catch you
on the next one.