Nick Kroll & Neal Brennan on partnership with John Mulaney, Dave Chappelle

Neal Brennan and Nick Kroll discuss comedic partnership, and their experiences working as partners with John Mulaney and Dave Chappelle. From The Blocks #podcast with Neal Brennan
Watch Neal Brennan: Blocks on Netflix: www.netflix.com/title/81036234
Theme music by Electric Guest (unreleased).

[@mammamathews]

Nick and John were amazing together! They feed off each other and they make each other funnier. They were a gift.

[@JazGalaxy]

I've recently seen people give Mulaney credit for Big Mouth a couple of times and he is always very deliberate about pointing out that it's Nick Kroll's show and he was just hired to work on it. It comes across as almost antagonistic in a minimal way to the host of the show but I think that now, seeing this, I realize that Mulaney is being very careful to give Kroll credit and that it is probably important to their relationship that John not take even an ounce of undue credit for something that is Nicks.

[@Hmy8799]

Oh yeah I think you’re absolutely right. He’s always been extremely careful/considerate/mindful of making sure everyone involved who *isn’t* him gets the credit and recognition they deserve. He’s always been-as odd as it may sound, haha-very polite and well mannered. Which I guess is why his image ended up being “the perfect guy” or “perfect husband”, which sadly caused a bizarre amount of people to proclaim their disgust and disappointment with him for making a human mistake. He shouldn’t have been held to a higher standard than anyone else, and he was also always open about being in recovery from drug addiction (I thiiiink the last time he used was in college or right after), and made fun of himself for being so “buttoned up” in comparison to his friends in similar situations Idk wheeeere I meant to go with that hahaha adhd

[@BayouJoe39]

That’s honestly just how comedy works. You don’t want to take credit for jokes you didn’t write, because more importantly you want all the fucking credit for jokes you did write and if anyone tries to take it you will ensure that will be the end of them

[@dudewatt]

“Thats the name of the rehab he went to?” Damn 😂😂😂

[@tehz4x0r1]

I love listening to Neil talk with comedians about these types of collaborations and productions, no one does a better job of making Hollywood, comedy, directing, writing, etc…. Make more sense. I feel weird when Neil puts himself below Dave. Three mics and blocks were on par or hovering just above the last 2 chapelle specials. They made me think and reassess my opinions and positions on so many people a situations, made me feel more empathy for more people, and made me look at what I value in life. Neil Brennan is a damn treasure.

[@shainajoseph5040]

I hope kroll and mulaney decide to work together on something again. I enjoyed all of oh hello, seeing it on stage, the interview with Jon Oliver and the Princess Diana podcast. Maybe we can have like a George and Gil travel show or something.

[@jenjean84]

These two have amazing comedic timing and play off one another so well! Loved this story

[@CullenCochran]

When Neil said that John and Nick are never going to be as good of friends as they were, Nick made the 😮 face because that was a little funnier than just breaking down into tears

[@mc76]

If Nick Kroll never did anything else in his life, "Young Larry Bird" would cement his reputation as one of the best comedy writers.

[@sickrandy2946]

@H who cares

[@stef10ziggy]

For real, the unedited Baby J stuff about Kroll was so good

[@samanthab1923]

Where did you see that?

[@RonWolfHowl]

Must’ve seen it live, when it was still titled “From Scratch”

[@stef10ziggy]

Yes, live in Toronto as part of that tour. I wish I could hear it again!

[@AustinRoberJohnson]

Oh, Hello was just this incredible small yet huge thing and I feel very lucky to have seen it as well. Paul Rudd was the guest but the best part was Nick and John just crushing and being hilarious. I had tears I was laughing so hard. I still keep the playbill.

[@dinkwanderlust7981]

This was awesome! Congrats to Nick on "History of the World: Part 2".

[@chrismagsmags]

"Thats the name of the rehab he went to" is such a great line.

[@jamesk1245]

Kroll is exactly what you sound like when your best friend is no longer speaking to you and you miss them.

[@SgtKaneGunlock]

yeah i know the feeling

[@robbiep4456]

Yes. More honest talk. Keep it up

[@gracegomez4595]

Aw he said they brothers

[@travismester]

Male friendship into “Fuckin’ nailed it” at 10:30 is the epitome of male friendship. Haven’t talked to a guy in 5 years? Yeah, he’s my best friend hahaha

[@StudioVoodooMusic]

Nick Kroll is far too modest. He is as genius as any comedian alive. Anyone who would write and star in Wheels Ontario is a comic God! (no disrespect to Bobby Bottleservice.)

[@avidodd26]

i love the Second Banana Podcast

[@mikecantreed]

Glad to see you’re finally talking about Chappelle, Neal.

[@BPudashen]

Lol

[@NFLbeatster]

Top 40 lol.. I know you know he's as funny and as great a stand-up comedian as we've seen. And comedians usually hit their prime around the age of Dave Chappelle Louis CK Sebastian Maniscalco Bill Burr etc

[@yvonnegougelet1204]

Wow. Callback to Rififi. Used to see Kroll there before he got huge ❤️

[@theduckfromthejoke152]

Bobby bottle service is deep

[@raystaar]

Nick and John got in front of roughly 300k people during their Broadway run. Who among us will have an impact on that many people during our lifetimes?

[@catherinereynolds9644]

Funny men of our time

[@charlesbronson2926]

I never realized rashida was Quincy’s daughter

[@mc76]

And Peggy Lipton's.

[@samanthab1923]

Yup & her sister Kidada was engaged to Tupac at the time of his passing.

[@GenteelCretin]

1:55 - Now I guess I'm curious about Mulaney's new standup special. I mean, he has to talk about rehab, and he has to have a good angle, but... I get where they're coming from. It's gotta be uncomfortable to see a dude talk lightly about something with so much gravity.

[@lesliepope7782]

Seen him a few months ago. He was talking about his intervention. Absolutely hilarious

[@GenteelCretin]

@@lesliepope7782 Now that I think of it, he did some material about it in his last SNL monologue, and that was solid.

[@DropTheNaOH]

Saw him live performing the special, so good, can’t wait to watch it again

[@clara-nt9rx]

Watched the special and loved it. Didnt talk about kroll though.

[@GenteelCretin]

​@@clara-nt9rx Yeah, I watched it too and was curious about the unedited cut. Without making it sound like a judgment, it did strike me how little he talked about his divorce. I'm sure he worked through that in his own way, and I doubt the whole situation provides little comedy material, but.... It makes me think of that term "exformation," as the opposite of "information." The way omitted content carries an implied narrative in its absence. No public persona is completely accessible to the public consciousness, but Baby J felt like an incomplete portrait in some respects. It was a great special, but it definitely felt like a haunted and incomplete photo of a moment in some respects...

[@VisionsFromAmari]

i can never NOT hear Lola when Nick talks...

[@sianspherica]

Baby J would have been a lot better had it not 100% focused on his intervention and recovery. Don't get me wrong that aspect was often funny despite it being depressing but the last 3 years were crazy for the planet and Mulaney barely scratched any other topics.

[@ShannonRose99]

I don’t disagree, but Mulaney worked on that material for years. I saw him on the first leg of the tour, and some stuff had been changed or polished but he can’t rewrite his whole set every few months to keep it topical while he’s touring. He started that tour with something to say, and Baby J was the culmination of that work. That’s kinda the standard for Netflix, they want a “finished” product. I also think his pandemic experience was pretty different from the average joe, so it’s hard to keep it relatable the way I think you were expecting.

[@roastbeefy0weefy]

are these different guys?

[@maddyhall4171]

He seemed genuinely sad and surprised about the idea of never working as closely with John again

[@saml302]

trans rights

[@shainajoseph5040]

Did ya like that? I loved that

[@blackdaylight]

Shout out to White James!!😅

[@olihhayes]

4:14

[@jordanerickson5986]

Bring out bianca

[@AdvantageVarnson]

I do like it. I like youuuuu… but you’re crazy.

[@mikehamm45]

Bert also sells out arenas…

[@arlincravens]

A lot of comedians do.

[@jimlivininoz]

Bert does comedy for the intellectually challenged ...this is fact, not a diss. Everyone deserves comedy they relate to.

[@Waffles50]

Bert sells them out because he’s a spectacle

[@emmanewport]

Also has managed to become famous enough that we all know who you mean by just the first name. Like Cher.

[@JohnStowers]

Every time I see Neal he is 3 kilograms lighter. It's a worry.

[@kennysmith1925]

Mulaney is great but his last special was meh. He is recovering so I'm still want to see what comes next but I think it might be his weakest special. Hope he keeps grinding because the drugs aren't what made him great

[@chrisblair9272]

I think his latest special was his owning his mistakes. I agree it didn’t make me laugh in the same ways his previous specials did, but it’s still better than what most put out, which is a testament to how good he is. Given that it was an hour of him coming clean to the entire world on camera about his addictions I can only imagine the nerves he was feeling leading up the curtain. Hopefully this allows him to move forward past a low point in his life and on to bigger and better things.

[@RBGRBGRBGRBG]

I’ve heard the version he was doin on the road was really fuckin funny. Like better than the Netflix special, but because the material was soo incredibly personal and so fresh from his life I think that some really good stuff was cut cuz it was too specific to people he didn’t wanna throw under the bus for a joke (especially when some of those people he now considers to be people who saved his life) which is funny considering nick says here: ‘wait til you see the special to see how he roasts me’ when the reality of the special most of us saw is that he doesn’t go too deep into the details of who said what… whereas the special he saw more than likely did… I also heard some stuff about his ex was cut… all in all too bad really but I get not wanting to get that real, personally.

[@CorinneCrow]

It’s very specific, but if you’re a junkie in recovery it was HILARIOUS

[@steve-from-toronto]

I agree. I saw the tour show live and it was indeed meh. It’s a one-note song about his addiction that frankly bummed the audience out (full arena show in Toronto). It just wasn’t funny; it also tended to come across as a boast coming from a very self-absorbed person. In that show he did mention the various people who tried to help in his intervention, but to the crowd it was a bit name-droppy. Overall the show would have been better if the addiction bit was a small segment, not the whole theme, as it got cringe and people were looking for the door by the time it ended.

[@jiiig8667]

Very pretentious

[@robertkrueger2219]

Annoying.

[@DABA2024]

Neal, do you ever lecture your audiences about not showing enough respect to trust fund billionaires? Dave has taken a weird turn.

[@guyfuntyme6050]

I cannot stand Mullaney. Just insincere and not funny. Reminds me of Mencia

[@steve-from-toronto]

Tend to agree. The tour show was a one-note song that bummed out the audience. He’s also smugly self-satisfied in a way that makes you think he’s headed straight back into addiction in the not-too-distant future.

[@Americanson24]

6, 🔥🔥🔥, 🔥🔥🔥

[@girlgamer4444]

I literally want to kill myself for not seeing in live....❤