For me, it was a bit nerve-racking to welcome Vic Michaelis to Mashable’s Say More couch. The talented comedian appears in a slate of sensational Dropout shows, like Dimension 20: Gladlands, Gastronauts, and Game Changer as well as the new Peacock espionage dramedy Ponies. But Michaelis has also created their own interview parody show, where improv artists wear prosthetics to play Very Important People.
How do you interview a comedian who has mastered making a bad interview great TV? Well, you can see for yourself in Mashable’s full Say More episode with Vic Michaelis on YouTube. But from my perspective, it was truly one of the easiest interviews I’ve ever done. Where on Very Important People, Michaelis’ character (also named Vic Michaelis) is socially awkward and dangerously ambitious, in person they were quick, funny, and game for anywhere the conversation took us — including giving us a taste of the Twisters movie that is their dream project.
In the interview, we talked about Heated Rivalry, orcas attacking yachts, the groundbreaking “One Year Later” episode of Game Changer, Brennan Lee Mulligan “quitting” Dropout, and their dream guest, Catherine O’Hara, whose passing came days after this conversation took place. But for fans of Very Important People, I wanted to single out all the things Michaelis shared about the creation of the Dropout show that they host and serve as executive producer on.
So, here’s everything Mashable learned about Very Important People from Vic Michaelis.
When does Michaelis see the full look for their guests?
Vic Michaelis is Vic Michaelis, host of “Very Important People.”
Credit: Ryan Schude / Dropout
As a producer on the show, Michaelis is in on the early conversations about the look that the costume and makeup teams are building for each guest. However, they choose to keep their distance from the reveal room, where comedians like Paul F. Tompkins, Bobby Moynihan, Jeremy Culhane, Nicole Byer, and Anna Garcia discover what prosthetics, wigs, and wardrobe have been applied while their eyes were closed.
Michaelis explained to me, Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko, “So in the pre-production process, I’m down to know everything. Because often it’s like, we’re dealing with mood boards. We’re dealing with reference images and things like that. So it’s easy enough to sort of be like, ‘Oh, I can sort of see what the idea is.'”
They continued, “I would say on the whole like, I know the improviser’s comedy style very well. So like, I’m like, ‘Okay, I think that this would help set this person up for success with this for XYZ reasons.’ But on the day, as soon as we get to set, I don’t want to see finished costumes until they step on set. I don’t want to know anything about them. I don’t want them to be married to anything that they say in the reveal room.”
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“Because if it’s like, they have an idea, and then as soon as we get on, we start building something, and they’re like, ‘Oh no, this is a more fun path. Or, like, I want to change it to this. Or I want this to be a surprise, and I want to get your reaction to it.’ I just think it allows for some more freedom,” Michaelis said, “In general, I kind of view myself as, like, the head of the talent department. Like, my only goal when people get on set is just to make sure that they feel safe and comfortable and confident to take big swings or make choices, or take stuff back if they want to. I just want to make sure that everyone is having a good time, because it is a daunting process.”
Very Important People made one big change between conception and the show’s debut.
Credit: Ryan Schude / Dropout
Of working on the show, Michaelis said, “It rocks. Genuinely, it really just is the best job in the world. You know, especially in that first season, they really gave us complete free range to do truly whatever we wanted, because they had so many other things going on. And, like, for a long time, Dropout was really, like, all hands on deck. Like, you know, we’re gonna do our best.”
Then they revealed how Very Important People was originally intended to have multiple guests and interviews in each episode. “They had initially designed Very Important People to be three episodes in one essentially,” Michaelis explained. “So it’d be like they do Anna Garcia’s episode (‘Princess Emily’), Zac [Oyama]’s episode (‘Tommy Shriggly’), and Jacob [Wysocki]’s episode (‘Marionette Conqui and Zonton de la Doll’), and that’ll all be like one… But then they had so much footage at the end, they were like, it’s gonna be three separate episodes.”
Vic Michaelis’ suit is solo, and maybe staying?
Vic Michaelis is on the set of “Very Important People.”
Credit: Ryan Schude / Dropout
While their guest might wear robes, ’90s alt attire, rocks or slime to the set, Michaelis has worn the exact same suit through Seasons 1, 2, and 3. But will this camel suit be a constant?
Asked about the suit’s origins, Michaelis asked me what I’d make of a change in wardrobe, and I admitted in my mind this suit is what the character Vic sees as the look for a professional journalist. From there, they admitted that every season it’s a discussion.
“Every season there’s talk of like, ‘Do we do a new suit? And it ends up looped back to the exact same place,” they said, adding, “I love the suit. It’s honestly unbelievably comfy. We have the exact same one from Season 1. I had literally brought it home with me, because they were like, ‘You can keep the suit after the first season.’ Then they decided they wanted the same one for the second season, and I had to bring it back from my house. I’m wearing the pants from that suit in my Smartypants episode. So, you know, it’s family at this point.’
So will there be a change? We’ll have to see in Season 4.
For more from Michaelis on Very Important People, Dimension 20, and the unexpected connection between Game Changer, Heated Rivalry, and Ponies, check out the full Say More episode on YouTube.
Ponies is now streaming on Peacock. Game Changer, Dimension 20: Gladlands, and Very Important People are all streaming on Dropout.
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