Dirty Laundry is one of Dropout’s most charming shows, filled to the brim with a deft mix of friendly banter, wild stories, and good drinks. Hosted by Lily Du and Grant O’Brien, the show brings together Dropout veterans, up-and-coming stars, and legendary comedic talent to joke, bicker, and call out one another on a series of prompts introduced by Lily.
Five seasons in, the show has aged like a fine wine — with the banter and stories getting more personal and hilarious with each passing season. During an interview with TVBrittanyF, Dirty Laundry‘s Lily Du and Grant O’Brien reflect on the ways the show has evolved over the years, the importance of chemistry in casting for the series, and what kind of stories get them the most excited.
How has your approach to casting and prepping each season evolved over time?
Lily Du: We’ve really figured it out from season to season — I think it’s a really well-oiled machine now, and we’ve realized so much of the work gets done in casting the couches. If you have great chemistry off the bat on the couch, if everybody knows each other, if everybody feels comfortable, that’s all your work done right there. Then the episode just runs itself.
Grant O’Brien: Yeah, completely. The secret sauce is, do you want to hang out with these four people for a little while? When those four people like hanging out with each other, all the better.
Lily Du: Well, Grant’s secret sauce is vodka.
Grant O’Brien: It’s not really a secret. That’s an open book.
The casting process is such an important part of finding that dynamic. What’s the trick
Grant O’Brien: We get to work with a really good casting director named Jazzy Collins. We talk on Slack, but there is also that big board that you have in your head. It’s figuring out, well, is this person available that day? Could this person work with them? It’s a puzzle that, fortunately, Jazzy has connections to so many people.
If they’re going to be recommended, they’re probably going to be charming, which will take care of itself. But the minutia of when people are available and how they play with the other folks — thank God we have talented people who aren’t me to do that.
Lily Du: I get my hands on the casting, too.
Grant O’Brien: Lily does get involved in the casting, too.
Lily Du: Grant is mixing drinks and testing them for the whole month before. [Laughing]
Grant O’Brien: It’s definitely an art and not a science.
Lily Du: Jazzy does an incredible job. There are scheduling things, but it’s definitely a mix of Dropout familiar faces and people we’ve always dreamed of having on shows that we love. Like Survivor. We thought, wouldn’t it be cool if we had Survivor people, because we’re all fans of the show.
We even have people who have reached out to Dropout, and been like, ‘Hey, I’m a fan!’ This season, Paul Scheer and Reggie Watts had both expressed interest in doing stuff with Dropout, and we were like, yes! It’s so cool. These are people I’ve admired for a long time.
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We’ve heard so many types of stories in this show. What are some of the kinds of stories that get you most excited?
Lily Du: The stories we have a reaction to. You see in the episodes, Grant and I are being genuine. I know whose secret it is, but I don’t know the story. Only our director and producer, Paul Robalino knows the whole story. I think at the beginning, in the first season, we thought, we just wanted juicy secrets. We’ve discovered over time, it’s not about crazy parties and sex and whatever. It’s just a storytelling show. I think a crazy story that just unfurls and has more twists than turns is great. Elyse Myers has a really good one this season. John Madison has a really good one this season, a story about unfolded parts. That’s what gets me excited.
Grant O‘Brien: Yeah, I forgot about that John Madison story. That’s a good one, it’s making me sweat again.
Lily Du: In the first few seasons, we had people — we asked our friend Siobhan, and she was like, ‘I haven’t had a crazy life. I don’t have crazy drinking, sex, or drug stories.’ But as the show evolved, we were like, it’s not about doing crazy things. It’s just about having stories. It opens it up to people. Anyone can come on, you don’t have to do drugs or drink. You can be completely sober. Just things happen, stories happen.
Five seasons in, what has been the biggest surprise?
Lily Du: I don’t think in my wildest imagination, when we started this show during COVID, I couldn’t imagine that I would have been the host interviewing comedy legends that I have loved and admired since I was a kid. Dropout has gotten so big, and Dirty Laundry along with it. I just feel really lucky and grateful.
Grant O’Brien: I guess I’m not surprised by the ability to get fun, charming people to come on the show. But it never gets old, how we get to be on the show about a good hang. That’s a very pleasant way to make some money. It really is. I’m surprised I keep getting to do this. I would do a million more. I’m hoping for a million more seasons. This seems like the easiest sell to any streamer or studio — literally just put people in a room and get some drinks. It’ll be a party. We’ll love it. It’ll be great.
Dirty Laundry is now streaming on Dropout
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