Robbie Praw is exhausted but he wouldn’t have it any other way.
The vice president of stand-up and comedy formats at Netflix is riding high after the Roast of Tom Brady, a live special that was two years in the making that he considers a huge success.
The three-hour live special, which landed right in the middle of the Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival, notched more than 2 million viewers and generated heaps of press coverage (including many stories on this very website). Praw sees landing Brady for the roast as a great example that, in the wake of the special’s success, opens the door for pretty much anyone to take the hot seat going forward.
Despite the overwhelming success of the Brady roast, Praw — the former Just for Laughs programmer who has been with Netflix since 2016 — isn’t ready to talk about plans to run the same play again. Instead, Praw is focused on scoring points with his kids and snapping a photo with Clayton Kershaw and Mookie Betts as he makes his way to a stand-up night with the Los Angeles Dodgers that marks one of the few remaining Netflix Is a Joke events.
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Read on for more from Praw about the Roast, editing out the boos for Kim Kardashian and why nothing was off-limits for the Brady special.
How did the Brady roast come together? Was getting Brady easy? Did he hesitate at all before saying yes? Was he originally who you went out for?
The Roast came in as a package with Tom Brady already attached. It was Jeff Ross and Casey Patterson who brought it in with Tom attached as a producer. This was over two years ago. Of course, Tom unretired so we had to put it on ice for a bit.
Brady was a good sport, taking heat on everything from his marriage to NFL scandals. Was he given a heads up on any of the material or was it all fair game?
I wasn’t in the middle of those conversations, but I don’t think so. You could tell by the look on everyone’s faces — even the comedians were surprised by what the other comedians were saying, or the other football players. Generally, on a Roast, you’re not giving the heads up. But he knew that people were going to come at him pretty hard. He’s been quite a student of the roasts, so he knew what to expect.
Were any jokes off limits?
Not that I’m aware of.
What was the reaction from Brady and his camp afterward?
Positive! It was very clear that it was a very special night, both in the football world and in the comedy world, and the mood after the show was pretty jubilant.
Brady seemed a bit uncomfortable with some of the jokes about Gisele Bündchen. Was there any discussion about scaling those back beforehand?
There was no discussion like that beforehand.
How did you get Bill Belichick?
Booking these types of things is hard. We ask, re-ask, and then eventually it all just came together. As we went through the booking process, the various parties started to realize how special the night was about to be. In the end, we got everyone that we thought was integral in roasting Tom.
It’s noteworthy that Belichick and Robert Kraft seemingly put their tiff behind them during this event. Were you worried about any lingering tension prior to the event?
No. That entire moment was a surprise on the show. Kudos to Kevin Hart for pulling them both together. My focus was on our members getting one of the funniest shows they’ve ever seen; it wasn’t on those relationships. I’m from Canada and a hockey fan — not a football fan — so I was focused on the comedy of the night.
It was announced during the show that Brady donated to the foundations of all of his former teammates as a thank you to get them to show up. Were they paid as well?
Yes, folks got a fee to be part of the show.
How does the cost of The Roast compare to other stand-up specials Netflix has done? What about vs. the cost of a scripted comedy?
I can’t get into the specific financials of it but it was a very big success.
What was the most challenging part of making this happen?
Getting all of the bookings together with people’s schedules; some people had weddings and different events that they were committed to. We wanted this to be a special night for Tom, and we view the casting for a roast like this to be essential. We didn’t want it to be a bunch of strangers to Tom taking shots at him. We wanted it to be some of the best comedians in the world and the people that mattered the most to him. So, schedule management and getting them all here was the challenge. The team is so proud of how we landed the ship.
Who was the hardest to get?
I wouldn’t say the hardest to get, but when Bill Belichick agreed to do it, there were a lot of high fives. That was an exciting moment because we realized how special that would make the night and it pulled it all together.
Who said no?
I don’t want to out anybody who said no but we’ve gotten some texts from people saying they wish they didn’t. (Laughing.)
Were they from the NFL or the comedy world?
We’ve been working on this for years so we’ve had many conversations across it. To be honest, we got most of the people we wanted. But of course not everyone was able to do it and the folks that weren’t able to do it now wish they were there.
During his turn onstage, Brady noted that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wasn’t there. Was he one of those who couldn’t make it?
I’d have to go ask the production; I’m not sure where that landed.
Walk me through the decision to edit out Kim Kardashian being booed.
Post edits are standard practice for comedy specials and happen in live broadcasts, whether that’s subtitles, adding things or removing things that we can’t do when it’s streaming live. It’s part of, quite frankly, the fun of watching it live to not miss those things. But I will just say this, in addition to that, that no talent were consulted as part of that.
Kardashian didn’t ask for the booing to be removed?
No.
What about the decision to leave in the Tony Hinchcliffe joke that’s being called sexist?
This is a roast, nothing is off limits and we believe in creative freedom for this type of thing.
Why did you decide to keep the joke focused on the Patriots owner’s 2019 scandal in the special?
It’s the same thing. This is a roast. Nothing is off limits. That’s what makes it must-see television and, in this case, must-see live television.
Who do you think popped most from the special? Whose set made you laugh most? Were you scouting for who should get their own special?
I didn’t view it as a scouting opportunity, but Nikki Glaser was exceptional — and so many other people were as well. But I also think the way Kevin Hart set the tone of the show was a real contributing reason of why it’s been such a smash hit.
How does the The Roast of Tom Brady play into your larger strategy at Netflix?
We’re always looking at a variety of ways of bringing comedy to our members. As you could see with the scope and scale of this festival, comedy is an integral part of what we do, and especially the Netflix Is a Joke brand. Anytime we could bring something as funny as this to our members, it’s an opportunity that we can’t pass up.
Some reviews have suggested the special should not have been live, that Netflix could have taped it and edited it down from more than three hours to a tight two hours to make it more digestible and so it could play better. Is a taped special like this something they considered or would do in the future?
Everything’s different. We’re going to do some things live, we’re going to do some things taped, but I think this being live, what it was was exhilarating and I think we’re really thrilled with bringing it to the world in that way.
Do you think it would have popped the same way it did if it was pre-recorded?
I don’t know, but I do know that this was certainly a huge moment in the comedy world and in the football world.
What was the biggest lesson you learned in putting this together?
I loved the heart in it. I loved that you saw this group of folks truly coming together. It felt like it wasn’t only a roast but it felt like a reunion. That blew me away and I think contributed to the night being such a success.
Hindsight being what it is, what would you do differently next time?
You’re catching me in a moment where we’re so excited and thrilled with how people are receiving this one that my mind isn’t really on that. I am just so thrilled about how it turned out.
Will you do more roasts?
Sure, if we can. Anything is on the table.
Does having Tom Brady do this move the needle in getting bigger names to do a roast in the future? Have they fielded any calls already?
He’s the GOAT. We’re not concentrated on that at this point, but I would imagine someone like Tom doing this makes it really appealing to a whole slew of folks.
Have you gotten incoming calls from people who want to do something like this with you?
The truth is that I’m in the middle of a comedy festival and am barely answering my phone. (Laughing.) All kidding aside, that’s not the focus right now. We’re having an incredible week here. We’re still going live every night with this incredible John Mulaney show, and that’s where our focus is — at least for this week.
In a perfect world, who would you want to feature in a roast going forward?
It’s a tough question to answer and, quite frankly, we’re not thinking about it now but I look forward to talking to you more about this when I can put my brain to that. Right now, a lot of people are watching this roast on Netflix as we speak. We haven’t moved on to the next one yet.
You just said “yet”…
I definitely said “yet.”
The live roast comes at the same time you’re in the middle of the Netflix is a Joke festival, with elements from that also streaming (though not live). What’s next on the live comedy front?
Right now, we’re doing eight nights of live television. Once we get through that — and it’s been quite successful for us — we’re going to try to figure out what comes next.
Interview edited and condensed for clarity.
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