Big Money Players Network — the comedy podcast venture announced last October by actor-podcaster Will Ferrell and the iHeartPodcast Network — has announced the slate of the first six shows to be created. Unlike The Ron Burgundy Podcast, Ferrell won’t host the shows but is instead the executive producer. “These first few shows for Big Money Players Network will set the standard for the type of high-quality comedy podcasts we’re striving to produce with this collaboration,” said Ferrell.
The Big Money Players Network lineup includes Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. The pop culture conversation podcast, which launched in March 2016, will now be part of the Big Money Players Network. Rogers is the co-creator, executive producer and co-host of Quibi’s hit “Gayme Show.” And Yang is a featured “Saturday Night Live” player and has appeared in TV shows such as “Awkwafina is Nora from Queens” and “Broad City.”
The rest of the shows are new, although with some familiar faces. The first to launch is True Romance with Carolina Barlow and Devin Leary. The podcast describes itself as a guide through the trials and tribulations of public and personal love stories. Barlow is a familiar name to Ferrell fans. She is also the producer, writer and co-host of The Ron Burgundy Podcast and has worked with Will Ferrell for more than six years. Leary was previously a segment producer for “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah.”
In August, Big Money Players Network will debut My Momma Told Me, a podcast hosted by comedian Langston Kerman. His show will take a comedic deep dive into the most common and sometimes “problematic Black conspiracy theories.”
Then in September, Bald Talk will debut. It is a podcast in which comedians Brian Huskey and Charlie Sanders will interview bald performers, bald celebrities, and anyone bald about being bald.
Also arriving in the fall is POOG, with Kate Berlant and Jacqueline Novak. The hosts are comedians and best friends, and they will explore the trillion-dollar wellness. On the show they will test products and practices, consult healers and experts, and ask whether they work or whether it is simply “the thrill of the chase” that people are after.
“Since we started working with Will Ferrell, we’ve been extremely inspired by the comedic audio content we’ve been able to produce together,” Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network, said in the announcement. “Will is deeply dedicated to exploring the podcast medium. These initial shows demonstrate that the Big Money Players Network will create extremely fresh and captivating content,” said Byrne.
Last October Ferrell and iHeart said they expect to release about ten podcasts by the end of 2021. UTA Head of Emerging Platforms Oren Rosenbaum explained at the time that they had been searching out ways to expand Ferrell’s presence in the audio space, and placing a comedy network under his direction seemed like a good fit.
All podcasts on the Big Money Players Network will be executive produced by Ferrell and iHeartMedia and will be distributed through the iHeartPodcast Network.
“The iHeartPodcast Network really knows how to make a podcast,” said Ferrell. “In addition to the creative minds working behind the scenes, the network has an unprecedented ability to reach millions of new podcast listeners.”