The 2 Johnnies have opened up about taking on America for their new show.
The 2 Johnnies Do America sees the Tipperary natives embark of their first tour of America – heading to L.A., Miami, and Washington to perform their live podcast.
The comedic duo, who go by their stage names Johnny Smacks and Johnny B, spoke exclusively to Goss.ie about how their upcoming series came to be and what we can expect from the show.
“It’s an idea we’ve been kicking around with for a while, trying to get it across the line. We wanted go to America,” Johnny B said while appearing on our chat show Goss Chats.
“They were going to follow us on tour, we said it to RTÉ ‘do you want to come?’ and they were like yeah – sound for the text, we’ll come along.”
“I can’t see this being sold worldwide,” he laughed when asked about the Irish-ness of the show – speaking about a reference to the weather being like that in Fair City during one scene.
“I wouldn’t say we were trying to be as Irish as possible, that just comes naturally,” Johnny B added.
“We didn’t know the cameras were rolling in that scene,” Johnny Smacks explained, “And we were sulking because somehow we managed to rent a boat for a scene and thought ‘This is going to be magic’, but it started pissing rain!”
“I’m wearing a flowery shirt and shorts and runners – that’s it!” Johnny B said, “And it’s like tropical storm… so yeah, a great day filming!”
“I think this programme is very Irish,” Johnny Smacks said, “But that’s what we are.”
“The real point of the show changed,” Johnny B said, “RTÉ had one vision for the show and the production company and us, so it became less about the tour and more about the great characters we were meeting.
“It became less about Irishness. I mean, we interviewed some really interesting Irish people – influencers, bloggers, actors, actresses, musicians, guys running their own company…
“We met a really interesting architect trying to tackle the homelessness crisis in L.A… that didn’t make the show because maybe it’s not hilarious.”
Johnny Smacks shared his highlight from making the show: “When I got home and I showed the first edit to my mother, she nearly burst out crying and was like ‘I can’t believe you’ve done all this.”
“At the time, when we’re making the TV show all we’re concentrating on was: the cameras are rolling, it’s costing everybody money, and it’s time for me and him to be funny.
“You’ve got your little segment, you need to be funny and always on it,” he added.
“At the time, I think we were so focused on making good content and making the TV show as good as we could that we weren’t bothered about where we were and what we were doing, or how great this would be for us.
“Getting home and reflecting on it… Now I’m buzzing for Thursday night. I’ve got a load of beer in the fridge, might get an Indian – who knows, we’ll go crazy!
“I’m probably the most proud of this TV show more than anything we’ve ever done – I really do think it’s good. We totally believe in it.”
“We had a season two planned before we even finished filming season one,” Johnny B revealed.
“There have been talks but it’s like anything – it’s going to be coronavirus pending,” Johnny Smacks explained, “Hopefully, this is successful and people will like it – which I think they will.”
The 2 Johnnies Do America airs tonight on RTÉ2 at 9:30pm, where the lads hit L.A. to try their hand at rollerskating, remix one of their hit singles with Randy, and train with GAA club LA Cougars.
Watch the full exclusive interview with The 2 Johnnies below.
On the latest episode of Goss Chats, Goss.ie Founder Ali Ryan chats to The 2 Johnnies ahead of their highly anticipated RTÉ series ‘The 2 Johnnies Do America’.
From wanting to duet with Paul Mescal, to how they stay so grounded – the lads open up about their careers to date.
#GossChats is sponsored by top Irish aesthetic clinic Haus of JeJuve.
