Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Tamposi and Emma Samocki.
Erica and Emma, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
We first met when we were both working as producers at the NFL Network in Culver City and quickly bonded over the fact that in addition to sports, we both had a passion for comedy and ultimately hoped to pivot our careers to scripted television. We proved to be a perfect duo early on, taking every opportunity we could to create sketches for the NFL that quickly found success online, as well as a loyal following. One of the first videos we made together while roaming the frigid streets of Minneapolis ahead of Super Bowl LII featured us playing clueless reporters holding invisible microphones who went back and forth sharing zero information of substance, apart from the fact that the atmosphere was “absolutely poppin’.” When this piece, along with our subsequent work began to garner views, we were encouraged to keep the tandem going, jumping at any chance we could get to make people laugh and establish our comedic voice.
We quickly built upon our online presence and used the momentum to develop our own brand in the form of a semi-scripted comedy podcast dubbed The BroadCast Podcast. Being able to utilize our connections from past industry experience as well as our contacts in sports media allowed us to launch the show with the appeal of notable guests in addition to our own budding comedic rapport. We’ve been making the podcast for over two years now, continue to produce sketches for the NFL and have also branched out further by creating multiple web series, branded video content and voicing advertisements. It’s an incredible feeling to know we built a show that’s absolutely our own, driven by our friendship and absurd brand of humor, and we’ve managed to gain dedicated fans who enjoy every minute of it.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Launching a podcast and finding an audience, especially as lesser-known talent, is certainly a difficult feat, but the two of us were prepared to consistently give this endeavor our all, market ourselves and push each other to create a one-of-a-kind program. While we were fortunate to establish a following when we first debuted, it was and continues to be a challenge to separate ourselves from the sports world and shift entirely to comedy. Initially, many of our guests on The BroadCast were sports personalities and our existing fans knew us from the NFL and heard our voices on NFL podcasts and television shows. We worked hard to seek out comedians to join us on the show, create signature satirical segments and eventually tap into a comedy-specific listenership. However, this obstacle of ours has ultimately become a major positive. Sure it forced us to step outside our comfort zones, but the real benefit is ongoing, as some of our most devoted listeners are football fans who stumbled upon us at the NFL and now pride themselves on discovering us early.
Please tell us about The BroadCast Podcast.
The BroadCast is a comedy podcast first and foremost, but we also specialize in online sketches, web series, branded video content and work as voiceover talent. In creating our own media brand, we knew it’d be vital to establish a flagship program, in our case, The BroadCast Podcast, which we can always point to as the core of the operation. From there, we’ve been able to produce supporting content and develop our personalities as “The Broads.”
We’re most proud of our podcast above all else, because it’s a true representation of our friendship, albeit exaggerated, and it is only possible if we combine our efforts. It is our creative partnership at its finest and it’s a joy to write and star in a show so rooted in our chemistry. While we constantly poke fun at ourselves, i.e., Erica’s ongoing quest to dress like circa 2017 Justin Bieber or Emma’s uncanny inability to stop fidgeting, the program is about true friendship and a desire to see each other succeed. We’re just like your favorite on-screen bffs – Carrie and Samantha, Mary Kate and Ashley, the girls from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – except we actually like each other, we’re not related and we don’t share pants.
What sets us apart is our writing, show format and tone. The podcast takes on the personality of a variety show as opposed to a standard talk show. We are often lucky to be joined by famous guests and our ultimate tactic is comedy via the avenue of surprise. Unlike other interview podcasts, we don’t ask the basics, we allow our audience to get to know our guests through their answers to our bizarre questions, fast-paced games and specialized segments. Whether it be our fake advertisements for random entities like “Blankets,” pitching big-time YouTube stars on insane viral video ideas or a satirical take on Cosmopolitan articles via a segment called “Inside the Sheets,” we always strive to include scripted elements. It can be as casual as us reading “real-time reviews” from fake disgruntled listeners or as grand as us doing a full-on table read of a screenplay Emma wrote about getting rejected from her top choice college, complete with sound effects and dramatic scoring. It’s our goal every episode to surprise the listeners with something new and (hopefully) hilarious.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Erica: As a former winner of the “Most Outgoing” and “Class Clown” superlatives in high school, it should come as no surprise that I was always no stranger to stirring things up to impress my classmates. I always enjoyed that my friends found me funny, but I think I truly became addicted to getting laughs by middle school when I managed to unite the entire grade in following me in a series of pranks on our teachers. One that I look back on probably too warmly was the time I passed a note around the class, instructing everyone to drop their textbooks on the ground at exactly 10:04 to startle our teacher. Everyone complied, of course, and he quite literally fell out of his seat. Got his ass! Was it the most original bit? Not at all, but I’m a fan of the classics.
Emma: I adored comedy from a young age and was inspired by my love for SNL and MadTV to create my own sketch comedy production company based in my parents’ attic called “Mad Kidz” when I was ten years old. My best friend and I would film improvised sketches, pay our siblings in Monopoly money to act in them and I somehow taught myself to edit on Windows Movie Maker. Once we had a collection of ten or so sketches, I compiled a “Mad Kidz: Season 1” and burned it on a bunch of DVDs. I fondly remember going door-to-door in my neighborhood with a basket of DVDs trying to persuade my neighbors to purchase a copy of my utter nonsense for ten dollars. Needless to say, I made bank that afternoon.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Cat McCabe & HTI
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