“That’s the serious version of things,” Poehler continued. “Then there’s the comedic version, which comes from loving something and wanting to do a parody take on it.”
These days, it’s hard to find a celebrity who doesn’t have a podcast featuring other celebrities. On “Armchair Expert,” Dax Shepard shoots the breeze with guests like David Sedaris and Connie Britton. On “Unqualified,” Anna Faris gives relationship advice to, among others, Christina Ricci, Kevin Bacon and David Duchovny. And on “Street You Grew Up On,” people like Eva Longoria, Jimmy Kimmel and Issa Rae chat about their childhoods with Kerry Washington.
Poehler’s podcasts also feature a constellation of stars, mostly old friends she knows from her early improv days in Chicago and New York, and from “Saturday Night Live.” Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Will Forte, and Fred Armisen (playing a rather funny A.I. bot) all make appearances in various guises — as fictional characters rather than themselves.
Cackowski compared their approach to that of Armisen, Seth Myers and Bill Hader in “Documentary Now,” the series on Netflix that parodies that genre. “What if we made ‘Documentary Now’ a podcast?” she said. “The whole project has been about which of our friends come hang out and improvise.”
The podcasts include Poehler’s satirical sendups of ads from the sponsors, including ZipRecruiter, eharmony and Kroger, and they stand out in a crowded market, said Jenna Weiss-Berman, executive vice president of Audacy Podcasts. After a period of almost unfettered growth, the industry has endured painful retrenchments in the past year and a half or so, and finding something new and fresh is increasingly difficult, she said.
“This isn’t just celebrities chatting with other celebrities,” Weiss-Berman said. “This is Amy Poehler doing her thing, which is being the master of improv.” While fictional podcasts can sound overly theatrical and dramatic, Weiss-Berman said, Poehler’s titles are “fast and fun.”
