Fast (Food) Chat with Somebody Feed Phil Rosenthal

FMC Fast Chat takes you inside the news so you can be in the know in 30 minutes. Hosted by Fair Media Council CEO and Executive Director Jaci Clement, Fast Chat features notables in news, media, and business.

Thank you for joining us, and please remember to subscribe to our podcast. With us today, Phil Rosenthal, who basically needs no introduction. Phil, what's it like to have achieved such fame that you don't need to be introduced anymore.

I'm not sure that you should be so confident that everybody knows who I am, but that's very nice of you. Thank you. Uh, as of yesterday, you can now introduce me as New York Times bestselling author.

Ooh, God, Bill, congratulations.

We just hit that yesterday. We hit the New York Times bestseller list. At number 3 in our debut. Instant bestseller, they said. I've never had anything like that. So I'm very, very excited.

So what are you going to do to celebrate?

I eat something.

What's your favorite food?

I like very simple things at home. I like pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, sandwiches, tuna fish sandwiches. I love, I love fried chicken. I love everything that everybody else likes. And the older I get, it's kind of the simpler I get, I think.

Yeah.

People ask me what would my last meal be all the time. And I say these childhood favorites, because I think if it is your last meal, you kind of want that comfort, that return to childhood. If you can have anything in the world, right? Why would you pick something that you only had maybe once in your life? Wouldn't you want that comfort of that? And then I think I would end With my mom's matzo ball soup, which was the best thing she made.

Okay, good to know, good to know.

Yes.

So we want to talk to you briefly about, uh, your upcoming show. Um, you're going to be here on Long Island, which is my backyard. Uh, I believe it's November 13th at the Paramount.

Very soon. I'm very excited.

So tell me a little bit about your show. Um, what brought it together?

Uh, well, the book and season 6 came out the same day last week, and so the tour is an extension of that. It's obviously to promote both things, but more than that, for me, it's a chance for me to connect with fans of the show. And it's been so much fun. We've been having— I think we've sold out every single show, and we're playing giant 1,200-seat theaters. I was in Portland, Oregon 2 nights ago. And there was an opera house we played with, with 2 balconies sold out. I feel like Bruce Springsteen.

Very cool. Good for you.

It's so nice. And you know, I— they show a 5-minute sizzle reel of the current season. And when the theme song plays at the end of that reel, Mm-hmm. Everyone sings along, and it's just the nicest, sweetest thing. I love it so much. Then I come out with a moderator, and they interview me on stage for a little bit. And the best part, I get to talk to the audience. I get to— we get to take questions from the audience, and I get to talk to them one-on-one. It's so much fun. And everyone who buys a book apparently gets a photo with me after the show.

Oh, there you go. Okay.

So I also, I want people to know that proceeds from my sale of the— from my proceeds from my share of the book go to ALS. My mom passed from ALS. And I've obviously been drawn to the community and love them. And so the organization is I Am ALS. And so I'm very happy that the, the proceeds from my share are going there.

Oh, that's very kind of you. Let me, let me ask you this, because you have in your bio— I mean, you're a writer, you're a creator, you're a producer, you've been an actor. Um, what do you consider yourself at the heart of it?

I guess a writer.

Yeah.

Okay.

Yeah.

I mean, but maybe people are gonna say he's like— I was, I was in the airport and a man said, hey, you're the food guy. So I sarcastically said, gee, thanks, always wanted to be known as that. And he goes, hey, listen, I'm just the guy.

Okay, there you go.

And I thought, you know what? Doesn't matter what you're known for. It's nice to be known for something.

Exactly. Good for you though. Now let me ask you this. When you were 5 years old, what did you think you'd be when you grew up?

An astronaut.

Of course. All right, so what happened?

Because I grew up in the '60s and everything was the space race and everything was, you know, this was the most thrilling, exciting, imagination-triggering thing that you could ever want as a kid. And I was, I guess, like every other kid, obsessed with the space program. And then I realized as I got a tiny bit older, maybe 6 years old, you know what I love most about the astronaut life? They get to be on Ed Sullivan. You know, I was on the Stephen Colbert Show. And I got to tell him that. And you know where they taped that show?

At the Ed Sullivan Theater?

That's, that's right. Yeah, that's right. And so I had come full circle without ever having to be blasted on a rocket into space.

So true. So true. Now, you've been in the business quite a while, though. So I'm kind of wondering, How have things changed? Is— I mean, you're— when Everybody Loves Raymond came out, that was on CBS, so that was network. And now with Somebody Feed Phil, that's Netflix, so that's over-the-top streaming. Is there any difference, you know, either from the creative or the business angles?

Yes, yes. Uh, Netflix has been wonderful to me. Netflix is, uh, uh, you have a lot more artistic freedom Oh, really? And the reach of Netflix has made me whatever I am today, meaning I can go to virtually any country on the earth and they know me.

Really?

Yeah, because, because of Netflix. Because Netflix is in, I think, almost every country in the world.

Okay.

And so I'm doing a show that is kind of like an ambassador, uh, a goodwill ambassador, not just for myself or my country, but for Netflix, because they're in every country. And I get to be the happy hungry man that goes and almost represents them in a way.

Mm-hmm.

So that's, that's a big difference. CBS, you know, yes, through syndication, in different countries on Earth. That's been wonderful. But the reach of Netflix is, you know, until I think Disney got in the game, and I think Warner Brothers is going to get in the game, that they were, they were alone in reaching more people on Earth than ever before one company has done.

Right? Right. Yeah. So now, how about from The creative point of view then, because you're meeting so many, so many more people in different countries, do you look at things differently?

Uh, creatively differently? I— it's expanded, it's expanded my mind, not because of the show so much, although that's afforded me entree to many places, but the travel in and of itself that anyone can do has been mind-expanding and creatively enhancing because I'm being exposed to many ideas. That's what the best— that's the best thing travel does.

Yeah.

You're presented with ideas that you never thought of before because you live in one place. So when you see many places, you get many people and you get many ways of life. And so that can't help but broaden your mind a little bit. Right.

So how did you fare during COVID then?

Well, we filmed seasons 5 and 6 in that sweet spot between Delta and Omicron, and it was, it was not so bad because we tested all the time. If I was going to meet you in a restaurant and we were going to film the scene, you would be tested 20 minutes before I even got there to ensure, uh, my safety, and then the safety of the crew. Everyone tested all the time. And so we were very careful. And only one person during this whole thing came down with COVID Okay. From our crew. Yes.

And you haven't had it?

I had a false alarm. I was in the middle of a scene. I had just been tested. And they assumed, you know, all good. And my brother comes over. and waves his hands and says, you just tested positive. And I was shocked and very nervous because that would mean shutting down the show for however long.

Right.

In another country. And I took another rapid test and that came out negative. Then I went to a clinic and got a real PCR test and that came out negative. So I had a false— I literally had a false alarm. But the director of the show Did not. He— we were— he, he, he tested positive all 3 times. And so then we had to cancel our show the next, uh, country, which would have been the next day. We were supposed to fly to another country. We had to cancel that episode and, uh, go home, and we swapped in an American city for that. That's why you see— Uh, 3 American cities this season instead of 2.

I see. Okay.

But we'll make it up, I hope, if Netflix renews us.

Okay. Well, let me ask you this.

Sure.

What's the best part about being Phil Rosenthal?

Oh, I'm the luckiest guy you're ever going to talk to. That's how you get to wake up and feel lucky and grateful every single day. That's the best part.

You sound—

And, and the people I meet is the best part. It's not even the food. It's not even the travel. The travel and the food connects me to the people. The people is the best part. And it's why I love doing the book and show tour, because now I get connected with the fans, not just the subjects of the show. But the fans of the show, and that's a whole other world for me. What I love the most in, in doing the tour is the diversity of the people who like the show. Everything from little kids to very old people. Uh, I love that people feel they can watch with their entire family, and I love that the show is inclusive of every kind of person and every kind of lifestyle. I see them all.

At the—

in the audience. I love that.

Do you think people expect you to be funny all the time?

Uh, I don't want to disappoint them if they do. I try, you know, I'm— nobody's funny all the time.

Yeah.

But, you know, the thing that the show does is it— they know how I think. And, and I understand that from being on the other side As a writer, you know you've struck something when the audience is laughing at just a face that you make because they know how you think. If you've done your job as a writer, they know, they know what you're thinking, and that's the greatest character laugh that you can get. So I used to write that way, and now I am that way, I guess. And I've been on the show long enough for people to look at my face and laugh. That makes me very happy.

Well, how did you settle in on the food idea?

It's just something I love, and I understand that it's the great connector. In fact, I always say food is the great connector, and then laughs are the cement.

Okay. I see. It sounds like—

We all gotta eat, right? We all gotta eat. That connects us to the world. Everyone eats. So when you sit down with somebody, you're doing something already relatable between the two of you.

Right.

And then if you can share a laugh or a smile even, now we're friends.

With everything you do, I can't help but wonder, do you sleep at all?

I wish I slept better. The older I get, the harder it is for me to sleep through the night. You know, for, for biological reasons, I get up and then I have trouble falling back asleep. I, I need, I need a little help sometimes, I won't lie. And, and it's, uh, it's, it's— the other thing is you come off doing a show, Yeah. like when you, when you, when you've done a show for 1,200, 1,400 people who, who act like they're at a rock concert, I mean, It's hard to fall asleep after that.

Yeah, I would think so.

Yeah.

So what do you do? Do you go for a walk or something? How do you calm down?

I eat a little something. I am exhausted at the end, but in a very, very happy way. Uh, you know, I'll stay for another hour or 2 taking photos with the people, and I love it. I wouldn't trade it for anything, even if I am tired.

Well, you sound insanely happy, I will tell you that.

Insane, certainly.

We share an alma mater. I'm a graduate of Hofstra like you.

Oh, yes.

Many happy times. They brag about you often.

Do you know I got to do the commencement speech?

No, I didn't.

About 10 years ago. It's on YouTube. You can see it.

Okay. All right. Well, they are very proud of you.

I'm proud to have gone there. I got such a great education there. I always joke that they made me take all these courses I knew I would never use, like English. And I— it turns out, you know, if I, if I started as a performer there, they did make me take all these courses in writing, producing, directing, play analysis, right?

Right.

And all of that served me well as the showrunner for Raymond.

That's great to hear.

Yes.

And it also sounds like great advice for up-and-comers, right?

Yes.

Don't limit yourself. You never know what life is going to present you with. And sometimes life presents you with what you were supposed to be.

The Fair Media Council is a 501 nonprofit organization advocating for quality news and working Seeking to create a media-savvy society. For more information about the Fair Media Council and upcoming Fast Chat shows, check out fairmediacouncil.org. This podcast is a part of the C-Suite Radio Network.

For more top business podcasts, visit c-suite-radio.com.