Smosh: Under The Influence Live Interview: Checking In with The Team

Ahead of the drunken surprises and laughter sure to occur, I got to ask some questions about Smosh: Under The Influence to a few cast members before the drinking begins on June 30th, starting at 9 pm EST. Speaking with Ian Hecox, Courtney Miller, Shayne Topp, and Damien Haas brought up some hilarious and interesting points about the various games and more to unfold during the night.

“We’re bringing you our first LIVE sketch variety show since 2016, with a TWIST. On Thursday, June 30th, you can tune in for some of your favorite Smosh content, like silly sketches, Try Not To Laugh, and Eat It Or Yeet It… but DRUNK. Someone might even… drunkenly interview their exes? Who will forget their lines? Who will fall down face first? There’s only one way to find out! The party will be live streamed exclusively at live.smosh.com! Grab your tickets now to join in on the fun! Cheers!”

Bleeding Cool: Out of the various activities and games, which are you most excited about for “Smosh: Under the Influence”?

Ian Hecox: I’m most excited to get roasted by the whole cast. On our main Smosh channel, we’ve started doing these funeral-themed roasts where people take turns giving eulogies, absolutely destroying the person while they lay in their casket. We’re finally roasting me for Under The Influence, and I am equal parts nervous and excited about it.

Courtney Miller: I’m so excited to take our [Blank] is Dead series to the next level! Ian’s Funeral is going to be insane. Those videos are crazy when we’re sober, so I can’t even imagine what comedic gold is coming.

Shayne Topp: Probably “Try Not to Laugh.” It’s always unhinged—and that’s when we’re sober—so I can only imagine how insane it’ll be drunk.

Damien Haas: We’ve been having so much fun with our new “Funeral” format, and I’m very excited to see how chaotic it will be in a live setting.

BC: During the live event, is there a personality or specific side of yourself you expect or guess will come out that doesn’t when you’re sober?

IH: I’m already a bit of a troublemaker on live streams, so I suspect it will only be worse for me several drinks in.

CM: I have no idea what “UTI Courtney” (lol) will be like, but I suspect some “WOO girl” energy will take place.

ST: Speaking of “Try Not to Laugh,” the aspect of myself I’m curious about on this show is my inability to contain my laughter. I laugh at everything. So I almost wonder if when I’m drunk I’ll be able to stay more composed. Probably not.

DH: As a non-drinker, I tend to be the “babysitter” for my friends whenever there’s a night of drinking. I’ll be having just as much fun as everyone else, but I’ll certainly be mindful of making sure everyone is hydrated as well.

BC: Who do you expect to be most likely your drunk buddy during “Smosh: Under The Influence” and why?

IH:  Shayne is very strong, so I hope to stay on his good side.

CM: Kimmy, without a doubt, is going to be my drinking buddy. That’s her job on and off the clock as my best friend!

ST: My guess is Ian. He cares a lot about this show and I think he’s gonna commit pretty hard to the theme of it. We’ll see though.

DH: I feel like Tommy would be a fun drunk. He’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met and I’m sure hanging out with him with less of a filter will be incredible.

BC: What excites you and what scares you about “Ian’s Drunk Funeral”?

IH: I have 16+ years of YouTube trauma the cast can draw from, so I don’t know what they could possibly come after me for. There’s a lot of material. At the end of the day we all appreciate and respect each other, so as brutal as the roasts may be, we’ll still be friends at the end of the taping.

BC: Can you give us any hints at what any of the surprises mentioned may be or what they could entail?

IH: Anything can happen! Apparently, we may have created our own version of “Icing” someone, so we’ll see what kind of mayhem that could cause.

BC: As a big part of the “Eat it or Yeet it” segments, can you give us any ideas of the food themes we can expect for “Happy Hour Eat it or Yeet it”?

CM: Knowing our Eat or Yeet magicians, and with how special this night is going to be, I expect them to absolutely blow our taste buds away. Even as food girl, it’s a mystery to me as well!

BC: Will there be any Brianna Boho or Boneless character appearances made?

CM: You will just have to wait and see, but just remember to STAY SAFE OUT HERE!

BC: Can we expect any classic “Try Not to Laugh” characters during this drunk live event version from you?

ST: Oh, a ton of my characters are gonna show up during the live show. Probably all of them at some point or another. Granted they’re all gonna be a sloppy, messed-up version of what they usually are.

BC: What grosses you out the most when it comes to “Eat it or Yeet it”? And have you always been able to resist the very sour foods that make an appearance?

ST: When it comes to “Eat it or Yeet it” what I can’t stand is any form of liquid. I always avoid those as much as possible. I luckily end up getting stuff with malic acid, which as you’ve seen, doesn’t affect me. That was something I didn’t know about myself until we were doing the show. It definitely doesn’t taste great, but I just don’t have that same facial reflex as most do.

BC: Being the “Designated Damien”, what responsibilities does that title entail and who do you think will end up getting the drunkest?

DH: Oh, that’s going to be Shayne, 100%. He’s an incredibly fit guy with very little body fat. Plus, his liver is too busy processing protein powder to deal with the additional strain of alcohol. He will be wasted, guaranteed. As for responsibilities, I’m going to do my best to know the show backward and forwards, just in case someone is a little too tipsy to focus. That way, I can give a gentle nudge in the right direction if someone forgets a line.

BC: Can we expect any new characters to come up during the event from you? And is there a possibility Augustus St. Cloud will appear?

DH: I don’t want to spoil too much, of course. But if you had to bet on it, I’d say there’s a pretty good chance of both of those things happening.