I think I speak for the majority of us when I say that HBOโs Entourage is โ and always will be โ one of the greatest TV seriesโ of all time. Now, almost 10 years after the show concluded back in 2011, Emmy-winning creator Doug Ellin and star Kevin Connolly (Eric Murphy) have launched an all-new Entourage-related project: Victory The Podcast.
Featuring Doug and Kevin Dillon (Johnny Drama), the lads relive the glory days one episode at a time. They discuss behind the scenes stories in the making of Entourage, whilst also sharing thoughts from their 50+ years of combined Hollywood experience.
I was lucky enough to sit down with Doug Ellin this week for a chat about the show.
Read the full Doug Ellin interview below:
How did Victory The Podcast start?
Everybody is doing a podcast right now! Originally, it was Kevin Connollyโs idea. He came to me and said we should start something. I didnโt particularly want whatever we did to be Entourage specific. Although ironically, I guess it kind of is at the moment. But for me, the greatest thing about the podcast is that it really shows the bond between us (the Entourage cast), which is essentially just an extension of how we all were together on set. Weโre all still like brothers. And now, weโre not only re-watching bits of the show together, but weโre getting other cast members on the podcast as well to talk about it. So thatโs been a lot of fun.
Listening here in Australia, the chemistry between you guys is so similar to what weโre used to seeing on Entourage. How good is it to be back together with guys like Kevin Dillon (Drama), Kevin Conolly (E) and Jerry Ferrara (Turtle)?
Itโs a great feeling, man. I mean, Australia has actually always been really good to us and the Entourage movie did very well there, but the Me-Too movement hit here (in America) right as the movie came out, and we just got slaughtered. It was as if somehow, America re-wrote history all of a sudden. That the show Entourage was just misogynistic nonsense โ which was of course never the case when we were nominated for Emmyโs and Writerโs Guild Awards every year.
So, itโs been a great chance for us to show that we can actually be funny without making nasty comments โ but again, the personalities portrayed in Entourage were characters, they werenโt actually real humans. Anyway, these are the real humans behind the show now. And as much as I know already about Connolly, Dillon, and Jerry, even after all these years, Iโm still getting to know new things about them.
Does the podcast give you a chance to dispel with any frustrating rumours surrounding Entourage like you just mentioned?
Yesโฆ unfortunately, there were some rumours, which kills me. I mean our set was a family, and of course, there was probably stuff that went on that me or nobody else knew about. But for the most part, nobody ever came to me or had any problems. I still have a lot of best friends from the show over 15 years later, and 95% of the cast and crew I would feel comfortable picking up the phone right now and asking them for a favour.
So, I really think itโs a chance to let everybody see another whole side to it, whilst still being true to what Entourage was about. And like you said, itโs about the camaraderie with the women as well! Emmanuelle Chriqui (Sloan McQuewick) and Constance Zimmer (Dana Gordon) are close friends of mine, and itโs been so much fun talking to them about the show and watching episodes together that we havenโt seen in years.
Where do you see the podcast going in the future?
Well for me, and I always have big dreams. I feel like the three of us could do a radio show. Itโs kind of the same as Entourage; as long as you have that friendship and loyalty, and people like the characters, theyโll watch it. So, Iโm hoping โ and I keep battling with Kevin on this one โ that we can eventually move off the topic of Entourage and talk about whatever we want. From sports to relationships to anything.
So hopefully, it will extend beyond just simply talking about Entourage episodes, but weโll see. The good news is, itโs growing every week โ especially in Australia.
Will we ever see a Johnny Drama spin-off series or something similar in the future?
I like to think that hopefully, I havenโt lost that ability. You know, what I did back then with Entourage was capture what was real (at the time), and I think I could do that again. Obviously, Ari Gold couldnโt talk like that today, I mean if he walked into his office and spoke like that โ which many agents did back then by the way โ he would be fired. But yeah, a world definitely still exists in which we could do a show like that.
Iโm actually working on a new show right now with Arsenal legend Thierry Henry. Itโs got vibes of family and fame and things like that, and weโre going to have great female characters similar to how we had Constance and Emmanuelle in Entourage. However, I still want to be able to capture that โguyโs guyโ theme that I find interesting and funny.
Can we expect guys like Adrian Grenier (Vincent Chase) and Mark Wahlberg on the podcast soon?
Iโm hoping we get everybody! We just had Bob Saget on the podcast, and weโve always been great at getting guests on, but when we started I said to Kevin that I didnโt want to be dependent on guests, because every podcast in the world does that. Thatโs just not going to work long-term. The key to the show is the chemistry between all of us in the recording studio, but yeahโฆ at the end of the day Iโm sure weโll get everybody on the podcast. Adrian has been hiding from me, heโs in Australia I think actually, but I will get him on at some point, and hopefully Mark. Again, I donโt want to have to rely on anybody, but at the same time, I hope we get everybody on.
When can we expect Victory The Podcast official merch?
Honestly, I think itโs any day now. I keep seeing samples in the studio, and I guess unless Kevinโs selling them on the side and I donโt know anything about it, theyโll be coming in any minute. Itโs really nice stuff โ weโve got a guy making some great clothing for us. Again, releasing our own official merchandise was not something that we even anticipated doing 5-weeks ago. I actually said to both Kevins before we started the show, โLetโs just do this for fun, you knowโฆ see if we can hone a skillโ โ because Iโve always wanted to do a radio show. For me, I started as a stand-up comic, and this was always something that interested me, but also something which I never saw a way into. But whatโs great about podcasts is that thereโs no entry fee โ as long as youโve got something to say people will come and listen. So thatโs what weโre trying to do.
Do you think Entourage will experience a flood of popularity off the back of your new podcast?
I hope so. It does honestly feel like that. Itโs also weird to think what the show would look like today. I mean, Iโve got these 18-year old TikTok stars constantly asking me to do their podcasts with them, who have like 15 million followers. Itโs crazy. And I do think about how exciting and crazy it would be to have Entourage today with social media โ that didnโt exist when we started. So yeah it would be a really different kind of environment, but a lot of fun also.
Itโs been awesome chatting with you, Doug! Thanks again for taking the time.
You got it โ stay safe out there and take care.
Check out the official Entourage podcast below.
