Why the Brady Roast Hit

Jeff Ross dropped by to talk about the return of the Netflix roast and why the Tom Brady edition mattered more than anyone expected. The Brady roast ended up Emmy nominated, stacked up 2.5 billion viewing minutes, and went head-to-head with the Oscars and the Super Bowl halftime show. Ross is not interested in playing it safe for the next one. He wants to top it.

Rich framed the deeper achievement. The Brady roast worked through things inside the Patriots organization that had been sitting unresolved for years. Edelman and Gronk were on the dais. Belichick made a Darth Vader surprise entrance. Robert Kraft was in the room. These guys had not really been together, and the vibe had been icy. Kevin Hart dragged them up there for a group shot, and Gronk spiked the glass into the audience. About a month later, Brady got inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame completely free of all that tension.

Roasting heals, Ross said. Laughing at yourself and laughing with each other. He leaned on the old Friars Club line, attributed to Don Rickles, that you only roast the ones you love. Every segment of a classic roast ends with a sincere honoring moment, and people forget that part when clips get ripped out of context and shared on phones.

Ross called Brady's willingness to sit there for three hours and six minutes, live and unedited, something close to a public service. He pitched him for the Nobel Peace Prize. A goat laughing at himself gave everyone else permission to laugh too.

The Kevin Hart roast is next. Mother's Day night, 8 PM Eastern, 5 PM Pacific at the Kia Forum. Shane Gillis is hosting. Ross would not announce the dais yet, phones still ringing off the hook, but Rich put in a request for Nikki Glaser, whose career exploded out of the Brady roast. Ross floated The Rock, which got the biggest reaction in the studio. If only they had done some movies together. The Rock carrying Kevin Hart out in a baby Bjorn is apparently on the table. Shooting him out of a cannon is also on the table.

Rich's wife Susie agreed to the Mother's Day booking immediately, which told Ross everything he needed to know. Hart is one of Gillis's favorites, Gillis is from Philly, they are friendly, and the first planning call was that day. Ross expects a really good show.

Roasts used to be a joke. Now they are appointment viewing. Ross is not sure exactly why audiences love watching big shots get taken down a notch, but he knows the formula works when the sincere moment lands as hard as the jokes.