THE SCENE OPENS on a kitchen in a suburban home. A Popeyes employee (Leland Manigo) wearing an apron stands behind the breakfast bar and politely takes an order from a customer (John Newton). The restaurant supervisor, played by Mark Phillips, cannot abide this respectful conduct. He shoves the employee aside and steps in to berate the customer while purposely botching his order. He flies off the handle and fires another employee (Ben Skinner) for having the audacity to use tongs. "This ain't no five-star restaurant-this is Popeyes," he yells, his eyes bulging. "Pick it up with your hands!" Only the restaurant's drive-through attendant (Desmond Johnson) meets Phillips's exacting standards for customer contempt-by challenging the person on the other side of his headset to a fistfight.
With over 28 million views, "How Popeyes Be Training They Employees" is the most-watched sketch on RDCWorld's (an acronym for "Real Dreams Change the World") popular YouTube channel. Over the past 11 years, the seven-person collective has become a rising comedy empire whose videos have amassed nearly 1.4 billion views. Phillips is front and center in all of them, contorting his face into looks of disbelief and exasperation-a walking, talking reaction GIF of a punch line. The 29-year-old-who writes the group's sketches-is RDC's driving force creatively and operationally. "I always had a pretty clear vision," says Phillips, who is more gregarious in person than his fast-food drill sergeant. It's the day after the 2023 Streamy Awards, and his voice is hoarse from celebrating the group's win for Comedy. We're sitting in the living room of a penthouse Phillips shares with the rest of the group, one of two rentals in the same West Hollywood building.
Denne historien er fra October 23 - November 5, 2023-utgaven av New York magazine.
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Denne historien er fra October 23 - November 5, 2023-utgaven av New York magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Trapped in Time
A woman relives the same day in a stunning Danish novel.
Polyphonic City
A SOFT, SHIMMERING beauty permeates the images of Mumbai that open Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light. For all the nighttime bustle on display-the heave of people, the constant activity and chaos-Kapadia shoots with a flair for the illusory.
Lear at the Fountain of Youth
Kenneth Branagh's production is nipped, tucked, and facile.
A Belfast Lad Goes Home
After playing some iconic Americans, Anthony Boyle is a beloved IRA commander in a riveting new series about the Troubles.
The Pluck of the Irish
Artists from the Indiana-size island continue to dominate popular culture. Online, they've gained a rep as the \"good Europeans.\"
Houston's on Houston
The Corner Store is like an upscale chain for downtown scene-chasers.
A Brownstone That's Pink Inside
Artist Vivian Reiss's Murray Hill house of whimsy.
These Jeans Made Me Gay
The Citizens of Humanity Horseshoe pants complete my queer style.
Manic, STONED, Throttle, No Brakes
Less than six months after her Gagosian sölu show, the artist JAMIAN JULIANO-VILLAND lost her gallery and all her money and was preparing for an exhibition with two the biggest living American artists.
WHO EVER THOUGHT THAT BRIGHT PINK MEAT THAT LASTS FOR WEEKS WAS A GOOD IDEA?
Deli Meat Is Rotten
