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About

Desus & Mero are an American comedy duo and the professional names of Daniel Baker and Joel Martinez, respectively. They are known for their observation comedy and political satire. The two perform on their podcast "Bodega Boys" and the Showtime late-night comedy show Desus & Mero.

Online History

Desus vs. Mero

In 2013, Desus began collaborating with fellow Bronx native The Kid Mero, whom he had first met during his childhood at a summer camp, via Twitter.^[1] On December 18th, 2013, the duo debuted their first episode of Desus vs. Mero on Complex Magazine.^[2] The pair received critical acclaim for the podcast, which released a new episode every week for 46 weeks until December 30th, 2014.

Joking Off

Following the successful run of Desus vs. Mero, Desus and The Kid Mero continued to make regular TV appearances as cast members on a number of MTV shows, including Guy Code, Joking Off and Uncommon Sense.

Bodega Boys

On September 11th, 2015, 3 Kid Mero and Desus launched a new podcast entitled "Bodega Boys", and recorded at New York City's Red Bull Studios.^[3]

Viceland Series

On October 16th, 2016, the series Desus & Mero premiered on Viceland. ^[4] The series followed a late-night talkshow format with the pair commenting on the days events, such as news, entertainment and Internet memes. Additionally, the pair would interview a celebrity guest. The show aired its final episode nearly two years later on June 28th, 2018.

Showtime Series

On February 21st, 2019, the show returned on the premium cable channel Showtime. The show followed a similar format to the original series, with the addition of an increased budget, comedy sketches and a live studio audience (trailer below, right). In their first episode, the pair interviewed U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (clip below, left).

Reception

The Showtime version of the series has a 100% fresh rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. ^[8] Vanity Fair^[9] said of the show, "The brand is strong. It's early to make pronouncements, but the premiere of Showtime's Desus & Mero still feels like a breath of fresh air, even in the ever-more-crowded landscape of late-night comedy."

Fandom

The team's subreddit, /r/bodegaboys,^[6] was launched on September 17th, 2015. As of March 2019, the group has more than 9,000 readers. On November 28th, 2018, the official Desus & Mero Showtime Twitter launched. As of March 2019, the page has more than 41,000 followers.^[5] Around that time, the official Facebook page also launched, garnering more than 7,000 likes in six months.^[7]