Peter N’ Chris's This Time It's Different podcast jumps between genres for laughs
From self-help to true crime, it’s all fair game in the comedy duo’s mix of high-concept spoof sketches, conversations, and stories
Peter Carlone and Chris Wilson bring their same warped blend of performance to a podcast platform.
This Time It's Different with Peter N' Chris streams on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and other podcast platforms.
WHEN COMEDIANS Peter Carlone and Chris Wilson first started their podcast in late 2020, they weren’t sure which genre they wanted to specialize in. So, they decided to do them all.
In the aptly-named podcast This Time It’s Different, the comedy duo delivers episodes with entirely new themes each week, ranging from murder documentaries and true crime stories to late-night shows and celebrity telethons.
“The idea came from Chris asking ‘What if every episode is an episode from somebody else’s podcast?’ We had been talking about it because of the new work-from-home model,” Carlone says., speaking to Stir on a conference call with Wilson
Carlone, who’s based in Vancouver, and Wilson, now based in T.O., combine both high-concept spoof sketches and guest stories to generate content, all while providing a virtual platform for other local comedians to share their work.
Under their stage duo name Peter N’ Chris, their work—a warped mix of fearless physical humour and sharp cultural satire with meta twists—has drawn soldout crowds at the Vancouver International Fringe Festival and JFL Northwest. They’ve also built a national following via CBC, CollegeHumor, and Just for Laughs. The pair has a strong following on its YouTube channel, as well, sharing parody sketches, live shows, and the video version of The Time It’s Different. Elsewhere, they split time as writers, actors, and producers, working on short films like “Alaska” and “Grocery Store Action Movie”.
For the podcast, which the pair says partially grew out of pandemic boredom, they began with scripted episodes, meticulously editing underscores and sound effects into the recording in post-production.
But Wilson says the time that went into writing, recording, editing, and posting was much more than they initially expected.
“One of my favourite episodes is the one where we spoof a true-crime podcast, with the Making a Murderer style,” Wilson says of Episode 9. “That one was scripted and recorded like an album. But, it took 40 hours of work for a 20-minute segment. It took so much time, but it sparked an idea for us to start having a more casual guest conversation on the podcast.”
Carlone adds, “The high-effort ones are fun, but they’re also a lot!”
Other of the comedians’ favourites include …A Peter N’ Chris-tmas Carol and Because We Play Dungeons and Dragons with Kris Siddigi.
“The Christmas one was fun because it was actually one of our written scenes that we had performed in the theatre,” Wilson explains. “The D&D one was great too, because the jokes flowed more freely and it felt a lot more natural. Our earlier ones are good, but you can see we start to get into a recording groove in the later ones.”
When asked about how they stay relevant in a realm as saturated as the podcast industry, Carlone says, “My first thought is you have to banish the idea of relevancy.”
“The real question is discoverability,” he continues. “It’s a matter of building a base of followers. That’s the question a lot of people are trying to solve.”
“Our hook is different than other podcasts because we’re kind of paying homage,” Wilson adds. “We stand out because of the parody approach mixed with the comedy. This is really more about scratching the creative and performance itch for us. The fun of doing it takes away from the wondering about why certain episodes didn’t get as many views.”
The comedians say the pandemic hasn’t had too much influence on their creative approach.
“How many times can you make a joke about wearing no pants on Zoom?” Wilson jokes, adding that he and Carlone have been purposely trying to create content that doesn’t revolve around pandemic talk.
“We’re aware of our privilege during the pandemic, so it doesn’t feel right to joke about it,” Carlone explains. “It has affected our work, of course, but other people have had it way worse. The good thing is, though, it’s easy to forget about the pandemic when you’re talking about murder and comedy and writing with Chris!”
The duo, who say the podcast came as their response to the COVID-19 boredom, have found great success in the podcast niche. Because This Time It’s Different covers such a wide range of themes and topics, it reaches everyone, from Colin Mochrie fanatics (…Call-In Mochrie with Colin Mochrie) to relationship-counselling enthusiasts (…Because It’s a Loveline). And, in doing so, they hope to bring new audiences to the up-and-coming comedians they feature on the podcast.
“The dream is to have a platform to promote other comedians,” Carlone says. “We showcase a bunch of sweet Canadians that we know, so while it’s great to have a base, it’s even better to use our platform to give others a space.”
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