HypeFriend! with Ashley Eckstein & Michael James Scott

Michael James Scott takes Ashley on one last walk through Disney's Aladdin at the historic New Amsterdam Theatre—and it's the kind of backstage access that doesn't happen. After more than 4,000 performances as The Genie, Michael opens the doors to the places audiences never see: the dressing room, hair and makeup, the five-glitter Genie sparkle recipe, prop alley, the prayer-circle spot, the secre...

Broadway's longest-running Genie--and our very own co-host--takes the hype seat for the first time. After more than 4,000 performances, three continents, four companies, and a decade inside the lamp at the New Amsterdam Theatre, Michael James Scott opens up about what his record-making, ground-break run actually meant: why joy became his protest, why "my power is light" took years to believe, the...

We could not let Sarah Chalke leave without a bonus round, so welcome to Diagnosis—a game built for a TV doctor with elite comedic instincts. Sarah sticks around to diagnose Michael and Ashley with a string of delightfully fake ailments, including hangry, butterflies in your stomach, cabin fever, earworm, and the much dreaded social-media induced condition, FOMO. The result is part improv game, pa...

Sarah Chalke drops into HypeFriend for a warm, wide-open conversation about the friendships that shape a life. Best known to most listeners as Elliot Reid on Scrubs —and also beloved for Firefly Lane and Rick and Morty—Sarah talks about returning to the Scrubs set 25 years later (this time with Michael James Scott!), the childhood best friends who helped get her to L.A., the sister who refused to...

David Eckstein comes back for a bonus episode that is basically married-couple truth serum. Based on Ashley's novel Lucky 22 —a fictionalized romance built from their real love story—Lucky Guess forces David to figure out which details actually made it into the book: the baseball-pants butt compliment, the driving fight that felt like a breakup, the batting-cage compatibility test, the Hello Kitty...

Two-time World Series champion, 2006 World Series MVP, Mr. Ashley Eckstein, and the guy every scout said was too small to make it—David Eckstein joins the neighborhood and goes way beyond baseball.. David opens up about the gameday routines that kept him grounded (pancakes, People's Court, teriyaki chicken, four swigs of Coke—in that order), the underdog mentality that took him from doubted walk-o...

We could not let Thomas Schumacher out of the HypeHouse without playing a game of Bestie, Buddy, Byeeee!--exclusively with the Disney characters from across his film and Broadway career. He sorts Belle, Tarzan, the Muses, Flounder, Kuzco, Mrs. Potts, Mulan, Aladdin, Jafar, Stitch, Pumbaa, Prince Eric, Lumiere, Mushu, and Sebastian while casually dropping mini-masterclasses on why these characters...

Disney theatrical and animation powerhouse Thomas Schumacher joins HypeFriend for a masterclass in how giant stories actually get made. The longtime creative force behind Disney Animation and Disney on Broadway pulls back the curtain on his nearly 40 years at Disney, spanning Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Newsies, Frozen--and the friendships that make great work possible. Tom share...

The hosts join Gwendolyn Rogers at her restaurant The Cake Bake Shop for a hands-on cake decorating lesson. Gwen walks Ashley and Michael through decorating a three-layer red velvet cake from the ground up—homemade vanilla syrup, cream cheese filling, buttercream “dams,” pixie-paddle smoothing, and signature rosettes—while revealing why every Cake Bake cake takes 4.5 hours and why she treats each...

We’re taking HypeFriend on a field trip to The Cake Bake Shop at Disney’s BoardWalk, where founder and CEO Gwendolyn Rogers shares how a self-taught, self-funded dream—started with $100 from her son’s checking account—became one of the most magical dining experiences at Walt Disney World. Gwen opens up about pitching Disney for nine years, borrowing a mixer from a friend that’s still whipping up b...

Katee Sackhoff joins the hosts for a delightfully unhinged game of Fact or Frak! Ashley, Michael, and the Battlestar Galactica legend put Katee’s favorite four-letter faux-swear to work in an AI-era showdown: real photo or total frak? What starts as a simple guessing game spirals into suspicious hands, uncanny bears, internet trust issues, and the realization that none of us are nearly as good at...

Sci-fi icon Katee Sackhoff — Starbuck in Battlestar Galactica , Bo-Katan Kryze in The Mandalorian and across Star Wars , and a fan favorite from Longmire —drops into HypeFriend for a candid convo about authenticity, fandom, motherhood, and the friendships that keep you steady when life gets loud. Katee opens up about the fans who carried her from one job to the next, the difference between a work...

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to have an actual Olympic gold medalist narrate your game of charades? Yeah, neither did we until today! Watch as we play a game of charades and have Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton give an olympic-style broadcast to narrate our game. Follow HypeFriend here ! Michael J Scott here ! Ashley Eckstein here ! Sign up for HypeFriend news and updates here...

Olympic gold medalist, four-time world champion, Stars on Ice founder, and beloved Olympic commentator Scott Hamilton joins HypeFriend for a conversation that goes way beyond figure skating. This one is about joy under pressure: how to celebrate life when life gets brutal, how friendship can outlast competition, and how resilience is built one fall (or 41,600 falls), one setback, and one comeback...

Ashley and Michael and, special guest, The Rookie’s Mekia Cox, put their decades-long friendships to the test with a high school edition of Two Truths and a Lie. They dig into their high school memories and nostalgia as some juicy truths are revealed. See who gets called out and who gets away with the biggest lie.

Mekia Cox joins Ashley and Michael and discusses the different roles she’s played, from playing a Disney Princess on Once Upon A Time, starring on The Rookie, and ultimately, the role of motherhood. Mekia talks about the importance of having HypeFriends throughout the various stages of your life and how friendships can change while navigating these different chapters. Follow HypeFriend here ! Mich...

Former Saturday Night Live star Vanessa Bayer joins Ashley and Michael for a hilarious round of Wheel Of Impressions. Watch as they flex their comedy acting chops while creating characters from some of the funniest and obscure situations. No pressure, just improvising with an SNL alum. Follow HypeFriend here ! Michael J Scott here ! Ashley Eckstein here ! Sign up for HypeFriend news and updates he...

We’re back for Season 2 of HypeFriend and we are joined by SNL and Scrub Revival’s very own Vanessa Bayer. Vanessa welcomes us back for a brand new season by sharing her love for all things craft services, including sneaking some snacks home from the Scrubs set, and opens up about her friendship love languages and how showing up during life’s toughest moments is the most important thing you can do...

It’s giving season finale energy meets Friendsgiving vibes as beloved neighbors Andrew Levitt (aka Nina West), Lesli Margherita, and Josh Dela Cruz crash the Neighborhood Block Party—complete with our first-ever HypeFriend BINGO, a surprise singing telegram from Josh Strickland, and drop-ins from James Monroe Iglehart and Ashley Brown. But being a HypeFriend isn’t about winning BINGO (or is it?)....

Two-time Tony and Grammy Award-winner Stephen Oremus takes us behind the sound of the modern musical—WICKED, THE BOOK OF MORMON, KINKY BOOTS, FROZEN, and AVENUE Q—and the friendships that power it. We trace how opening doors for others can build careers (including the story of Stephen bringing Michael into THE BOOK OF MORMON, what it really takes to juggle “five dream jobs,” and why he likes...

Creator duo TWiNSAUCE—Paul & Luke Harwerth—join HypeFriend for a joy-baked, Disney-dusted, double-powered episode to talk about how twin chemistry becomes community. Plus a quick bonus drop‑in from friend of the show Bret Iwan (the official voice of Mickey Mouse) to celebrate his new Expedition Mickey Mouse collection! The whole crew is together in person,  and to...

From Halloween candy debates to inspiring runDisney stories, we’re celebrating the magic of friendship and community at the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon Weekend where costumes, courage, and community come together!   Michael gripes about ungrateful trick-or-treaters, Ashley makes a  very  controversial Halloween snack confession (spoiler: it’s not all sweet...

Grab your frosted tips and denim jackets because we’ve got a member of 90s music royalty in this episode! From his rise to *NSYNC superstardom to Broadway hits like & JULIET, Joey Fatone drops into the neighborhood for a big-hearted convo about how friendships last when life gets loud. He dishes on about being the “harmonic glue” of *NSYNC, why tough love and follow-through matter more than gr...

Emmy-nominated multi-hyphenate Arian Moayed, (From  Spider-Man: No Way Home , and  Succession,  to Broadway’s Pulitzer Prize-winning  stage alongside Robin Williams in  Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), sits down with Michael and Ashley to discuss the friendships and philosophy that power his work. We trace the moments that shaped him—from movie-rental marathons and e...

From paw prints to magic carpets, Josh Dela Cruz, host of BLUES CLUES & YOU!, has been chasing clues and chasing dreams as long as he can remember. Josh shares his HypeFriend journey — from performing opposite Michael James Scott on stage as “Aladdin” in ALADDIN on Broadway to inspiring millions of kids with “Blue.” Along the way, Josh opens up about how stepping into beloved roles didn’t just...