They Thought I Was You

On November 21st, 2000, nearly one full year after their cult classic Passport to Paris, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen released their second destination-inspired teen comedy, Our Lips Are Sealed filmed in Sydney, Australia. Neither Becca nor Lani have revisited this movie since the year it came out. In our memories, this movie was the hippest, wittiest, most alternative, most daring, most ahead-of-it...

On July 18th, 2000, You're Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley's School Dance Party was released on VHS. It was the last installment of Mary-Kate and Ashley's "You're Invited" series, and the last half-hour video the twins would ever make. The "You're Invited" series closed the chapter of the twins' childhood, and marked the beginning of a new era. So,...

On November 9, 1999, Passport to Paris was released on VHS, and changed the meaning of "direct-to-video" movies forever. At just 13-years old, this was Mary-Kate and Ashley's first feature-length film as executive producers, and with it, they expanded their careers from performers to professional tastemakers, trendsetters, and style icons. For any teen that was obsessed with fashion...

Hey, you're Brigitte! Duh, she just said that. No, THE Brigitte. The supermodel! No she's not... is she? Are you? ...I'm afraid so. Talk about international relations! With Becca in Los Angeles and Lani in New York, we were able to Zoom into Italy to talk with the supermodel and the scholar, the very impressive woman, Yvonne Scio (AKA Brigitte from Passport to Paris)! We were beside...

Welcome to our very first Crossover episode! In  Still Got It Podcast , host Celey Schumer revisits childhood-classic films to see if they "still got it," and it seemed only fitting that she would join us to discuss the next project on Mary-Kate and Ashley's timeline, Switching Goals. (And before you come after us, we know Passport to Paris came out before Switching Goals , but base...

We thought we could be casual about Two of a Kind , but no. This show is anything but casual. After reviewing the Two of a Kind pilot last week, it became very clear that we needed to rewatch this whole series in its entirety. So that's exactly what we did. And although the task of watching 22 episodes of television in one week was rather daunting for two women with full-time jobs, every epis...

On September 25th, 1998, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen returned to the small screen on ABC's coveted TGIF lineup with their brand new sitcom, Two of a Kind. And it was a big f*cking deal. Not only was this the first time Mary-Kate and Ashley would be starring in a sitcom as two different characters, this was also their first TV appearance since the cancellation Full House, and their debut to mai...

In 1998, Mary-Kate and Ashley went on a press tour to promote their return to television on the TGIF lineup in the new sitcom, Two of a Kind . On today's episode, we're taking a look at how the media approached Mary-Kate and Ashley on this tour as they entered their tweens. Spoiler alert: it ain't great. Even with a mountain of projects to their name, the TV personalities had only o...

We've always said that on this podcast we research, examine, and analyze Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's careers and influence on pop culture. We do NOT recap and review Mary-Kate and Ashley's projects. ...Except when it's necessary. And for Billboard Dad , it's NECESSARY. Although this isn't Mary-Kate and Ashley's first film by a long shot, or their biggest theatri...

After the incredible year Mary-Kate and Ashley had in 1995 following the finale of their beloved hit sitcom Full House with starring roles in their successful theatrical film debut It Takes Two , the Olsens twins had Hollywood in the palm of their hand. So naturally, they followed up these successes by continuing to work with the major networks and studios they spent the full 9 years of their live...

It's season 2, and we're picking up where we left off: 1995's You're Invited to Mary-Kate and Ashley's Sleepover Party, one of Mary-Kate and Ashley's most beloved projects. What drove the strange choice to double down on direct-to-video movies rather than cultivate the twins' budding Hollywood careers? Why were the twins so much more visibly tired here compared t...

On November 20th, 2001, Mary-Kate and Ashley's 5th direct-to-video film, Holiday in the Sun was officially released. And for the 20th anniversary of this iconic film, we had the honor and privilege of talking to the incredibly kind, completely gorgeous, outrageously humble, he's-what-time-it-is, Mr. Ben Easter! That's right: Jordan Landers. As in, the Landers Hardware Store Landers....

So, you'll notice the runtime of this episode is very short because this is technically not an episode, but a teaser for an episode with a very very very special interview that we are preparing AS WE SPEAK and will drop later this week! But we didn't want to leave you hanging, so we're leaving you a couple hints to try and guess who our special guest is. 🤔 Find us on Instagram or s...

Instead of reviewing this classic movie that we all know by heart, we want to talk about the parts of It Takes Two that stand out to us now after our life-altering conversation with the film's writer, Deborah Dean Davis (go back and listen to our interview with her if you haven't already, otherwise this episode might not make sense). We put It Takes Two in context of where Mary-Kate and...

We had the honor of interviewing the home run queen herself… The belter from the shelter… that’s right — Miss Deborah Dean Davis! THE WRITER OF IT TAKES TWO! This is one of those can't eat, can't sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, World Series kinda guests. Deborah shares stories about Mary-Kate and Ashley becoming friends with her daughter, a heart-melting story about red soda,...

Lani and Becca are cooking up something very, very special for our It Takes Two episode, (hint: it's another interview!), and we need just a little more time to get it ready. In the meantime, we're releasing this bonus episode where Lani talks with her brother Alex Harms (who designed our podcast's tile art!) about watching It Takes Two as children, and what (if anything) he remembe...

Lani and Becca watched both parts of the Full House season finale, "Michelle Rides Again" — and wow, what a trip. (Or should we say... fall??) We talk about how refreshing it is that the adults for once care about a missing child, yet still don't take Michelle's head injury as seriously as they should. Lani tries to describe the strange experience of watching Full House for the...

We've been so caught up in Mary-Kate and Ashley's production company, videos, albums, merch, TV movies and specials, Fun Club and entourage, that we've barely even covered the twins' most notable credit: portraying Michelle Tanner on Full House. Becca finally gets to share what Full House meant to her as a kid. Lani, who shockingly didn't watch the show, somehow remembers...

In 1993 (or '94; it's unclear), Mary-Kate and Ashley's management team created "Mary-Kate and Ashley's Fun Club," the twins' first official fan club. The promo for this club ran at the beginning of each of their videos and promised that every registered member would receive a precious box of rare Mary-Kate and Ashley collectibles. So in today's episode, we u...

Previously, on They Thought I Was You: Lani revealed to Becca that she impulsively emailed John Forster , the Grammy-nominated musician behind Mary-Kate and Ashley's first two albums, Our First Video, The Case of Thorn Mansion, basically all the music we've reviewed thus far — and invited him to be on our podcast. And much to our delight, this week we're joined by John Forster himse...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Actually, it was a  morally complicated time! In this episode, Becca and Lani open one of the most iconic chapters of Mary-Kate and Ashley's career: The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley . "The Case of Thorn Mansion" and "The Case of the Logical i Ranch," the first two direct-to-video productions released in the twins&a...

Continuing our journey through the early projects of Mary-Kate and Ashley's career, we finally arrive at Dualstar Entertainment Group's first feature films: Double Double Toil and Trouble ('93) and How the West Was Fun ('94).  Unlike Dualstar's previous releases, these films had the financial and creative assistance of ABC and are, surprisingly, high-quality films! (By &ap...

After inking a deal with ABC for $10 million, Mary-Kate and Ashley’s production company, Dualstar releases its first two pieces of media: The Olsen Twins’ Mother’s Day Special, and Our First Video. Lani shares her experience watching the Olsen Twins Mother’s Day Special – a Carol Burnett-style variety show from 1993 hosted by the twins featuring Tim Allen, Louie Anderson, and Joey Lawrence – in 20...

The journey to child stardom continues with the twins' feature film debut: To Grandmother's House We Go . It's...not a good film. Yet this scrappy TV-movie hit gave them (read: their lawyer, Robert Thorne) leverage over ABC to found Dualstar: the multimillion dollar production company. Was Robert Thorne an angel or a devil?  Did Dualstar shield Mary-Kate and Ashley from Hollywood&ap...

Mary-Kate and Ashley were just 6 months old when they had the audition that propelled them to stardom. Learn how Hollywood producers coerced the twins' mother, Jarnette "Jarnie" Olsen, into trapping her daughters in a real-life Truman Show situation — beginning with that fated Full House audition. We also unpack the dangers of celebrity and the parallels between the Olsen twins and...