If You're Not Listening To The "High School Sucked" Podcast, You're Missing Out
Darcy Michael and Jane Stanton have found an audience by remembering the trials and tribulations of our teen years.
For a lot of people, high school wasn't (or isn't) the best years of their lives; in fact, some might even say it sucked really hard (it me). But one good thing about getting older is realizing you're not the only one who felt that way and that at least you might have gotten some good stories out of those treacherous four years.
That's the premise of the new podcast High School Sucked from Canadian comedians Darcy Michael and Jane Stanton. In each episode, they interview a different person about their high school experience, their unique teen tortures, and how it helped them grow into the awesome people they've become.
Since launching just in February 2021, High School Sucks has already been burning up the podcast charts in both Canada and America, reaching the top 20 on the iTunes Comedy chart in the US and attracting high-profile Canadian talent like Superstore's Lauren Ash and comedian Jon Dore.
I talked to Darcy and Jane all about High School Sucked and here are just some of the awesome things you should know:
1. They got the idea for the podcast because of...a fart.
Several months ago, Darcy learned that his old high school was being torn down, which led to him and Jane trading high school horror stories — and Darcy had a good one.
"When I was in grade 12, our acting teacher would let us run classes for the grades 8 and 9," he remembers. "I was sitting on the stage, the students were sitting in the seats, and I farted. It vibrated across the stage so loud that, like, the students called me 'farter, farter, farter' for the rest of the semester!
"When Jane stopped laughing, she said, 'High school sucked, didn't it'? And we literally stopped and I was like, 'That's it. That's the name of the show.'"
2. Darcy and Jane met for the first time...multiple times.
The first time they both remember meeting each other was as relatively new stand-ups in Vancouver in the 2000s, until they were talking to each other and realised they'd both gone to the Gastown Actors Studio around the same time.
"I said, 'Ugh, there was this guy who did improv with me who always wore Adidas'. I was describing Darcy but I didn't realise it," Jane says. "'Ugh, this guy wouldn't play improv games he wasn't good at, but he left after three months to go to Second City, thank god. I wonder what happened to him?' And Darcy, just laughing, says, 'You're a bitch'."
But that wasn't all! The pair soon discovered they both grew up in North Vancouver, and had, in fact, been in the same swim classes as kids.
"When you meet people and you realise your lives intersected years and years before, it's shit like that that makes me think we are living in a simulation and there's glitches," adds Darcy.
3. The podcast isn't all about embarrassing teenage memories. It also gives them an opportunity to reflect on the influence that teachers have over their students, both good and bad.
"The coolest thing for me is that week after week, we're reminded of the power of teachers, the power of their influence on people. [One guest] talked about his drama teacher and how her encouragement led him to be who he is today," Darcy says. "But there's also the power of, like, a teacher making a comment about a student's body and 25 years later, here we are, talking to someone and they're like, 'Every time I put on a shirt, I think about that comment'. We've gotten a lot of feedback from teachers who listen, being like, 'Thank you for acknowledging the influence we have on kids and also thanks for reminding us of the influence we have on kids'."
4. When asked to describe their former high school selves, one word immediately comes to Darcy's mind.
"Horny," he says. "Horny and distracted, and distracted by being horny. Everything was solely motivated by trying to figure out who I was. I was a big theatre geek so I found refuge in that, and I would spend all my time in there, from 8 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon — occasionally going to the odd class I wasn't skipping. I was a terrible student."
"Same," Jane adds. "And horny, like most teenagers. And I had a lot of FOMO — like, wanting to go to the party and knowing the popular kids, but not being fully in with them and thinking about that a lot. I did a lot of sports, I did theatre, I did drugs. I feel like I was always busy but never really doing anything."
5. Jane currently plays Sherri on The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, the new Disney+ series that follows a young team of underdog hockey players led by, of course, Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez).
The show filmed during the pandemic in Vancouver, an experience that Jane says was far more fun than scary.
"There were regular COVID-19 tests and safety measures everywhere so I really got to just enjoy it," she explains. "I got to learn to skate! I'd only gone maybe three times in my life and suddenly NHL players are, like, teaching me how to do it. It was amazing, especially at this time in the world. It was amazing, especially since I'd grown up watching the Mighty Ducks movies."
7. Darcy's 2018 comedy special Darcy Michael Goes to Church was released to rave reviews and was recently added to Crave.
Filmed at the Berkeley Church in Toronto, Darcy's special focuses on body image, drug use, his long-lasting marriage, parenthood, and, yes, plenty and plenty of dick jokes.
8. On April 30, they're taking part in "Stop Going Viral," a YouTube charity fundraiser to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts of the Pan American Health Organization.
The three-day fundraiser (running April 28–30) also features comedy stars such as Will Arnett, Nikki Glaser, Mark Hoppus, and Debra DiGiovani. You can watch the fundraiser on YouTube and donate to the cause here.
9. Despite recording their podcast every single week, Jane and Darcy still talk to each other on the phone multiple times a day.
"If anything, it's been easier recording the podcast through the pandemic because Jane and I literally talk on the phone, probably three or four times a day as it is," Darcy says. "So we already have this weird chemistry of being apart but being able to have a connection with each other — to the point that Jane's favourite fucking game in the world is when she's driving with someone in the car, answers my call on speakerphone, and doesn't tell me until until I say something wildly inappropriate and the other person can't help but laugh."
Darcy laughs and points out that Jane had called him six times the day before, after their two-hour recording session.
"You know what, I really missed you," Jane replies. "Making him laugh and vice versa. It's the best."