Speaker
Ike Barinholtz
Appearances over time
1 episodes
Episodes
1
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Ike Barinholtz spent five years and appeared in over 100 episodes of Mad TV before leaving to pursue other opportunities.
After leaving Mad TV, Ike Barinholtz did not work for approximately three and a half years — a cautionary tale about leaving a steady series.
Ike Barinholtz starred in The Mindy Project for six seasons, often shooting 22 episodes per year.
TV shows used to produce 22 episodes a season; today's streamers typically greenlight only 10, a dramatic contraction in content volume.
Ike Barinholtz is a two-time celebrity game show champion, having won both Celebrity Jeopardy and Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Ike Barinholtz's first fully professional acting gig was at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, where he was paid solely to perform comedy shows at night.
Second City, founded around 1962 with alumni including Ed Asner, is the oldest of the major improv comedy troupes.
Ike Barinholtz grew up in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, exactly one mile from Wrigley Field.
Ike Barinholtz was expelled from Boston University after his first year, with his parents only finding out via a letter from the school.
The Studio Season 2 was still filming at the time of this episode, with about three weeks of shooting remaining and a two-week Venice location shoot already completed.
Ike Barinholtz said his entire investment strategy is backing friends' small businesses, with no stocks, mutual funds, or Roth IRA.
Ike Barinholtz called the SNL cast of roughly 2002–2008 — including Poehler, Wiig, Ferrell, and Armisen — the best in the show's history.
Ike Barinholtz launched a solo weekly trivia podcast called 'Funny You Ass' in which he writes custom questions for each guest.
Jason Bateman admits he instantly creates a 'cave' wherever he goes — couch perpendicular to the TV, same corner every time. His friends know not to sit in his spot, and he knows he's in theirs.
Around 2001, Ike Barinholtz, Will Arnett, David Cross, John Glaser, and Rob Huebel staged a reading of Jerry Lewis's notorious unreleased film The Day the Clown Cried — about a clown who entertains Jewish children as they are led to the gas chambers. It was, Ike says, the first time he ever felt genuinely cool doing comedy.
Even A-list actors think like freelancers. Jason Bateman frames his entire career as a constant hustle — always building a bridge to the next paycheck, never taking stability for granted.
Will Arnett introduces Ike Barinholtz as one of those rare people you're always happy to see — a Mad TV veteran, co-creator of Running Point, and breakout star of The Studio. The warmth in the room is instant.
Ike Barinholtz went to Boston University to become a politician, discovered mushrooms and total freedom, watched 2001: A Space Odyssey seven times in a week, and got expelled. His dad found out on the way to the airport for their Vegas reward trip. Three hours on a Southwest flight of 'How could you do this to us?' followed.
A single 10th-anniversary Improv Olympic show — featuring Amy Poehler, Adam McKay, and Tim Meadows — convinced Ike Barinholtz to abandon politics for comedy. The mid-1990s Chicago improv scene produced an extraordinary concentration of talent: Seth Meyers, Jason Sudeikis, Jack McBrayer, Jordan Peele, and more.
Ike Barinholtz left Mad TV after five seasons craving something new. What followed was three and a half years of not working. Jason Bateman sums it up perfectly: you feel all the things you can't do on a series, then you leave and discover there's a lot of crickets out there.
The Studio Season 2 includes a two-week Venice shoot — and Madonna. Ike Barinholtz, clearly relishing his breakout role, teases the season while noting it won't air until March 2027.
Mad TV was where Ike Barinholtz first worked alongside Jordan Peele, who is now one of his closest friends. The show's alumni network is far more impressive than the show ever got credit for.
Ike Barinholtz has zero money in the stock market. No mutual funds, no retirement accounts. His complete investment philosophy: put money into friends' small businesses and trust people over institutions.
Will Arnett introduces the concept of a 'true mirror' — a non-reversing mirror that shows you what others actually see rather than the flipped image you see in a standard mirror. The hosts agree it's terrifying.
Ike Barinholtz offers a genuinely humble and practical theory of Hollywood longevity: he may not be the funniest or most talented person in the room, but he is always on time and always respectful. Jason Bateman and the hosts enthusiastically agree that this is exactly why he keeps getting hired.
Ike Barinholtz hosts a weekly solo trivia podcast called Funny You Ass, and he puts Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett through a live round on the spot. Highlights include Will nearly getting the Battle of Hastings right, Jason correctly identifying the year Oldsmobile shut down, and a debate over whether Wayne Gretzky or Alexander Ovechkin is the NHL's all-time leading scorer.
Analysis
What they talk about
- Arts 20%
- Business 20%
- Comedy 20%
- Education 20%
- Society & Culture 10%
- TV & Film 10%
Connections
Shows they appear on and people they share episodes with. Drag to explore.
