It’s a Zoom World Now
Typically in this space we reprt on the latest news and events in the coworking community. But thanks to a pandemic currently out of control, there hasn’t been an event since March and, consequently, not much in the way of coworking news, either. So we thought we’d report on trends everyone is talking about. And even if you don’t follow pop-culture, there’s one fad we’re certain you have heard about — Zoom, as in Zoom meetings, Zoom classes, and Zoom happy hours. While the fatigue of sitting through another Zoom happy hour is very real, there is one kind of online gathering that has been a hit with everyone of all ages and even across political persuasions.
Online TV and movie cast reunions have been killing it. Some have attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers and have raised gobs of cash for charities and political organizations. Here are a few that you can still see.
Seinfeld
In homage to the 90s-era sitcom about nothing, Julia Louis-Dryfus (Elaine), Jason Alexander (George) and co-creator Larry David reunited for “A Fundraiser About Something.” That “something” was the general election and donations from the live event stayed right here in Texas with the Texas Democratic Party. The reunion was hosted by Seth Meyers and special guests included Beto O'Rourke, Joaquim and Julian Castro. Unfortunately, Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards (Kramer) opted out of the event.
The Princess Bride
Fans thought it would be “inconceivable” for such a large group of a-list actors to come together for one night on short notice. But, in fact, most of the cast from the 1987 classic film “The Princess Bride” signed up for the script reading and a Q&A session moderated by comedian Patton Oswald. And the best part is you still have a chance to see Cary Elwes (Westley), Robin Wright (Buttercup), Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya), Carol Kane (Valerie), Chris Sarandon (Prince Humperdinck), Wallace Shawn (Vizzini), Billy Crystal (Miracle Max), and Christopher Guest (Count Rugen) reprise their roles. Also in attendance were producer Norman Lear and director Rob Reiner.
There were a few special guests, too, including Josh Gad reading for André the Giant’s Fezzik, Eric Idle playing the Impressive Clergyman, Whoopi Goldberg as the Ancient Booer and the Mother, and Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) playing the grandson. Since the event raised money for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, it probably won’t shock anyone to hear that Ted Cruz, a self-proclaimed “huge fan” of the movie, missed it. Though we’re not sure we believe him.
Veep
Veep, which ran from 2012 to 2019, hasn’t been off the air for very long, but that didn’t stop thousands of fans from donating to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin to watch nearly the entire cast answer fan questions, perform a table read of deleted scenes from the series finale, and see a pre-taped bit featuring Matt Walsh (Mike McLintock).
Participants included Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Selina Meyer), Anna Chlumsky (Amy), Reid Scott (Dan), Sam Richardson (Richard), Tony Hale (Gary), Tim Simons (Jonah), Clea DuVall (Marjorie) and Walsh. There were also some surprise guests, like Dan Bakkedahl, who played Roger Furlong and Nelson Franklin (Will).
The event, which was moderated by showrunner, David Mandel, raised more than half a million dollars.
Happy Days
Replay Happy Days cast reunion
The Happy Days reunion featured just three original cast members — Henry Winkler (Arthur “the Fonze” Fonzarelli), Ron Howard (Richie), Anson Williams (Potsie), and Don Most (Ralph Malph) — plus writer Lowell Ganz. While Marion Ross (Mrs. Cunningham) planned to participate and was even present for the rehearsal, she fell ill and missed the live event. So D’Arcy Carden from The Good Place filled in as Mrs. C. Paige Howard, Ron Howard’s real-life daughter, also participated. Josh Gad joined the cast to play Mr. C. (actor Tom Bosley passed away in 2010) and Yara Shahidi (Black-ish) played Joanie, (Erin Moran passed away in 2017).
One cast member who was mentioned, but not necessarily missed, was Scott Baio (Chachi). The actor is so rabidly pro-MAGA, the cast either did not ask him to participate or they just assumed he wouldn’t be interested — especially since the event raised money for Wisconsin democrats. When Baio’s name came up in the fan Q&A portion of the event (the cast were obviously expecting it), everyone graciously heaped praise on him as a performer and coworker. And, true to form, Baio did not return the courtesy. When the reunion was announced, he tweeted it was “a shame” that his old coworkers were using Happy Days to “promote [Biden], an anti-American socialist.”
This is Spinal Tap
Even if you’ve never seen the 1984 Rob Reiner mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap, chances are that you are familiar with the movie — most notably, the famous line about the band’s amplifiers by Nigel (Christopher Guest). He tells Marty (Rob Reiner) that unlike ordinary amps, theirs “goes to eleven!”
While it wasn’t the first Hollywood mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap popularized the genre. And if you’re a fan of Christopher Guest films (Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind), then you have to love Spinal Tap. It was the first big project starring Guest, McKean, and Shearer together.
Sadly, this cast reunion, which ran long past its hour-long timeslot, doesn’t seem to be available on demand right now. But we’re keeping an eye on the Pennsylvania Democratic Party website in case this changes.
Everybody Loves Raymond
If you follow the actors that were on Everybody Loves Raymond, then you may know some of them are notoriously non-political. So instead of raising money for a particular candidate or party, like other recent virtual reunions, the cast opted to support the International Myeloma Foundation instead. It’s a cause that’s important to the Raymond crew because in 2006 actor Peter Boyle (Frank Barone) lost his battle with the disease.
Most of the other stars from the sitcom were there, including Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton (Debra), Brad Garrett (Robert), Monica Horan (Amy), and executive producer, Phil Rosenthal.
Taxi
Taxi was one of the first virtual reunions of the quarantine era. Proceeds from this benefit went to the Actors Fund. You can still watch Danny DeVito (Louie De Palma), Marilu Henner (Elaine Nardo), Judd Hirsch (Alex Reiger), Carol Kane (Simka), and Christopher Lloyd (Reverend Jim Ignatowski) talk about 70s-80s era sitcom about New York City cabbies and the depot’s larger-than-life dispatcher, Louie De Palma (DeVito).
The Office
Watch the Office Wedding Dance Reunion
In response to how badly 2020 was going, actor John Krasinski created and hosted a feel-good talk show from his home office, called SGN (or Some Good News). The program revolved around feel-good stories that Krasinski found online. Fans absolutely loved it. But then Krasinski sold the rights to Viacom, which turned off a lot of viewers. One segment really helped the series blow up. Krasinski recruited his fellow Office castmates to participate in a mini-reunion celebrating two fans whose marriage proposal was reminiscent of Jim and Pam’s TV proposal. The actual reunion portion of the video, which features Steve Carell (Michael), Jenna Fischer (Pam), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin), Angela Kinsey (Angela), Phyllis Smith (Phyllis), Rainn Wilson (Dwight), Kate Flannery (Meredith), Creed Bratton (Creed), Oscar Nunez (Oscar), B.J. Novak (Ryan), Mindy Kaling (Kelly), and Ed Helms (Andy), starts around 15:20 minutes.
High School Musical
In April, ABC brought together the original cast of High School Musical for a singalong. Participants included Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, and Lucas Grabeel. Zac Efron also made an appearance, but not part of an actual singalong (apparently he was having wifi issues. We suggest he join a coworking space). The entire show may or may not still be available on the ABC app, with a subscription, of course, but you can see snippets on YouTube.
Schitt’s Creek
Schitt’s Creek, the quiet Canadian TV series that found a huge fanbase in America, only just wrapped this past April. So there was no real urgency to see the cast together again so soon. Or we just didn’t realize how badly we needed to see creators and actors Dan Levy and dad Eugene, plus Catherine O’Hara (Moira), Annie Murphy (Alexis), and Noah Reid (Patrick) tell stories about their experience filming over the past seven years. Apparently, the demand to see the Schitt’s Creek gang was so high that there have been two virtual reunions. In August, Jennifer Garner hosted a Q&A with the Levy men, O’Hara and Murphy, which you can watch on YouTube. The Virtual Happy Hour, with O’Hara, Murphy and Reid, aired at the end of September.