That’s a Roommates Sketch
Ian Edwards and Paul Elia are two stand-ups who have recently been getting attention online through their sketch series “Roommates,” a show built on the simple premise of two completely different people stuck living together. We sat down and chatted about what social media has done to stand-up — the good, the annoying, and the genuinely confusing — and how Roommates came out of all of it.
How did Roommates come about?
Ian: I had shot a special and wanted to promote it. And I could see the work Paul had done — the eye he has, what he can make happen. So we started working together. And it was also a way to put content out that wasn’t my stand-up material. Not doing clips from my set, but still being seen.
Paul: We tried it out, and then we just kept doing it because people responded to it.
How would you describe the show for someone who hasn’t seen it?
Ian: Paul made a bad decision in picking me as a roommate.
Paul: It’s true. It’s a simple premise. It’s about the silliness of two completely different personality types clashing in a space where neither of them can leave. We see that dynamic everywhere: boss and employee, older and younger sibling. But putting it in a house, where there’s nowhere to go, is where most of the comedy lives. And honestly, it’s easy to write because a lot of these characters are just us. I grew up with three brothers who were always fighting, so my default was to be completely passive and just accept whatever was happening. Ian is the opposite. I’m not like that now, but it’s easy to pull from that from when I was a kid.
So, Ian is your three brothers.
Paul: Haha, Ian is my three brothers, yes.
Ian: I take advantage of him. I give him a hard time. It’s not healthy. But it’s good comedy.
It’s exciting to see it grow. Now you’re doing episodes for Mint Comedy. Any other future plans for it?
Ian: Yeah, we’ve been working on a movie version.
Paul: And the show can really grow into anything. These characters and personalities exist everywhere. We could put them in an infinite number of situations. There are days when Ian says something, I say something, we laugh, and Ian goes, “That’s a Roommates sketch.” That happens daily.
Ian: Almost daily.
Paul: Haha, true. It’s not that easy, but—
Ian: Yeah, let’s give what we do some value.
Paul:See? This could be a Roommates sketch.
Ian: Haha, true. Me telling you to give what you do value. That is Roommates.