Each post begins with the familiar bing-bong sound of the subway’s “Stand clear of the closing doors” recording, but after that, you might find the sloe-eyed Simonian deadpanning into the camera as a disturbed woman screams about Jezebel’s children. It’s not what you might expect if you’ve ever seen an episode of their raucous one-minute Instagram show, Sidetalk. The Saturday in January is crystalline and frigid, but the two NYU students arrive with open puffer jackets, no gloves, and a “Let’s get right down to business” competence that makes it possible to forget they’re only 19. on the dot, just as they said they would. Trent Simonian and Jack Byrne show up at 12:30 p.m. Photo: Jamel Shabazz for New York Magazine The following notable individuals appeared on the show as interviewees, unless otherwise noted:Įpisodes Sidetalk episodes list No.Sidetalk’s Trent Simonian and Jack Byrne with their frequent guest Spider Cuz. Celebrities including President Joe Biden, The Jonas Brothers, John Legend, Lil Nas X, Olivia Rodrigo, Jack Harlow, and Avril Lavigne joined in on the trend. The phrase was further popularized by the viral 'Bing Bong' trend on TikTok where users would recreate various different quotes from Sidetalk. “Bing Bong” even received two write-in votes in the 2021 New York City mayoral election. The phrase was picked up by the official New York Knicks Twitter account, Knicks announcer Mike Breen, and Knicks forward Evan Fournier, and was featured on the cover of the sports page of the New York Daily News. While the phrase itself had been previously popularized in earlier Sidetalk videos, by rapper Nems and others in episodes from Coney Island, it quickly became a rallying cry for the Knicks after the 'Knicks Season Opener' video went viral. One of the fans in the video, Jordie Bloom, says 'Bing Bong' into the microphone, a reference to the New York City Subway 'doors closing' warning sound which is used at the beginning of each Sidetalk episode. On October 21, 2021, Simonian and Byrne released an episode titled 'Knicks Season Opener' featuring New York Knicks fans celebrating the team's opening night double-overtime victory over the Boston Celtics.

The show received a nomination for the 2021 Streamy Awards in the Indie Show category and two nominations for the 2022 Streamy Awards in the Show of the Year and Unscripted Series categories. The duo signed to Brillstein Entertainment Partners and WME in April 2021. Prior to co-creating Sidetalk, Simonian hosted a similar interview-style show in high school called Shark TV, while Byrne interned for The Fat Jewish for five years beginning at age 14.

They had first met after being accepted into NYU during their senior year of high school through mutual friends. Trent Simonian, a graduate of Malibu High School, and Jack Byrne, a graduate of Xavier High School, started the show in the fall of 2019 during their first semester as students at New York University. The show utilizes a man-on-the-street technique to interview people across New York City with each episode being approximately one minute long, and is noted for its surreal and/or humorous interviews. Sidetalk is an American Instagram show created by Trent Simonian and Jack Byrne.

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