Brett Goldstein was NOT Ready for this Audition

When your interview subject is also your friend, something shifts. Brett Goldstein — co-creator of Shrinking, Emmy Award winner for Ted Lasso, and Mo Welch's actual real-life friend — arrives at The Drawing Room after a long day of filming, as ever the polite gentleman. What follows is less an interview than a reunion: two people who have traveled and had adventures together, now sitting across easels and pretending to focus on their portraits. The conversation begins with the most urgent question: why two T's in Brett? From there it moves to the before times — the grimy London open mics, dying onstage at a place called The Lion's Den, sitting in the back with friends writing jokes and laughing about how badly it went. Brett misses it. Mo misses it too. For a moment, the studio might as well be that back room. Then it’s the Mamma Mia! story. Specifically: how a young Brett Goldstein showed up to a dance audition in jeans, survived several elimination rounds by hiding at the back of a crowd of 100 leotard-clad dancers, and — when the choreographer finally came close enough to notice him — jumped over his own leg and hoped for the best. He did not get the part. He does, however, still remember the body ripple. Brett and Mo also talk about craft. Brett describes how he sees the world: "funny and embarrassing and awful and tragic and depressing and brilliant." He doesn't separate those things. It all comes out together, and that, he says, is why his work lands the way it does. Mo, who mentions she completed therapy ("they gave me my certificate"), asks Brett to diagnose her anyway. His verdict: she works too hard and loves too hard. She seems to accept this. There are quick draws — Michelle Pfeiffer and Wario, respectively — movies that make them cry, and a running disagreement about whether Brett's portrait of Mo looks like a person or an apple. When they finally reveal their sketches, the friendship is right there on the paper — imperfect, honest, and genuinely funny. Made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate Subscribe to the PBS channel for more clips: https://www.youtube.com/@PBS Enjoy full episodes of your favorite PBS shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR FOLLOW PBS: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBS/ X: https://twitter.com/PBS/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PBS/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbs Threads: https://www.threads.net/@pbs The Drawing Room with Mo Welch What happens when interviews become art projects? Comedian and illustrator Mo Welch invites notable guests to join her at the easel, turning conversations into creative collaborations. This non-traditional PBS series puts Mo’s full talents on display, blending humor, vulnerability, and artistry as she and her guest draw each other out—literally and figuratively.