Yahoo Autos Chris Redd Really Wants You to Watch His New Car Show
Chris Redd had his moments of hilarity during five seasons on NBC's Saturday Night Live. Redd as Obama. As Kanye West. As the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Redd on game shows, in a giant diaper, on "Weekend Update." He is a genuinely talented, hilarious guy. But what does he know about cars?
Turns out, not that much. Which is what makes his new car show a curiosity.
The first full season of Netflix’s Resurrected Rides, consisting of eight 40-minute episodes, drops on July 24 — a new reality automotive makeover comedy produced by the same team that brought us the meme-able “Pimp My Ride” 20 years ago. I got Redd on the phone and gave him a shot to convince us to watch.
HOW "RESURRECTED RIDES" CAME ABOUT
Redd: It was offered up to me. I wasn’t keen on looking for anything reality TV show style but I love cars and I love Pimp My Ride. I just wanted to do something, you know, help people, not put ridiculous fish tanks in people’s cars. I wanted to help people and change people’s cars in ways that would be amazing but also be functional. And then I wanted it to be a little more comedy.
It ended up being something different enough where, I thought, yeah, this could be my own take on this. And I trusted Mike [producer Mike Odair], who's a beast at making these kinds of shows. So it came together and, once we flipped the first car, I was, like, oh man! This shit is crazy! I want the world to see this.
WHO’S ON THE SHOW
Redd: These ladies and gentlemen came together to work with each other, and we ended up being a big family. They came from shops across the country, and in their fields, they’re way more famous than I am. We brought all of these people into L.A. from different parts of the country. Texas. Utah. They’re geniuses. It was an honor to meet them and work with them and learn from them.
This is not a show where I pretend to know everything about cars. I was honest about how much I didn’t know about car cars. It was really my job to bring the car in and then dump the work on these talented people, and then take all the credit. [Laughter] Their work is brilliant. You got different kinds of approaches to building up and remaking cars, and that’s what makes the show fun, watching all these people collaborate to make something new.
IS THE SHOW FUNNY?
Redd: I think so, man! I cracked a lot of jokes. We did a lot of improv. We did some pranks that I think are hilarious. I love comedy and that’s what I do.
I wasn’t there for the final edits, so I don’t know what jokes didn’t make it. Some jokes couldn’t possibly have made it. Why? Because I’m a filthy man with a filthy mouth! [Laughter] I had to constantly be reminded that we were making something of a family show. We laughed the entire time we were there.
WHAT’S THE SHOW REALLY ABOUT?
Redd: What happens is, I prank these people and take their car. Which is great because I love to steal stuff. [Laughter] Then, we roast their car and we tell them that we’re going to fix them up. I couldn’t have predicted the lineup of cars if I tried. Cars from all over, cars from different time periods. There are cars in the show you would never be caught dead in, and then you see what we do with them and you’re, like, yeah! I’d drive that. It’s all kinds of different shit. For example, we had two vans come in. When they came in, they were ugly. And they came out looking fire. This was the first time I wanted to own a van, watching how much we put into it.
IS CHRIS REDD A CAR NERD?
Redd: I’ve always been obsessed with fancy cars, old-school cars, even newer race cars, but I've never been able to have a dream car. I always had the dream of having one. So, basically, everyone on the show is living the dream that I never had. I always had, like, a 1999 Altima, or a 1999 Mitsubishi Galant. I never even broke into the 2000s with my cars.
My ultimate car would be an old-school Lincoln Town Car or an old-school Cutlass, with new insides. But everything restored to originality outside. So when it picks up and goes crazy fast, people go, where did that come from? When I pull up, I want to look like I am from the future but also from the past. I just want to confuse mother[bleep] when I arrive.
FUNNIEST PERSON HE’S EVER WORKED WITH
Redd: Ah! I worked with a lot of funny people, man. I will say Will Ferrell is one of the funniest people I’ve ever worked with. Eddie [Murphy] was super funny. There were so many people, and I feel like I would have to name every one of them. But there are some people that are just naturally funny in every kind of conversation that you have with them. Will is definitely that dude.
CHRIS REDD’S LAST WORD
Redd: This show is really dope. We make people cry in a great way and we help people with their lives and we talk some shit. I think you should watch it. And that’s all I got to say.
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