I recently binge-watched my way through the entirety of American Dad, and now I’m in a show-hole. With nothing to actively binge-watch, I’ve found myself trawling various streaming services in search of a new obsession. For one reason or another, nothing seems to be scratching that itch, besides a long-running social media series called Bistro Huddy. The series is a vertically shot one-man band, highlighting the absurd characters and situations you find working at a restaurant and bar.
You might take issue with me comparing Bistro Huddy to a genuine TV show. After all, millions of people shoot little skit videos for TikTok and YouTube Shorts every day. Are we supposed to classify every doomscroll swipe as channel surfing? But Bistro Huddy is different. Despite starring a single individual named Drew Talbert, the show features dozens of complex characters, each with unique traits, behaviors, and body language. I’ve seen many TikTokers don wigs and cheap prosthetics over the years, but Talbert manages to embody each role with a level of gravitas that makes you feel like you’re locked in for a ‘real’ streaming program.
Constantly Expanding In Scope And Scale
The production value for Bistro Huddy has been steadily rising over the years as well. What used to be a green screen series with two or three characters per skit, has grown into a full fledged production with multiple locations, recurring bits, and more active production value than anything on The CW. It’s genuinely shocking how much chemistry this lone man has while talking to himself and using fancy editing tricks. Little details like sight lines and pacing are executed perfectly, and characters occasionally shake hands, pass plates, and have makeout sessions that must be a logistics nightmare to coordinate for the camera.
Years ago, when I first discovered this series on YouTube Shorts, I offered up a sentence that I believed to be the greatest compliment an internet creator could receive. I said “wow, this show is good enough to be on Netflix.” Now, after years of watching Bistro Huddy grow and become arguably the best series currently running, I’m starting to believe that the brand is bigger than anything Netflix could offer them. Sure, a professional streaming budget would probably be nice, but the Bistro Huddy crew (Talbert and his co-creator/wife, Andrea) seem to be doing well enough without it.
As far as I can tell, the show is financed exclusively through a combination of ad revenue and Patreon subscriptions. Enough people are paying monthly sums to the show that Drew and Andrea are able to donate the entirety of their merch sales to charitable causes. To my eye, that sounds like the couple are single-handedly running a streaming service all their own. So, if HBO Max or Disney+ does come knocking, there’s a good chance that the duo turn it down, just to grind from the YouTube and TikTok algorithm.
If you still think I’m insane for calling this series of verticals a genuine show, you’ll just have to check it out for yourself. Bistro Huddy is available on YouTube, TikTok, and all the usual social platforms. Just be forewarned, the series is highly addictive. So much so, in fact, that you might soon find it’s the only thing currently worth watching.
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