85 South Show

Comedian

Comedy podcast starring Karlous Miller, DC Young Fly, and Chico Bean.

#104Hub rank

2Platforms tracked

About 85 South Show

The 85 South Show is the funniest thing happening in comedy right now that still feels underground. Hosted by Karlous Miller, DC Young Fly, and Chico Bean — three Wild ’N Out standouts who outgrew the format — it’s a comedy podcast and touring live show built on roast chemistry, improv instincts, and the kind of friendship you can’t fake.

The origin story is pure independent hustle. The three first teamed up in Steve Harvey’s studio in December 2015 to record a podcast that would showcase their improv, freestyling, and roasting skills — billing it, in their words, as “a podcast for people who don’t know what a podcast is.” Comedy fans discovered the chemistry fast, and more than 750 episodes later the show drops roughly every three days, a relentless pace that turned casual listeners into a community. The name nods to Interstate 85 South, the artery connecting their Southern roots — Karlous out of Mississippi, DC out of Atlanta, Chico out of D.C.

The premise is simple: three comedians, a guest, and no script worth mentioning. What comes out is chaos in the best sense — rapid-fire roasts, bits that spiral into bits about the bits, and interviews that routinely go off the rails in ways the guests clearly didn’t expect but always enjoy. The live shows are where it fully ignites: a theater full of people watching three friends try to make each other break.

Each host brings a distinct weapon. Karlous is the smooth-talking instigator with impeccable timing — an Oxford, Mississippi native who parlayed Wild ’N Out into two stints hosting the BET Hip Hop Awards, a viral Club Shay Shay appearance, and one of the most reliable stand-up tours in the business. DC Young Fly is pure unpredictable energy, the wildcard who can turn any moment into a song, a roast, or both — the Atlanta native who went from Vine-era internet fame to Wild ’N Out, grown-ish, How High 2, and a music career of his own. Chico Bean is the anchor — dry, precise, and quietly the funniest person in the room whenever he decides to take over — the Washington, D.C. native whose Wild ’N Out and Guy Court pedigree gave the trio its deadpan backbone. Together they’re a comedy Voltron that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

The show’s rise mirrors a bigger shift: comedians building their own platforms instead of waiting for permission. 85 South went from podcast to sold-out tour to cultural staple without a network, without a gatekeeper, just by being undeniable. The audience isn’t casual — it’s a community that quotes episodes like scripture.

The numbers tell the story of an empire built from scratch: more than two million YouTube subscribers, over half a billion independent views, and 150,000-plus live show tickets sold. The podcast earned an iHeartRadio Best Comedy Podcast nomination. The trio’s Netflix special, 85 South: Ghetto Legends, debuted at No. 1. In 2024 they curated and hosted their own lineup at the Netflix Is A Joke festival — the industry’s biggest comedy showcase asking them to set the table. The Spin the Block Tour, kicking off in Detroit, keeps the live machine rolling city to city.

The business of 85 South is as impressive as the comedy. The guys built a touring operation that sells out theaters on the strength of a podcast — no traditional marketing, just word of mouth from a fanbase that treats new episodes like events. Then they went further: 85 South Media now runs Channel 85, their own independent streaming service, selling live comedy specials directly to the fans — no middleman, no algorithm deciding who sees what. It’s the blueprint for independent comedy in the streaming era: own your audience, take the show on the road, and never let a network tell you what’s funny.

There’s a generosity to the operation that the fans feel. The trio consistently puts on younger comedians — tour openers, Channel 85 specials for rising names, the Three-Headed Monster Tour built around brotherhood and shared stages. DC said it plainly: sharing the stage isn’t normal in comedy, but they don’t care, because they know what it did for them. That ethos — lift as you climb — is a huge part of why the community around the show runs so deep.

The episode format has its own beloved rituals: the opening roasts where no host is safe, the freestyle spirals where DC turns a throwaway comment into a full song, the guest interviews that start normal and end somewhere nobody predicted. Longtime fans have their favorite bits the way sports fans have favorite plays — quoted endlessly, referenced in comments, stitched into the community’s shared language. With new episodes landing every few days, the show never really leaves the conversation; it just keeps feeding it.

Why people watch: because it’s the rare comedy show that feels like hanging out with the funniest people you know. Unfiltered, unscripted, and genuinely surprising every single episode.