Read the full interview on LAMag.com!
If you’re a stoner and like comedy, The Freak Brothers are calling your name.
The animated series follows the adventures of three stoner characters and their cat, who smoke a magical strain of weed in 1969 that puts them to sleep for 50 years, eventually waking up in present-day San Francisco.
The popular comic series had the counterculture in stitches for 55 years, and is back for the second half of season 2, in partnership with Weedmaps. The pairing brings its exclusive Smoke & Screen events to weed-friendly venues across the country, including a Sept. 13 Downtown Los Angeles stop at L.A. Center Studios where attendees were gifted with free joints and bags of merch.
The invite-only event screened the first two episodes of Season 2B, highlighted by a high school reunion, run-ins with Mark Zuckerberg and a pot brownie bake-off battle with Seth Rogen. Also in the all-star voice cast: Woody Harrelson, Pete Davidson, John Goodman, Tiffany Haddish, ScHoolboy Q, La La Anthony, Adam Devine and Blake Anderson from Workaholics.
Prior to the screening, a panel discussion was held with Greg Goldner, Chief Brand & Strategy Officer for The Freak Brothers and Mark Canton, Executive Producer on the show. The latter boasts an impressive resume, including as Chairman of Sony Pictures, working on such iconic movies as Caddyshack and 300, as well as Starz’s hit show Power alongside 50 Cent.
Asked why now was the time to bring back TFB, Canton presented his credentials. “First of all, I was a legitimate fan,” he said. “I’m from New York City. I was in college at Columbia. On 125th Street and 6th Avenue, there was a fantastic comic book store. In the window was The Freak Brothers comic. I saw the motto, which is, ‘Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope.’ I thought, one day, I’m going to get this made. I never forgot about it.”
Canton continued: “It took quite some time, but it’s the best time because of the culture now. The comedy and the fact that in the late ’60s, I was at Woodstock. A lot of that culture and society have gone full cycle. A lot of the messages The Freak Brothers put out there really line up with this time. Particularly that freedom and smoking weed, and the ability to do both. … For all of you eating the popcorn, the munchies, all the things we have today are back in vogue. The other thing about The Freak Brothers is it’s funny as all, and Lord knows we have to laugh when we can this time. To me, that’s a really big part of it.”
Goldner emphasized the need to “normalize the conversation and the plant.”
To watch The Freak Brothers, head to Tubitv.com and for future Weedmaps screenings, check out the schedule.
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