♪♪
♪ Yo, hey, I put the work in ♪
♪ Work in ♪
♪ And now we work it ♪
♪ Ooh, yeah ♪
♪ Yeah, I put the work in ♪
♪ Work in ♪
♪ And now we work it ♪
No, this is not a Super Bowl E. D. commercial.
I'm just putting in my due diligence.
I'm thinking about pledging Gamma Psi Delta.
Yo, Mike, go long!
I am all for the advantages of joining
an exclusive on-campus society.
But after my experience with the Crest,
I definitely need to try before I buy.
♪ I be flexin' it like it's textin' ♪
Hey, yo, Mike, not that far, bro!
I don't think he can hear me.
♪ Or in prison, prison, prison ♪
You know, it's interesting, 'cause what I'm finding
about this group is that they don't see me
as the awkward mama's boy with a Pop Toy collection.
They see me as a Pop Toy collector
and entrepreneur
who isn't ashamed of being a mama's boy.
♪ Yeah ♪
To moms!
Together: To moms!
♪ I put the work in ♪
♪ Work in ♪
♪ And now we work it ♪ I don't know,
maybe these are my people.
Cheers, dudes!
All: Cheers!
♪ Put the work in ♪ Hey.
What the [bleep]
Mnh-mnh-mnh.
Nah, I'm just playing with you, man!
All: Ahh! [ Laughter ]
♪ Put the work in ♪
I think I'mma be a Gamma!
♪ And now we work ♪
♪ Now we work, now we work ♪
♪ Watch out, world, I'm grown now ♪
♪ I'm grown ♪
♪ Learn something new every day ♪
♪ I don't know, so I'mma feel my way ♪
♪ Got the weight of the world on me ♪
♪ But no regrets, this is what I say ♪
♪ Watch out, world, I'm grown now ♪
♪ I'm grown ♪ ♪ You can tell me ♪
♪ My heart beating so loud ♪
♪ Mama, look, I'm grown now ♪
♪ I'm grown ♪
[ Exhales sharply ]
What are you doing?
Doing a little peek-a-boo for my boo here.
[ Cellphone camera clicks ] I send Zoey
in-action photos of me being sexy
around the house, campus, Walmart, Costco.
Great lighting in Costco.
You wouldn't believe. Okay.
So she can give you a little love back, right?
No, no. She's gonna be president one day, so --
Doug? I need your help.
How'd you know he'd be here?
Where else would he be?
I think I wanna join the Gammas.
I've been waiting on this.
Come on, bring it in.
Oh, I knew you were a Gamma man.
Gamma man? Really?
A frat's a frat. It doesn't matter how you try and spin it.
You can front like the chapters are different,
but we all know it's just astrology
for dudes who like butt-chugging.
Oh, bro, our -- our Council banned backdoor beers in 1997.
Don't listen to that.
Look, the Gammas are nothing like the pretty boy Epsilons
or the party animal Omicrons.
We're all about serving looks and our community.
That's what it means to be a G.
Hmm. I could be a G.
My whole life, I've been a J.
But maybe I'm a G.
Or you could just be you.
I don't understand the appeal.
I'm not gonna do some backwards-ass trauma ritual
so that I can rock a bunch of matching hoodies with guys
whom I have nothing else in common with.
Pledging is not traumatic, alright?
Okay. Didn't they brand you?
I'm sorry, they what now?
They branded him.
Sizzled his skin, blistered up, pus everywhere.
The branding is optional.
That's gross.
And that traces back to a West African tribal tradition,
Professor Jackson.
You can spin it however you want to spin it,
still sounds like cult shit to me.
Alright, well, you know, when you graduated,
all you got was a degree.
I got a brotherhood.
I'm not your brother? Alright, I'm not saying that.
But, look, the Gammas, we're like the mafia...
minus the murder and the drugs.
I mean, besides the legal and cool drugs.
That's, you know...
I'm pretty sure "mafia" is the Italian word for "cult."
[ Cellphone vibrates ]
Ooh. I gotta take this. Zoey's calling me.
She said she'd show me full knee this time,
so it's pretty exciting.
Enjoy drinking the Kool-Aid, Junior.
Okay.
[ Sighs ] Alright, bro, here's the deal,
pledging is no joke.
But if you listen to me,
there's a good chance that you'll get across that line.
Wow. Yeah.
So you're like my rush fairy godfather.
Mm, I'm 100% not that.
But the Gammas are just looking for dudes
who can take initiative,
and you gotta be showing up for everything.
Word, word, word.
Yeah, we've been hanging a lot already,
and I'm also going to
that comedy fundraiser thing on Friday.
Oh. We'll see.
Hannibal Buress just dropped out
because he just got into an injury
on the set of "Tag Two: You're It."
Ah. The brothers are scrambling.
♪♪
So the brothers are scrambling.
♪♪
What's up, Kiela?
You interviewing, too?
We met at the SJS meeting, right?
Uh, you made me prove to you
that I wasn't subscribed to Ben Shapiro
before I put my name on the sign-up list?
Right. Yeah.
Um...Brendan.
Brandon. [ Chuckles ]
Sorry, you're interviewing for Director of Strategy
for the Social Justice Society?
Yep.
Oh.
Yeah, I gotta say, I'm surprised a blossoming anarcho-Marxist
like yourself is interested in something this...
institutional.
[ Chuckles ] Okay, look, if you need, like,
a résumé-padder for your Peace Corps app,
there's like a thriving hacky sack club on the East Quad.
And, you know, just a -- an FYI,
they've never given this position to a freshman.
Oh.
Well, how often do they meet a freshman
who was on Biden's transition team?
Kiela.
Come on in.
Junior: If frat life's all about having your brothers' backs,
what better way to show I'm worthy of pledging
than pulling through in their time of need?
Yo, I heard y'all were struggling
with that whole fundraiser thing,
and, uh, I reached out to some of my old advertising contacts,
and if you want him...
I got Malik Miles.
Bro, are you serious?
Malik is fire.
So I should tell him it's a go?
Hell yeah, bro. Lock it in.
Hey, good stuff.
[ Cellphone chimes ] Hey, yo, never believe what he just told me.
♪♪
Hey, how you guys doing?
Professor Jackson here, and today I'm gonna be rating
Cal U's faculty diversity by department.
That's a few tiki torches shy of a hate crime.
Zero out of 10.
Now, you see that? That right there,
that's giving '60s country club whiteness,
but there are some ladies in the mix,
so we'll give them
a 2 out of 10.
It's not great, but it's better than the last one.
Now, finally, see that?
There's that Benetton energy we've been looking for.
You're probably wondering what department that is.
Is that History? Film Studies?
No, it isn't.
It's Global Studies, guys.
[ Echoing ] Global Studies.
And you see that guy right there in the corner?
That's me, next to all my friends
that Cal U panic-hired over the last six months.
Junior: At first, Aaron's TikTok flopped,
until one student saw the comic potential
and used Aaron's sound for his own riff...
Aaron: Zero out of ten.
Junior: ...rating the lack of seasonings
at various dining hall stations.
When it blew up, suddenly students started using
Aaron's sound to call out
everything problematic at Cal U.
So after Aaron forgot about his scream
into the social media void, it popped off too.
Yo, bro. Yo.
Congrats on sticking it to the man.
Thanks? What -- What are you talking about?
Your TikTok. It blew up.
Check out the comments.
Uh...
Let's see here.
"If Noah Beck and Malcolm X had a baby."
[ Laughs ]
Oh, Lord help these kids.
[ Cellphone chimes ]
Hold on.
Whoa, I just got like 100 kids trying to audit my class.
Wow.
[ Cellphone chimes ] 101.
Okay. Looks like people are psyched to see
Professor TikTok in action.
I guess so.
♪♪
Making change is about getting people to stop
and pay attention.
Look, we all know the levers of change are pulled by like
five old white dudes in a smoke-filled room.
So the question is --
Both: How do you get them to listen?
Collaborate, not alienate.
Explosive, disruptive.
Tactical, laser-focused.
Drive the conversation and mobilize revolution.
Work behind the scenes toward concrete, achievable goals.
Kaden: I'm writing my thesis on activism during the AIDS crisis.
And do you know what my biggest takeaway has been?
Reagan was a genocidal clown?
[ Chuckles ]
You need the ACT UP die-hards
handcuffing themselves to the Stock Exchange,
and you need the HRC insiders lobbying senators.
Do you see what I'm getting at?
Your tactics couldn't be more different.
Which is why you'll make incredible co-directors.
Congratulations.
Comedy fundraiser Friday.
It's a Gamma function.
Malik Miles.
Yo, guess who came through big for the Gammas?
What? So you guys have, like,
a secret handshake now or something?
It's okay, I've seen his penis.
Malik Miles? I love him.
Kiela: What the hell is this?
Junior booked Malik Miles for the Gamma fundraiser.
Don't ask for comps, ladies.
It's for charity. Yeah.
I'm not giving him a dime and neither should anyone else.
Junior, you can't bring a [bleep] misogynist to Cal U.
♪♪
Back up. What's the problem with Malik?
He attacked a woman during a show.
Wait. You're not talking about the wig snatch.
It was years ago.
I'm sorry, the what?
How can you not know?
Malik: Excuse me, ghetto Cleopatra.
But anyway, as I was saying,
we got to put him through a combine.
You're about as funny as colon cancer.
Bitch, if you don't shut --
Someone snatch this busted lace front off her head.
I know you won't -- What? Aah!
[ Speaking indistinctly ] Oh.
Give me my wig! You give me my --
I can't believe you touched my damn wig!
Take your ass back to the streets where you belong.
Whoa. Kiela, I had no idea.
Oh, my God, cut the white knighting.
Malik isn't even the one
that did the actual wig snatching.
Some random did.
Yeah. Because Malik told him to.
Yeah, and he didn't help his case
when he called her the "B" word.
No woman deserves to be called that.
Even my Organic Chemistry professor,
who can kindly go straight to hell.
Okay, you're being mad extra.
And he was like 20.
And he stopped performing for like over a year.
He more than did his time.
Okay, wait. I'm sorry.
Uh, he did his time? Zaara: Right.
A year without a comedy special?
Oh, no.
What is that, the new 25 to life?
No, but he didn't commit a crime either.
And he apologized.
Okay, see?
He apologized. Mm-hmm.
A half-assed apology with a wink to his fans.
He's not responsible for some idiot teenagers
snatching wigs for clout.
Yes, he is.
His apology is trash unless he takes responsibility.
Alright, Kiela, look, I'll talk to the Gammas
and get it sorted out.
♪♪
Junior: While Aaron's TikTok lit a fire among Cal U students,
the reaction from
his fellow professors was...
ice cold.
♪♪
[ FaceTime rings ]
Hey, babe. Zoey: Hey!
I'm surprised I got you.
I mean, are you FaceTiming me from the Hype House right now?
That's very funny.
You know, I have never dated an influencer before.
I guess Will in middle school was really big on Vine,
and Luca had like 50,000 followers on IG.
You know what?
We really don't need to get into it.
Yeah.
How does it feel? Uh, I dunno.
I guess it feels good kind of calling out the administration.
My students are way into it.
But the professors are pissed.
I got all these, uh, stern-ass e-mails
from like half the Global Studies department
talking about, "Leave us out of it," so...
Yeah.
How well do these people know you?
I say hi when I'm in the faculty lounge.
If you want people to be on your side,
you're gonna have to win them over a little bit.
Show them that you're one of them.
When I started working with veteran textile designers,
yeah, they were skeptical.
But I showed them what I was about
and, sure, kissed a little ass.
But now Trisha and I get bottomless mimosas every Sunday.
That explains those Sunday Snaps.
You get -- You get lit with her, huh?
You know it.
But have you actually tried getting to know them,
like, as people?
A bunch of them go to grab drinks every Friday.
Ugh, just -- I just don't want to do
the whole happy hour ass-kissing thing.
I -- I kick ass.
I don't kiss it.
Aaron, you should go.
If you let them, I'm sure they will see
the brilliant,
very cool guy that I know and love.
♪♪
Dude is funny as hell, man.
What's the problem? I'm confused.
It's just, like, if I would have known,
I wouldn't have called Malik in the first place, you know?
[ Video game sound effects ]
[ Ding ] Junior.
He was our age when the shit went down, bro.
We make dumbass mistakes all the time.
You think we deserve to be defined by them?
Well, no.
Plus, the man apologized.
The fact is this is just another young Black man
getting cut down once he levels up.
They would've found a reason no matter what he did.
You are so right.
How long are we supposed to condemn one of our own?
That's what I'm saying.
Look, booking Malik was a win, bro.
Plus, you came through for us,
and the brothers ain't gonna forget that.
Mike's got a point.
How am I supposed to say I want to join a tradition
of elevating Black men when I was so quick
to do a 180 on Malik over one mistake?
Hey, look alive, man.
I just -- just killed you.
[ Warble ]
[ Cellphone chimes ]
We need to do something about Malik Miles.
We could draft a letter to the Greek Life Oversight Committee.
Or we could shut that shit down.
Okay, stopping someone from telling jokes
isn't gonna help shelter the unhoused
or end voter suppression.
This Twitter discourse is just a distraction.
But what if it helps me feel safer on this campus?
Come on. No, when you act like what he did is no big deal,
it's like you're telling Black women,
"Protecting you is less important
than some dude's jokes."
Are you kidding?
Both of the issues I just named affect Black women.
But I'm an actual Black woman telling you what matters to me,
and you can't be bothered.
Got it. Yeah.
I love being part of this team.
It's really just so much fun.
♪♪
Mike got me thinking about who society tries to cancel,
and just how easy it is
to cancel a Black man.
And points were made.
So the show was going on as planned.
Okay, boys, Malik is en route, doors open in five,
and the beer koozies that the local brewery donated
are hidden under the seats.
You're in Oprah mode, huh?
What can I say?
Listen, fellas.
When we're recruiting,
this is what we're looking for.
Yo, some girl's making a big-ass scene in the lobby.
♪ Power, yeah, we want it, yeah ♪
Together: [ Chanting ] Shut it down!
Shut it down!
♪ Go hard, got me shootin' for the stars ♪
♪ I make it look easy when it's hard ♪
♪ Go hard, yeah, I go hard ♪
Okay, you really want to cancel a young Black man over one mistake?
You were horrified over that "one mistake."
But I guess you talked yourself out of it,
and now it's come to this.
Come to what? There are literally five of you.
What are you gonna do?
Brandon: Six.
I don't know you, but, okay, hi.
Brandon.
And we're gonna do whatever it takes, right?
You've made your point.
Now, please, just move your demonstration to the side.
No, I think we'll stay right here.
[ Spectators groan ]
Shut it down!
Together: Shut it down!
Shut it down!
Shut it down! Shut it down! Man: Nobody cares!
Snatch her wig!
Shut it down! Shut it down!
♪♪
[ Chanting continues ]
♪♪
Show these bitches out, man!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hey! We are not doing the show tonight!
[ Crowd muttering ]
I'm sorry, but the show is canceled.
[ Crowd boos ]
Look, your tickets will be refunded.
Okay, okay, boo all you want.
Boo all you want.
You still have to go home.
We're not doing this.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
♪♪
Bye.
You actually shut it down. [ Chuckles ]
A little more satisfying than a letter campaign, huh?
Yeah.
Why'd you come?
Because I heard what you said, and it got to me.
I mean, first I was pissed and defensive.
You think?
But I've learned that usually that's a sign
that someone's telling me something
that I really need to hear.
I thought what happened with Malik Miles
didn't matter in the real world because, for me, it doesn't.
But maybe I just needed my "co-director"...
Oh. ...to show me my blind spots.
Okay.
Uh, good.
Anyway, we should schedule a strategy sesh.
SJS wants to mobilize action on pushing Cal U
to go carbon neutral, ASAP.
Uh, that should be easy.
Phone bank, contact top donors --
convince them to make all future donations
dependent on Cal U committing.
Oh. Oh, cute.
Or, I was thinking we can do like a "Climate Change Wake-Up Call"
outside the Cal U President's house.
You know, 5:00 a. m., a bunch of angry students,
a couple air horns.
Oh, so deliberately alienate
the main person we need to convince?
Yes, but, uh, shame used effectively is motivating.
And, you know, calling donors just makes,
like, a terrible front page photo.
But you with a bullhorn?
Oh, yeah.
Hot, young, saving the planet.
No better way to trend.
Who the hell cares if it trends?
You're gonna drive me insane.
Probably.
♪♪
Uh...
Right. Well.
Um, you know, we'll just, uh --
we'll figure it out when we meet again.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Totally.
I'll, uh, text you.
Okay. Yeah.
Okay.
♪♪
Okay.
[ Sighs ]
♪♪
I don't think I'm gonna be a Gamma.
Listen, guys.
I know I screwed up the event, but I just couldn't stand there
and be on the same side of history as those guys...
even if it means I'm not a Gamma.
Junior, chill.
We're inviting you to pledge.
The committee voted. You pulled through, two to one.
Really?
Brotherhood isn't just about blind loyalty.
You stood up and took responsibility,
even knowing what it could cost you.
And that, in my humble opinion...
is Gamma behavior.
Look, maybe next time, just, uh,
Google your man before you book him.
[ Laughter ]
I will Google the hell out of them.
I-I'll even Bing them, if necessary.
Alright.
You're dismissed.
Don't... Stop, stop.
Don't do that.
I felt like it was too much.
Mnh-mnh.
Okay. Word up, yeah.
Yeah.
Just so you know, I was the vote against.
What you did was messed up, man,
and I for one would never do my brothers like that.
I don't think you're Gamma material at all,
and honestly?
I look forward to watching you fail.
♪♪
Challenge accepted.
Okay, okay, it's just drinks.
Drinks with coworkers. That's all it is.
Zoey's right, just bring the charm.
Show them what you're all about.
It's not ass-kissing, it's career development.
Big difference.
[ Sighs ] How bad could it be?
[ Indistinct conversations, laughter ]
♪♪
Where'd you get that tie?
It's so dope!
[ Chuckles ]
What I love about Kamala is she's so real.
She's -- She's so real.
She's so real. Hey, what are you doing?
Alright.
Yeah, that's my -- that's my hair.
Thank you.
[ Dramatic sting plays ]
Nope, nope.
Nope.
♪♪