Rhett & Link bring their Good Mythical Morning’ show to Netflix

The one they’ve become best known for is “Good Mythical Morning,” the flagship channel they created in 2012 that features them trying outrageous foods, conducting various experiments, and playing games with celebrity guests including Post Malone and KeKe Palmer. The show, which releases new episodes Monday through Friday, is back for its 30th season starting Sept. 7, and will now stream simultaneously on Netflix and YouTube.

“Good Mythical Morning” has produced over 3,000 episodes over close to a decade, accumulating over 19.7 million subscribers and over 11 billion views. Rhett and Link, as they’re called, have become one of the most recognizable duos on YouTube, and this partnership with Netflix just goes to show that their hand in revolutionizing the morning show space is being recognized by the TV bigwigs.

“It’s exactly the same show that we’ve been making for our audience for now 30 seasons, and so it’s not changing at all,” McLaughlin tells USA TODAY. “The conversation between [us and Netflix] has been going on for more than a year, and it really began to click when both parties realized that the best thing that we can do is to continue doing what we’re already doing and just bring the Netflix audience and welcome them to the party.”

“I think there’s lots of Netflix subscribers who will want to make us a part of their daily routine,” adds Neal.

People are now watching YouTube on their TVs more than on their smartphones, which is one reason why streaming companies are making deals to carry YouTube shows. Netflix has announced partnerships to carry videos by the Stokes Twins, who have 140 million YouTube subscribers, and video podcasts like “The Breakfast Club,” “My Favorite Murder,” and “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”

According to The New York Times, streamers like Netflix are trying to bundle as much as possible so that, for their viewers, they become “the main entry point to everything streaming has to offer.”

Rhett and Link are also letting Netflix carry “Mythical Kitchen” and its popular show “Last Meals,” which are hosted by chef Josh Scherer and produced under the duo’s Mythical Entertainment umbrella.

The idea for “Good Mythical Morning” was born of Rhett and Link’s natural propensity, as childhood best friends, to have meaningful conversations with one another. The two of them realized they were spending almost every day together and saw an opportunity to bring in a camera and record it.

“We knew that we could have a 15-to-20-minute conversation that wouldn’t need to be edited,” Link says. “What happened over years and thousands of episodes is that we had to realize that we were providing a service and it was inviting you into a friendship. You get this daily dose of comfort and predictability.”

But beyond that, the pair aren’t exactly sure how they can advise new creators, because the industry has transformed so much since they released their first YouTube video in 2006, McLaughlin says. “It’s as if you go into some old town and you ask a guy how he got there, and he’s like ‘Well I rode a horse,'” before Neal interjects and says, “We rode a dial-up internet here.”

“When we were coming up, you got into this game not primarily to make a living. You did it because it was a creative outlet,” McLaughlin adds. “A lot of the content reflected people who were just trying to out-create one another, and it was also a very small group of people, so the competition was pretty thin. It gave people like us” – and here Neal hops in with, “the illusion of talent” before McLaughlin finishes his thought: “The confidence to be in front of a growing audience.”

As much as these two like to poke fun at themselves for their age, they have evolved with the times. They moved away from trying the hottest peppers in the world and eating bugs to making tamer but equally entertaining videos where they do things like blind taste tests, AI slop product unboxing and trying out survival hacks.

No matter the content they create, it’s their goofy, charming attitudes that keep their fans always coming back, and that’s clear from the shows they don’t host, like “Last Meals.”

‘Good Mytherical Morning’s’ Rhett & Link on shifts in content creation

“Good Mytherical Morning’s” Rhett & Link share their thoughts on up-and-coming creators and why making money wasn’t their primary reason for starting.

Video Team – USA TODAY Entertainment

Now, 20 years into their partnership, the two don’t plan what sort of content they want to make in the long term. They ideate on “what’s still left on the table that we want to create, that we can get very excited about, that we think that the people who’ve chosen to watch what we make will also be excited about,” McLaughlin says.

Moving forward, he says, “In an ideal world, we’re giving everything we’ve got to ‘Good Mythical Morning,’ but it works in such a way that we have enough left over that we have a passion project or two that are in the works.”

“I don’t think the lights are going to be on in the next 20 years,” McLaughlin half-jokes, and Neal throws in the idea to make glow-in-the-dark content.

Still, Neal adds, “It makes me sad to think that I might not make anything in the long term. So I just won’t do that.”