Comedy is hard. Honestly, it’s brutal. Most sitcoms struggle to find one breakout star, but The Other Two somehow managed to trap lightning in a bottle with a group of actors who understood the assignment so perfectly it almost hurt to watch. When Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider—the evil geniuses behind some of the best SNL sketches of the last decade—set out to skewering the entertainment industry, they didn't just cast funny people. They cast people who could play the desperation of "almost winning" with a level of nuance that made you feel bad for laughing.
The premise was simple enough: two adult siblings, Cary and Brooke Dubek, have to deal with their 13-year-old brother Chase suddenly becoming a massive, Bieber-level pop star. But it wasn't the "teen fame" that made the show a cult classic. It was the Other Two cast themselves. They took a concept that could have been a one-note joke and turned it into a masterclass in millennial anxiety, ego, and the bizarre machinery of Hollywood.
The Core Siblings: Drew Tarver and Heléne Yorke
Let's talk about Drew Tarver. If you haven't seen him in his various improv circles or heard him on Comedy Bang! Bang!, you might have missed that he's essentially a human cartoon with the soul of a dramatic poet. As Cary Dubek, Tarver played the "struggling actor" trope with terrifying accuracy. Whether he was auditioning for "Man at Hospital" or trying to pretend he was okay with being the "gay brother" of a teen idol, Tarver’s face did things most actors need a CGI budget for. He embodied that specific flavor of New York City desperation—the kind where you’re happy for your brother but also secretly want to jump off a bridge because he has a private jet and you’re eating a $1 slice of pizza for the fourth time this week.
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Then there’s Heléne Yorke. Brooke Dubek is, quite frankly, a chaotic masterpiece. Yorke has this incredible ability to be absolutely unhinged while remaining the most relatable person in the room. She’s the sister who was once a professional dancer but is now just... adrift. Yorke’s performance is a whirlwind of frantic energy. She’s the one trying to "manage" her brother’s career without having any idea what a manager actually does. The chemistry between Tarver and Yorke is what grounded the show. They didn't act like "TV siblings" who trade witty barbs; they acted like real siblings who share a singular, slightly warped brain cell.
Molly Shannon and the Art of the Stage Mom
You can't talk about the Other Two cast without bowing down to Molly Shannon. As Pat Dubek, the matriarch who eventually lands her own daytime talk show, Shannon gave us a version of the "stage mom" that we haven’t really seen before. She wasn't a monster. She wasn't Kris Jenner. She was just a genuinely nice woman from Ohio who loved her kids and happened to get swept up in the insanity of fame.
Shannon’s performance evolved beautifully over the three seasons. In the beginning, she’s the grounding force, the one making sure Chase gets his homework done. By the end, she’s a mogul who can’t walk down the street without a security detail, yet she still maintains that "Midwest nice" veneer that makes her the most dangerous person in the room. It’s a delicate balance. If you play it too broad, the character becomes a caricature. Shannon kept it human. Even when she was trapped in a room full of merch, you could see the motherly instinct fighting with the sheer exhaustion of being a brand.
The Supporting Players Who Stole the Show
Ken Marino. That’s it. That’s the section.
Okay, but seriously, Ken Marino as Streeter Peters is one of the greatest comedic creations of the 21st century. As ChaseDreams' manager, Streeter is a man who is constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a heart attack, or both. He wears zip-up hoodies that cost more than your rent and says things like "Let's get this nut" with a sincerity that is deeply unsettling. Marino is a veteran of the comedy world (The State, Party Down), and he brings a frantic, sweaty energy to the show that acts as the perfect foil to the Dubek siblings' cynicism.
And then we have Case Walker as ChaseDreams. Casting a real-life social media star was a gamble that paid off immensely. Walker didn't play Chase as a brat. He played him as a sweet, slightly dim kid who was just happy to be there. This was a crucial choice. If Chase had been a jerk, the audience wouldn't have cared about the family's struggle. Instead, we wanted him to succeed, which made the siblings' jealousy even funnier because they felt guilty about it.
- Josh Segarra as Lance: The ultimate "himbo" with a heart of gold. Lance is Brooke’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, a man who designs "fun sneakers" and genuinely loves everyone. Segarra’s performance became so popular that the writers basically had to keep him in the show despite Brooke’s constant attempts to move on.
- Wanda Sykes as Shuli Kogan: The ruthless record executive. Sykes is a legend for a reason. Her deadpan delivery of the most horrifying industry secrets provided the show with its sharpest satirical edge.
- Brandon Scott Jones as Curtis: Cary’s best friend and a fellow struggling actor. Jones brings a warmth and a "truth-telling" vibe that often serves as the moral compass Cary desperately needs (and usually ignores).
Why the Casting Worked When Others Failed
Most "industry" comedies fail because they are too inside-baseball. They tell jokes that only people in a writers' room in Burbank would understand. The Other Two avoided this by focusing on the emotional toll of being "adjacent" to greatness. The cast understood that the joke wasn't the fame itself—the joke was how the characters reacted to it.
There’s a specific nuance in the way Drew Tarver reacts to a younger, more successful actor. It’s not just anger; it’s a weird mix of admiration, self-loathing, and a desire to be liked. That’s hard to act. It requires an ego-less performance. You have to be willing to look pathetic. The entire Other Two cast was willing to look absolutely pathetic for the sake of the story.
Whether it was Brooke trying to sneak into a fashion show or Streeter crying in a Versace store, the commitment to the "cringe" was total. This wasn't a show about "making it." It was a show about the weird, uncomfortable space you occupy when you haven't made it yet, but you're close enough to smell the hors d'oeuvres.
The Impact of the Final Season
By the time the third and final season rolled around, the show took a darker, more surreal turn. The cast had to pivot from "light industry satire" to "existential dread." Cary’s descent into a narcissistic obsession with his own career was genuinely uncomfortable to watch, a testament to Tarver’s range. He went from a lovable loser to someone you kind of wanted to shake.
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Similarly, Heléne Yorke took Brooke on a journey from a directionless mess to a "good person" who realized that being "good" is actually incredibly boring and difficult. The finale of the series didn't give everyone a perfect Hollywood ending. Instead, it gave them a moment of clarity. The cast sold that transition perfectly. They moved from high-energy comedy to quiet, reflective character beats without missing a step.
Practical Insights for Fans and Aspiring Creators
If you’re looking at the success of this ensemble, there are a few things to take away, whether you're a fan or someone trying to break into the industry yourself.
First, chemistry can't be faked. The producers spent a lot of time ensuring that the Dubek family felt like a unit. If you're building a project, don't just hire the funniest person; hire the person who fits the puzzle.
Second, character consistency is king. Even when the plot of The Other Two got wild (like ChaseDreams going to NYU for "five minutes"), the characters stayed true to their flaws. Streeter stayed desperate. Brooke stayed manic. Cary stayed insecure.
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If you want to dive deeper into the work of this incredible group:
- Watch Drew Tarver’s improv sets: See where that manic energy comes from.
- Follow Heléne Yorke on social media: She’s just as funny in real life as she is on screen.
- Check out Ken Marino’s older work: Party Down is a spiritual cousin to this show and equally brilliant.
- Re-watch the series on Max: Pay attention to the background actors and the small guest roles—the casting for one-off characters was just as meticulous as the main ensemble.
The legacy of this cast isn't just that they made a funny show. It's that they captured a very specific moment in digital culture—the transition from traditional stardom to the "influencer" era—and did it with more heart than anyone expected. They proved that you can be cynical about the world and still care deeply about the people in it. That’s a rare feat in any medium.