Dropout’s Sam Reich on ‘Rookie’ ‘Copaganda’ Backlash on ‘Game Changer’ Crossover

Longtime fans of Dropout (formerly known as CollegeHumor) would say that to call the comedy streaming service a liberal-oriented platform is an understatement. That’s why some viewers were surprised when Dropout announced that cast members of the game show “Game Changer” would appear in an episode of the ABC police procedural “The Rookie.”

The backlash largely centered around fans concerned that ‘The Rookie’ is ‘copaganda’ while Dropout talent is known as outspoken about police brutality.

The episode, which aired Monday night, featured Dropout CEO and “Game Changer” host Sam Reich, as well as frequent Dropout collaborators Vic Michaelis (Peacock’s “Ponies”), Jacob Wysocki, Zac Oyama and Anna Garcia, who played dramatized versions of themselves opposite “The Rookie” star Nathan Fillion, who comes to investigate a reported burglary at the Dropout studio in Los Angeles.

Plot-wise, most of Dropout’s involvement boiled down to the cast creating caricatures of their comedic selves on set and during a police lineup, and Reich inadvertently being responsible for the heist in question via a poor attempt at insurance fraud.

Reich spoke to Variety about the experience — which was brought to the indie streamer by “The Rookie” showrunner Alexi Hawley, a Dropout fan — in an email interview Tuesday, acknowledging fans’ concerns while explaining a desire for the platform to reach a larger audience as it continues to expand its business operations and programming.

“I can’t speak for the cast, but I will speak for myself and say that the opportunity to expose Dropout to a large audience – an audience that probably doesn’t know us yet – felt too good to pass up,” Reich said. “We owe everything to our fans, who are super passionate and hold us to a high standard, so it’s perhaps inevitable that we upset people sometimes.”

Read more from Variety‘s interview with Reich below.

How did the episode come about: did The Rookie approach Dropout or the other way around? Who was a fan of whom?

“The Rookie’s” showrunner and a few select members of their writing staff are fans, so they approached us. At first I wasn’t convinced that I wasn’t a “Game Changer” myself… for the second time. In fact, I still am not. Jenny, you wouldn’t do this to me again, would you?

How much was improv and how much was scripted, and did you collaborate with them to write the scripts?

We had the team from “The Rookie” write the script – after all, they write their show best – but they did it very lovingly and with our voice. That said, we did an almost irresponsible amount of improvisation. To this day, I have no idea what caused the cut. I think of at least three jokes that I would be surprised to see aired. One of them came from Nathan Fillion.

When the episode was announced, there was division between fans who were excited to see Dropout appear on a broadcast network show, and some fans who were angry that Dropout was promoting “copaganda” by being on “The Rookie.” How would you and the cast members who participated in the episode react to this?

I can’t speak for the cast, but I will speak for myself and say that the opportunity to expose Dropout to a large audience – an audience that probably doesn’t know us yet – felt too good to pass up. We owe everything to our fans, who are super passionate and hold us to a high standard, so it’s perhaps inevitable that we upset people sometimes.

Will we see the episode “The Rookie” included in an upcoming episode of “Game Changer”?

There are no plans yet to move the collaboration in the other direction. It’s a little harder to imagine how a scripted world fits into a non-scripted world than the other way around. I had tried to prank the cast with an episode of “Game Changer,” but we had to make “The Rookie.” Vic sent me a video from their trailer threatening me with what they would do to me if it turned out to be a “Game Changer” episode. It was about stealing my wife.

“The Rookie” versions of everyone, including Sam Reich, are clearly caricatures of themselves, but perhaps not in a way that someone unfamiliar with Dropout or “Game Changer” would get. Nolan is certainly not happy about it. How do you feel about putting that fictional version of yourself and Dropout out there for wider consumption?

Maybe this is obvious given certain episodes of ‘Make Some Noise’ and ‘Game Changer’, but being ridiculed is a love language of mine. Being asked to play caricatures of ourselves was reminiscent of the ‘Hardly Working’ days of CollegeHumor, and that’s how a lot of the audience initially fell in love with us, so it felt like second nature. Strangely enough, this also applied to confessing to a crime.