Joe DeRosa had every reason to believe the entertainment business had made up its mind about him.
He was cast in the pilot for CBS sitcom “Living Biblically” and booked for 10 episodes, only to have his character cut two weeks before production. Two other pilots failed to move forward. Management relationships ended and he wasn’t passed at any of the big comedy clubs in Los Angeles.
For artists, excuses are plentiful: The part disappeared. The show was canceled. The right executives did not respond. The algorithm buried the work. I can’t create the content I need to and have a full-time job at the same time.
Those excuses may be accurate. But who cares?
DeRosa said the lowest point in his career came when COVID-19 shut down the comedy clubs. After years of rejection in Hollywood, he found himself isolated in a New York apartment with no windows outside the bedroom. He said that period brought him closer to suicide than at any other point in his life.
The artistic life is a hard life. Those that make it early in their careers are the extreme outliers.
All The Platforms Passed
DeRosa spent more than three years developing his special.
He directed the stand-up special himself, secured independent financing and delivered a finished film.
His management submitted it to Netflix, Hulu and HBO. All rejected him.
JoAnn Grigioni, whom DeRosa describes as a Netflix comedy executive and one of his closest friends in the business, called him after Netflix passed. She had previously championed his work at Comedy Central, where he says she gave him his first television airtime and backed several specials.
JoAnn Grigioni, Netflix
“I want you to know how good I think this is,” DeRosa recalled her saying. “We just can’t do it.”
DeRosa’s manager, Emilio Savone, responded by moving to the next option. “Whatever, man,” DeRosa recalled Savone saying. “We’re moving on. What’s next?”
Emilio Savone on The Black Hoody
Within two days, the team was planning an independent release.
Joe Put Up Numbers
DeRosa uploaded the special to a new YouTube channel with no subscribers. He arranged an early-access release, called some of comedy’s largest podcasts (his friends) and hit the road promoting the special himself.
The special had generated more than 843,000 YouTube views which must have forced Netflix to re-consider.
Eight months later, Netflix called and licensed the same special it had passed on.
Joe put numbers on the board and became undeniable.
DeRosa’s success is one of relentless hard work, persistence and taking matters into his own hands.
He hosts his own very successful podcast, is a writer and appears in Netflix comedy Tires, and is a frequent panel guest on “Kill Tony”.
Complaints about algorithms, content demands and gatekeepers are often justified.
But you can either wear your excuses like a badge of honour listing all the reasons the industry isn’t working for you, or you can put numbers on the board and have an undeniable career, just like Joe has.
