Vic Michaelis on masterminding Brennan Lee Mulligan quitting Dropout for American Girl Dolls
Dropout fans know Vic Michaelis as a mastermind of cringe comedy, whether they are badgering Sam Reich for a dollar on Game Changer, playing a fictional version of themselves for the interview improv show Very Important People, or joining Dimension 20 as a death-focused "dusty do-gooder" in Gladlands. But with Michaelis' role on the new Peacock series Ponies, they take their sharp wit to 1977 Russia, playing the frustrated office manager for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
Michaelis visited Mashable's Say More couch to talk all of this and more with Entertainment Editor Kristy Puchko. In the video above, they dig into Vic's pitch for Game Changer's version of Shark Tank. In the episode, called "Fool's Gold," contestants are pitched videos that could go viral. While some involved goofy animation and breast milk taste tests, Michaelis pitched that Brennan Lee Mulligan quit Dropout to make American Girl Doll shoes.
"You take the thing people love most and the thing they fear most," they said of the pitch, noting, "Sam said pitch three to five ideas. And I said, 'I have one, and if you don't want to do it, then I don't want to come on the show.'"
The resulting video didn't just make waves on TikTok and Instagram, where fans were frantic about the joke and whether or not it was real. News of the fake resignation hit Google in the form of an Easter egg, which rained little shoes when you googled "Brennan Lee Mulligan."
In the full episode of Say More, available on YouTube, Michaelis speaks more on that particular moment of internet breakery. Above, they also reveal that it was either going to be American Girl Dolls or the Sylvanians (aka Calico Critters). "I ended up doing a bunch of research on what brand was most likely to interact with the video," Michaelis explained. "I had narrowed it down to Sylvanian dolls and American Girl Dolls."
We all know what went down with the Sylvanian dolls, right? A content creator called Sylvanian Drama went viral for using the dolls to create scandalous stories for TikTok, and then was sued by the toymaker in July of 2025.
"That lawsuit against that amazing Sylvanian Drama creator happened immediately after the episode dropped," Michaelis recounted, "or like right before it was supposed to come out. So, I was like 'Thank God' [I went with American Girl Dolls]."
Michaelis also touches on how their gag about Evelyn Tucci, who they claimed on Game Changer is the actor Stanley Tucci's paternal grandmother, has found new life online. Plus, they told Mashable about how their real-life background in martial arts came into play on Ponies. OK, so a kick-to-the-throat attack was cut from Season 1. But could we see Michaelis' black belt skills in Season 2? Here's hoping.
For more from Michaelis on Very Important People, Dimension 20, and the unexpected connection between Game Changer, Heated Rivalry, and Ponies, check out the full Say More episode on YouTube.
Ponies is now streaming on Peacock. Game Changer, Dimension 20: Gladlands, and Very Important People are all streaming on Dropout.