Early development[edit]
In the early 2000s, Kroll and Mulaney developed the characters while hosting a weekly show at Rififi, a New York comedy club closed in 2008. [14]
Kroll and Mulaney developed Faizon and St. Geegland after watching two men wearing turtlenecks and blazers at The Strand Bookstore each purchase a copy of Alan Alda's book Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned.[15][16][17] It was during the time at Rififi that Kroll and Mulaney were able to hone their characters, without wigs but already featuring many of their character traits.[18][19][14]
Television appearances[edit]
Human Giant[edit]
The duo made one of their earliest TV appearances during Human Giants MTV Takeover, a 24-hour broadcast running from May 18 to May 19, 2007.[20] During their appearance, wearing an early version of their trademark grey wigs, they mixed a "Turkey-tini" cocktail, which later morphed into the "Tuna-tini".[21] The characters were also featured in Krolls 2011 standup special Nick Kroll: Thank You Very Cool.[21]
Kroll Show[edit]
The characters of Faizon and St. Geegland were heavily popularized on Kroll's self-titled Comedy Central show, Kroll Show (2013–15), where they appeared in 11 episodes. They were presented through several different formats, including a variety of sketches, and the prank show Too Much Tuna, as hosts of a public access prank show in which unsuspecting contestants are given tuna fish sandwiches with "too much tuna". They usually ruined the prank by telling the contestant that a tuna fish sandwich was coming before the plate of food arrived.[2][3][5][22][23] Too Much Tuna also carried over to their stage show.
Late Night with Seth Meyers[edit]
The duo has appeared in character as guests on two episodes of Late Night with Seth Meyers, promoting the Off-Broadway and Broadway runs of Oh, Hello. Host Seth Meyers is a friend of both Kroll and Mulaney, having previously worked with Mulaney as a writer for Saturday Night Live and Documentary Now!.
Comedy Bang! Bang![edit]
Faizon and St. Geegland have also appeared as guests in a season five episode of Scott Aukerman's IFC show Comedy Bang! Bang!, alongside The Lonely Island. During their appearance, they talked about their extensive Broadway background, which includes producing the Cats-inspired show Pugs and You Snooze, You Lose, a musical about the Terri Schiavo case. They have also appeared on several episodes of the original Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast.
Conan[edit]
Kroll and Mulaney have appeared in character on an episode of Conan O'Brien's TBS talk-show Conan. The appearance occurred during O'Brien's week of shows taped from the Apollo Theater in New York City, which coincided with the run of Oh, Hello on Broadway. George and Gil appeared during the monologue to give O'Brien a "welcome-back-to-New York-official-basket", consisting of a pre-broken umbrella, a sun-faded photo of Danny Aiello, a cup of three-week-old watermelon, a copy of Fagen's New York, and a gift certificate to St Michael's Cemetery.
Chelsea[edit]
To promote Oh, Hello on Broadway, Kroll and Mulaney appeared in two episodes of the Netflix talk show Chelsea as Faizon and St. Geegland. Host Chelsea Handler also uses "Oh, hello" as her catchphrase to open each show.
Portlandia[edit]
Faizon and St. Geegland appear in the sketch comedy series Portlandia in the episode "Peter Follows P!nk" where they meet series mainstays Toni and Candace (Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen) and invite them to a surprise assisted suicide party.
Oh, Hello theatrical run[edit]
Off-Broadway[edit]
Oh, Hello premiered as an off-Broadway play on December 1, 2015, and played for several weeks at The Cherry Lane Theatre in New York's Greenwich Village.[24] After the success of this production, Kroll and Mulaney took the show on the road, performing in San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Boston.[25]
Broadway[edit]
Kroll and Mulaney began a 15-week staging of the show on Broadway at the Lyceum Theater, starting on September 23, 2016, in previews and on October 10 officially.[26][27] The show closed on January 22, 2017.[28] The show received positive reviews overall. Ben Brantley of The New York Times helped launch the show's success by giving it an unexpected rave review during its off-Broadway run.[29][30] Entertainment Weekly called it "full of genuine laughs", but also "surprisingly unambitious, with no real story, no attempt to welcome new audiences, no truly great comic moments. It's a sketch, drawn out", giving it a "B".[31] Marilyn Stasio of Variety wrote that "Their pre-established fan base from Comedy Central, alt-comedy clubs and obscure videos should go for this sloppy, silly, occasionally inspired, extended version of their comic shtick as two affected Upper West Side geezers named Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland — but Oh, Hello on Broadway might not be the show to win over new enthusiasts."[32] The show mocks multiple aspects of live theatre that Kroll and Mulaney personally dislike, like fake smoking and one-sided phone calls.[33]
Netflix special[edit]
A recorded performance of the show featuring Steve Martin as the guest and with an appearance by Matthew Broderick was released by Netflix on June 13, 2017.[34] A bonus clip was also released on Netflix featuring Michael J. Fox as the guest. The recorded performance received a positive review from Erik Adams of The A.V. Club, who gave it a "B+" and called it "a singularly funny testament to Kroll and Mulaney's creative partnership and personal friendship".[35] Lea Palmieri of Decider wrote that "Oh, Hello On Broadway might be the most ridiculous Broadway show you watch on Netflix this year, but it's absolutely worth watching." She noted, however, that "trimming about 15 minutes wouldn't have hurt the show."[36]
Podcast[edit]
On April 3, 2020, the first episode of Oh, Hello: the P'dcast was released.[37] The comedy podcast covers Gil and George's investigation of Princess Diana's death. Guests across the show's eight episodes included John Oliver, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Pete Davidson. Time magazine called it one of the best podcasts of 2020.[38]